January 1970

The pace of entries for our group writing project Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is really hotting up now, with two more submissions in the last few hours.

Andrew Sadler muses over the relative merits of old-fashioned open keel boats and various more unstable craft, before deciding to invite to dinner two innovators from very different ages, Simon and Leonardo.

Redwing’s entry, like Postel’s Law, is in two parts. In Part One he channels Herman Melville to set the scene for his party; in Part Two in comes a “wild set of mariners” who would surely have some amazing tales to tell.

You have until Sunday to share your own ideas on which sailors, alive or dead, real or fictional, you would invite to a dinner party. Full details of how to participate at Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Thanks to everyone who has submitted their invitation lists already. Looking forward to many more before the closing date.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

So who should I invite to my own imaginary dinner party for sailors real or fictional, living or dead, my own version of the dinner party I asked other bloggers to write about for this month’s group writing project Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

Should I go for famous real life sailors I admire like Robin Knox-Johnston and Ben Ainslie, or should I sail off into the lands of myth and legend and invite Ulysses and Erik the Red? Should I get together with some of my real life sailing pals like That Guy and The Other Guy, or should I invite some of the friends I have made through blogging?

None of the above.

Here is my guest list…

• aestela
• CAN_2809
• Dogwatch
• Enterprise
• LaserManDan
• Sailing_Rugger

Never heard of them? Let me enlighten you. The sailors on my list are some of the leading lights in the online multi-player sailing tactical simulator known as Sailx.

I’ve never met any of these guys in the flesh. (At least as far as I know. You never know who the people you are sailing against really are in Sailx. And I’m assuming they are all guys, not gals. They sound like guys.) But I have “interacted” with them all in various ways within the Sailx universe and so, although I only know them as little groups of pixels looking like toy sailboats, I do feel I have learned something about their personalities.

Sailing_Rugger is currently leading the Sailx rankings so I’d want to pick his brains about how he manages to sail so well. We “met” quite a while ago during the wild and woolly early days of the game when it was still known as Tacticat so he feels like an old friend.

CAN_2809 is a pretty fine sailor too, and I’m inviting him because he’s also a software engineer and, judging by what he’s written in the Sailx forum, he’s super smart at working out ways to “hack” Sailx like finding ways to see the start line or the wind over the course better. Hey, a duffer like me who is as bad at virtual sailing as he is at real-life sailing needs all the help he can get.

LaserManDan is one of the Sailx regulars, and founder member of one of the top teams on Sailx. I’m inviting him because we discovered while chatting in between races that he is the son of one of the guys I used to sail with at my first (real-life) sailing club, the one I wrote about in Where It All Started. Hey Dan, bring your Dad to the party too.

And then we have Dogwatch and Enterprise. I’m inviting them because they were the main players in a couple of virtual protest hearings I recently got involved in on the Sailx protest forum. Yeah, I know I complained before about how the “sea lawyers” have ruined the game. But Dogwatch took the trouble to protest me in a couple of races, so I entered into the spirit of the game by doing a bit of sea-lawyering to defend myself.

Neither of the protests were clear cut so I argued my case with every technique I could devise. When the facts were against me I argued the rules. When the rules were against me I argued the facts. I introduced various side-issues to muddy the waters. I pounced on the slightest mistake made my opponent and used his own words against him. Emotions ran high. The arguments raged on and on as Dogwatch turned out to be as fierce and as devious an advocate as myself.

Enterprise was the “moderator” who effectively volunteered to be the protest committee chairman for us, to hear all the arguments from the protagonists and any other players or moderators who wanted to express an opinion, and then to make a decision. I probably drove him crazy with my persistence and verbal diarrhea. In the end he exercised the wisdom of Solomon and decided to leave one protest “unresolved” (effectively a win for me in its scoring impact) and decided the other one in Dogwatch’s favor.

So I’m inviting Enterprise and Dogwatch to the party to show there are no hard feelings and because they both sound like chaps who are extremely knowledgeable about sailing and the racing rules. I’m sure we’d probably all be enjoying another heated argument after a couple of beers.

Last but not least, we couldn’t have a Sailx party without aestela. Aestela is the founder, creator, chief programmer, chief moderator, chief “everything” behind Sailx, a.k.a as “god” within the game. Sailx wouldn’t exist without his drive and vision. I’m sure the rest of us would raise a toast (or three) in his honor at the party.

Cheers.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Four more bloggers have responded to my challenge to write about which sailors, living or dead, real or fictional they would like to invite to a dinner party.

Adam Turinas has taken a break from messing about in sailboats to write a short and sweet post about his invitees, OK Tillerman, here’s who I would have to dinner.

O Docker waxes lyrical in The Pied Pipers of Newport Beach as he tells us why he would invite a well-known sailing couple to have dinner with him.

