It’s a sentence you hear all the time – “he’s a good sailor” – an innocuous complimentary description that falls away as soon as uttered, but what does it mean? What is a “good sailor?”
Intuition- The top of the list is intuition. We’ve all been on boats with people who just seem to know innately, more than anyone else, where the wind is and where it’s going to be. The boat goes faster when they are in charge and they have an anticipation and understanding that is on another level. Sure, some of it is from experience, but some of it isn’t. Intuition is a magical thing and great sailors have it in spades.
Solid understanding of fundamentals - Of course we would say this but it’s true – core fundamentals are critical to being a good sailor. Obvious perhaps, but so many sailors have holes in their game. Knowing knots, points of sail, weather information, vocabulary and all of the other basics have to be second nature for a person to be a good sailor.
Jack of All Trades - MacGyver would have been a good sailor. Things go strange on boats. Fittings pop out, things fall overboard, lines snap – there’s no telling how a boisterous sea might change your day. For this, an ability to think on your feet and improvise is the quality of a good sailor. There is nothing so comforting as being around good sailors who, when faced with a problem, simply start figuring out solutions based on the materials on hand.
Calmness - Truly good sailors are never the ones screaming and throwing tantrums. They are the ones figuring things out while someone else is screaming and throwing a tantrum. But beyond being calm under duress, good sailors are usually just calm in general. It’s a disposition that serves nearly every sailing situation and good sailors know it.
A Boat is a Boat - Someone who really knows how to sail can hop on any boat and make it hum. He or she will do a quick inventory of how the particular systems on the boat operate and in a matter of minutes will be an integrated crew member or skipper working as if they have been on the boat for years.
Experience - In sailing or anywhere else, nothing substitutes for sheer experience. Miles under the keel in most instances can provide all that is needed to become a good or great sailor. Although experience might not be able to provide God-given intuition like the Russel Coutts and Jimmy Spithills of the world, it will certainly take you farther down the road than most.
Intuition- The top of the list is intuition. We’ve all been on boats with people who just seem to know innately, more than anyone else, where the wind is and where it’s going to be. The boat goes faster when they are in charge and they have an anticipation and understanding that is on another level. Sure, some of it is from experience, but some of it isn’t. Intuition is a magical thing and great sailors have it in spades.
Solid understanding of fundamentals - Of course we would say this but it’s true – core fundamentals are critical to being a good sailor. Obvious perhaps, but so many sailors have holes in their game. Knowing knots, points of sail, weather information, vocabulary and all of the other basics have to be second nature for a person to be a good sailor.
Jack of All Trades - MacGyver would have been a good sailor. Things go strange on boats. Fittings pop out, things fall overboard, lines snap – there’s no telling how a boisterous sea might change your day. For this, an ability to think on your feet and improvise is the quality of a good sailor. There is nothing so comforting as being around good sailors who, when faced with a problem, simply start figuring out solutions based on the materials on hand.
Calmness - Truly good sailors are never the ones screaming and throwing tantrums. They are the ones figuring things out while someone else is screaming and throwing a tantrum. But beyond being calm under duress, good sailors are usually just calm in general. It’s a disposition that serves nearly every sailing situation and good sailors know it.
A Boat is a Boat - Someone who really knows how to sail can hop on any boat and make it hum. He or she will do a quick inventory of how the particular systems on the boat operate and in a matter of minutes will be an integrated crew member or skipper working as if they have been on the boat for years.
Experience - In sailing or anywhere else, nothing substitutes for sheer experience. Miles under the keel in most instances can provide all that is needed to become a good or great sailor. Although experience might not be able to provide God-given intuition like the Russel Coutts and Jimmy Spithills of the world, it will certainly take you farther down the road than most.
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