| If you have never been on the water, it can be | | | | water, and their surroundings. They learn from |
| quite intimidating to try and learn the | | | | past experience how the environment will interact |
| fundamentals of sailing. Sailing is filled with jargon. | | | | with their water craft. After enough experience |
| To many, it seems like a new language. To some | | | | they are easily able to predict what their boat will |
| extent, it is. Everything on a boat has a specific | | | | do based changing environmental cues. They gain |
| name. In racing or emergency situations, it is very | | | | the ability to predict what will happen based on |
| important to be able to reference very specific | | | | trends they see in the wind and water. This is |
| pieces of equipment with precision. In racing, small | | | | perhaps the magic of sailing that keeps bringing so |
| adjustments mean the difference between first | | | | many back to the water. It simply feels great to |
| place and ninth place. The skipper needs to direct | | | | be this connected with your physical environment |
| the crew to make these adjustments very | | | | and have a mastery of this intuition. Yet, most |
| quickly. Even more importantly, in emergency | | | | find they are continually challenged and learn more |
| situations the skipper needs to direct crew | | | | about what they still don't know with every trip |
| members with critical instructions that can mean | | | | on the water. |
| the difference between live and death. A rogue | | | | I believe there is no better way to gain the |
| wave, or gale force wind, will not wait for a | | | | fundamentals of sailing other than simply putting in |
| lengthy description of some obscure part of the | | | | the hours on the water. Just simply being on the |
| boat that needs adjusting. Thus, a large | | | | water develops your abilities. It's also helpful to |
| vocabulary is required. Additionally, there are basic | | | | experience a variety of conditions. The learning |
| concepts of wind, force, resistance, tides and | | | | comes from time sitting idle with extreme |
| currents that need to be understood. The largely | | | | low-wind conditions as well as being in very tense |
| involve physics and an understanding of resistance | | | | fast-moving conditions. Even when nothing is |
| and lift. | | | | happening and the wind is at zero knots, you will |
| Jargon and basic physics can be easily learned in | | | | be thinking about the boat, the sky and the |
| the classroom. In the end, it is a memorization | | | | water. You will run simulations in your head about |
| exercise. However, learning the fundamentals of | | | | what could happen when the wind picks up. How |
| sailing is about more than having a great new | | | | will my boat move? What will happen next? |
| lexicon. There is a certain sense that sailors | | | | Before too long you will find you are simply lost in |
| develop over many years of being on the water | | | | the learning. You will be enjoying yourself and |
| that is quite hard to define or teach in a | | | | building the fundamentals of sailing before you |
| classroom. Sailors gain an intuition about the wind, | | | | know it. |