Sailing 101: Can you rig it?

by **Fallon** on April 5th, 2015, 12:19 pm

60th Spring 515AV
Morning

There was a slow blink as Fallon considered the position she had put herself into. Standing at the edge of the docks the woman peered down into the low deck of the fishing vessel, her eyes flickering about the still form and the captain that that mulled about on deck. The nets were brought up around the base, the ropes and weights neatly coiled as she gave a peer down into it. She had donned her worn and older clothes for this occasion, a wise move as she felt the winds cut across the water and tangle into her hair. The kukri however, took its usual position at the base of her spine, the weight proving some strange element of comfort though serving forever as a throbbing reminder.

Taking a step down closer to the vessel, she stepped at the gap between and peered down to the water below. It was then she looked towards the fit form of the captain and gave a low call across to him, "Brons?" The balding man gave a turn of the head and looked up to her then, a blink of his eyes at her as if he tried to remember the name. Fallon quickly continued, "We spoke yesterday at the Kelp bar, you said I could come along and try to get some sea legs with you when you and your crew is out fishing."
"Ah! Fallon," The name clicked into place at that point, a point of the finger to her. He waved her across to join him on the narrow deck, "Great to have you here lass, surprised you came along so early to be honest with you."
"I do like to arrive early," Fallon gave a step across the gap then and onto the deck. A moment of wobbling as she solidified her stance, "Get the scene, know what's what. Feel it."
"Aye, certainly can do that. Well, welcome to the Waverider. Guess we better put you to work on the basics then eh?," He gave a bend down then, taking up the coil of rope that was at the foot of the mast. Without a second thought he passed it to her, "Here, take the sheet and linking it up to the main sail."
"Main what?"

"Sheet is what you land lovers call a rope for the sail," he pressed the rope into her hands then, and she took it, "Main sail, is that." He gave a point to the wrapped up sail around the mast, securely tied off and held into place. With a blink she made a step towards it, looking down the length of the rope to the end - it was there that a small iron shackle sat, a basic screw allowing the removal of it. With a slow and careful unwrapping, she studied the sail, listening to the words of the sailor as he went about his business, "You need to attach the halyard shackle to the top of the mainsail, through the eyelit. And while you're there, untie the boom will you lass?"
"Boom?"
"The bit that sticks out of the mast at an angle for a long length at about your head height."

by **Fallon** on April 5th, 2015, 12:20 pm

Her gaze turned and looked to it then, her brow raising as she took the step back and away and this time took the shape of the boat in properly. Long, with good deck size for hauling the catch up onto. The mast was easily six of her high, the long boom - as it had been called - before her strapped down and held into place. With a blink she moved her fingers to it, tugging at the straps to release it and let it gently swing in the wind. From there she returned to the unfurling of the sail, the canvas slumping down around her with a push away she found the top of the triangular corner. It was there that she found a large metal eye lit, the faint tell-tale signs of weathering taking away the sheen. Taking up the halyard shackle once more, she haphazardly unscrewed the bar, pushed the hook through the eye lit and quickly looked to tighten it up once more. It was from there she gingerly paced about, releasing the main sheet for the moment as she paced around the mast.

"How do I raise it?" She asked as she looked at him. She caught the raising of the brow then, and the shake of the head in response almost to her incompetence. It was then that Brons spoke to her, lowering the stack of crates down upon the deck with a clunk, "You got the shackle in the clew nice and tight then lass?"
Fallon gave a testing twist of the screw and ensured it was indeed tight - or at least to her fingers, "Yeah, got it tight. So what now?"
"Now? Now you ensure the mainsheet is nice and loose, round the bottom of the mast you'll see the same length tightened off."

"This?" Asked Fallon as she scrabbled around and found a metal hook and a length of rope wrapped around it. She uncoiled it, fingers gathering around it as she pulled it into her arms. Behind her as Brons continued his work he continued instructing, "Yeah, that's it lass. Now slack it off and let the sail blow into the wind. And check for resistance," Letting the rope go she watched the rest of the sail slump down, the rope running through her fingers until at last there was no where left for it to go - the end of it inevitably rested in her hands and across the deck. With a reach up she shook out the mainsail and brought it slumping down to the deck as well. It was indeed, most certainly slack, "When you've done that, make sure you have the luff lined up with the groove in the mast."

"What? The luff?" Fallon's eyes blinked as she grasped upon the edge of the sail, it was with it she looked to the mast, eyes scowering it for an answer - so obvious it was, the groove that graced the surface and dived into the wood of the mast itself. She missed it several times, then simply stared judgingly at it for the next few moments, and then looked up the run to the top. How one took the sail up to such a height was beyond her, but it still did not solve her previous question.

by **Fallon** on April 5th, 2015, 12:20 pm

"The luff is the edge of the sail," She caught the glance of Brons as he passed by, another, smaller canvas sail tucked underneath his arm, ropes dangling from beneath. He gave her a glance as he took it towards the front of the vessel and gently placed it down. His finger pointed towards the thicker edge that ran down from the halyard to the bottom of the sail, "Slide the top of it into the groove, give the rope a tug and begin to feed it through - not all the way to the top though lass. That'll be for later." His finger turned then to the smaller sail then, "Once you've done that you can get the jib sail on at the front. Alright?"