David Anderson of David Anderson’s Small Boat Sailing Adventures has let his imagination run wild, and after drawing up his guest list concludes, “Now that would be a crazy party!“

And some dude who sounds like one of those guys playing online games and blogging in his pajamas while living in his parents’ basement has contributed a weird post entitled Cheers.

There’s still plenty of time for you to share your ideas on which sailors you would invite to a dinner party. Full details of how to participate at Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Things I learned on sail #85 yesterday…

• When you don’t sail for almost two weeks it takes a while to become familiar with the boat again. How can you forget something as basic as how to sail a Laser flat in 15 knots in a couple of weeks? Do you forget to walk in a straight line in that time? Do you forget how to ride a bike? Weird.

• It all comes back in a few minutes.
• It’s interesting to sail upwind when you are sailing straight into the waves on one tack and straight across them on the other tack. The body movements to keep the boat balanced and moving well are so different.
• OK. It’s not all that interesting really.
• Sailing alone on the Sakonnet River on a cold fall day with not another boat in sight for miles and miles in either direction is kind of awesome.
• And a bit scary too.
• With the water temperature in the 50’s and the air temperature in the 40’s it’s quite comfortable to sail a Laser in a long wetsuit, spraytop and neoprene hiking boots. No need for the drysuit yet.
• But three finger gloves leave two fingers painfully cold. Ouch.
• The picture for 85 under # Days Laser Sailing in 2008 is kind of lame. Something to do with running your car on booze. But it turns out that bio-fuels like E85 can be even worse for the environment than fossil fuels. Who would have thunk it?
• But you’re gonna love 86. Think twice 43.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Thanks to O Docker for this entry in our Group Writing Project, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

They’ve launched more ships than Helen of Troy. They may have been the original sailing bloggers, years before blogs were invented.

Their voyages weren’t the fastest or the farthest or the first of their kind, but their words would inspire thousands.

They have an infectious, down-to-earth way of convincing us that, no matter who we are, we can follow our dreams out to sea. But when they set out 40 years ago, few would have imagined the size of the fleet that would follow the wake of Lin and Larry Pardey. Their lamps were kerosene, their engine was a wooden oar, their navigation was by the stars, but they were out there doing it, while most of us were not. They’d made good their escape.

The young couple in their early photos hardly resembles the graying pair still signing books in harbors around the world, but they’re still getting around that world in the little boat they built with their bare hands.

I was lucky enough to see that boat a few years ago. It was open for tours while they were speaking at a boat show. It sat in a marina surrounded by the latest zillion dollar floating plastic marvels, but was the only one that had a line in front of it stretching all the way down the dock. The faithful had come to Mecca. It’s really more a work of art and of love than a boat. And when any part of it needs replacing, Larry doesn’t go to West Marine, he just makes a new part. He didn’t build the boat from a kit. He started with trees.

There’s no need to tell the Pardeys’ story here - they’ve already done that far better than I ever could. And most who are passionate about sailing have read at least one of their books.

They’d probably ask me to dinner before I had a chance to ask them. That’s just their way. Cruisers tell of chance encounters with them in remote anchorages or at the Pardeys’ own New Zealand dock and of their warmth and graciousness and energy and humor and joy.

Some day, I’ll make it to that dock.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Yesterday morning the wind was howling across the bay and whistling around our house. The surface of the water was covered in whitecaps and streaked with wind-driven spray. And it was the third day of the Laser frostbiting season.

I went to the computer and checked out the weather forecasts. To sail or not to sail, that was the question. NOAA had a gale warning out for Narragansett Bay for the whole day. Weather Underground was predicting 40 mph gusts. Hmmm.

I could have had one of two reactions…

• Yeehow. A chance to go and have a blast on my Laser in big winds and kick some ass on the race course.

• A chance to hunker down inside and catch up on some chores.

Being a born prevaricator, I continued browsing around the Interwebs and checking out various weather sites for more information. For some reason I stopped by the New York Times website and saw a link on the front page for an article titled Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, so I clicked on it.

What was I thinking? Have I subconsciously conceded that to enjoy rough weather on the bay I need something bigger than a Laser? Have I started to suffer from four-foot-itis that well know disease of boat owners, the main symptom of which is always coveting a boat that is just a few feet longer than the one they currently own?

Maybe. But I was intrigued that the article was by Thomas Friedman, the Pulitzer Prize winning foreign affairs correspondent and author. Friedman wants a bigger boat? Is he a sailor too? I didn’t know that.

Of course the article wasn’t about sailing at all. It was about the global financial panic and what to do about it. Friedman was arguing that the time has come for desperate measures to deal with the crisis, and that we need to throw everything we can at this problem.

He used an analogy to illustrate his point…

If you want to know where we are right now, rent the movie “Jaws.” We’re at that moment when Roy Scheider first sets eyes on the Great White Shark and comes back and says to the skipper, with eyes wide with fear: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

I guess he’s right. We are gonna need a bigger boat.

