[ApS]

Originally Posted by jrc

"...Being true sailors, they make the best of it and find away to have a good time..."

My solution has been to own enough sailboats.

My smaller sailboats will find 4-knots of wind even when "Common Sense" tells you there is only a flat calm out there.

Larger sailboats can handle most any wind: I'm reminded of a photo-shoot on one of our Great Lakes. Two photographer's powerboats started with the sailboat to be reviewed—but arrived two hours later than the sailboat due to the extremely rough waters that can only be found on "The Great Lakes"!

Originally Posted by elchase

"...I'm amazed at the lack of dialogue on this forum about sailing..."

The number of sailing threads here is about .003% of all boating threads—to exclude the sub-forum threads—where sailing is even more invisible.

Some pressure could be taken off this "Boating" forum with a summer "Sailing" forum at a time when the "Snowmobiling" forum is quiet.

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

"...Is this really about lack of sailing talk...?"

Compare the number of sailboat threads—here—versus "powerboat" threads? Sometimes this forum resembles the boating forums at SOS.

Originally Posted by jrc

"...For most of them Winni is a tough place to sail..."

What winds there are will come up about 8AM, and often diminish around lunchtime—even to zero. That, and strong gusts, are typical of all "lake" sailing: Ocean breezes are consistent.

What distinguishes a sunny day on Lake Winnipesaukee is the weekend encounters with boat wakes: Taken astern, they can swamp the cockpit. Taken any other way, powerboat wakes (particularly in light winds) "take the wind out of sails" and can stop the sailboat's progress altogether.

Wakes that disrupt the continuous flow of wind across one's sails can leave you wallowing in still more wakes: It can get very hot with your progress halted in the sun—sometimes even whomped into moving backwards!

Having had two catamarans simultaneously here, I'd say that "cats" get "wake-struck" the worst in light winds, and may account for the relatively low number of Hobies since 1974, when I brought my first Hobie here.

(And, except for the "wake-jumping", bigger catamarans didn't make it get any better).

Originally Posted by NoBozo

"...I'm just picturing a fleet of sailboats (Thursday night racing) approaching the downwind "mark" in a Stiff Breeze with spinnakers set and doing 8-10 knots...Maybe even faster if they are planing...and all the other boats in very close proximity as well..."

The World Olympics include large racing fleets of sailboats that are pushing 30-MPH. The Olympics' rules are even more comprehensive than New Hampshire's boating laws and help to keep things under relative control: Every infraction is observed and penalties assessed by sharp-eyed judges.

(Say, don't judges just "ruin" boating?)

BTW: On Winnipesaukee, most "cat" capsizes are results of an overloaded boat, inexperience in cat-handling in sudden gusts or attempts to "push the speed envelope". Righting a larger cat (though I've never needed to do so) is a boating skill all to itself.

Originally Posted by Dave R

"...I have not noticed any difference in the amount of sailboats this year as compared to years when sailing not "safe to do"..."

Speaking for myself, I won't even begin sailing when it looks hazy and calm (thunderstorm weather) or rainy (no shelter, even for the skipper).

And we've had some rains here.

Originally Posted by Dave R

"...I bet a lot of the power boat owners that post here also sail(ed)..."

Sailing is not for those with the need for speed; however, there's nothing quite like shutting off the engine and "listening" to the waters under sails alone. Just like surfers will describe their choice of the non-powered skills in surfing, similarly, sailing could be also be described as "being close to God".

Originally Posted by VitaBene

"...Interesting, I never saw a closed to sailing sign at ony point on the lake..."

The gradual increase in average size of powerboats (and expanding "valet-storage" of such boats) can make sailing on weekends unpleasant.

"Wake surfing" and "wake-boarding" have added still more sailing difficulties since the 80s.

Originally Posted by VitaBene

"...Its called sharing and the majority do it well. The others are what we call boneheads regardless if they are burning gas or filling sails..."

Sailboats, for some reason, are invisible to many powerboaters out there: Just yesterday, I didn't return waved greetings from a boat as it passed within 2 canoe-lengths of me at moderate speed. One elderly woman passenger stared at me until I pointed back to the wake I was about to get soaked by.

The skipper then got a message I couldn't hear.

Originally Posted by hazelnut

"...I own more NON powered boats than powered boats. (2 Kayaks, 1 Canoe to 2 Power Boats, 1 Bowrider, 1 50HP Whaler). So PLEASE SKY_NH and others do not lump me in with "performance boaters" as I am NOT one..."

But we can't lump you in with sailing, either.

Originally Posted by hazelnut

"...As for the Sailing comments I agree... Great to see those beautiful boats out on the lake..."

And sailboats constitute nearly 100% of boats appearing in lakefront real estate ads!

Originally Posted by VitaBene

"...We have all seen many boats that have never even been uncovered for the season- the owners just decided to leave them winterized..."

Check out the mooring fields: Some are only 30% filled—and this is August!

Originally Posted by VitaBene

"...I was sincere in my comment about sharing the lake- I want to do so with good boaters, slow and fast. I want to eradicate bad boaters, slow and fast..."

Sailboaters and other "slow boaters" can benefit from using my DIY (and free for the making) "Powerboat-Excluder-Device". (It's an adaptation for a highly-reflective CD).

I mentioned it last season, and have been training many "distracted powerboaters" with one. If only a few sailors adopt the use of one, much will be gained by every boater.

IMNSHO.