Cherri, It seems as if all of us have had a "learning experience" at one time or another. A couple of years ago my wife and I were sailing on Elephant Butte reservoir in New Mexico, and the marina manager told us prior to leaving the slip to watch the erratic winds in the afternoon. Being a New Mexico naitive, I let his advice slip out of my mind, and we had a really nice sail for a couple of hours. The wife took a nap on the V-berth, and woke up when the boat started heeling to the point she was uncomfortable, so into the cockpit she came. I was enjoying the "rails in the water" attitude (not a good point of sail I admit, but I was new at the sailing game then) , and she reminded me of the advice we had received at the marina, but did I listen? No. We should have seen the 30-40 mph gusts coming by observing the lake surface, but the macho thing had not been scared out of me yet. It took water coming over the starboard coaming to bring me to my senses, and suddenly decided it was time to crank up the 4hp Johnson and motor back to the marina. I took the sails down (Dana, the wife, up on the bow in 3 foot chop, pissed off and scared, securing the jib), while I completely removed the main sail and threw it into the cabin. I cranked up the O/B, and we were passing through a narrow area between Elephant Butte and the eastern lee shore of the lake which was about 200 yards away when the motor failed! It didn't take long for me to realize that the Main should not be in the cabin. I somehow got the Main re-attached and managed to sail into the marina. We went to the camper, got a 12-pack, and sat in the boat for an hour or so analyzing the mistakes we made. 1. Listen to local advice. 2.Do not become complacent as to your sailing abilities. 3. Watch the surface of the water for advance warning of wind shifts, etc. 4. Do not assume your motor will get you back. You are on a sailboat, make sure that it is ready to sail. (We bought a new Honda 5hp 4-stroke 2 days later. The marina manager graciously lent us his motor for a few days until the new Honda arrived.) 5. We had a new boom made for the boat when we bought it, but had never practiced reefing, which would have enabled us to sail home without the motor. 6. KEEP ON SAILING! These are the things we learn by trial and error. There are things we can learn from books and other people's experience, but until they happen to us, they are abstract. Once they happen to us, they are real, and we learn from these experiences. Tom M-17 #330 "Wild Hare"
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