Returning the Favour

When ACON so kindly sponsored Sisterhoodlums' trip to Chicago for the Gay Games our part of the bargain was to teach four girls to sail.
Lea, Lise, Emma & Laura

We had our first day on Saturday 31st March. Laura, Lea, Lise and Emma met us at the pontoon in Balmain. We all got acquainted and the girls told us a little about themselves. Then we started the training. First they all practised getting into a dinghy and then out of it on to the back of Cheshire Cat. Seems simple but can be a bit daunting for a beginner. And more so since the new dinghy is quite wide and therefore quite hard to get into the middle of. But no-one went into the drink!

Next was knots. Julie had supplied each of our new team with a folder containing basic knots, a sailing for dummies paper and a piece of rope. Good thinking Best Mate! So Dayna ran through the basic hitch, reef knot and bowline. And within a few minutes all the girls were tying them like naturals. It will be interesting to see if they remember them next Saturday.

How to use the head followed. Again simple but essential knowledge. They all took more notice when we made it clear that whoever blocks to loo unplugs it again.

Then with the water police cruising by (they who threatened to book us last time we lingered too long on the pontoon) we decided to head out and sail. As it was quite windy we elected to stay up the more sheltered Balmain end of the harbour. First we showed them how to raise the sails then how to use the winches, explained the basic principles of tacking and had them all take turns. By then stomachs were rumbling so we went for the "dropping the sails" and "how to pick up a mooring" lessons and settled down for lunch and our turn to tell them a bit about ourselves.

Cheshire Cat on the mooring

After lunch we took to the water again. This time we gave them all a turn on the wheel. That's always fun as the novice learns not to oversteer and end up wiggling back and forward across the harbour. I kept a bit of an eye on the other boats in the area so they wouldn't think a drunk was in charge. And more winching. And then the how to tie up to a jetty/pontoon lesson. And as with everything else we did that day all four girls proved to be naturals. They learned quickly, worked hard and generally got the hang of the process. It was good to see their confidence on the water build as the day went on.

So then, as we were shorthanded for the race the next day, we asked who would like to join us. Almost bowled over in the rush we were. Poor Laura had an essay to write but the others all agreed to turn up for another day of punishment. You can read about that at the Cheshire Cat blog

And check back here for the next adventure in a couple of weeks.