Sailing Bathtubs
Today, I went to the club to sort out the WiFi because when I set it up, I hadn’t done a proper site survey. Pero was there sailing his GP14. So, after I sorted out the WiFi, I decided to go for a sail with him.
On Saturday afternoon, BTYC and Seahorse, the other two clubs of the Welsh Harp, race GP14s. We went out and cruised for a while before the third race would start. So we decided to do the third race. Pero was helming and I was crewing. There was a nice, strong-ish wind so it was quite exciting. We had hike hard sometimes. Unfortunately, Pero hasn’t been sailing a lot, so he needs more experience. One of the things I noticed was that he points to high.
Anyway, we had an appalling start but I though we could gain a bit on the beat. At some point I remember saying “Bear away, bear away, bear away!” and the boat came on to of me. We started climbing up on the other side, but it was too late. We managed to pull the boat upright, but it was full of water. It was like a bathtub. The safety boat had a bucket and we borrowed it in order to empty her. We were bailing water like mad. Those boats when the take water, you have to go in. It’s really bad. I tried to empty her as much as we could but it didn’t work.
We went in and I stayed at the Harp for about an hour or so, until my clothes would dry. I didn’t have any sailing gear with me, so I had to wait to dry before getting into the car. Now I know why I like single-handers. I get wet, it’s my fault. Nobody else’s. Anyway, I didn’t really mind. I might sail with Pero again. I think he needs more practice.
Tomorrow, the wind is supposed to be like today, so I expect it to be nice.