My favorite time to sail in a dinghy is when the wind is gusting from the southwest. Now that I've been sailing for more than two decades I feel at home on the water even when the river is full of whitcaps. I'm extremely grateful that it's been years since I had a panic attack while at the helm of a boat.
Once when I was swimming in Rhode Island I did have a panic-inducing experience when I got caught in a rip current. I was rescued by a good samaritan. At that time I didn't know that all I needed to do was swim parallel to the shore and I would have been released from the current.
I never could sail a dinghy downwind very well in strong wind. I would roll roll roll until I was passed the downwind marker and then tack back upwind!
ReplyDeleteIt's wicked hard to sail dinghys downwind when the winds are "nuclear", Charlie. The cape cod mercuries that I sail often start to yaw and go into a death roll. I've capsized a few times from trying to gybe with the wind at my back.
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