Friday, October 2, 2009

From the Deck: New mate

From the Deck: New mate: "After a few elementary instructions, the new mate learns by experience. For instance, never tie up the peapod painter with a slippery hitch. Having her go adrift once is sufficient experience.

We were beating out of the harbor with a full load of six passengers in our Friendship sloop. The mate was on the foredeck coiling down the jib halyard. From the wheel, I called, 'Jon, clear the weather sheet.' Jon looked puzzled. What was the weather sheet and to what? 'Jon, the weather sheet!' The jib was backing and forcing the bow away from the wind so I could not tack as we approached the shore. Jon quickly saw that the windward jib sheet was fouled around the bit and cleared it in time. 'Windward' he knew, 'weather' was not yet in his vocabulary. Let the topsail sheet go aloft and it will soon be in your vocabulary."

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