Where was I? Where am I? Oh yes. Whether to go sailing on Sunday.

The phone rang. It was my son. I told him about the weather forecast. He said I should get a Radial rig so I could go and blast around and have fun on days like this when it’s gusting 40. Trust my son to think laterally. Gonna need a smaller boat!

Then he invited us over to his new house for the day so we could look after our grandkids while he and his wife did some unpacking and shopping for essentials for their new home. I hung up before he had finished talking, and my wife and I almost fell over each other in our haste to head for the car.

Grandkids trump a bigger boat any day.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Two more bloggers have responded to my challenge to write about which sailors, living or dead, real or fictional they would like to invite to a dinner party.

First of all we have the suggestions of the author of The random doubts of Walter Mondale, who, I am pretty sure, is not the Walter Mondale, and for that matter I don’t think he is called Walter Mondale at all, and in fact I have no idea why his blog is called that. Anyway, his post Guess who’s coming to dinner describes an idyllic summer picnic on the banks of the River Thurne in the English county of Norfolk. His invitation list includes several of his real life sailing chums, a dead peer of the realm whom he derides as a “social climber”, and the First Dude of the United Kingdom. Oh, and you’re invited too if you bring “a good bottle and good cheer”.

And then there’s the famous Greg, of Greg and Kris fame, the only dinghy sailor in history known to have mobilized five fire department vehicles, the county sheriff water patrol, two dudes on a jet-ski, and a mobile air command center to assist him with a capsize recovery. Apparently Greg is a fan of the recently deceased radio personality Studs Terkel who was known for covering a story “from the other end of the spectrum that’s heavily weighted toward the ‘great man’ bias.” I guess that means that all the sailors he has invited to his dinner are the opposite of “great men”. The last one on his list certainly is. Anyway, check out the Studs Terkel Memorial Sailing Supper.

There’s still plenty of time for you to share your ideas on which sailors you would invite to a dinner party. Full details of how to participate at Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

What are you waiting for?

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Two more bloggers have responded to my challenge to write about which sailors, living or dead, real or fictional they would like to invite to a dinner party.

It was not a surprise to me that Captain JP chose that colorful character “pirate, buccaneer, slave trader, Naval Captain, navigator, writer, explorer, scientist and hydrographer” William Dampier who, among his many accomplishments, was the first person to sail around the world twice. JP believes he is related to Dampier and has written of him before. I’d love to be a fly on the wall at that dinner and hear Dampier’s tales. Read all about it at Dinner is served.

Carol Anne takes a different tack and invites as guest of honor at her party someone she has also written of before on her blog, her mentor-coach-trainer-friend whom she calls Zorro. He sounds like quite a guy and someone I would be interested to meet too. And Carol Anne obliges by inviting me to the party, along with my wife (so she can chat about gardening with her), two of my favorite sailing bloggers Adam and Edward, her own husband and son, and just for good measure Jimmy Buffett is also invited. Apart from persuading JB to show, that might be one party that we could actually make happen one day. Who knows? Read all about it at I went to a garden party.

There’s still plenty of time for you to share your ideas on which sailors you would invite to a dinner party. Full details of how to participate at Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

I occasionally receive emails from readers of this blog with questions such as…

• Do you have information on places to go for Laser coaching?

• What are the merits of individual vs group coaching?

My first reaction (which I don’t voice to the questioner) is to wonder why the hell this person is asking me questions like this? Hasn’t he been reading this blog? Doesn’t he know that after a quarter of century of trying I am still one of the worst Laser sailors in the world, and probably getting worse?

But still the questions come. So I suppose I should have a stab at answering them. First of all a few random thoughts on the question.

1. I’ve never had any “individual coaching” as such. All of the teaching about Lasers I have ever had has been in group situations. Maybe that’s why I’m so bad. But I don’t think so.

2. There is so much to learn from group practice and coaching, because so much of racing is about the interaction with other boats. How are you going to learn to make killer starts if you don’t have other sailors on the start line to try and beat off the line? How do you (or a coach) know if you have good or bad boat speed in any given conditions unless you are racing against other sailors? How are you going to learn race strategy, and boat to boat tactics, and mark roundings unless you are doing them with other boats?
3. Sure there may be some value in having a coach watch you sailing by yourself and pointing out any flaws in your techniques.
4. But at a good group seminar the coach will create opportunities to observe each student and give them individual feedback anyway.
5. So my strong recommendation is to spend your money on a seminar involving a smallish group of students of similar ability which is run by a coach who understands how to run instructive group drills and who knows the latest tips on how to make a Laser go fast.

Since starting this blog I’ve been to a number of such group coaching session in various different places so let’s review each of them.

