I had a similar surreal experience watching a couple of people
try and dock a Mac at Angel Island. Of course, they were using
the engine. And, they really understood that if you have an engine
that size, you can really gun it. They were quite skilled at gunning
it in close quarters. We were in the slip next to where they decided
to gun it, and I can understand why they would gun it, given the
lousy sailing they possibly endured to the island (making a leap
in logic that they sailed, but we all have our limitations).

Well, anyway, they gunned it coming into the slip, and Capt. Ron
style, they slammed it in reverse at the last minute and somehow
stopped the boat before crossing the dock and hitting the boat
on the other side.

They sure did scare the crap out of some teenagers walking on the
dock. So, they stopped the boat with only a small bump and a small
dent in their bow, and then proceeded to leap off the Mac one by one.
Unfortunately, no one thought about actually tying it up. (Or, maybe
they did, and just decided not to). In any case, in a moment of
weakness, I grabbed the Mac as it was headed back out into
the marina, and asked them if they had possibly forgotten something.
In retrospect, I shouldn't have intervened.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Jeff Morris" wrote in message
...
I've never said it can't happen, I've just never seen it. There is one at
my
dock and I've seen them out in the harbor a few times, but never making
any
headway.

One of the images from 25 years ago that I'll never forget is watching a
boat
trying to come into Boston past Deer Island Light against a 2+ knot ebb.
It
tacked back and forth across the channel, but never made any headway.
This went
on for several hours, during which time I came in from a mile or so
behind, and
having a little local knowledge, hugged close to the light, caught a
reverse
eddy and scooted by. As I headed into Winthrop I watched the other boat,
going
back and forth, not getting anywhere. It was a Venture 22, one of
Macgregor's
early offerings.




"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message
...
Jeff, now to be fair, I've seen them moving through
the water under sail alone on the SF bay. It's quite
a sight to see, and I'm always impressed when I
see one moving in that fashion. Same thing with
the venerable Hunter models. I find it incredible
that anyone would risk life and limb to do that.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Jeff Morris" wrote in message
...
"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...
I have sailed our Hunter 19 in company with a MacGregor 26M (you
could
tell by the red hull) several times. There is one in our marina.
There
are couple others that regularly come and launch at the nearby
ramp.
The
Hunter 19 easily could sail rings around the Mac 26M, in light air
or
heavy, upwind or down. Actually, it's not so bad going downwind,
but
it
appears difficult to steer with any degree of chop. I mean, maybe
it's
not really but the skippers sure are working the wheel back &
forth.

Jeff, this again suggests that you need some basic education
regarding
elementary principles of logic. - You seem to think that this
anecdote
of yours proves that the Mac 26M is slower than the Hunter 19. It
only
provides the experience of one sailor (you). What would be needed
to
prove that the Mac 26M isn't as fast as the Hunter 19 is for
experienced
sailors to sail several of each type of boat on several occasions
under
various conditions. In other words, you have a very small sampling,
and
you have no external controls, etc. - What's also interesting is how
you
are getting all that experience sailing against Mac 26M's in view of
the
fact that there the M's were only introduced last year, and there
are
very few of them on the water, and further, that they never made a
Mac
26M with a red hull. - Very strange, Jeff!


Hey Jim! That's Doug, I'm Jeff. I've also passed Mac 26X's a
number of
times, but I've never noticed them moving through the water without
the
help of
their engine. Of course, I usually see them in choppy harbor water -
not
the
best place for such a light boat.