To heel or not to heel

Although I have seen numerous pictures of sailing boats with people sitting on one side that looked higher out of the water than the other side, I never gave it a thought why that was and how that would feel and I thought only in races that would happen.
So my first experience of heeling was quite a shock. More »

Why do skippers shout?

Posted by John in Boat handling, Women on sailing

If you haven’t experienced it your self, you may well have observed the phenomenon.
While watching the boats come home from a beautiful day’s sailing you hear the skipper yelling agitatedly as he docks his beloved boat.

One of my most important lessons when first sailing as a couple was when my partner quietly shared with me after a frustrating anchoring exercise; “It doesn’t help to shout.” More »

Competence is the key

Posted by Wilma in Boat handling, Women on sailing

The 1980 edition of the Governor’s State university magazine Creative Women is dedicated to sailing women and I quote from an article ‘First Time Skipper’ by Joan Shipley .
“Men it seems to me, are brought up to feel that they can and should; women that they can’t and shouldn’t.
It took me 9 years’ sailing to realize that I am a competent sailor and last winter I began to wonder whether I could break out of my allotted role. More »

Removable bulkheads and renovating interiors

Posted by Wilma in Interiors, Women on sailing

In one of his posts John talks about the life cycle of a boat and he says this about the interior:

“What lasts even less well is the interior as it gets used by people or gets to be old fashioned, dirty and tired looking.
Interestingly the interiors of airplanes and buses wear out and are replaced several times before the structure or chassis wears out.”
More »