Rick White Sailing Seminars

Back in April 2005 I went to one of Rick White’s Sailing Seminars in the Florida Keys. The guest instructor was Brad Funk, whose name you will remember as the guy who lost out in a tiebreaker for the 2008 US Laser Olympic spot to Andrew Campbell. I was just getting into my blogging stride so I didn’t write much about the seminar, except for one post Run Rabbit Run.

There was a pretty diverse group at the seminar of varying abilities, and there was a mix of Sunfish and Laser sailors. We sailed a couple of hours every morning and afternoon for four and a half days as I recall, and then there was an hour or two of review and debrief in the evenings too. It was pretty windy most of the week and some of the less fit sailors found that a bit too much sailing for them, and ducked out on some of the sessions. But as an older guy of average fitness it was fine for me.

We covered pretty much every aspect of racing. Rick has an excellent range of drills to cover every situation you will find on the race course. There wasn’t a lot of time for individual coaching (apart from that Run Rabbit Run drill which I blew by capsizing). But Brad was ready, willing and able to answer any questions each of us had about Laser technique, so all in all it was an excellent week of learning and practice.

And it was fun.

Laser Training Center Cabarete

In January of 2007 and 2008 I went to the Laser Training Center at Cabarete in the Dominican Republic. In each year I attended a 4-day Laser clinic followed by the 3-day Laser Caribbean Midwinters, but they do run clinics at other times of the year too. In 2007 the coach was Brett Davis and in 2007 it was the resident coach Javier Borojovich a.k.a. Rulo. I wrote about these two clinics in several posts…

• Wave Reflections
• It Depends
• Fifteen Seconds

• Thank God for Ron
• If This Trend Continues
• On The Third Day…
• Nobody’s Perfect
• Luckiest Man Alive

Read those posts if you want to get a flavor of the group coaching at Cabarete. I would say that these sessions are not for absolute beginners. In fact you will learn something from these classes no matter how good you think you are. And if you want to work on technique in big waves I know of no finer place. Rulo is a world class coach and worked with some of this year’s Olympic sailors. But he still took the time to give some individual coaching to a duffer like me.

And it was fun.

Minorca Sailing

At the end of September 2006 I went for a sailing vacation at Minorca Sailing in the Med. This company doesn’t really sell itself as a source of coaching and you can certainly just go there for a free and easy sailing vacation enjoying their full range of sailing toys. But there is also a very structured group coaching program at Minorca Sailing for sailors from beginners to advanced in various types of boats and windsurfers, along with racing every afternoon. I attended three different classes there, a week in the Advanced Laser Class, a week in the Beginner Asymmetric Class, and a few evening classes on Beginner Windsurfing for Dinghy Sailors.

I don’t know if I was lucky in my timing, but that year the coach for the Advanced Laser Class was a guy who was the UK National Champion in a similar singlehanded class, the Comet. So his nickname was Comet. As well as running the usual group drills every morning, Comet gave me quite a lot of individual coaching, including one memorable afternoon when it was blowing dogs off chains and racing was canceled because it was too windy. I went out by myself on a Laser to play in the waves and Comet grabbed a RIB and cruised along behind me giving me advice on wave riding.

The posts I wrote about the coaching in Menorca were…

• More on Minorca Sailing
• Comet
• Look! No Rudder!

And it was fun.

Kurt Taulbee SailFit

In March of this year I participated in one of Kurt Taulbee’s SailFit sailing seminars in Clearwater, Florida and wrote about the experience in…

• Floridays
• It’s Only Rock and Roll
• Start Me Up
• Feel on Baby
• Beast of Burden

Kurt is one of the very few sailors who has qualified for every US Laser Olympic Trials since the Laser became an Olympic boat. Couple that with his experience coaching top Laser sailors and he certainly knows Laser technique inside out. It turned out that this particular seminar was a fairly small group so we all got lots of individual attention from a superb coach who gave me oodles of individual feedback.

And it was fun.

Hope those looking for answers to questions about Laser coaching find this useful. If you know of other places to go for Laser coaching, or have any further questions, please fire away in the comments.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Regular readers of this blog, all three of you, know that I occasionally ponder what would happen if I got into any kind of trouble when I’m out sailing my Laser alone on Narragansett Bay and local waters…

Greg, a regular commenter on this blog, found out the hard way what can happen when you take your kids out for a Saturday morning sail on the local river and have an unexpected capsize. A fisherman who saw the incident made a quick 911 call, and before Greg could right the boat at least five Fire Department vehicles, the County Sheriff Water Patrol, a mobile Air Command Center, and two Fire Department Swimmers on a jet-ski were on the scene.

Read the full story at One Step Back.

Yikes. I wonder if the Rhode Island emergency response would be as good?

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

The initial response to this month’s group writing project Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner has been as underwhelming as last time. What’s the matter with you guys? Are you suffering from post-election poll-withdrawal syndrome? Is blogging soooo 2007, and now you are all off tittering on Twitter or pouncing on Pownce? Or are you all on a diet and not doing dinner any more?

