Newbie – tried sailing for the first time, and it was great!

This is my first post, so I thought I would bore the audience with a little background:

I’ve had powerboats for 35 years. I have been a passenger on a sailboat exactly a total of 3 times in my life and always enjoyed it, however never thought sailing would be for me. However a year ago I saw a small green and white sailboat blow by the beach at the cottage and I immediately recognized the “fish” logo on the sail. It recalled a childhood memory for me of a sailboat of the exact same shape, with the exact same “fish” logo that an older guy from down the beach would sail every chance he could. Except his was white hull & sail with a royal blue deck. Not sure what model year it was, but based on my age at the time it would have to predate 1975. The subliminal seed had now been sown.

In the winter months, I have plenty of time to peruse for sale ads on Kijiji (the Canadian version of Craigslist) mostly for cars, houses and boats that I can’t afford. Then one day this past March, while surfing aimlessly, I stumbled across an ad for a used Sunfish. I went to look at it the next day, and bought it without my normal due diligence for buying used equipment. But after subsequently reading several “Is this Sunfish OK to buy?” threads on this forum I’m sure I got lucky and this one is going to be good.

Since I have no knowledge of sailing, I had to wait until the water temperature was warm enough to avoid hypothermia. This past weekend I gave it a try and it was awesome! Light winds were perfect for a novice. I took a cell phone just in case I would have to call my neighbor for a rescue, but I didn’t need to. I had plenty of time to read info on this website before my maiden voyage, so thanks to contributors I sailed that baby out, across and right back to the cottage. Woo Hoo!

Here are some pics:

Welcome to the addiction.

Cell phone preservation device:

https://www.amazon.com/Plano-3440-10-Waterproof-Stowaway-3400/dp/B00469G31G

Thanks for tip, it is appreciated! I have been blessed as an extreme tightwad, so I used this. Only 5 cents each:

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congrats and welcome to sailing
the sunfish you got is beautiful and looks in great shape.

jaas75 said:

congrats and welcome to sailing
the sunfish you got is beautiful and looks in great shape.

Click to expand...

I agree but the flag can be reduced in size, and stitched or glued to the peak of the sail.

I'd also suggest using a standard Sunfish mast instead.

welcome! that is a beautiful boat - you are very lucky to have stumbled on that as your first one!

Thanks!

Took the Sunfish out for the second time yesterday in light wind and was able to tack into the wind about 2 miles along the shore. Being a total rookie, I took all advice I could read on this forum. The best tip so far was on how to switch direction - let the sail out, and make an "S" turn, pull the sail in to help control the cross over, switch hands between rope and rudder behind the back.

While out there it actually crossed my mind for an instant that I can't venture too far from home in such a small boat because it doesn't hold much fuel (my mind needs to be re-conditioned). Returning with the breeze felt slow but it didn't take nearly as long to return than it did to get out. Just getting acclimatized to new unfamiliar sensations.

Had a great time and I feel confident that I am ready to give it a go with a little more wind, hopefully next weekend.

Happy Independence Day to my neighbors to the south!

All right!! I like large flags especially today in tbe USA

Engine or not, it is a good idea for a newbee sailor to stay close to shore. And watch the sky/weather.

Just an update:

I've now had the Sunfish out about a dozen times and WOW it's a lot of fun. It's currently my favorite item in the toy box. Yesterday afternoon the wind kicked on Lake Huron and I had her goin' real good. I even had to hook into the foot strap so I could get more of my 205 pounds over high side edge. Approximately every 10th wave would easily overcome the top of the coaming. The auto bailer works great, when at speed I could hear it make a sucking sound.

A tip I got on this forum that worked well was to tie the loose and of the halyard back over the gooseneck in order to keep the sail tied down tight.

I was able to take my adult daughter for a ride on Saturday morning when the wind was still fairly light. Cockpit room is rather tight for 4 legs so she sat on the deck with one foot dragging in the water.

Still haven't been able to sell the wife on giving it a try...

Running with the wind feels slow because you are feeling reduced wind speed.
Wind speed over earth - boat speed = perceived wind. (if running directly with the wind)

Tacking into the wind at 45 deg you are feeling appx: wind speed + (sqrt) boat speed
(don't want to do all of the math)

Result is... you might feel more than 3 times the wind in your face in a tack as the wind you feel on your back in a run.

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Sunfish is a bit small for some people to feel secure, even though the things are extremely difficult to sink without grinding them up.

You might have better luck getting "she who must be obeyed" ( ) on a larger sailboat.

That is a beautiful boat.

Running with the wind makes the "real-feel" temperature feel hot.

'Makes me want to "run" home for a cool one!

