If I don't go through the gap, I'm going to be stuck in this little section of the lake where I'll be relegated to just doing donuts. Where's the fun in that?
Agree. A mile long body of water is a lot of room in a Sunfish. I can assure you on your second sail it’s going to take you a minimum of 30 minutes to go a mile upwind in a good breeze. Honestly I’d encourage you to go downwind just a bit as you have to be sure you can get back upwind. Plus reaching back and forth will be more fun and it doesn’t matter what part of the lake you will be on to reach.Looks like about a mile in that part of the lake. With the wind from the N/NW you’ll have plenty of room sailing and practicing your skills. Since this is your second sailing adventure, stay away from the jetty/dam rocks. For sure you’ll need to take on the gap eventually, but save it for another day.
Sometimes, while raising the sail, the gooseneck drags/locks on the mast. Repositioning it on the boom so it points (tilts) upwards a bit will reduce or eliminate that difficulty.It'll be interesting to see how I do at raising and lowering the sails while under way. I'm up for the challenge!
I just looked at a map of your area. If you are concerned about the causeway, have you considered going to Skaneatles or Cazenovia Lake? They both are nice bodies Of water without a causeway cutting them in two.
Windy day yesterday, and lost my paddle overboard before getting in!I'll admit I don't have to paddle far, but I use a short-handled one which stows easy in the cubby. I leave the board and rudder down and steer with the rudder. Furl the sail with a couple of ties so it doesn't flop in the water and make sure it doesn't interfere with the tiller. I sit with my feet in the cockpit, usually paddle with my right hand/arm and steer with my left. Never could grasp the canoe/paddle idea. My way the "fish is always under control.
I agree with signal charlie. The one note I would add is that I lean with my back (butt?) against the tiller to keep the rudder aligned while I paddle. For shorter jaunts, I use a hand paddle with one hand and control the tiller with the other. The only time I paddle with the sail down is if I am heading directly into a headwind that is strong enough to prevent forward motion even with a luffing sail.We leave the daggerboard and rudder down so we can steer, and let the sail luff for short jaunts like that. Small paddle. Once through the gap all you do is fall off a bit and sheet in, go sailing.
Folks, while short on sailing's technicalities, this is maybe the "BEST-OF" Sunfish videos going!
There is far less annoying "face-time", the editings are short, funny, and appropriate. The music, ending with peaceful acoustic guitar chords we can only imagine--while quietly scudding along--is superb!
As the venture begins, however, the music transports us to an era when Western Civilization is preserved by a "Winged-Hussars" calvary charge by the Polish king, Jan Sobieski, at the Gates of Vienna.
The day is saved!
My only criticism is the narrator's Valley-Girl inflections of the English language!
There really is a "T" in the word, "certain".
Hilarious editing, the forehead-slapping number was appropriate, lol. Some tyro mistakes, and I see swimming in your near future, but the lake looks nice! Don't ditch the hat, just swap it for a ballcap... you're gonna want that bill over your eyes to prevent a glare headache, believe me. Every pro skipper I ever met (sailing, sportfishing, etc.) wore a hat or cap of some sort, and you'll want to do the same. Later, when you're more proficient, you can experiment with the wide-brimmed hat again... don't forget sunscreen on the neck with the ballcap, otherwise you'll be a redneck for sure!
Very funny video, keep up the good work!!! AIR may have some competition in the future, lol. I probably would've chosen different soundtracks, but I'm an old rogue dinosaur raised on The Ventures, Johnny Cash, The Mighty Zep, Pink Floyd, Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, et al. I DID like the acoustic guitar segment, looked like ya had a handle on the sailing at that point. Hopefully your tacking speed improves, and I'm sure it will, but that one tack took FOREVER, lol... still, you're doing a fine job for your second voyage. Have you read any books or web material on basic sailing? Those with diagrams on maneuvering? Diagrams are good...
Oh, yeah, about those wind shifts: you'll wanna be ready for those at any time, or your chances of swimming will increase. You'll learn soon enough about headers & lifts, some wind shifts are actually favorable and can help you point higher. Why NOT take advantage of them? Most wind shifts only span a few degrees on the compass, but some are more drastic, especially when surrounding landforms come into play... tall structures on shore as well, though they usually only create a "wind shadow" which will rob your sail of wind. Tall-rigged sailboats passing to windward have the same effect, you'll learn to lean inboard when ya hit those rolling wind blocks, lol.