So thank god for Edward of EVK4 Superblog fame who, once again, is first off the start line with his list of sailors he would like to invite for dinner. He considers Ellison, Conner, Cayard, Crowhurst and Joyon and rejects them all. He thinks briefly about Tillerman, but then thinks again. He even scratches his own Dad off the list. Check out Dinner at the Lady Bug Lounge to see who actually makes his invitation list.

The Ladybug Lounge? Seems an odd place for a manly man like Edward to take his even more manly sailing hero friends for dinner. Oh well.

Anyway there’s still plenty of time for YOU to participate in this action-packed fun-filled group writing project. What do I need to do? Offer prizes? Full details of how to play at Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

The poll on whether this blog should be about Sailing or whether Tillerman should write about Whatever The Hell He Wants is tightening. There has been a last minute surge for Sailing but it ain’t over until the fat lady sings…

If Sailing loses it will open up a door to a whole new world of blogging topics for me. To use the words of the woman who would be the 45th president of the USA…

I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door. And if there is an open door, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I’ll plow through that door.

Me too. I’m like ready to plow through the door marked “Whatever The Hell He Wants” if like God calls me.

The poll is like over there >>>>>>>>>

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” is the title of this month’s group writing project.

The challenge is to tell the world (via your blog or this blog) which sailor or sailors, living or dead, real or fictional you would like to invite to a dinner party.

Maybe you would like to meet famous nautical explorers from history, or admirals who won major sea battles, or racing sailors who won epic races? Perhaps you think that sailors who made major contributions to the sport in yacht design or in various technical innovations would make fascinating dinner companions? Or perhaps you just want to have dinner with your local club champion, the old lady that runs the junior sailing program, and a few of your favorite sailing bloggers?

It’s up to you. The only limit is your own imagination. I’m sure we would also be interested to hear why you selected these particular folk to invite to dinner, and if there are any particular questions you would like to ask them. Will they just be people you would like to meet, or will you be trying to set up some interesting interactions between your guests? Maybe you would even like to share with us what the menu would be at this special dinner. Take this idea where you will…

Same rules as usual…

1. Write a post on your blog on the subject of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.

2. Once you’ve posted your invitation list, let me know about it by sending an email to tillermeister@gmail.com including a link to your post. If you don’t have a blog just email me your list and I will post it here. Please let me know about your post, or send me your article, by Sunday 23 November. Choose a unique title for your article please, not just a repeat of GWCTD.

3. I will post here two links to your article. Every day or so I will write a post listing any new entries in the project. Then at the end of the project I will provide a summary post with links to all of your lists.

Please participate in this project. Do it for fun. Do it to so that new readers will find your blog. Do it to educate, amuse, inform and entertain the rest of us.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

click on map for larger image

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

The early polls indicate a win by the outsider last-minute candidate…

No, no, no. Of course I’m not talking about the presidential election. That was over ages ago. I refer to the poll causing unprecedented excitement in the sailing blogosphere, “What should Tillerman write about?”

That poll over there >>>>>>>>>

The early favorite was Sailing. But with only 4 days left to vote, Sailing is trailing in second place in the global poll with support from only 47% of the voters. Perhaps the electorate is tired of this candidate? After almost 4 years with Sailing as the lead subject on Proper Course it seems that its former supporters are deserting Sailing in droves and demanding change.

The independent candidates Yacht Club Politics, Sailing Product Reviews, Maps on Monday and Fish on Fridays are faring even worse, all hovering at around 20%. (Electors are allowed to vote for multiple candidates.) And it seems that the historical discrimination against minority water sports is still a factor with Body Surfing only capturing 6% of the voters. Will this group ever elect a body surfer as commodore?

But the real surprise of the election is the staggering success of Whatever The Hell He Wants with support from an overwhelming 71% of the electorate. This seems to be a strong voice for change. And more than that, if this result holds at the end of polling, it is a mandate for the unpredictable and quixotic author of Proper Course to actually write about “whatever the hell he wants.”

But can the world deal with such a dramatic change? What might Proper Course look like if Tillerman writes about “whatever the hell he wants”? An off-the-record interview with a very senior source inside the campaign indicated that if Whatever The Hell He Wants wins the election, Tillerman has promised in the first 100 hours to write about…

• My Big Toe
• Arguing for the Sake of Arguing
• The Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku
• I Love the Smell of Styrene in the Morning
• Strumming my Six-String on my Front Porch Swing

This sounds like a radical and risky agenda that we cannot allow. Vote against this dangerous program while you still can. If you don’t you will get the blog you deserve.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

I wrote five posts here this week…

Two of them At Last and Quiet Please were actually about sailing, real live sailing, boat on the water, me in the boat, sailing stuff that really happened to me, what this blog is supposed to be about.

