First time out alone

cnovark

cnovark

Member
...was not a success :). I was doing really well for about a minute and then it just sort of...stopped. I put the sail on the wrong side of the mast (why does that matter?). I didn't realize it until I was out and thought "did I put the sail on the wrong side?" Also I think the water might have been too shallow (about low chest height, and I'm 5'2). I pretty much stopped moving and then capsized twice. I felt like the boat only wanted to go one way. The first time I capsized the mast sank into the mud and it took me forever to figure out how to right it. The next time I was in slightly deeper water I guess and I was able to get it up from getting up on the dagger board and turning it. The boom hit me on the head pretty good the second time so I just sort of gave up. I was not far out at all, so it was ok. So I feel pretty disappointed, but it was only my third time on a sunfish and I was retarded enough to put the sail on wrong, so I'm hoping next time will be better. I'm going to a sailing class next weekend so hopefully I will be ready to hit the water again very soon.
 
cnovark said:
...was not a success :)..
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Sure it was. Fact is you did fine and some folks actually got bloody on their first outting. One fella in a proa had it capsize with the outrigger splitting him across the forehead with a bloody mess as youd imagine. He was towed to sure by a good samaritan. He learned and moved on and sails terrificaly and with no more gashes.

Just advice, like altitude to an airplane, depth is your friend . You dont want to pots around in four feet of water or less for too long as obstructions are a hazard and you saw what it did t your mast tip. Not to say that the shallows arent a blast, but especially now, give yourself a little more daggerboard room and space for the accidental capsize.

An intereesting fact. Did you know that your boat sails slower over shallow water? You are moving perceptably faster in fifteen feet of water over 2 feet of water. The physics of the matter is that its easier to move a lot of water a little than a little water a lot. In a kayak if you r sensitive to it and the water is dead still, you may notice your craft actually slightly veering from a sandbar or shallow shoal to deeper water. A sunfish cant do it, but like the kayak if it could sail with 4" of draft youd notice noticale drag in 10" of water. Such is physics.

Pete
 
One suggestion is to go out when other, better sailors are out. Try to imitate what they do and you should start to feel how the boat should move on the water.
 
This is a great post. If anything, it make myself and my lack of Sunfish Sailing skills, not seem so bad.

Don't get discouraged, some day, when you win your first race, you'll look back on your "first time out" and laugh.
 
On my second lesson, I mastered sailing in circles ... of course, I was trying to tack and basically would overdo it. :oops: It was especially bruising, because in the first lesson I did pretty well, so everyone else was asking me "What happened?!" like I had come down with a fever or something. Then I would be too cautious about tacking and put myself in irons while everyone else was toodling back and forth between buoys.

Then there was the first non-lesson day where I sailed backwards into the dock and couldn't shake free of it ... That's where I learned to respect the wind a bit more. :rolleyes:

You're in good company here! And anyone who claims not to have made a big or silly mistake is lying ...
 
Not much to add to ths except you do need to aware of the depth of the water. If the daggerboard hits bottom and the boat stops, if you're not quick to release the main sheet, the wind can knock you down.
As a side story, I learned to sail at a young age on a man made lake. There was the occaisional submerged stump that could not be seen if there was any chop. So, picture a small (1 x 1 1/2 mile) lake with wind strong enough to create whitecaps (roughly 20mph), sail dead downwind, and have the daggerboard hit a stump and stop the boat abruptly. Needless to say, I was thrown from the boat, split the daggerboard, but didn't do any major damage to the boat (a Scorpion). That was long enough ago that my father took me to a woodworking shop so we could have a new board made. Still sailing after all these years.
 
went to sail for the 1st time since college ( sailing for a gym class HEAVEN) at a resort in Jamaica. get out fine, sail about a while really enjoying it for a while. Decide it's time to bring it back in tack,tack- thunk- hit the reef. out to open water try again & again & again now I'm getting well, upset . I tell the guy on the glass btm boat tow me in, I get up to get in the other boat & magically go flying tail over tea kettle into the water. I rise up to the sound of laughter coming from a boat full of snorkelers. I had to laugh too. So, at least your antics were private.
 
You really should at least read a book on sailing before trying it alone. As you can see, everybody has had this kind of episode. Don't be discouraged from having the good times to come.

Fred
 
There's a good book out there called Sailing is a Breeze that I borrowed from the library. They even have a chapter featuring the Sunfish. It has some good diagrams, especially for sailing in different winds, as well as how to get out of sticky situations. It might not be in print anymore, but if you can get it used or through interlibrary loan, I think you'll like it.

Also, we have two sailing booklets from our lessons and I'd be happy to send you one, if you like. It's basically a shortened version of Sailing is a Breeze and published by the U.S. sailing school.
 
Hmm, first day you wear a bikini? :rolleyes: But it does add that it's better to have a wetsuit than a swimsuit ... I guess the bikini is just to keep the reader's attention.

Update: Sent it to my husband, who replied: "She's pretty hot, thanks!" :rolleyes: It does a good job explaining stuff, tho.
 
emilikins said:
Hmm, first day you wear a bikini? :rolleyes: But it does add that it's better to have a wetsuit than a swimsuit ... I guess the bikini is just to keep the reader's attention.
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Quite frankly, I never wear a bikini. ;)

If I'm sailing in the middle of the summer in a warm lake, I'm usually just in a swimsuit, with maybe a rashguard with SPF. When it's later in the year, and/or I'm sailing in the northern part of Lake Michigan where the water is always on the cooler side - I'll almost always wear my shorty wetsuit.
 
Hello out there,

I have a scorpion made in Perry Florida. Any idea what years that may have been? Also, everyone says on here that the sunfish sail is the same a Scorpion sail. I was told years ago that the Scorpion was about 10 sq/ft larger. Any truth to that?

Thanks,
Jon Sutton
Tucson, AZ
 
jon sutton said:
Hello out there,

I have a scorpion made in Perry Florida. Any idea what years that may have been? Also, everyone says on here that the sunfish sail is the same a Scorpion sail. I was told years ago that the Scorpion was about 10 sq/ft larger. Any truth to that?

Thanks,
Jon Sutton
Tucson, AZ
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Hi Jon
Welcome, I know the Scorpion mast was a foot longer, but same diameter as Sunfish. Not sure about the rest.

You might want to start a new thread on this so it gets better attention.

Farr winds!

Kent
 
jon sutton said:
Hello out there,

I have a scorpion made in Perry Florida. Any idea what years that may have been? Also, everyone says on here that the sunfish sail is the same a Scorpion sail. I was told years ago that the Scorpion was about 10 sq/ft larger. Any truth to that?

Thanks,
Jon Sutton
Tucson, AZ
Click to expand...
Jon,
There is a Scorpion Sailboats Group on Yahoo (similar to the Sunfish one) - you might join that group, and search their old files or ask more specific questions there.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scorpionsailboats/
Cheers,
tag
 
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