Hi, Everyone!
Yesterday, Grandma and Grandpa took me sailing! When we got to Sodus in the afternoon, there was a nice sailing breeze. Grandpa got the sails out of the closet, and Grandma helped me put on my life jacket so I could go along. The wind was blowing down the bay from the lake, so we had to sail back and forth across the bay to head upwind. Grandma says this is called “tacking”. The sailboat goes fast and the wind makes the sailboat tilt over to the side. I helped Grandma adjust the little sail in front (she calls it the jib) on every tack. Sometimes Grandma had to sit right on the edge of the boat to keep it tilted at the best angle to sail well. I wanted to help her, but Grandma said I was too little to add much weight and I might fall in the water! So I helped Grandpa steer the boat and handle the big sail (he calls it the main).
After about an hour of sailing, the wind started to go away and we headed home. I helped hold the jib out, so it would still catch some wind. There were lots of power boats on the bay, and every time we went over a powerboat wake, the jib bounced around and wanted to change sides! Since we were going downwind, the boat doesn’t tip toward the side as much and I could look over the side without falling in.!
Just as we got back to our dock, the wind started blowing stronger again! I was afraid we would run into the dock, but Grandpa knows how to turn the boat at the last minute so Grandma can catch the dock and tie up the boat. Then I helped put the sails back in the sailbag and get the other equipment out of the boat.
Sailing is fun!
Love,
Lion-san