Jimmy Downs
Larry Jernigan
O.K. I'm learning to sail. My first time out I totally rigged the boat wrong, main and mizzen masts were interchanged, but she still sailed. My little motor quit. The center mast step, mizzen, cracked from a strong gust of wind. But it wasn't a complete break so we didn't have any trouble. I'm going to beef up the mast step to keep that from happening again. And, I didn't check the centerboard as I should have, it wasn't all the way down so we couldn't cut into the wind. But, it didn't take long to figure all that out and we ended up sailing for a couple of hours. The boat handled well and really moved when the wind blew. I've got a lot to learn, but the sailing trip was fun.
Larry and Jimmy joined me on this trip. They have absolutely no experience either, so at times we were rather comical. Oh, I never made it back to where we put in, I had to hitch a ride back from a nice older couple. We traveled so far down wind that by the time we decided to head back it would have taken too long to sail so we put in at the Claiborne State Park and I caught my ride back to the public landing. Also complicating the return was my little motor. I've decided a different motor is needed. The little 2 hp couldn't do much against the wind, and the gusts were coming directly from where we had put in and I just couldn't figure a way around due to the narrow channel. The motor just quit on me so I'm going to get it checked out, but I've got a lead on a good 6hp that may be better.
I'm learning... tips and advice appreciated!
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