I took a newly minted mate along for his initial ride. And so the teaching began; an inquiry into the patterns of the youth of today. And a warning of the old curse of being overcome by natural forces. I told him the worst thing that could happen to him was to find the wrong woman or a wicked wind, as he had a date later in the evening. It wasn't all about sailing though. I've lived a long and eventful life and can look back and see different paths and different means that my friends took that harmed them drastically in the end. And so we went across the water, watching the wind and waves because each one of them affected the way the boat responded.
Not only was the mate having problems in an unfamiliar environment, the captain was too. The boat was being difficult and so was the wind. All sailors know that the wind is the whole universe and this one was swirling somewhat as it was disrupted by the structures of man. It might not seem to be the case with a casual look, because there WAS wind shown by ruffled water, but it was structured and channeled by the shore side facilities. Cranes, ships, tanks, buildings and more cranes. The occasional ship or two, and then open stretches of water. And the breeze was filtering up the bayou from the Gulf and had become playful. Enough wind to sail with for sure, but it kept changing from south to southwest. And then all of sudden no wind for 20 seconds. Yeah, I can add all that together, but I had forgotten about what weight does to the catboat and I had 150# more than usual. It had been that long since I've had anyone aboard.
We set sail on SE heading after motoring away from the ramp, the wind out of the SW and decent. Landon steered while I hoisted and got us going, heading to pass behind a shrimp boat heading down channel. Nicely too, and then I looked closer and saw the shrimp boat I was following was pulling a net. Ugh! We gotta fall off and give him some room.
So we tacked and headed back toward the ramp to give him room to operate in the bayou. But not before spotting the dolphins on our same heading following the stirring the net was creating. Yeah, Landon was getting the whole tour, and there's lots to see for his eyes. He's never seen cranes, and ships being built, and tanks and the places that men work and I tried to look through his eyes. He's used to kicking around the river on a jon boat and that's a whole 'nother world. I showed him one that wasn't playing.
And as we maneuvered I realized how much the trim was affecting the boat. Sailing alone you can optimize the trim so easily but it isn't the same for two. You must consider the weight shift too, as the tacks change. And yeah, a novice. It is just natural to go to the high side but keeping on the low side sometimes is the best solution.
So I took the helm and directed, after getting in irons as we reversed tack behind the shrimp boat, him now clear. And I fussed a little but not bad, telling him the mistakes and directing while we got moving again. The catboat is helpless in irons and you have to pull the sail WAY over to get her going again. And then help out with trim and weight. We tacked a few more times and I avoided the narrowing of the channel at the State docks and the Chevron product dock. Very dangerous place with barge and tug activity.
This wasn't about mileage but maneuvering, and we finally let the sail out on a downwind and started moving smoothly and smartly. That old turning basin is a decent place for the little boat with a new sailor in it. One of the nearly finished boats at the shipyard kept causing problems with the wind at that spot. We dropped sail and ran the motor back and forth a few times to exercise it. And look at all the sights on the waterfront. It was a VERY nice day.
Yeah, country boy on the ocean. We had a good time. Saw pelicans and boat, ships and dolphins, and an idiot at the ramp. He was the only negative of the trip. We had just docked and yo-yo decided to launch his POS boat alongside. That boat was filthy and ugly. And promptly shoved it afloat into the catboat. I shoved the derelict looking thing to the side and forward and said nothing. You can't help some people, so it is just as well not to get upset. Pit bull and AC/DC from the onboard whatever was playing. It's time to touch up the paint anyway. But the two styles were very obvious.
I hope the boy was taking it all in. He really likes to fish. I'm sure I can put him onto something on this bayou ;D