Good morning all. Let me preface this message by telling you a little about myself. Just learned how to sail last year on a
Catalina 22. I've taken out a
Hunter 18 quite a few times and have been
singlehanding it through a narrow channel (without motor) out into
Pensacola Bay without difficulty. Well, yesterday I decided to take out the
Catalina 22 for the first time in the year since I learned...also without anyone on board who knew how to sail. What a comedy of errors. Here's what I did wrong:
1. Forgot to vent the
fuel tank -
engine stalled just outside the channel
2. Pinched the
fuel line after realizing I didn't open the vent to the
fuel tank - stalled again about 5 minutes later while raising the
sails
3. Couldn't get enough tension on
mainsail. This Cat 22 was different than the one I learned on and didn't have a vang, just a Cunningham that was completely loose which caused the boom to be sitting really high. Found that and adjusted it with little help.
4. Got seasick
All this has me feeling rather depressed. I've been reading these
forums religiously lately as I would love to retire aboard a sailboat one day. I know I'll never make these
mistakes again and that it's all part of the
learning process, but it really shook my confidence. Anyone else get a not-so-graceful start to their life as a sailor?