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Dinghy Sailing Tips

July 2nd, 2011 | Add a Comment

A true dinghy sailor is a multi tasking professional. Although sailing can be strenuous, it is not overly demanding physically. As a restful pastime very little can beat sailing, although racing a sailing dinghy can be very tense and often stressful. Racing a sailing dinghy demands high levels of concentration, and many actions preformed by a dinghy racer are second nature, done without thinking, yet ever mindful of what is being done. A seasoned dinghy sailor’s dinghy will be loaded with what appears to be chaos, but every item will have a purpose, and will be positioned for easy use under appropriate conditions. A few items that make sailing easier and consequently more enjoyable: Let’s start with footwear. Although possible, it is not advisable to sail barefoot. Banging a cold wet foot against … Read entire article »

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Trapeze Sailing for Beginner Dinghy Sailors

Every novice dinghy sailor cannot wait for that first opportunity to sail a boat that has a trapeze. Although it may look like it, to the uninitiated, a trapeze on a dinghy is not an apparatus to perform airborne stunts. A trapeze on a dinghy is a thin wire, attached to the mast, close to the top of the mast, which runs down to deck level, and has a ring on the end of it. The ring is hooked onto a hook on a special belt worn by the sailor, called a trapeze harness. Once hooked into the trapeze harness, the sailor is able to move out of the dinghy, to the extent that only … Read entire article »

Beginners Sailing Dinghy Trim

You’re new to dinghy sailing. You have a new dinghy, and you have sailed it a few times; you’re comfortable with your dinghy, and feel that you know enough, and that you and your dinghy are fast enough to take on the local club champion. You enter your first dinghy race and it is a disaster from start to finish. You’re yelled at from all angles, and it seems as if every boat in the fleet is intent on sailing through you. You manage to start moving out of the chaos at the start line when you hear a gun. This prompts you to tack, and while every other skipper in the fleet is distracted, you … Read entire article »

Dinghy Sail Trimming for Beginners

If you’re keen to race your sailing dinghy, but find it difficult to get out of that part of the fleet that makes the top half possible, there may be a few reasons. For novice skippers it is mostly sail trimming that keeps them bringing up the rear. Concentrate on fore and aft and lateral trim, then pay some attention to your sail trim. This discussion is not about the theory that makes a dinghy move through the water as a consequence of air movement across the sails; rather, it is a practical guide to effective sail trim on a small sailing dinghy. Please bear in mind that this is a general discussion, and will therefore … Read entire article »

How Do Fish Cope with seeing their Cousins being Eaten?

I don’t have the answer to this question; I’m just wondering out loud. Wondering out loud is quite appropriate for this “hm” category of ours. Tony and I were at a shopping mall this morning, Hemingways shopping mall, in East London, and the shop we wanted to go to was not yet open – well, hardly any shops were open as it was still before 9am. So we strolled around looking in the windows of some of the other shops. We looked in the windows of Incredible Connection and drooled over some of the goodies we could spot inside, well, not really drooled or else we would have messed on the window and I don’t think the … Read entire article »

What are Digital Camera Megapixels?

Have you ever uploaded a photo to a website, and then when you view the photo on that website you see that it’s larger than you thought it would be? The website has automatically resized the photo to a set size. You also note that it doesn’t look as good as it looked on your computer or on your digital camera? Or, you’ve printed a photo at a photography shop and have been disappointed with how the print looks? The printed photo or the photo on the website looks a bit blurry and sometimes even has some odd markings on it. If your digital camera has only 2 or 3 megapixels, your photos will only … Read entire article »

Difference Between Optical Zoom and Digital Zoom of a Digital Camera

What is the difference between the optical zoom and the digital zoom of a digital camera? Firstly, not many people want or need a digital camera with digital zoom, so do not be fooled by high digital zoom when shopping for a new digital camera. Optical zoom is more important. Digital zoom is what you use when you want to view a photo on your digital camera more closely. This is after you’ve taken the photo and are checking through your photos on your camera screen to see if you’re happy with the results. Because most photos are taken quite quickly, you may have missed seeing something while taking the photo. Later, an enlarged photo may … Read entire article »

Dinghy Sailing

There is something addictive about dinghy sailing. That feeling of freedom, of being at one with your sailing dinghy, the wind, and the water… The 9 year old, skippering her Optimist to a club race win knows the feeling A 13 year old Dabchick skipper getting his Dabchick planing for the first time knows the feeling Gliding over a lagoon bed, with barely a breath of wind, and no sign of disturbance on the water, watching fish dart around below That first awesome scary time out on the trapeze A wild wet rush through the breaking wave crests, alternating between airborne and submerged Powering across a flat lake, flat out on the trapeze, and the spinnaker drawing perfectly Dinghy sailing is a great … Read entire article »

How Long does a Cold Last?

Sick of being sick? Dying to know how long it will be before you feel better? How long does a cold last? How long does the flu last? Colds and flu suck! Or should that be colds and flu are just plain sick!? When there’s work to be done, kids to take care of, the house to be kept in order, a decent night’s sleep to be had, or an important sports competition coming up, feeling sick and miserable makes people feel sick and miserable. Common colds are just that, common, but they’re still a pain in the neck – or chest, or head, or nose, or throat. You are taking all sorts of medication and you don’t really … Read entire article »

Sail a Dinghy in Light Wind Conditions

Sailing a dinghy in very light to light wind conditions is a challenge many sailors would rather not have. A basic rule when sailing in light wind conditions is to keep loose. As always, you want a clean hull surface. There are advocates for smooth glossy, highly polished hulls, and there are advocates for smooth matte finish hulls. Whichever camp you follow, your hull does need to be clean of oils, dirt, and all the other matter that hulls collect. Rig your dinghy, and raise the sails. Do not use excessive tension on your sails, as they need to be as full as possible. Move your jib slider outboard, as it can throttle the venture between the jib … Read entire article »

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