Very Nice sailboat.
The greatest thing that ever happened in my life beyond birth itself was buying a new Sunfish in 1976 for $795.
I was amazed that after my first summer of going out every Saturday for 5 or 6 hours that there were terms usually from England that described every aspect of sailing and there was actually a name for everything that speaks a new language. I knew what happens in an accidental gybe and I was relieved that it had a name.
There is nothing like sailing a Sunfish in a 10 to 15 mph breeze.
The more you go out sailing in various conditions you will become very comfortable with how it performs and you will get a knowledge base built up about the little things you can do to make it perform better and go faster. I sail in a small lake thats only 3 miles in length and it looks like you are on the ocean.
As much as used to go sailing on my Sunfish from 1976 until about 1992 or so I tell people that if I lived on the ocean I would have disappeared long ago.
I mean lost at sea.
I have a fear of the ocean.
Most men do not admit they have a fear of the ocean.
I think that anyone who says they have no fear of the ocean simply does not fully comprehend what an ocean is.
I saw in some movie or television show an image of two British children playing atop a cliff quite a distance from the cliff edge.
Do you know what the worse thing in the world is the little boy ask the little girl (his sister, presumably)
No she said what's the worse thing in the world?
He said slowly like he was imagining how bad it would be, "to be caught at sea in a storm".....
Another incident I read about a true story in Sail magazine described two guys on a Saturday who left their port in North Carolina in fair weather and got distracted by the wonder and magic of a 10 to 15mph breeze and they sailed too far out without knowing they were doing so.
The tides in that area are such that it was not possible for them to come back into port while the tide was going out so they had to spend the night at sea in order to be able to sail back in the next morning. when a favorable tide would allow them to return.
It had something to do with cold beer and peanut butter crackers they said.
I guess this was before cell phones were common and they were able to make it back and nobody called the Coast Guard but it was a strain on their wives who wondered why they did not return from their afternoon sail.
I wish you the best and I hope you have great respect for the ocean.
Maybe you could take the Sunfish to a smaller body of water like a bay or inland lake that offered some shelter when the winds are stonger...
You have a beautiful sailboat.
Study what an accidental gybe is in sailing theory as opposed to a controlled gybe and always pay attention to loading the sail out on the starboard or port side when you sail downwind.
You will learn how to avoid the accidental gybe by doing a few which is probably necessary no mater how much you are told or read about them.
It requires a feel for the attitude of the sailboat in the water and the degree of heel and the effect of passing waves when you are sailing downwind to get to know what is likely to cause an accidental gybe and what you need to continuously do to maintain an attitude that prevents one from happening.
Only by sailing can you really gain this feeling but studying it beforehand and eventually thinking about it while you are out there you will gradually gain the experience and confidence to master the art and skill of being able to avoid thw unwanted accidental gybe.
The beauty of the Sunfish is that an 8 year old child who weighs just 60 lbs. can self resuce from a knock down or even a full turtle capsize by following the simple instructions.
You may want to practice recovery and self rescue from a knock down and even a full turtled capsize. Best to do where the depth of the water allows the upper boom to not make contact with the bottom.
By going out and practicing this you will feel more comfortable dealing with it when it happens.
The ocean sure looks beautiful and inviting. Also, later on you can get a wetsuit and you can go sailing after the water gets uncomfotrably cool.

Thanks for contribution Edmund Dyer.

Lake Huron does indeed do an excellent impersonation of an ocean. Same location as pics in post #1 above, lake looked like this on Sunday:



I grew up at that location and I have a profound respect for the dangers of the water. The water will bait it's victim with it's beauty and serenity, and can quickly turn into a vicious beast if the warning signs are missed or ignored.

Back to sailing... I am only a beginner, but I am definitely acquiring a "feel" for it. The difficultly so far has been to get the sailboat moving upwind. Gliding back home with the wind is the easy part. This past Saturday, while running with the wind, I did have the sail swing around quickly and knock my hat and sunglasses off. I was quite taken by surprise because I really didn't expect this to happen, much less knew it has a name - the "accidental gybe". Thanks so much for the warning, I will read up on how to avoid this.

Another update:

This sailing thing is really doing it for me. The past labor day weekend was the most beautiful of the summer. On Saturday, winds were very light and I got the wife to sit on the Sunfish so we just fluttered around for 20 minutes. She liked it and was especially amazed at how close you sit to the water in a Sunfish. Hopefully she can try it again when the conditions provide a slightly higher level of excitement.

But today was my best outing to date. Wind was south at 14 knots. I zig-zagged into it for about 2 hours. I made it to a popular landing in the picture below. On the way back, I let the sail out all the way, lifted the center board about 12" and sat myself on the floor with my feet up crossed on the deck. As the crow flies the round trip was 7 nautical miles, not sure how much water I covered but it must have been twice that distance.

And now I don't feel like a rookie anymore, so I promoted myself to novice.

excellent - and great picture! I've only convinced my wife to sail with me 2 or 3 times... but one of those days was probably my best sail ever: strong winds on the beautiful Crystal Lake in northern Michigan. I think I figured after the sail we had sailed maybe 5+ miles across the lake and back (with zig-zagging, etc adding to the distance).

cheers,
tag (my2fish)

"And the boats kept getting bigger and bigger. . .!"

tag: Thanks for video.

With a little more wind this weekend, I talked the bride into another sailboat ride. Immediately after departure, she didn't like the way it was leaning to one side, was nervous about falling out and demanded to be returned to dry land. So she propped up an umbrella on the beach and read the paper while I set sail solo.