Three of them were sorta kinda about politics. One Man One Vote? showed a couple of maps illustrating some facts about how America elects a president. The Undecided Voter and The New Commodore were allegories about a fictional yacht club reflecting on the election this week.

Even though most of my readers come here because they are sailors, or are at least somewhat interested in sailing…

• the posts about sailing attracted 2 comments in total

• the posts about the election attracted 51 comments.

Hmmm. What am I supposed to conclude from this?

• Tillerman is a really bad sailing writer.

• It is hard to write about sailing in an interesting way but Tillerman still sucks at it.
• Politics is more interesting than sailing, even for sailors.
• Tillerman should quit writing about sailing and start a new fictional blog about the goings-on of the new commodore and staff at USYC.
• Tillerman should move to Hawaii and take up body-surfing.

Update: At the suggestion of Mr Greg Andkris there is now a poll over there >>>> where you can vote on the future direction of this blog.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

On Tuesday I escaped from the madness and mayhem of US Election Day for a peaceful sail on the Sakonnet River. On the drive down to Fogland Beach I almost ran over several people who were randomly wandering around in the road near a church. What’s all that about? Oh, I expect they were heading off to the polling station and were too busy thinking about who to vote for to keep an eye out for traffic.

After dodging all the undecided voters I eventually escaped to the relative safety and solitude of the river. As I sailed into the middle of the channel I relaxed and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Did I say quiet? No, it’s never quiet when you’re sailing. I listened to the sound of my bow wave and stern wave, the rhythmic noise of the ripples splashing against the hull, the sharper slap as the hull bounced off slightly larger waves, the wind, the almost imperceptible rustle of my tell tales…

And I started thinking? How much can you tell about how you are sailing by sound alone? I’ve been to clinics where they make you sail with your eyes closed to focus on using your other senses, especially hearing. I wrote about one such day at Feel on Baby.

But if all you had was an audio recording of your day’s sailing what would you be able to discern? Could you estimate the wind speed? Does it sound different when you are beating, reaching and running? Could you tell what the size of the waves were? Would you be able to work out the wind speed? Could you hear the difference between sailing “in the groove” upwind and when you were pinching?

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

And so the yacht club has a new commodore. Many of the members are excited about his election. And it has triggered me to make an important decision…

To be sure not all the members are welcoming the election of our new leader. Some are concerned that he is a body surfer from Hawaii. We’ve never had a body surfer from Hawaii as commodore before and some of the crustier old members can’t handle it. I say, get over it. Body surfers are sailors too. Or something.

Some even say he used to pal around with cat sailors. So what? Maybe he learned something useful from hanging out with cat sailors, though I can’t imagine what.

But, as I said, most members are thrilled about our new commodore. To be sure he has a tough time ahead of him. As my friend Greg Andkris said, the previous commodore “nearly bankrupted the club over the past eight years, pursuing international domination in events that were not recognized as important by our club members.” However, there’s every reason to believe that, with support from all the members, the new guy will be able to correct the course the club has been sailing and steer us into calmer waters.

And now I have a confession to make. I’m not really a member of this club. Sure, I’ve been sailing here for twenty years but I never applied for full membership. I have one of those weird provisional memberships which lets me participate in all the club activities, and I do have to pay the same dues as the rest of you. Only difference is that I don’t get to vote in club elections, which is a shame because I would love to have cast my vote for the new commodore. Here look, here’s my membership card. No, it’s not green. Why would you think that? It’s pink.

I’m actually still a member of UKYC. That’s that quaint little old club on the other side of the lake. It was quite a fine institution in its day but has fallen on hard times recently. The commodore is that doddery old girl who has been in the job for over 50 years. They say that when she kicks the bucket her crazy son with the big ears will take over. What a way to run a yacht club!

I have no real excuse for not applying for full membership of USYC before. I love the club. The members are very friendly, the grounds are magnificent, and the sailing waters are second to none. And I have long admired the ideals that led the founding members to create this unique society.

But the truth is that, much as I love the club. I haven’t had a lot of faith in its leadership while I’ve been sailing here. At least, not until now.

The 41st commodore was an accomplished fellow, but he always seemed a bit of a wimp to me. After he promised that he would never raise the dues, and then went ahead and did exactly that, I lost all faith in him.

I had high hopes of the 42nd commodore. He seemed to have a lot of good ideas and he certainly put the club finances on a sound footing. But I could see right from the beginning that he was a bit of a lady’s man. And he totally lost my respect after that unfortunate incident with the young female sailing instructor in the locker room.

What can I say about #43? I suppose the members elected him because he was a good chap to have a beer with in the club bar. But what kind of qualification for leadership is that? I think most members of the club are now relieved that his term is over. I hear that he is going to give up sailing for good and take up riding horses instead.

