A Gentle Breeze

This is New England summertime and a big lull is beginning to settling in. More and more days present the challenge of sailing the Laser with not enough wind. When there is no pressure, any motion in the boat threatens to knock the flow off the sail, but in order to learn to keep moving in these conditions you need to try things and that means moving around.

I focus on making my movements in the boat like a slow dance, fluid and at half speed. You can move, but keep it sparse and keep it smooth. It takes a lot of awareness and balance, sort of like yoga or Ti Chi, to reach for the boom on a beat without shaking the hull, or to make a quiet transition from a position out by the centerboard to a side-deck sit and back as the pressure comes and goes. And when you need to stay in a position it’s a bit like a dipping your partner and holding.

Gentle breezes work well for many master sailors, and I often do pretty well against the antsy younger people, but the contortions required can lock up my joints and I have to think far ahead and start flexing my legs before unwrapping myself from the centerboard and mainsheet as the leeward mark approaches.

Some of the other sailors sit quieter than I do, but they don’t adjust trim as often and frankly they’re mostly following me around the course so I guess my balance of activity is better. But occasionally I try something too awkward and rock the boat hard or let the boom fall down to the windward side. Then it’s time for a deep breath and few slow steps before my Laser and I go slow dancing down the lake.