Today was the first sailing day of the the year! And it was full of laughter, slow-ish sailing, and much learning of words and parts of the boat.
Sailing involves learning a new language. Some of the words to make sure we all know are: clew, tack, foot, head, leech, luff, peak, throat, halyard, reef nettle, make fast, jibe, tack, sheet, and yard. How they relate to the boat is a whole other level of understanding and we were able to practice hands on today with Bravo Team’s first sail of the year.
After some weather observations (NW 5-10 kts with gusts up to ~12 kts) we did our sail parts puzzle and everyone participated by putting names to parts. Then we practiced call and response with our various jobs. Having packed the gear before class started, we headed down to the dock to row out of Pt Hudson Marina.
We set our foresail and mizzen off of the county dock and enjoyed a long enough tack to pass the ferry landing, have snack and Moment of Silence, and do some chillin’ in the sunshine. We jibed and headed back for the end of class, striking sail when we realized we could row faster than we were sailing and we could warm up our cold hands by the effort!
Our end of class reflection was something we appreciate about Townshend. Student’s answers varied — “She floats on the water,” “Beautiful,” “Cool old technology,” “She glides nicely over the water,” “She feels cozy,” “Nothing happens too fast,” and “My spirits were lifted.”
Thanks y’all for keeping up with Bravo Team.