Chuting Star

Sailing 101 - Day Four, Hip, Hop, & Jibe

6pm - heading out on the water with hardly enough wind to ripple the surface.  We raised the mainsail- wait and watch. Far off to the south, the small triangle of other boats start to fill as they picked up speed.  We start to see the Cat’s paws effect the wind creates on the water.  As a swath of dark and choppy water approaches us, with the wind just ahead of it, the sails of the boat 100 feet off our bow fill and they race off just as the wind gives life to our sails.  Suddenly, we transform from a buoy to a sailboat.

I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize.  I have failed to introduce you to - Chuting Star.  The sailboat that has so graciously put up with us.  She’s a J24 -- for all you geeks who want to check her stats you can find it all here.

Our novice hands have: over tightened her sheets, jammed her bolt rope, confused her luff for her leech, tacked her without grace, and manhandled her tiller.  Despite all this she still turned on a dime and gave us 6.45 knots of pure delight.

Jibe Ho -  Now, there’s a fun command to give.  Just the sound of it evokes a bit high seas, ancestral romanticism.  Todays lesson was on how to jibe - and no, this isn’t a lesson about a dance with excessive articulation.  If you caught the post on tacking you will understand when I say that jibing is kinda the opposite of tacking.   If you didn’t catch that post, go back and check it out.  

The jibe maneuver has the reputation that so many in Hollywood have taken advantage of, to give action and/or a danger effect to sailing.  To oversimplify what jibing is, let’s just say it’s making a turn that involves turning the bow of the boat away from the wind so far that it puts the bow in the opposite direction of the wind and then back towards the wind on the other side.  Jibing should be a slow and delicate operation just like brain surgery and just like brain surgery, if done incorrectly or accidentally it can have undesired effects. If losing crew overboard and doing irreparable damage to the boat is your goal, then by all means - let the jibe rock and roll. If not then you might want to stick with Schubert Symphony No.8

So as the instructor said "That's pretty much what a boat does -- it goes straight and it turns." Now that we have the two types of turns down and can run a straight course, we have the basics covered. Which isn't the same as being ready for hitting the high seas. Good thing we have two more classes left.

And yes - as cheesy as it sounds, we did sail off into the sunset.

~ J ~