mikegerard
New Member
Hi-
I'm a complete newbie.
My son got some time in a sunfish this summer at the local YMCA camp and really really wanted to take me out sailing with him. So we rented a sunfish from a local shop at the bottom of the bay near our house and headed out. He set up everything by himself (he's 9) and we headed out on the water. We quickly got stuck and then paddled around like crazy (getting nowhere) for what seemed like 20 minutes. Then my paddle hit the bottom...it was like 2 feet deep! We later learned that the first mile of the bay is less than 6 feet deep.
We pulled up the centerboard about halfway and tacked about a dozen times trying to get away from the dock. Finally we were able to drop the centerboard and really sail. We had a blast!
My question is how would an experience sailor get out of a very shallow area with the wind pushing them onshore? I think that if we pulled the centerboard out entirely we would get pushed onto the shore when we tacked. How much are we slipping sideways with the centerboard only halfway in?
Thanks,
Mike
I'm a complete newbie.
My son got some time in a sunfish this summer at the local YMCA camp and really really wanted to take me out sailing with him. So we rented a sunfish from a local shop at the bottom of the bay near our house and headed out. He set up everything by himself (he's 9) and we headed out on the water. We quickly got stuck and then paddled around like crazy (getting nowhere) for what seemed like 20 minutes. Then my paddle hit the bottom...it was like 2 feet deep! We later learned that the first mile of the bay is less than 6 feet deep.
We pulled up the centerboard about halfway and tacked about a dozen times trying to get away from the dock. Finally we were able to drop the centerboard and really sail. We had a blast!
My question is how would an experience sailor get out of a very shallow area with the wind pushing them onshore? I think that if we pulled the centerboard out entirely we would get pushed onto the shore when we tacked. How much are we slipping sideways with the centerboard only halfway in?
Thanks,
Mike