3-26-16 Racing

by Pam

It was my first time on the water this year and it was a beautiful day.  Doug is sidelined with a broken thumb and suggested that it would be a good day for me to get back on the boat.  It wasn't supposed to be too windy and I wasn't supposed to get wet.  Why do I listen to him instead of checking the weather myself?

It was indeed a beautiful day and it was good to see everyone but I was not in shape for the sailing. About halfway up every leg I was ready to call it quits but pushed on ... as did the wind.  By the second race I was getting splashed and we had gusts up to 18.  I probably would have quit after the second race but after having to wash my entire sail to get the mud off during the lunch break, I needed one more race just to dry the sail.  As Doug stood there asking me why I would bring my good sail, the same man who told me I wouldn't get wet and it would be a perfect day for sailing, well, I confess that I briefly considered grabbing him by the thumb.  By the end of the day, it was all starting to come back to me.  And by Sunday morning, it was still coming back to me ... every single time I moved ... ouch, ouch, ouch!  

Doug, with his handy dandy iPhone, was on the committee boat and took some video footage.  He starts by saying I'm barging.  He tells me that he's talking about the angle, not the foul.  Isn't the term barging in sailing always a reference to the foul?  I found myself briefly eyeing that thumb of his again ...

In all fairness, I asked him to take advantage of being sidelined from sailing and take some video and pictures and tell me what he sees when he's watching the sailing.  He thinks I worked my fanny off and has been pampering me all day.  Smart man.  Doug captured some starts, some mark roundings, some still shots for form, some comparison footage of upwind technique as well as some finishes.