Sailing #2
Today was our second sailing class. It was actually the third class, but we missed last week to go to my reunion. Last week was all about 'points of sail', so we missed some of the actually sailing practice. Today we started off talking about navigation. Basic navigation seems pretty simple if you remember some basic geometry. We had a different instructor than last time, this time we had an old Australian sailor named Paul. He was a bit a gruff, a sort of 'no-nonsense' type.
After lunch we took the boat out though we only got as far as the end of the channel out of the harbor. There was a gale warning today and even in the harbor we were getting winds up to 30 knots. Combine that with the fact that Marina Del Rey is famous for it's incompetent amateur sailors and they were out in force and it made for some exciting sailing even just tacking up the channel. We saw a number of sailboats that had destroyed their mainsails and one that went totally out of control. They did an uncontrolled jib and the weight of the boom caused the boat to spin out. Our instructor saw that coming and had us stay well clear of the boat. He had little patience for inexperienced boaters and to be honest, today was not for them to be out. There were a lot of boats being towed in and a couple that capsized.
It was good practice for right away issues, trying to navigate a crowded channel in relatively heavy winds. Both Theresa and I had a great time. We also learned to tie some knots. I was never in the boy scouts so my knot tie-ing skills are pretty pathetic.
Next week we'll be plotting a course and sailing from Marina Del Rey to Redondo Beach to practice anchoring. Should be fun.
This weekend I also fixed the sprinkler system in the front yard. Either the previous owner or the renters that had lived here for a year had broken most of the sprinkler heads off and just left it that way. Several layers of grass had formed over them so I had to turn them on and look for the pickets of water that formed underground. Once I replaced all of the heads, everything worked fine, so we should be able to keep our front yard looking better. Previously I'd been using a rotary sprinkler that ran off the hose. It doesn't cover the yard evenly so I've been ending up with a big bullseye of live grass.
After lunch we took the boat out though we only got as far as the end of the channel out of the harbor. There was a gale warning today and even in the harbor we were getting winds up to 30 knots. Combine that with the fact that Marina Del Rey is famous for it's incompetent amateur sailors and they were out in force and it made for some exciting sailing even just tacking up the channel. We saw a number of sailboats that had destroyed their mainsails and one that went totally out of control. They did an uncontrolled jib and the weight of the boom caused the boat to spin out. Our instructor saw that coming and had us stay well clear of the boat. He had little patience for inexperienced boaters and to be honest, today was not for them to be out. There were a lot of boats being towed in and a couple that capsized.
It was good practice for right away issues, trying to navigate a crowded channel in relatively heavy winds. Both Theresa and I had a great time. We also learned to tie some knots. I was never in the boy scouts so my knot tie-ing skills are pretty pathetic.
Next week we'll be plotting a course and sailing from Marina Del Rey to Redondo Beach to practice anchoring. Should be fun.
This weekend I also fixed the sprinkler system in the front yard. Either the previous owner or the renters that had lived here for a year had broken most of the sprinkler heads off and just left it that way. Several layers of grass had formed over them so I had to turn them on and look for the pickets of water that formed underground. Once I replaced all of the heads, everything worked fine, so we should be able to keep our front yard looking better. Previously I'd been using a rotary sprinkler that ran off the hose. It doesn't cover the yard evenly so I've been ending up with a big bullseye of live grass.