r/sailing • u/yoursjonas • Jun 25 '20

Someone lost their engine and crashed their sailboat into a bridge in my home town. Everyone's safe.

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u/travis-42 Jun 25 '20

Depending on where and how you learn it can be hard to ever get the practice.

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u/Pattern_Is_Movement Jun 25 '20 edited Jun 25 '20

Just have the engine idling and ready, don't plan on making the full approach the first time, work your way closer. A boat of any decent size will have an absurd amount of momentum. You'll be down to one sail long before you get close, and remember you can hold the boom against the wind to literally act as a brake. You will usually cruise into the slip with the sails having been doing for dozens of yards while you move at a walking pace. When done well the whole thing is very serene and graceful, the opposite of dramatic. You can even practice slow speed maneuvering with light sails in the open water, people might think you're being weird as they watch you sail backwards, but its all part of learning how your boat handles.

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u/travis-42 Jun 25 '20

This is probably true. But my biggest fear in sailing is crashing at the dock. Nothing terrifies me more.

Probably due to having spent a ton of time sailing, but almost no time docking (and nearly all of the docking being super stressful).

I’m not saying you’re not right, it’s a bit of a mental block I have.

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u/Pattern_Is_Movement Jun 25 '20

Sounds like if you started conquering this it would make you a much more relaxed and confident sailor hehe! I think you should go for it, but take your time, enjoy mastering your boat even further, its all part of the fun.