"Scott Vernon" wrote in message
...
"Donal" wrote

In fact, leeway is *always* directly downwind. I learned this on
my recent
dinghy sailing holiday. There was an area known as "the
Graveyard". It
was a lee shore that had very gentle winds. Once you entered the
Graveyard,
you were bound to end up on the rocks. The reason was that after a
tack,
you would make leeway before you got forward motion. Furthermore,
the wind
was so light that it was impossible to get forward movement without
bearing
away --- which meant going even closer to the shore..... The first
time
that it happened to me was very disspiriting. I thought that I had
forgotten everything that I knew about dinghy sailing.

So, did you end up on the rocks?

Twice!!!! ...And to make matters worse - the second time I had my wife in
the boat. I had assured her that the wind was gentle, and that there was
*no* chance of a capsize at all. Fortunately, she seems to have forgiven
me. AFAICR, she didn't get her hair wet in the capsize.


Regards


Donal
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