Sailors, Please Check This Sailing-Related Snippet

[TromboneAl]

Could you sailors check this first draft of part of a book? I want to check that I'm not writing anything stupid. It takes place in Key West. Thanks!

“Yeah, I remember. He came down here in February, said he wanted to sail around world. I was skeptical, because a lot of people think they want to do that, but they don’t have any business on a boat. He said he wanted to buy Miss Scuttlebutt, which someone was asking too much money for.” He sat up and looked behind him. “She was in a slip back there. I wasn’t willing to let the boat fall into incompetent hands, so I suggested we take her out together. ‘Fine with me,’ he said.” The Captain drained his beer and went below, returning with two more. He raised his eyebrows at Faith.

“I’m good,” she said.

“So, the next morning we get on the boat, one of the prettiest sloops you’ll ever see, but tough, too. I go to start up the engine, but he holds his finger up to the wind and says, ‘I don’t think we’ll need that.’ The boat was bow-in to the slip, and the breeze was coming from dead ahead. About five knots. So, he raises the sails and slips the lines—wouldn’t even let me help. I’m getting a little nervous, but he didn’t seem at all concerned. Quiet confidence. The boat slips back, the sails flapping. He turns the helm just right as the boat’s backing out of the slip. The guy even lights his cigarette as he’s doing this. As its moving, the boat is falling off from the wind, and just when I think we’re going to hit the cabin cruiser at the dock behind us, he pulls in the mainsheet and the jib sheet, spins the helm, the sails snap tight, and the boat makes headway. We were still in the marina, but I was no longer worried. He made the necessary tacks, and we were out into the channel.”

Faith finished her beer and picked up the next one. “He was showing off.”

“Yeah, that’s how I figure it. It was a risky move, stupid in a way. I’d always motor out in that situation, but damn, he did it with such confidence. I figured he was insulted when I suggested we sail together, like I’d insulted his skill, so it was like, ‘You think I’m a landlubber? Well, check this out.’”

“Did you ask him about his plans?”

“I did. While we were sailing he laid it out. Down to Panama, through the canal, then the southern route, past the Galapagos, the Marquesas, and Australia. He was going to cross the Indian Ocean, go past Madagascar, and around the Cape of Good Hope. Good plan.”




Thanks!

 

[marko]

I actually used to do the same thing. Dad had this "thing" against small sailboats (under 20 ft) having engines. For the longest time I had a 25 footer at a slip waaayy inside the marina. No engine.

We'd just put up the sails, manually push back and sail out. Coming in, we might have a few short tacks but could almost always get to our slip with little hassle. There was a reliable SW wind in our favor.

People used to come running to help at first thinking our engine was dead. Eventually they learned that "we don't need no stinkin' help". A few guys even asked if I'd give sailing lessons.

So. It can be done. A larger, heavier boat gets dicey and not recommended, I'd say, but again could be done if the wind is right. Need to remember that at slow speed, the rudder doesn't provide much control, but backing up a sailboat is a regular, doable thing.

Can't help on the route around the world.

 

[braumeister]

I was once a passenger on a 100 foot two masted boat and watched the owner do this. He said the wind was exactly right, and it was an incredibly satisfying experience for him. He also said it was rare, but he had invited half a dozen friends like me for the day and wanted to show off a little. I was suitably impressed.

 

[marko]

But Nords, I'm not clear: Is the Captain who sailed out of the dock the owner or a guest/buyer?

If he was a guest or prospective buyer, taking control and risk of someone else's boat like that would be extremely, incredibly rude. No experienced skipper would do that on someone else's boat. IMO. Larger boats are not like cars; they have their own handling personality and to just hop in and do that on a boat you're not familiar with would be foolhardy.

And letting someone you don't even know just take out a larger boat alone would be incredibly stupid.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

But Nords, I'm not clear: Is the Captain who sailed out of the dock the owner or a guest/buyer?

The way I read it, the prospective buyer pulled off the nifty sailing move, and was accompanied by a gentleman who wasn’t the owner, but probably lived in the marina and knew the owner. So, my take was that they were unacquainted peers.

All the sailing details sounded fine/accurate to this fair-weather sailor.

 

[Nords]

Looks good to me, Al. I've enjoyed your other books!

Could you sailors check this first draft of part of a book? I want to check that I'm not writing anything stupid. It takes place in Key West. Thanks!

“Yeah, I remember. He came down here in February, said he wanted to sail around world.

This sentence seems to be missing the word "the", as in "... he wanted to sail around the world."

So, he raises the sails and slips the lines—wouldn’t even let me help.

What does "slips the lines" mean?

Depending on the size of the boat and who owns the lines, he'd have to reach over to the dock or reach down to the dock. The lines are probably in a figure eight around the dock cleats, and maybe tied off with a hitch.

Unless the marina is providing the lines and the boat owners leave the lines on the dock, then the buyer (or the Captain) would have to be able to reach the dock and undo the hitch and then take in the lines. Someone might even have to hop off the boat onto the dock to handle the lines, then hop back aboard.

