Encouraged by insomnia and a comment made by my sister-in-law (and friend) I embark on the reality of "sailing" viewed through the eyes of a "prairie town girl" lured to the sea by an adventurous spouse. Mary Ellen (after listening to my sailing stories) thinks my recollections are a lot like a comedy routine. I just chalk these experiences up to the realities of my life!
Those of you who know me are aware that I am a willing yet limited supporter of my spouse's adventures. By limited I mean....not really the kind of physique that rock climbs...however I may make an adequate hiker if given a lot of time and patience. Well the same applies to crewing on a sailboat. At hiking, I have a fair chance of impressing, just by determination and stamina. I won't be the first to the summit, but given time, you will see me huffing and puffing my way there.....and I will arrive. And given an emergency....it is possible that I may find my way back to my beginnings....,Sailing isn't quite like that! I first need to get comfortable with a GPS, a chart, and a "man overboard line". Lyle laughs (nervously) when I comment that if he goes overboard, I will run the boat aground, because that is the only place I am sure of myself. (He laughs nervously because he knows that there is some truth in this statement.....he of course is tallying the rebuild of the massive hole in the hull...I however am always thinking....."if things don't work out here.....can I swim that distance to shore"....(I am a strong swimmer....not a strong boater!)
About Crewing:
After numerous outings aboard Aleydabeth I have learned that the job of "crew" is very much like that of a supportive wife......respond quickly to the directions of the skipper. It has never been my forte to "think on my feet". I have long been envious of this trait in my spouse and my children! How great it would be to not read back the lines in my head (long after the moment has passed or the impact of the incident lost!) Alas that is not Lark's lot in life.
Anchoring and docking are the biggest challenges to the team on a sailboat (and the team in a marriage!) Cautious and slow thinking by nature I am planning at least an hour ahead of the end of any given day aboard Aleydabeth. I get comfortable in the simple routines tha tI learn along the way.
It seems appropriate that if we are docking at a marina, we look up the phone number in any of the numerous guides available to us aboard and "make the call" or alternatively use our VHF radio and politely ask...."do you have space for us on the dock....and most importantly....is it a port tie or a starboard tie? " I was really glomming on to this concept....however at a number of destinations I would politely comment...."Should I call the marina?" Apparently this is not appropriate at all marinas. I have not figured out why....but learn I shall. So, in many instances I am bewildered to say the least, as we round the point of a breakwater wondering if there is indeed a little stall that we can slip into. (pardon that pun!)
Lyle has mastered the maneuvering of the sailboat (not an easy task I am sure, as he is determined to swing around in the inner harbour and dock in reverse ensuring a safe and hasty exit the following day). Lots of "old"salts" have mentioned how well he comes about and finds his place. This however is my 15 minutes of "panic." As we approach harbour I am besieged with second guessing.......my job is:
Get the fenders out and secure them on the appropriate side (not known until rounding the breakwater if not forewarned!) Now I have a limited time to secure them........"hanging over the side I am trying to determine how deep they should be secured" ....YES!.... below the white line on the hull.....(alas I have docked once where the fenders were secured so low that they had little or no value). I once asked if I could put a magic marker dot on the deck to indicate the location of the three fenders.....(when panicked it is not easy to remember if you are at midships or at the bow!) Now I am faced with the challenge of: the KNOT...how secure (how do you tie a reef , a bowline, (not at all pronounced as it is spelled)...oh that's it a hitch!...or a double hitch? and I carefully try to review in my mind.....do I go under this line or over that...or around this.......all this as we have long crashed into the dock and the fenders have been rendered useless.....) I was first taught that you MUST go underneath all the stainless and ropes (another dimension when in a hurry)....I later learned that if the dock is not PERMANENT such things are not as important. Who knew?
