I took my boat out on Mountain Island Lake today, for the first time without a trainer. It was my second time ever in a sailboat. We made almost every mistake possible. We had to step the mast twice because we forgot to set the spreaders. We tried the same routine of setting the sails that we used with you but there was a stiff wind. The boat drifted back into the cove and the keel got stuck in the mud. When it was freed, we raised the mainsail. Grace was on the tiller. I went out to raise the jib. The wind was strong and Grace had a hard time controlling the boat. I finally got the jib up and discovered that it was upside down. I took the tiller and steadied the boat while Grace corrected the jib.

Once the jib was set, the boat took off fast. The wind was blowing from the south directly up the channel, and swirling. We ran downwind for a couple of miles. The boat was literally humming. We stopped in a small cove at the Charlotte City Water Works and the girls went swimming. Later we went up to the cove at Latta Plantation Park. We came out of jibe into a strong gust that nearly capsized us. I turned the boat into the wind and it righted. We went out with a prediction of 5-10 mph winds. I just got an official report from the weather bureau that the maximum sustained winds were 14 mph with gusts to 20 mph. When we got back into the main channel, there were light white caps. We ended up tacking all the way back up the lake in that wind. It was blowing directly up the cove but swirling. It took us about 3 hours to make it back. We dropped the jib and used the mainsail alone. On one tack, the wind changed direction, and we ended up back and the same place we had been at the beginning of the previous tack. One time, inside of 30 seconds, the wind shifted from close haul to broad reach, then after a minute back to close haul. When we reached the large mud bank on the Mecklenburg side, I was able to set a beam reach course to the landing. The wind died completely, one hundred yards from the landing. We paddled in. Then 20 feet from the dock, the wind picked up and almost rammed us into the ramp. Grace quickly dropped the mainsail.

My wife made me two wind socks about 8” long. We attached them to the shroud about 7’ above the deck. They helped a great deal.

I need to figure out how to reef the mainsail. I understand that these winds might be a bit much for a novice. I agree. We made it however. It was exciting. My daughter and her friend in the boat were a bit frightened.

Thank you for your help. Sailing has been a life long dream for me. It was my 54^th birthday.