Riding the Rails

When you ask someone about riding the rails, a train ride usually pops in their head. When I talk about riding the rails it takes on a whole new meaning. Imagine yourself on a boat, cruising along and suddenly the whole thing leans to one side, the lower side of the boat dipping into the water. Most people freak out when this happens and scramble to the high side of the boat. We sailors call them "rail meat", and they are used to add weight to the windward side of the boat to help counter the effect of the wind to capsize a sailboat.

Being rail meat can be exciting or frightening depending on your sense of adventure. I personally like sitting higher on the boat and often steer the boat from the high side, but nothing can help you overcome the fear of tipping except riding it out and gaining confidence in your boat and your ability to sail her.

In sail racing, people sitting on the rail, like the picture above, help flatten the boat and thus gain speed. It is a critical aspect of sail racing and adds to the excitement. I am sure for non sailors it is hard to imagine sail racing being exciting; I mean how fast do they go; 5 miles per hour? Let me assure you, if you ever participate in one, you will have a new respect for the sport. It is fast and exciting. Decisions have to be made very quickly and a slight change in the wind can throw your tactics right out the window.

Speed isn't the only factor in a race; but professional racing yachts do achieve some pretty amazing speeds. A French Trimaran recently circumnavigated the planet in 45 days, reaching speeds over 40 miles per hour, which is quite an achievement considering that a normal sloop takes 18-20 days just to cross the Atlantic ocean and Columbus took 3 months for reach the new world.

So, if you are up for adventure and want to experience sailing, ask a friend who sails if you can be "rail meat". They will probably smile or chuckle and invite you along.

When to Reef?

When we began our quest to sail, we took lessons with Bill Learn from St. Louis sailing. Bill is the type of sailor that you think of when you envision a sailboat in a storm, with waves crashing over the bow, and  he is at the helm with a determined, satisfied look on his face; confident, but not arrogant.

It was under Bill's watchful eyes that I had my first true sailing experience, that experience included heavy, blowing rain and wind; lots of wind. The second day of our training it was 40 degrees and the waves were 3 to 4 feet high, with winds gusting over 30 mph. In that driving rain I sailed on a close reach for 3 hours to bring us back to the marina. I was cold, wet and sore from wrestling the tiller and lines, but I was a better sailor because of the experience.

One of the things I will never forget was when he asked our class "when was the best time to reef the sails"? (reefing is making your sails smaller). I have mentioned this before in my posts, and I am writing about it again because it is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself when sailing. The answer is: The first time you think about it.

This past weekend was one of those times. I checked and re-checked the wind forecast and knew the wind would be gusting close to 20 mph. Bill Learns question was on my mind, so I knew I needed to reef our sails before we headed out. Our boat didn't have the reefing points set up, so when I arrived at the marina, the first thing I did was prepare the points. I fashioned the ties and added the leech and luff lines to set the first reef.

With the sails tied down to the first reefing point, we headed out onto the lake. The wind was blowing a steady 10 mph and gusts were hitting 17mph when we raised the sails, which wasn't too bad, but within a few minutes the wind picked up, and I was glad I listened to Bill. We had the main and the jib reefed and we were still reaching speeds over 6 knots with a decent heel. It was an exciting sail, I even video taped part of it which is posted on my facebook site. We sailed the whole afternoon, never losing the wind, which will put a smile on any sailors face.

While sailing I looked across the lake and saw that most of the other sailors out that day also decided to reef their sails; it gave me a good feeling; a, I almost know what I am doing kind of feeling.

Crime on the High Seas

Safety while we are at sea has been in the back of my mind since Martina and I started our quest. I have always been a gun owner; I have federal and state licenses to collect and carry firearms and intended to be armed when we shove off, but, after reading a recent article about a British couple, released after being held captive in Somalia for 13 months, I was more sure about being armed than ever before, or so I thought.

The attack came in the middle of the night with the woman on watch. 10 men with assault rifles boarded their yacht and took them captive. Now I have seen a lot of Rambo movies and I am a pretty good shot, but even I don't have enough bravado to wake up and take on 10 men with assault rifles while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. No one in their right mind would, although it would make a great Rambo movie. So the question is, would having a weapon have made a difference? Probably not, but there could be a time when it would.

When you read sailing blogs, and I read them often, you learn about all sorts of incidents all over the world, and it might be surprising to some, but U.S. inner cities are a whole lot more dangerous than the open sea.

Piracy on the open water is trending down with the presence of warships, and outside of a handful of incidents elsewhere in the world, most of the hijacking takes place in the Gulf of Aden. You are far less likely to be robbed abroad than in your own American towns and cities, and that's a shame.

There is a lot of sailing blog discussions about the pros and cons of carrying firearms while cruising abroad. Most countries outside of the U.S. don't allow weapons at all, so for me or anyone else having them aboard, you run the risk of fines or worse if they are found. There are alternatives to firearms too, like axes, flare guns, and harpoons, which are all common on boats, and can protect us from limited threats.

I still have many years to decide if carrying a gun at sea is worth the risk. For now, I will sharpen my axe and harpoon, enjoy sailing, and hope crime in my own back yard doesn't find me.