Secure the lines! I have learned that there are three important ropes.....the bowline....the stern line and the spring lines (usually 2) that are secured at the middle of the boat (midships.....aren't you impressed!) It is variable which line is important.......(I think if I have the spring line in my hand and secured on thecleat it will definitely be the bowline or the stern line) .... oh and don't forget that you have to secure the line on the cleat then throw the line UNDER the lifelines....otherwise it is a terrible confusing and time consuming mess! And all this if you have managed to find the lines in the cockpit locker, and (god forbid!) undo them and get them placed on their appropriate cleats! My clue now is blue for center and white for front and bungee cord and white for stern......(when retrieving these lines and stowing them to the locker there is a tieing ritual that I am just now starting to master........if all the lines are tied the same....it is easy to get them ready....) I think that it would be a great idea to have lines attache d to all bow and stern stations - right and left and JUST LEAVE THEM THERE! All this stowing stuff was created to keep seamen busy over long months at sea. God know that there are already enough lines to trip and fall over anyhow.....three won't make that much difference!
I find myself saying a silent prayer for those wonderful heaven sent beings who actually appear on the dock to help you.....(is there anything else to do while docked?) I am coining phrases like "Can I throw you a line???-----(meaning: please don't make me jump off this moving vessel!) Otherwise I have to make that leap of faith on to a rocking rolling wooden dock and get any line fastened all to the encouraging remarks of the skipper who is saying "Take a wrap!!!!!) even before I have comfortably ascertained that both knees and ankles are still functioning as they should be.
Fending Off! An important and confusing task whenever you are in close quarters with a dock, or another boat or a building ......and of course....where are those damn boat hooks? Aboard Aleydabeth there are two boat hooks, lying on the left and right sides of the vessel (makes sense)....at least that is where they are when you don't really need them. However if they are really important they are elsewhere. And...they telescope ( a male thing I think)....I have confidently thrust my boat hook out to fend off obstacles only to find that they collapse. By the time I figure out how to fasten the hook down the obstacle is long since gone, and I have had to lean well over the edge and use any available body part to keep from crashing. (again to the encouraging remarks from the cockpit....fend off....go to midships.....watch the bowsprint!) I have a visual picture of this little fat woman in a bright jacket running around the deck with a boat hook that gets caught in the rigging, and stuck in webbing as I rush from left to right trying to decide the best place to be. Not to mention tripping over ropes and webbing and slipping and sliding across cabin tops, ducking to avoid the helter skelter lines that are a sailboat.
After the "leap to dock" there is the securing of the lines to the satisfaction of the skipper...tighten this one....loosen this one off....and finally we are done......"Let's go for a beer!"
Anchoring (my other nemesis!) Once we have chosen an anchorage and read about all the good and bad places and locations of rocks and obstacles.....we cautiously enter harbour....motoring slowly to our destination. You can cut the air with a knife......everyone's antannae are on alert.....and no one wants to make mistakes. (Fellow boaters may take note of inexperience!) In my short career I have fed the available chain and rope over the bow with an unlocked clutch and no idea how to stop it.....we have grabbed a fellow boaters anchor and sucked ourselves alongside him......while he patiently put out every fender he owned to avoid damage....and I have driven the winch handle into the dinghy which was secured on the deck and was unable to release it. And I glance back at the skipper who must be thinking.....why me?
Stern Tieing the boat: If we have been lucky enough to get the anchor down and it has bitten (please, please please....) then comes the daunting task of getting a line off of the rear of the boat to shore. This means getting the dinghy off the deck, into the water, Lyle into the dinghy me rolling off stern line that is firmly fastened in Lyle's mouth and Lark trying to forward and reverse Aleydabeth to a suitable position between anchor and stern tie. I have almaot lost two fingers doing this task......there was no way I was letting go of that rope! There is always the anticipation of whether the end of the rope is fastened to the reel......one has to be a quick thinker if it is not....and it is variable! I am always amazed at how many ropes there are.....where do they all go? and for what purpose. Following the rope from the dinghy through the winch and those black sort of locks (don't know what they are called) usually takes me about 20 seconds. I always feel victorious when I find the right one. It doesn't help that all the ropes on Aleydabeth are varying shades of white with green!
