- Services=20
- Digital=20 Newspaper
- Advertise=20
- Miami.com
- MomsMiami.com
- Data = Sleuth=20
- ElNuevoHerald.com=20
Posted on Sunday, 04.19.09
-
- share=20
![](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/story_fontsize_larger=)
![3D"FARK](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/sharetools/fark.gif" "3D\"FARK")
![3D"Post](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/sharetools/myspace.gi= "3D\"Post")
![3D"Add](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/sharetools/facebook.g= "3D\"Add")
![3D"Send](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/sharetools/aim.gif"=20 "3D\"Send")
![3D"Seed](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/sharetools/newsvine.g= "3D\"Seed")
![3D"Add](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/sharetools/reddit.gif= "3D\"Add")
![3D"Add](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/sharetools/google.gif= "3D\"Add")
![3D"DIGG](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/sharetools/digg.png" "3D\"DIGG")
![3D"Add](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/sharetools/delicious.= "3D\"Add")
Windswept: Off the coast of Fort Myers Beach, = our hero=20 finds learning to sail's a breeze
![3DLoading...=20](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/static/images/redesign/ajax-loader_me=)
- Photos=20
![3D""=20](3D"http://media.miamiherald.com/images/redesign/clear.gif")
Related Content
BY KARI J. BODNARCHUK
Special to The Miami Herald
FORT MYERS BEACH -- The sailboat heeled = to its=20 starboard side as it sliced through a narrow, finger-shaped inlet off = the Gulf=20 of Mexico. Its sails loomed above me, and from where I sat at the stern, = confidently steering the vessel between passing boats and a palm-dotted=20 shoreline, I could see across the sparkling, emerald-green water to a = rocky=20 outcropping. Here, hundreds of pelicans sunned themselves in the = tropical heat=20 of the day.
Suddenly the wind shifted, causing the 26-foot boat to tip = dramatically onto=20 its side, until its sails lay parallel to the water, just inches away = from=20 touching. I thrust the tiller away from me, as I watched the rail dip = below the=20 surface, and braced myself to keep from falling into the water.
''Sheet out the mainsail,'' Beite Cook, 49, my sailing instructor, = called=20 out, as he crouched at the front of the cockpit.
While I tried to steer us away from disaster -- in the form of a = large wooden=20 pier and a sizable powerboat docked next to it -- fellow student Charles = Kiss=20 grabbed the line for the mainsail and played it out, enabling the sail = to spill=20 air and the boat to right itself.
In two days of sailing, this was the closest we had come to tipping = over. I=20 was rattled by the experience, called a ''knockdown'' in the boating = world. At=20 least our custom-designed training boat was ''virtually unsinkable'': = the hull's=20 foam-filled compartments help keep the boat afloat.
GAINING EXPERIENCE
At least I was gaining valuable experience in how to handle a boat, = though I=20 still had a long way to go before I was as seasoned and as competent = behind the=20 tiller as my husband, Howard. He's been a sailor since he was 7 and a = boat=20 captain for 15 years. We've talked about chartering a boat with friends = and=20 sailing around the Greek islands or Belize, but I want to be a = participant, not=20 a passenger. In the interest of preserving friendships and marital = bliss, I=20 decided to take a five-day Learn to Sail course through Offshore Sailing = School=20 at its Fort Myers Beach location. This intensive course blends classroom = and=20 practical training, and provides U.S. Sailing certification to those who = pass.
Steve Colgate, a former Olympic competitor and America's Cup sailor, = founded=20 the school in 1964. He even designed the training boat we were using, = the=20 Colgate 26, with the help of a naval architect. Doris Colgate, Steve's = wife and=20 also an accomplished sailor, founded the National Women's Sailing = Association,=20 authored Sailing: A Woman's Guide (International Marine/ Ragged = Mountain Press, 1999), and developed the school's women-only programs = for=20 beginner to seasoned sailors. Offshore now has 11 schools for ages 7 and = up,=20 women-only and coed, in the United States and the Caribbean.
For the Fort Myers Beach program, students stay at the Pink Shell = Beach=20 Resort overlooking San Carlos Bay -- the training ground for the course. = Classes=20 have a maximum of four students per instructor, but Kiss, 52, a local=20 scuba-diving instructor, was the only other student the December week I = was=20 there.
LEARNING THE ROPES
The first two days of the course were the most difficult, as we = filled our=20 heads with new terminology. We'd already read through the 90-page = textbook,=20 Basic Keelboat, sent several weeks before the course.
Even prepped, I felt lost in a foreign language. With patience and = precision,=20 Cook explained the parts of a boat, how the sails work (much like an = airplane=20 wing), and how a boat reacts when it sails toward, away from or = perpendicular to=20 the wind. The writing on his whiteboard looked like a teenager's = text-message,=20 with notes on LOA, LWL, CE and CLR -- shorthand for the boat's ''length=20 overall,'' ''length at waterline,'' ''center of effort'' and ``center of = lateral=20 resistance.''