If the lines belong to the marina then the buyer would just cast them off from the boat's cleats to flop onto the dock-- that would happen as you've described it.

How big is the boat-- does it have fenders to keep it from rubbing against the pier? You'd want to figure out if the boat in your story would normally use fenders, because someone (maybe the Captain, maybe the buyer) would haul them in after clearing the dock and getting into the channel. But you'd only bring up that detail if you felt that it contributed to the story... most readers wouldn't wonder what happened to any fenders.

 

[TromboneAl]

That was the info I wanted, thanks.

"The Captain" is the manager of the marina.

>This sentence seems to be missing the word "the", as in "... he wanted to sail around the world."

Thanks, Nords.

>What does "slips the lines" mean?
IIRC, it's an idiom for release the lines (ropes).

 

[audreyh1]

I sailed our 24ft sailboat in and out of our slip all the time, bow in, as we hated that tiny smelly noisy 2-cycle outboard. The thing we liked most about sailing was the peace and quiet and the fresh breezes.

I got super good at it too. Especially returning.

I don’t think I remember all the tricks now though. I think for leaving, one of us would hand hold the boom in such a way that the wind pushed us gently backwards. The mainsail was pretty loose - just enough to get some movement. Then we would turn as we drifted backwards and trim the mainsail to go forward, and raise and trim the jib once we were clear of the marina.

And we didn’t have a helm, we had a tiller, LOL!

We dropped the fenders before turning into the slip.

I think we had some lines on the cleats on our slip that we would throw onto the dock right as we left. Then upon return someone would step onto the dock to retrieve them.

 

[marko]

If the lines belong to the marina then the buyer would just cast them off from the boat's cleats to flop onto the dock-- that would happen as you've described it.

We keep our lines tied to the dock where we want the boat to sit at the slip and just undo the loop at the boat's cleat. We leave the lines on the dock when we leave. When we return the lines are exactly where they should be to keep the boat properly centered. As you own the slip (or rent it for the season) no one is going to disturb your lines left on your slip.

 

[TromboneAl]

I sailed our 24ft sailboat in and out of our slip all the time, bow in, as we hated that tiny smelly noisy 2-cycle outboard.

I got super good at it too.

I don’t think I remember all the tricks now though. I think for leaving, one of us would hand hold the boom in such a way that the wind pushed us gently backwards. The mainsail was pretty loose - just enough to get some movement. Then we would turn and trim the mainsail to go forward, and raise and trim the jib once we were clear of the marina.

And we didn’t have a helm, we had a tiller, LOL!

We dropped the fenders before turning into the slip.

I think we had some lines on the cleats on our slip that we would throw onto the dock right as we left. Then upon return someone would step onto the dock to retrieve them.

Could you do that if the wind was from the stern?

 

[audreyh1]

Could you do that if the wind was from the stern?

No.

Our slip was facing into the prevailing winds.

 

[REattempt]

And we didn’t have a helm, we had a tiller, LOL!

A tiller is the helm on a boat with a tiller.

 

[audreyh1]

A tiller is the helm on a boat with a tiller.

I was thinking of that giant steering wheel thing.

We always just referred to our steering mechanism as the tiller.

 

[FIREmenow]

Could you do that if the wind was from the stern?

You couldn't leave from and enclosed slip, bow in, with wind from the stern, but you could arrive into the slip with the wind astern as long as you had a spring line to stop the boat. You could, of course, leave from a seawall or side-tie dock that way.

Also, as mentioned above, backing the mainsail is a trick to get some way-on to stern.

Keep in mind, when going astern, the rudder has no effect steering the boat until there is water actually flowing across it, meaning unless you've already started moving (sometime quickly depending on the boat), you are still at the mercy of the wind and current direction ONLY.

 

[TromboneAl]

As a kid, I sailed a lot on small boats (Sailfish, Lightning, Penguin, Cape Cod (the sailboat, not the place)), most of which leaked. All had tillers.

So once, Lena and I went on a lunch cruise with a private guy with a boat in San Fran. We sailed from Pier 41 or so to Alcatraz and back. I tell him I can sail, and I take the wheel while he does something else.

I automatically treated it like a tiller, so I turned it the wrong way, and when the boat didn't turn as I expected, I turned it more (positive feedback). No problems, though.

 

[TromboneAl]

And check this out:

And that photo is related to the book I'm writing. I was a shy nerdy guy, and on that sailing trip (someone else's boat), I was tongue-tied and hardly talked with those girls. I kicked myself later, of course.

Well, the 58-year-old guy in this book was like that when he was young. Then, he gets de-aged, so he can be all mature, etc. in front of fellow teenagers. We'll see how that turns out.

 

[pb4uski]

I recall sailing our Sunfish backwards all the time when I was a kid.... we'd do it for fun and to practice our steering skills since it can get a little tricky.

I'm not sure how realistic it is to do in sloop on a slip head-to-wind but I suppose that it is possible.