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Improve Your Cruising Skills — Go Racing It was a dark and stormy night. We were somewhere off the coast of Oregon heading toward Hawaii at an alarming rate. We were supposed to be going to San Francisco but an error in reading the weather forecast put us smack dab in the middle of a vicious little storm. Discretion being the better part of valor, we were running with it, surfing like a... like something that surfs really fast. My wife had long ago thrown our little Davis anomometer overboard, figuring it was broken since the little ball was always stuck on the top showing 60 knots. Were we concerned? Hell yes, but we were also confident we could handle the boat. We'd been there before. Maybe not in quite these same conditions but similar. We were surfing just like we did on Puget Sound or the Straits. Granted the waves were a few tens-of-feet taller, but the drill was the same — stern goes up, pull on the tiller, ride the wave, settle at the bottom, stern goes up, pull on the tiller — It wasn't long before it became routine. It was a starlit, breathless night. We were bringing the boat from Tacoma to Seattle one summer evening. The wind was the usual zero gusting to one, so we were motoring blissfully northward. With a couple quick coughs the engine suddenly went into spasms resembling the death throes of cowboy in a spagetti western. Up went the sails. There was a bit of a tide against us so, using what wind we had, we crawled toward the shore, got out of the tide and patiently worked our way north. We arrived a little later than planned — okay a lot later — but arrived nevertheless, without any problems. We'd been there before having spent many an hour... day... night racing in the light winds of Puget Sound. The point is that racing gives you a lot of experience fast in a variety of conditions. I'm not saying strip the boat, get all new sails and crash the start line. More and more clubs are offering races that have classes for cruisers or beginners who want to get a taste of racing. And along with that taste you also get a good helping of experience with your boat which will not only make you a safer sailor in adverse conditions, but a much more relaxed one as well. |
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