OK, I admit I am unable to teach someone. Sometimes you explain it
several times and they dont get it. What do you do? Years ago, I
taught College Physics and my students seemed to think I was good but
that is all abstractions. Teaching a skill is different. I have never
been able to teach my wife to steer a canoe either. I cannot explain
how to do it, I just do it. Its like explaining how to ride a bike.
Some people really want personal instruction and others just want to be
pointed in the right direction and let them go. My son is like my
wife, he craves instruction to the nth degree and he makes me crazy.
My 10 yr old daughter just wants some general directions and she'll
figure out the rest. Of course, my little daughter drives my wife
crazy.
Tacking in the channel was like that. How do I tell her "Steer up when
you feel power coming on from the wind and then down a little when it
goes away". "When you tack, you gotta feel when the wind begins to
catch the jib to help push the bow around in a tight tacking situation"
There is a lotta "feel" that goes into this that I cannot explain.


A lot of good advice has been givien here but I think that the answer to how
you teach someone to get the feeling of the thing has not really been
adressed fully. Admittedly I have never taught someone to sail, as I am just
learning myself, but I do have a lot of experience in another area that is
perhaps more difficult. I am a martial artist in several styles and the task
of learning/ teaching someone, how to feel your body move and react to
itself is very difficult. How do you tell somone what it feels like from
your point of view to push or hold some thing. The thing that I have always
felt worked best was to put their hand between mine and the target, going
lightly. If i am pushing they can feel how much force goes into them and
what I am reading that comes out of the object. I would suggest putting her
hand on the tiller, when it comes time for that, and holding her hand over
the top. She can feel when you move and why, she can feel how hard you hold
it and when you shift directions. This might also have some benefit in the
patience and understanding arena as she might feel better holding hands and
being close to you than she would standing across the deck with you shouting
orders. In my experience, most women like holding hands. If she doesn't
learn to sail at least you had fun.

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