I know I won't be getting any calls to crew on sailboats anytime soon! Gosh I haven't graduated to raising the sails yet....but I do know how to turn the boat into the wind. Lyle just bought a new genoa, and I think I know how to furl and unfurl it.....do you think he will let me aboard again after reading this????
Those of you who know me are aware that I am a willing yet limited supporter of my spouse's adventures. By limited I mean....not really the kind of physique that rock climbs...however I may make an adequate hiker if given a lot of time and patience. Well the same applies to crewing on a sailboat. At hiking, I have a fair chance of impressing, just by determination and stamina. I won't be the first to the summit, but given time, you will see me huffing and puffing my way there.....and I will arrive. And given an emergency....it is possible that I may find my way back to my beginnings....,Sailing isn't quite like that! I first need to get comfortable with a GPS, a chart, and a "man overboard line". Lyle laughs (nervously) when I comment that if he goes overboard, I will run the boat aground, because that is the only place I am sure of myself. (He laughs nervously because he knows that there is some truth in this statement.....he of course is tallying the rebuild of the massive hole in the hull...I however am always thinking....."if things don't work out here.....can I swim that distance to shore"....(I am a strong swimmer....not a strong boater!)
About Crewing:
After numerous outings aboard Aleydabeth I have learned that the job of "crew" is very much like that of a supportive wife......respond quickly to the directions of the skipper. It has never been my forte to "think on my feet". I have long been envious of this trait in my spouse and my children! How great it would be to not read back the lines in my head (long after the moment has passed or the impact of the incident lost!) Alas that is not Lark's lot in life.
Anchoring and docking are the biggest challenges to the team on a sailboat (and the team in a marriage!) Cautious and slow thinking by nature I am planning at least an hour ahead of the end of any given day aboard Aleydabeth. I get comfortable in the simple routines tha tI learn along the way.
It seems appropriate that if we are docking at a marina, we look up the phone number in any of the numerous guides available to us aboard and "make the call" or alternatively use our VHF radio and politely ask...."do you have space for us on the dock....and most importantly....is it a port tie or a starboard tie? " I was really glomming on to this concept....however at a number of destinations I would politely comment...."Should I call the marina?" Apparently this is not appropriate at all marinas. I have not figured out why....but learn I shall. So, in many instances I am bewildered to say the least, as we round the point of a breakwater wondering if there is indeed a little stall that we can slip into. (pardon that pun!)
Lyle has mastered the maneuvering of the sailboat (not an easy task I am sure, as he is determined to swing around in the inner harbour and dock in reverse ensuring a safe and hasty exit the following day). Lots of "old"salts" have mentioned how well he comes about and finds his place. This however is my 15 minutes of "panic." As we approach harbour I am besieged with second guessing.......my job is:
Get the fenders out and secure them on the appropriate side (not known until rounding the breakwater if not forewarned!) Now I have a limited time to secure them........"hanging over the side I am trying to determine how deep they should be secured" ....YES!.... below the white line on the hull.....(alas I have docked once where the fenders were secured so low that they had little or no value). I once asked if I could put a magic marker dot on the deck to indicate the location of the three fenders.....(when panicked it is not easy to remember if you are at midships or at the bow!) Now I am faced with the challenge of: the KNOT...how secure (how do you tie a reef , a bowline, (not at all pronounced as it is spelled)...oh that's it a hitch!...or a double hitch? and I carefully try to review in my mind.....do I go under this line or over that...or around this.......all this as we have long crashed into the dock and the fenders have been rendered useless.....) I was first taught that you MUST go underneath all the stainless and ropes (another dimension when in a hurry)....I later learned that if the dock is not PERMANENT such things are not as important. Who knew?
