Sailing by the wind or sailing to the mark

From Kinsey Cove to the Great Barnegat Bay is only a short sail.  The bay, from  the town of Barnegat to Tom's River, is deep with plenty of water to maneuver.   This is where I would teach the children how to "sail the wind." Tightly hauled and with a variable wind there are opportunities to make extra headway to windward on the lifts.  A lift is when the real or apparent wind clocks around to the beam a degree or two which allows one to gain ground to windward.  This is a "feeling" thing for a sailor.  On a broad or beam reach sailing the wind also meant sailing the waves and it is fun to slalom down the face of the chop or round up to bleed off a gust. I'm happy my children learned the joy of "sailing the wind."

Sometimes we had a destination and it meant we had a mark to make.   My brother Michael says, "nothing ruins a good sail like having a destination." There is more than a little truth to this. Nevertheless, sometimes you do need to actually get somewhere or it is important to stay in the channel.   The children would always ask when I gave them the tiller of Misterioso, "should I sail the wind  or sail to a mark?"  While sailing the mark required a little more discipline and a little more attention to the main sheet, at the end there was the reward of having arrived somewhere powered only by the wind.   When you sail to a swimming hole or a distant anchorage for a picnic it really feels as if you have discovered it yourself.  Never mind that there is a raft of  power boats already at your destination; this is your secret discovery and in your mind you are as clever as Magellan.


The author, Philip Stephano, is owner of PrimalTweet a social media marketing company in Bucks County,  PA.  He is passionate about helping local and regional business around the country to use social media as an effective tool to find local prospects and customers. To learn more about Stephano go to http://about.me/philipstephano