Esther and I are going to be sailing for 8 hours a day, 3 days in a row. We're still definitely beginners, and have never sailed for more than two hours at a time.

I suspect we need a checklist, e.g.:

o Spare drain plugs
o Sunscreen
o Sun hat
o Eyeglass holders

But what all goes on that checklist? I suppose I should also want to do a thorough inspection of our boat - is there a checklist for that somewhere?

Jonathan

Jonathan, what do you mean? Are you going on a three-day cruise? Or are you saying you are just going to go out sailing every day for three days from your home base? It makes a big difference.

I am not crazy enough to go out for a three day cruise at my current level of experience - or to go particularly far from shore, for that matter. My wife and I are taking an intensive three day class in cat sailing, in which we will be on the water eight hours a day, but under the eyes of an instructor.

Jonathan

Dude -

I take a small, soft lunchbox-sized cooler on the boat - most have plastic clip nylon straps that will secure it to a hiking strap or mast base out of the way. The night before, throw two or three sport water bottles in the freezer. Into the cooler for the day, put one of the frozen bottles and two cold ones, a couple of power bars or energy gel packs, and a chapstick. I'm sure your instructor will have you in for breaks (unless he/she is SATAN!) - reload as needed from an igloo kept in your regatta wagon.

For that much sailing, wear good (read that as "well-fitted," not "expensive") gloves to protect your hands, and be prepared with a small first-aid kit in your vehicle that includes some medical tape and band-aids for any blisters that pop up. Sunscreen at a higher SPF than you usually use, and reapply at lunch time.

Sounds like fun - what class is this?

John

Jonathan,
Are you going to a Rick White Sailing Seminar? Sounds like it. If so, you will rarely be on the water for more than about two and a half hours at a time (a morning session and an afternoon session).

And even if it is some other seminar that I have never heard of, no clinic of any kind would keep you on the water for eight consecutive hours. That would not be conducive to learning anything.

So whatever you normally take with you when you go out for a two-hour sail would be what you would take when you do the seminar.

I recommend good body protection, though. You should wear wetsuits and, if you do not have reinforced knees on them, wear knee pads on top of the wetsuits. Also, good sailing gloves, of course. And you will be working harder at sailing than you normally do when you are just out there sailing around for pleasure, so do take more water than you usually do. If possible, store water in the hulls -- you don't want a cooler or anything cluttering up your deck. In fact, you do not want anything extra that lines can get caught on. During the drills, you will be doing a lot of tacking and jibing, and you need the deck to be as "clean" as possible.

If you have other questions about the seminar and what you need to prepare for it, whether it is ours or someone else's, please e-mail me.

Mary and John,

We had been hoping to attend a Rick White Seminar, but we didn't see one we could attend at the times we were free. So we were happy to see a seminar being offered by the Hobie 32 Fleet in Virginia Beach over Memorial Day Weekend:

http://www.hobiefleet32.org/training_seminar.htm

They were willing to take us, beginners though we be. As it happens, the seminar was cancelled, since they are merging with another event, and one of the organizers has graciously offered to give us three days of instruction for the original price.

I guess I should have realized they wouldn't send us out for 8 hour stretches flat out. I just never asked. When they said they wanted to get on the water as early as possible...well, we programmmers can be literal at times ;->

We have only shorty wetsuits, and no sailing gloves. There are fingerless gloves and full gloves - which is better? Do I need specialized sailing knee pads, or can I use the gardening knee pads from WalMart?

I'll definitely take you up on your email offer. Thanks!

Jonathan

As for gloves, I have had great success in both course racing and distance racing with waterski gloves. The O'Brien ski-skins seem to have the best combination of dexterity, mobility, and padding. The wrist strap comes in handy to keep the gloves on, as well as provide some relief to your wrist when you wrap the line.

The half- finger gloves always seemed to get bundled up at the edges, exaserbating the existing blisters.

My crew has more heavily padded gloves, and I suspect both glove types will wear out about the same time (about 1/2-3/4 racing season - which down in FL is about 9 months of 3-4 events per month).

If you know you will be out there for a while, I suggest duct tape on your hands where you typically get blisters (underneath the gloves). The combination of duct tape and gloves should help minimize the blisters by keeping the skin dry and reducing friction from the lines....

Jonathan,

I like the Harken 3 finger black Magic 29.00. I have used the same pair for two sailing seasons and two Worrell 1000's.
The sailing Angles knee pads work real good and don't have a lot of fabric behind the knee to bunch up 18.00.

I've been using the half fingered magic marine gloves. I'm starting my third season with them,they're still in good shape and the grip seems to get better as they age.

Mike

Wal-mart carries some neoprene knee pads that work fine (although unlike Dave's recommendation, these have a lot of material in the back that can get uncomfortable at times).

I use the Ronstan Sticky gloves with no finger tips. I've never had a problem with them rolling on me. Be sure to use their sizing chart because I'm sure if they are a little big they will roll.