Secure the lines! I have learned that there are three important ropes.....the bowline....the stern line and the spring lines (usually 2) that are secured at the middle of the boat (midships.....aren't you impressed!) It is variable which line is important.......(I think if I have the spring line in my hand and secured on thecleat it will definitely be the bowline or the stern line) .... oh and don't forget that you have to secure the line on the cleat then throw the line UNDER the lifelines....otherwise it is a terrible confusing and time consuming mess! And all this if you have managed to find the lines in the cockpit locker, and (god forbid!) undo them and get them placed on their appropriate cleats! My clue now is blue for center and white for front and bungee cord and white for stern......(when retrieving these lines and stowing them to the locker there is a tieing ritual that I am just now starting to master........if all the lines are tied the same....it is easy to get them ready....) I think that it would be a great idea to have lines attache d to all bow and stern stations - right and left and JUST LEAVE THEM THERE! All this stowing stuff was created to keep seamen busy over long months at sea. God know that there are already enough lines to trip and fall over anyhow.....three won't make that much difference!
I find myself saying a silent prayer for those wonderful heaven sent beings who actually appear on the dock to help you.....(is there anything else to do while docked?) I am coining phrases like "Can I throw you a line???-----(meaning: please don't make me jump off this moving vessel!) Otherwise I have to make that leap of faith on to a rocking rolling wooden dock and get any line fastened all to the encouraging remarks of the skipper who is saying "Take a wrap!!!!!) even before I have comfortably ascertained that both knees and ankles are still functioning as they should be.
Fending Off! An important and confusing task whenever you are in close quarters with a dock, or another boat or a building ......and of course....where are those damn boat hooks? Aboard Aleydabeth there are two boat hooks, lying on the left and right sides of the vessel (makes sense)....at least that is where they are when you don't really need them. However if they are really important they are elsewhere. And...they telescope ( a male thing I think)....I have confidently thrust my boat hook out to fend off obstacles only to find that they collapse. By the time I figure out how to fasten the hook down the obstacle is long since gone, and I have had to lean well over the edge and use any available body part to keep from crashing. (again to the encouraging remarks from the cockpit....fend off....go to midships.....watch the bowsprint!) I have a visual picture of this little fat woman in a bright jacket running around the deck with a boat hook that gets caught in the rigging, and stuck in webbing as I rush from left to right trying to decide the best place to be. Not to mention tripping over ropes and webbing and slipping and sliding across cabin tops, ducking to avoid the helter skelter lines that are a sailboat.
After the "leap to dock" there is the securing of the lines to the satisfaction of the skipper...tighten this one....loosen this one off....and finally we are done......"Let's go for a beer!"
Anchoring (my other nemesis!) Once we have chosen an anchorage and read about all the good and bad places and locations of rocks and obstacles.....we cautiously enter harbour....motoring slowly to our destination. You can cut the air with a knife......everyone's antannae are on alert.....and no one wants to make mistakes. (Fellow boaters may take note of inexperience!) In my short career I have fed the available chain and rope over the bow with an unlocked clutch and no idea how to stop it.....we have grabbed a fellow boaters anchor and sucked ourselves alongside him......while he patiently put out every fender he owned to avoid damage....and I have driven the winch handle into the dinghy which was secured on the deck and was unable to release it. And I glance back at the skipper who must be thinking.....why me?
Stern Tieing the boat: If we have been lucky enough to get the anchor down and it has bitten (please, please please....) then comes the daunting task of getting a line off of the rear of the boat to shore. This means getting the dinghy off the deck, into the water, Lyle into the dinghy me rolling off stern line that is firmly fastened in Lyle's mouth and Lark trying to forward and reverse Aleydabeth to a suitable position between anchor and stern tie. I have almaot lost two fingers doing this task......there was no way I was letting go of that rope! There is always the anticipation of whether the end of the rope is fastened to the reel......one has to be a quick thinker if it is not....and it is variable! I am always amazed at how many ropes there are.....where do they all go? and for what purpose. Following the rope from the dinghy through the winch and those black sort of locks (don't know what they are called) usually takes me about 20 seconds. I always feel victorious when I find the right one. It doesn't help that all the ropes on Aleydabeth are varying shades of white with green!
I know I won't be getting any calls to crew on sailboats anytime soon! Gosh I haven't graduated to raising the sails yet....but I do know how to turn the boat into the wind. Lyle just bought a new genoa, and I think I know how to furl and unfurl it.....do you think he will let me aboard again after reading this????