By Day Two, I had learned a new alphabet; now I just needed to use = it.=20 ''Martina Navratilova took this course and said learning to sail was one = of the=20 hardest things she's ever done,'' Cook said, to make us feel better.
That afternoon, we did, as we sailed out of Matanzas Pass and into = San Carlos=20 Bay in the Gulf of Mexico, past hotels and palm trees lining Fort Myers = Beach.=20 Bottlenose dolphins darted through the water in front of our boat, = playing off=20 the bow waves. We spotted a green sea turtle floating on the water's = surface,=20 and snowy egrets and great blue herons on the shore. Only two other = boats=20 crossed our horizon.
Kiss and I took turns steering and working the jib and mainsail, = while Cook=20 gave us pointers and talked about reading the boat and the wind.
''Here comes a burst,'' Cook said, pointing at the water.
Its surface appeared perfectly uniform to me; I couldn't spot = anything that=20 distinguished a gust of wind.
''Riiiight, now,'' he said, and a sudden puff of air made the boat = tilt and=20 leap forward.
Then he explained: The tone of the hull cutting through the water had = shifted=20 pitch, and leaning against the rail, he could feel the boat = accelerate.
With repetition and practical time on the water, things began to sink = in.=20 Thankfully, the training boat had little labels next to each rope (or = ''line,''=20 as it's called). That way, when Cook said, ''Secure the halyard and = tighten the=20 boom vang,'' I knew I was supposed to grab the red rope, release it from = the=20 thingy-ma-bob and hoist the mainsail, and then grip the rope attached to = the=20 silver tube and give it a tug.
Over the next couple of days, we practiced tacking and jibing up and = down the=20 coast, and learned how to react more instinctually. As our skills = improved, we=20 practiced man-overboard drills -- rescuing a buoy rather than each other = --=20 learned what to do if we grounded, and reviewed basic navigation, = right-of-way=20 rules and safety issues.
''How do you know you're not on a collision course?'' Cook asked, as = we=20 steered toward a channel at the same time as another boat. ''If the land = behind=20 the other boat appears to be moving, then you're OK, but if the land = isn't=20 moving, you're on a collision course,'' he explained. ``It's = geometry.''
PRACTICAL MATTERS
Unlike the classroom sessions, which got easier each day, the = practical part=20 of the course grew more difficult, as Cook encouraged us to make more = decisions=20 and sail on our own. Rather than telling us what to do, he would ask = questions=20 to get us to think and react. He was preparing us for our last day, when = Kiss=20 and I would take the $39,000 boat out on our own.
'The `free sail' is the graduation,'' Steve Colgate said.
Kiss and I both passed the 80-question, multiple-choice test on Day = Four,=20 joining the more than 100,000 people the school has certified in nearly = 25=20 years. We went for another afternoon sail with Cook, to get more = practice=20 maneuvering the boat in and out of the slip and through the narrow = channel into=20 the bay, and to help us boost our confidence.
The day of our free sail, we inched away from the dock, waved goodbye = to Cook=20 and then eased the boat into San Carlos Bay. The wind was relatively = calm but=20 shifty, blowing up to about 15 knots. Tentatively, I took the helm, but = I soon=20 realized it was the idea of sailing without an instructor that spooked = me, not=20 the sailing itself.
For the next four hours, we zigzagged up and down the coast, tacking = and=20 jibing without any problems, and making minor adjustments to the lines = or tiller=20 as the wind shifted. As I relaxed and tuned into the boat, I was = surprised at=20 how ''alive'' it seemed: I could feel the wind as it vibrated down the = mast and=20 buzzed in the rigging, and I could hear the waves coursing over the = hull.
''Ready to tack?'' Kiss asked, when it was finally time to head = in.
''Wait a second,'' I said. ``I think I see a puff of wind = coming.''
We sat for about 15 seconds, staring at the ocean's surface and = listening to=20 water slap against the hull. Then suddenly we felt the boat accelerate = as a=20 small gust of wind crossed the sails and swept across our faces.
- share=20
Join the discussion
The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share = information,=20 experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the = comments may=20 be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage = lively,=20 open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from = profanity,=20 hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order = to post=20 comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your = username will=20 show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to = offer=20 your thoughts.
-
More Travel
Travel
- Pit = stops make A1A a delicious road trip=20
- Zip = through the treetops, visit the stars=20
- Pack= =20 lighter by packing smarter
More=20
-
Videos
![3DLoading...=20](3D"http://www.miamiherald.com/static/images/redesign/ajax-loader_medi=)
@Nyx.replyAnswerText@