BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - Sailing qualifications

Rosalie B.

wrote:

On Mar 1, 4:36 am,
tsmw...@mail wrote in message
......... I love to
race and I cherish the time I've spend racing. But, when I took up
full time cruising I came to realize that while sail trim and boat
handling are useful they aren't critical and they are only a tiny part
of what a competent cruiser needs to know. Actually, unlearning to
race has proven one of the biggest challenges to cruising for me.

What do you "unlearn"?
For some racing sailors, it's difficult to relax while cruising but my
observations seem to indicate that it's a personality issue, those
individuals find it difficult to relax *any*where.

There's more than just relaxing unless you define relaxing as not
rushing to the destination but enjoying the journey.

Maybe it is that they need to value sturdiness over lightness. To
pick sturdier materials. And to have spares aboard in case something
breaks, and also to have the stuff on board that one needs to live
comfortably and not feel that they are camping out.

"Dennis Pogson" wrote:
Sure, I wasn't implying that full-time cruisers don't no how to sail.

I will not only imply it, I will say it outright! Most "cruising-only"
sailors don't know how to sail as well as most racing sailors; just
watch the two sets of skippers dock their boats; watch them sail in
challenging weather; watch them observe conditions/weather around them
and plan their response & actions.

There are some skills in cruising that are not needed in racing, but
anyone who thinks racing doesn't develop a full set of seamanship
skills has simply not payed attention.

I could go further but this is enough inflammatory material for now.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King