Weirdest wind shift I ever experienced was a 180-degree shift on the Salton Sea, but that was more prolonged... the 20+ knot wind quickly died down and shifted from NNE to SSW over a period of 15 to 20 minutes, then built back up to around 10 knots, making the formerly-exciting voyage a mere pleasure cruise, lol. Meh, made it easier to drink beer without spillage... and odd things happen in the desert, where weather can be quite dynamic. The Salton occasionally sees what locals call "wind events"---where winds gust to 100 m.p.h. as measured by meteorologists. Believe me, you do NOT wanna be sailing your Sunfish when those wind events occur, lol.
Edit: Let me give you a little tip... whenever you're sailing close-hauled on a lake (or any other body of water with land on the horizon), choose a temporary mark on shore to guide you. A building, a tall tree, a smokestack or tower, something that stands out and is readily noted at a glance. Use that temporary mark to hold your course, and also to determine if the wind has shifted. Sometimes a novice may not realize that the wind has shifted in his or her favor, but that realization will come in due time with enough experience. Once you've tacked, choose another mark to guide you on the next leg of your voyage. Makes things easier in the long run, and of course you can also use such marks on other points of sail. Cheers!!!
ROYCE'S SAILING ILLUSTRATED has always been the small craft sailor's bible, but it contains heaps of information which is NOT relevant for someone just starting out... it'll actually confuse a novice sailor with TOO MUCH information.
See if you can find and order a copy of the ARC (American Red Cross) book BASIC SAILING, that little book has been around for over half a century and it has some nice diagrams which are easy to read and understand. The USCG used to distribute that book back in the day, dunno if they still do, but you can probably find a copy online for a few bucks... maybe someone even posted the contents, that's on you to discover.
Such a book would really help you grasp the essentials when it comes to safely maneuvering... we used it in the '70s during our sail training courses at SDNSC, it was great for classroom instruction. I highly recommend this book to you and all other novice sailors just getting started... it makes for easy reading and the diagrams are excellent! I'm no shill for the publisher either, lol, but marine safety is my TOP PRIORITY whenever I'm on the water.
Great video Guybrush3pwood. A little bit creepy that Will Smith would be spying on you like that (You'd think he has better things to do.) It looks like you have a ratchet block mounted to the lip of the cubby for the mainsheet. Is that right? I agree with you, the Sunfish can be a real blast. What camera equipment do you use and how is it mounted? Would love to see more videos.Here's the video. Sorry it took so long. Hope you guys enjoy.
An alternative is to tape a stiff zip tie to the end of the upper boom and attach the cassette tape there. I find that there is a lot of turbulence close to the boat giving misleading wind indications (though it is easier to look at a wind indicator on the lower boom than craning your neck back to see a wind indicator mounted on the outer end of the upper boom).Looks good. Get a piece of cassette tape and tie it to a clip on the lower boom in front of the pulley. Simple wind indicator. Get a shock cord from one side of the boat to the other behind the center board. It will help hold the board in the trunk if you tip over.
I very much enjoyed this video. Beautiful day, beautiful boat and beautiful setting. One thing to be careful of is when your daggerboard is up and extends above the lower boom, you need to keep a good eye on it. If the wind shifts, it can run the boom/sail into the top of the daggerboard, stop the sail and over you go. Had that happen a couple of times. I really liked watching this and may have to figure out how to post videos. I have some really nice footage of sailing my Oldfish in Wisconsin last summer.
Looks good. Get a piece of cassette tape and tie it to a clip on the lower boom in front of the pulley. Simple wind indicator. Get a shock cord from one side of the boat to the other behind the center board. It will help hold the board in the trunk if you tip over.
Great video Guybrush3pwood. A little bit creepy that Will Smith would be spying on you like that (You'd think he has better things to do.) It looks like you have a ratchet block mounted to the lip of the cubby for the mainsheet. Is that right? I agree with you, the Sunfish can be a real blast. What camera equipment do you use and how is it mounted? Would love to see more videos.
An alternative is to tape a stiff zip tie to the end of the upper boom and attach the cassette tape there. I find that there is a lot of turbulence close to the boat giving misleading wind indications (though it is easier to look at a wind indicator on the lower boom than craning your neck back to see a wind indicator mounted on the outer end of the upper boom).
Nice video and nice sailing! The no-go/no-sail zone is always about 90 degrees wide - 45 degrees on either side of the wind. It may have seemed wider as at least in the beginning your sail looked like it wasn’t sheeted in enough to truly be going upwind at 45 degrees to the wind.
A big congrats on such great improvement!
I really enjoyed this film. Good effort!