Okay, Understand that this is my second time on a cat and the first attempt at undertanding it. An earlier post Kaos encouraged teachers to start at the begining. That is really where David started today and I really appreciated it.

First we put the boat together. I was happy to do that because I could put a name to the ropes and see how they were strung through and attached. That made what he asked me to do later make more sense. Please don't assume that meant that I had everything straight. I didn't.

I think it is helpful to call the ropes by their proper name along with a discription. Say 'the blue jib sheet' or 'the red spinnaker sheet' By the end of the lesson I didn't need the color anymore and he dropped it.

I found the Spinnaker Halyard to be hard to grip because it was so much thinner than the others. I didn't expect that and it slipped through my hands some which made my set too slow. I got to work the spinnaker for some time. I am glad he didn't ask anything else of me at the time because I had to really pay attention and adjust it often in the oscillating wind to make it the way he told me it should look.

I know it seems silly but when asked to 'let the jib out' it seemed like I should pull the sheet toward the outside of the boat and when I let the sheet slip toward the middle of the boat that sounds like 'sheeting in' to me. It took me a while to change my mind about what that meant. This is where helping put the boat together made a difference.

He tried to explain the angle of a tack to the wind. I understand in concept. I can picture how I might draw it on paper However, we were out for about two hours and this was too much. I was still trying to figure out how the boat worked mechanically. I am not a stupid girl but I was having a hard time absorbing it at that point. I think another hour of 'the mechanics' of the boat and I could have been ready to think about wind.

I have been thinking about what I was asked to do and his explanations since. I have been picturing what the sails were supposed to look like and what I did to make them look that way. I am ready to think about something else now. But trust me, for the first two hours, this was enough.

I had a wonderful time and my resolve is set. This is for me.