Sunday 3/31/2024. I recently purchased a 14-foot O’Day Javelin sailboat, but I don’t know how to sail. I have owned and operated motorboats for most of my adult life but this is the first sailboat I have ever owned. Prior to launching my sailboat, I spent weeks, money, and effort repairing my 6HP 4-stoke Mercury to make sure I could get back to the dock once I shoved off. After great determination and planning for every possible situation that may arise once I pushed off the dock on this day, I was ready to go. I reflected on this determination to sail and found it similar to the determination of a dog gnawing on a bone to get every last molecule of flavor out of it. It was at this moment that I named the vessel “Dog with a Bone” (DWAB). When I arrived at the MYC marina, the wind was blowing at 12 to 14 knots of wind, and the water was mostly flat with ripples in the bay channels. I decided to only equip DWAB with the jib sail as the main sail may have too much power to control for one with my skill level. I launched DWAB from the MYC rear ramp so I could take my time. I pushed off the dock only when I was convinced that the motor was purring like a nuzzled kitten.
As I motored away, I noticed an old salt standing on his sailboat tied to a mooring. He looked as if he and the boat were made at the same time. He stared at me with a slight smile, indicative of one who knows that he is looking at an old fat first-time sailor wannabe trudging along in a perfectly functioning sailboat unnecessarily under motor power. I was extra embarrassed because I was even having trouble moving forward under motor power. It was awkward motoring a sailboat with the motor off to one side on a transom mount. I had to adjust the pitch of the rudder to counter this effect. The learning curve was such that the front of my boat was up in the air and moving side-to-side like a shark. It must have been a week later when my friend Benny told me that I had to lock the motor in a forward position and steer the boat with the boat rudder instead of steering with the motor. When he said this to me, my face went limp and my eyes inadvertently shut upon realizing why that old salt was smiling at me like that. I must have been sorry sight.
After a while of feeling judged by the old salt, and everyone who even glanced in my direction for that matter, and after I was fully convinced that my motor would restart if engaged, I gulped, turned off the motor, and prepared to raise the jib. I used both hands to pull on the jib sheet and I gripped it as a rock climber would grip his rope while hanging high off the face of El Capitan in Yosemite. As I pulled the rope, the jib went up and it caught the wind with impressive force. The wind was upon me from a close haul. The jib inflated with a loud pop and the boat immediately began moving forward. As the boat began to move, the hardwood tiller swung like a bat right into my chest. With its action, DWAG was saying, ‘It’s about time. Here! Take this tiller and let’s go you fool!’
I grabbed the tiller with one hand and the jib sheet with the other hand. I gently steered in small S-shapes as I moved forward to get a feel for the movement. I immediately realized that if I steered too far port, I would find myself in a close reach. When this happened, the jib snaped port-side and then luffed until I tightened the left jib sheet while releasing the right sheet. When I steered too far starboard, I reversed the maneuvers. The feeling of sailing under wind power was exhilarating. I felt a similar feeling when I was 16 years old and I drove my car alone for the first time. Except, this hit me deeper. I felt as if I had been here before in a past life. It felt familiar. I had been here before but I can’t remember when. I was sad that it took me until my 50s to experience sailing, but I was also grateful that my whole life didn’t go by without having this experience. After a full afternoon of sailing around the bay with just my jib, I pulled back into the marina under the power of the wind at the Miami Yacht Club and was already planning my next trip back to the water with DOG WITH A BONE. Next time, I will also deploy my main sail.
