Sailing Progress

Over the last year, my daughter has become a better and better sailor. She started taking the helm about six months ago, actually steering good courses and keeping the sails filled. Over the winter, I gave her a few shots at trimming on light wind days.

But that's just the stuff that goes into making the boat move. Making the boat move efficiently and good seamanship are the next steps in her development. So, on Saturday, she went hiking.


Once we had the boat flat and were sailing efficiently, it was time to teach her to keep watch.


Of course, winds being what they were on Saturday, we also had time for a knot-lesson. Her bowlines are at least on par with most I've seen from pickup crew -- they form a loop at the end. The rest of the knot, well, that's a work in progress.