More about sailing
Preparations for our sailing trip have already begun. In fact, sailing has begun to be a major topic of conversation around the house. Both Pat and I have begun to read the Annapolis Book of Seamanship (Third Edition) by John Rousmaniere and Mark Smith. It’s a classic introductory reference on essential sailing skills. Even though this edition is now ten years old, it remains on the reading list at sailing schools all across the country.
As much as I’d like to go into more details about my experiences learning to sail again after having not set foot on a sailboat for about thirty years, it feels a bit off-topic on this web site, Living Well With Diabetes. So, I’ve decided to start a new blog just for the topic of sailing. Since about the time I started work on building my Eastport Pram (last August) I’ve been debating with myself about whether I should do this. After all, I can barely keep one web site filled with regular posts.
In the end, I felt it was something I wanted to do separate from this site. I will continue Living Well With Diabetes, but any sailing talk on this web site will point you to my sailing web site.
You’re probably wondering what the new web site is called. Well, sailing is nothing if not a vast ocean of terminology, some of it obscure, some of it colorful, but all of it meaningful. Apparently everything aboard has to have a special name so sailors can communicate clearly and concisely to other sailors. It also helps them identify non-sailors due to their puzzled looks when a sailor spews a mouthful of sailor-speak.
As I’ve been reading about sailing, one of my favorite sailing terms I’ve encountered (so far) is baggywrinkle. A baggywrinkle is a soft covering around a rope or cable to prevent it from chafing on a sail.
It’s a funny-sounding name, but it’s meaningful to me. This new site will be about learning to sail and I really, really hope I can do it without much, if any, chafing.
So, there you have it. That’s how thebaggywrinkle.com came into existence. Go to http://www.thebaggywrinkle.com/ and check it out. There’s a mailing list you can sign up for and a form for sending me an email. I’d love to know what you think about it.