And so we are all looking forward to #44. He has promised change for the club. God knows we need it. I wish him well. And now that the club has a leader whom I admire personally and whose philosophy I share, I think it’s time I signed up for full membership.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

We moved to Rhode Island in May of 2007. There were several reasons for choosing this area to spend our retirement, but as an avid sailor a big factor for me was the closeness to opportunities for sailing, especially Laser sailing. The plan was to sail many of the New England Laser regattas in the summer and to race with the Newport Laser frostbite fleet in the winter.

It didn’t quite work out as planned. Sure I sailed a lot of Laser regattas in the summers of 2007 and 2008. But a stupid injury to my back in October of last year prevented me from sailing at the start of the frostbite season in early November. By the time my back had healed we were in the middle of winter and I chickened out on joining in with the frostbiting for three reasons…

• It was frigging cold

• I had sailing trips planned to the Caribbean, Australia and Florida in the early months of this year which seemed more than enough to satisfy my sailing addiction
• It was frigging cold.

But this winter is going to be different. I took care of my back, avoiding violent sports like putting my socks on too vigorously. And so on Sunday I sailed my first day with the Newport Laser fleet, 18 months after moving here partly for that specific purpose.

Man, what an eye opener. The wind was gusty and shifty with huge changes in wind direction and speed. The sailing area is pretty well surrounded by buildings on all four sides so I expect these conditions are pretty typical. By my own rough count there were over 60 Lasers racing, the start line was short, and the tide was pushing the fleet over the line. Every race had several general recalls before the fleet got away.

I have to say I was not on top of my game. My starts were awful. I struggled to keep in phase with the crazy shifts, and to change gears as the wind velocity went up and down. A minute or two into the first race I was capsized by some freak shift. This never happens to me. My starts and first beats were consistently awful but after that I was fast enough to pick off a few boats downwind and at most mark roundings.

So racing with this fleet is going to be great practice for me. Should sharpen up many aspects of my game including starts, big fleet strategy, dealing with shifts… and judging from some new aches and pains I was feeling on Monday it’s also going to be great for my overall sailing fitness. Not to mention that it was actually a hell of a lot of fun too.

Can’t wait for next Sunday.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Let’s suppose you are a member of a club. As this is supposed to be a sailing blog, let’s assume it’s a yacht club. This year there is an election for the head honcho of the club, the Commodore.

There are two members who are running for election as Commodore. You like them both and can’t decide which one to vote for.

The younger of the two guys is very personable and has a knack for persuading other members to volunteer for club activities (an important talent for a sailing club commodore as I can personally attest). If elected he wants to spend more of the club’s funds on repairing some of the old docks and revitalizing the junior sailing program. You support both of these aims.

The other candidate has a lot of experience racing internationally and has spent many years active in club politics. He has said that, if elected, he wants to spend more of the club’s money in sponsoring sailors to participate in major overseas regattas and to improve the club’s dining service. (No more pork.) You think these two changes are worthwhile too.

So you can’t decide which candidate to vote for in today’s election for Commodore. You are an undecided voter.

Many of your friends are strong supporters of one candidate or the other. It’s pretty clear that a majority are leaning to the younger candidate. But you would be quite happy with either of these guys as Commodore.

So what do you do?

Do you just toss a coin and vote for one of them even though you think they would both be equally good for the club?

Or do you respect the collective judgment of your fellow members and let them decide?

Note: If you feel motivated to comment on this post please don’t tell me which candidate you would vote for. That’s not the point of my question. What I’m interested in exploring is whether or not you should vote at all if you really are finding it very hard to choose between two candidates that seem equally good to you.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Everyone living in America, and perhaps the rest of the world too, is probably totally fed up by now with every TV news program showing those red-state blue-state election maps time after time after time. So here, for today’s Maps on Monday feature, are two more maps, showing the US presidential election from slightly different perspectives.

The first map, courtesy of the New York Times, illustrates how the Electoral College system for presidential elections really works. It shows each state re-sized in proportion to the relative influence of the individual voters who live there. The numbers indicate the total delegates to the Electoral College from each state, and how many eligible voters a single delegate from each state represents.

click map for larger image

Far from being a one man one vote system, the chart shows that a vote in Rhode Island counts for about twice as much as a vote in California, and a vote in Washington DC is worth three times a vote in Florida. Hmmm.

And here we have one projected outcome for tomorrow’s election, courtesy of Frontloading HQ, using the familiar reds and blues in various hues, but now the each state has been re-sized in proportion to the number of Electoral College delegates it has.

click map for larger image

This maps firmly places my prolifically blogging friends in New Mexico into their true insignificance, but also, unfortunately, demonstrates the huge power of my Californian and New York blogging friends in a way that is sure to go to their heads.

