Sarah BrownJul 29, 2023

Reddit can be a useful knowledge base, but there are certain subject areas where the consensus voice will confidently, clearly, emphatically state something that is simply wrong.

My current irritation is r/sailing, which has a large number of people who have clearly never sailed beyond the yacht club bar, or maybe a small lake, and have precisely zero clue about the interplay between wind and current (because they never experience the latter), spouting off bullshit with authority.

And there’s no point arguing with them, but my god, the extent to which they are smug about being wrong is irritating as fuck.

Show threadSaraMGJul 29, 2023

@goatsarah Most of my sailing is on Lake Michigan which, while a great lake, is still just a lake.

First time I dropped into the Florida current I had a real eye opener. Absolutely took off with me.

Show threadSarah BrownJul 29, 2023
@saramg We learned to sail in the Crouch estuary, as you know. The spring ebb runs at 5 knots there..
Show threadSaraMGJul 29, 2023
@goatsarah At 5kts, I'd doubt my engine's ability to get me home on its own. Did you ever have to sail+ motor up then drift down to your anchor bouy?
Show threadSarah BrownJul 29, 2023

@saramg You time your arrival for the current conditions to be amenable. Getting this stuff right is a big part of RYA sailing courses.

In duress, you can burn diesel (the ebb through Portsmouth harbour’s entrance can be a bugger, but that’s only a few hundred metres), or you can drop a hook and wait for the tide to turn or slacken.

Show threadSaraMGJul 29, 2023

@goatsarah Oh sure, when all goes to plan I'm sure it's fine, it's more the "in duress" part of your reply I was looking for and... yeah, sounds like about what I'd end up doing.

Could you imagine mistiming the tides though? One minute you're up to your keel in mud, the next you're trudging through it, waist deep, clawing towards the shore... how could that even happen? ;)

Show threadZoë O'Connell
@saramg @goatsarah A guy on my first aid course the following week recognised me from that :-/
Jul 29, 2023 at 8:12pmWeb
Show threadSarah BrownJul 29, 2023
@zoe @saramg “You look different not covered in shit”
Show threadSaraMGJul 29, 2023
@zoe @goatsarah He was probably wondering how many of us he'd have to do CPR on by the end of the day.