Day one of ASA101

We arrived at class about 8:15, packed lunch and coffee thermos in hand, and had some time to walk around the marina looking at boats. By 9 we were all there and had swept the spider webs off the boat (spiders like marinas it would seem), stowed all our gear, put on our life jackets, learned where all the through-hulls were (any drain or water inlet that goes through the hull). The wind was blowing nicely and off we went.

We had a chance to each steer the boat through a tack and a jibe before lunch. Here's a video of Tim's first tack:

My first sailing attempt took a little concentration, but I was amazed at how similar the skills required were to flying.

On the way out to the middle of the lake we dropped a water bottle off the boat by accident which is a no-no. The federal regulations state that you can't dump any plastic overboard in any waters of the United States. So we decided to practice the man overboard drill using our water bottle as John Doe. We successfully rescued Mr. Doe and off we went.

We stopped for lunch around 12:30 and shortly after lunch the wind pretty abruptly came to a halt. We ended up motoring back to the marina via some bouys at which we each practiced a mooring pickup (a manuever that allows you to secure your boat to an anchored float to spend the night), and then we each practiced motoring up to the dock without slamming into it.

More book work at the dock in preparation for the written test tomorrow. Hopefully the wind will pick up a little in the morning so we can get our practical test out of the way.

Miscellaneous observations:

I thought the "heeling" (when the boat tips in good wind) would bother me, but it's just a lot like being in a hard corner on the ZX-14, just in slow motion.

Note to self: if we ever use the head, make sure to have it cleaned after returning to the dock. Letting the holding tank sit makes for an uncomfortably smelly boat.

Second note to self: never never never leave food in the refrigerator when the power is off.

I'm happy that my flying skills came back in use after all these years of not flying.

When you get off the boat, you still feel the rolling waves.

Coffee tastes better on open water in a sailboat. So does a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

Sailboats make you smile.