Have a good day tomorrow. And if you have a vote, use it wisely.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

The plan was to launch from Colt State Park, sail around Conimicut Light, and back in time for tea. Probably about four miles upwind, and then back. Done it before. No big deal.

But the winds were light… and getting lighter. About halfway to the lighthouse I contemplated the possibility of being becalmed in a shipping channel four miles from the launch ramp with about an hour of daylight left. Hmmm. Not a good plan.

So I headed back to shore and did some practice tacks and gybes and mark roundings and all that good stuff not too far from the ramp.

82 days Laser sailing in the bag. 18 more to go. It’s starting to feel like I might actually get to 100. Massachusetts is in my column. Texas doesn’t believe we can do it. Ohio is on the fence… as usual. The polls are tightening, as my friend Sarah says.

Wish me luck.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Never mind that dude Joe the Plumber, or Sam or whatever his name is from Ohio, and his delusions of grandeur. Let’s instead give credit to Vic the Plumber who is (unlike Joe)

• a real plumber

• a highly successful businessman
• and a sailor.

Vic entered a Plumbing Apprenticeship Program and after several years of intensive plumbing education he became a Journeyman Plumber. As soon as he qualified for the next step, he became a Plumbing Contractor. Then he became a College Plumbing Instructor and finally a Plumbing Distributor.

In 1995 (three years before Google was founded) Vic started selling plumbing supplies via the Internet, and his company PlumbingSupply.com is now the web’s leading and most popular plumbing supplier.

Vic still owns the company but has stepped back from many of his duties to enjoy other activities, including sailing. Vic owned a Catalina 250wk from June 2002 through October 2004, and then purchased a 2005 Catalina 34MKII. He now apparently spends a good deal of his time Sailing on the San Francisco Bay.

Vic also seems to have had the sense to stay out of this year’s presidential campaign. Probably too busy sailing. Sail on Vic. You are the one really living the American Dream.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Where is Joe the Plumber?

Did he really stand up John the Maverick to go sailing?

Anybody seen Joe?

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

When I returned home from sailing on Monday my wife asked me if I had seen any other boats out sailing. Hmmm. No, I didn’t. There are still plenty of boats on their moorings around here, but not many people out sailing during the week. Especially in the middle part of the Sakonnet River near Fogland Beach which was where I was out that day.

There’s something very relaxing about sailing on a stretch of water a dozen miles long and not seeing another sail. Something a bit worrying too; nobody around to help me if I get into trouble. But there was not much chance of that on Monday. It was a sunny, light wind day. A day to practice roll tacks and roll gybes. It’s strange that almost every time I spend a session mainly focused on tacks and gybes I discover how to change my technique slightly to improve the effectiveness of these moves. And Monday was no exception.

October has been a good month on my journey to 100 days of Laser sailing in 2008. This was the twelfth sail of the month, already the most sails in any single month. At the beginning of the year I would not have predicted that October would be the month when I sailed the most. But it has been a great month of relatively mild weather and fair winds.

Who knows what November will bring? Will it snow? Will Tillerman wimp out and abandon his quest as the water gets colder? Will Tillerman acquire the support of any more outlandish sponsors? Will Tillerman find something new and interesting to say about each of the remaining 19 sailing days or will he write posts full of lots of questions? Will Tillerman stop referring to himself in the third person?

Only time will tell…

Is this of any interest, or should I blog about the shocking story making the political news in America today, all about how a certain professor went to a colleague’s leaving party five years ago? Terrifying! What would Joe Sam the Plumber Country Music Artist say?

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

Oh no. We’ve lost Joe the Plumber.

We can’t have the election until we find him.

Perhaps he went sailing?

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back

I made fun here of a sailing club I used to belong to, calling it Goose Poop Beach Sailing Club. Truth is that the years I spent there, with good friends and my own kids, were some of the happiest sailing experiences of my life.

It’s strange how those little lake sailing clubs like GPBSC often develop some of the best racing sailors in the country. It also dawned on me this week that four of the kids who dominated the racing at GPBSC when I was there have, as adults, all gone on to make interesting contributions to the sailing world in quite different ways.

In the late 80’s and early 90’s these four kids from GPBSC, in turn, all won the junior sailing championship for all the lake sailing clubs in our region. I think I’m right in saying that, between them, the four youngsters from our club won the regional junior championship in eight out of nine consecutive years. (And it would probably have been all nine years if I hadn’t taken two of the four on a trip to see their grandparents in the UK one summer.)

But what’s more amazing is what those four kids have achieved since…

One is the President of the US class of one of the most popular sailing dinghies in the world.

Another is the North American Marketing Manager for one of the largest manufacturers of small sailing boats in the world.

The third was part of the design team for a US America’s Cup syndicate.

And the fourth worked as an engineer for one of the leading nautical rigging and hydraulics companies in the world.

It’s amazing where the journey leads when you start from Goose Poop Beach.

Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back