Fallon stared at him for a moment, then slowly nodded in response. She could not really bring herself to ask further questions, having sense the slither of annoyance in the back of his voice. At least he was guiding her and pointing it out - she figured as she pulled it down to the bottom of the run. The rope above juddered and grew taught as she did, the top corner of the sail dipping as she found it tensing beneath her hold. With a further tug she stretched it down, and then back up and in. And then promptly watched it slip out once more. Sighing she took it away once more, smoothing out the surface the best she could. It was with a tug and a push she slid it back in, hands turning this time to grasp more securely upon the edge and pull it upwards. With a grunt she ran it up, a foot or so, finding it jerking and jarring as she did.

With a puff she turned her gaze to the supplied jib sail and the lengths of rope that were already pulled around it. There was a duck beneath a sturdy length of wire cord that was strung at a tight angle from mast to the front most point of the boat. Her finger gave it a tap, watching it refuse to give in its tautness, before moving onwards once more. Taking up the jib sail, she begun the process of unfolding it, the ropes with a halyard shackle clunking out to the floor shortly after. With a twist of the lips she took them up, a pause as she figured out how to approach the situation, her brow raising as she took to what she believed would be the best route.

It was smaller than the main sail she had noted, though still easily the same height as her - if not more. She gave it a shake out, smooth it out across the deck as she tried to decide what would count as the top of the sail - the longest length would no doubt parallel with the length of wire. Her eyes turned and spied the three eyelets once more stuck within the corners - was their further hooks and shackles she had to thread through them - there was the rope as well, pinched in the middle with the halyard gracing it with the screw pin fixed securely in place.

by **Fallon** on April 5th, 2015, 12:21 pm

With a hum she moved it to what she believed the best corner of it would be, the middle eyelet that was trapped between two short edges. With a bend, her fingers twiddled at it once more, slipping it in and tightening it off. Now was the next issue - which corner was the top corner? Crouching she took the one on her far left and begun to stretch up, eyes dipping to the small metal clips that ran across the long length of the sail, and then up to the other smaller halyard shackle that hung beneath the corner of the wire behind a runner within the mast. She barely managed to get her fingers loose around it, before Brons suddenly gave a shout at her, "Not that end!"

She froze as the captain came over and pried the corner from her hands. With a blink she stared at him, watching the head shake as he turned it over - procuring the other end and pushing it back into her hands. Arms folded he gestured for her to continue, beady eyes staring intently to make sure she did it right. For a moment she leaned away, feeling the canvas between her fingers before once more stretching up. Hooking it in she focused simply on tightening it once more and sheepishly backed away. The captain gave an approving snort, and shooed her to carry on with it, giving clear instructions, "Hook in the jib's luff to the wire once you've done the bottom halyard then just let it hang - not planning to go anywhere just yet after all. Need the rest of my crew first."

Fallon did as she was told, this time gingerly moving to the front of the boat, dragging the last corner of the sail with her. She stretched it towards it, feeling it gradually becoming less slack as she pulled upon the front most halyard fingers pulling at the screw. With a tug she pulled it forward, arm trembling as she tried to bring it in to range - and then found it coming short by a fingernail. With a pull she looked down upon it, another tug as she grasped the halyard with her free hand. Arms strained at such a simple action, the sail behind her flapping wildly as it caught the breeze from the water.

Cheeks puffed, teeth gritted as she took a tensed crouch next to it. With a grunt, it slipped back and away, her lungs labouring as she stared down upon it. The muscles in her arms twinging, she gave a puzzled look back up the length of wire and sail, before once more she attempted again. Body leaning onto the wire cord, she pressed and pulled, her full focus set on simply linking the two together. A clink, a clunk, it gave a slip through the eyelet and she was upon it in an instant - cramming the pin back into the shackle and tightening it up. She felt back onto her haunches then, a deep inhale as she gathered herself, the jib sail tamed for the moment.

Clambering back up to her feet, she watched the captain pause to talk to another - a fisherman by the looks of things, nets gathered up over one shoulder. One of the crew, she reasoned as he stepped onto the deck. She did not concern herself with it too much though, and quickly once more returned about her business. Finding it notably easier than dealing with the haylards, the small hooks that run along the luff were easily clipped into place, a small testing tug each time - until at last they were done. With barely a glance back as the rest of the crew began to come together, a glance or two sent her way as Captain Brons took to the stand and begun giving out the instructions. Gathering up the rope she let it rest before hovering once more around the mast.

by **Fallon** on April 5th, 2015, 12:21 pm

"Gonna be a long day lads, going out into the bay, lay up and get the nets down and do a slow drag - see if we can't get a good haul," The man gave a point, the half a dozen other crew faces nodding slowly as he spoke, "Not all we got today though lads. Got another joining us, green little land hugger. Wants to learn to sail this one," She watched the finger point to her then, and in response she gave only a sheepish wave, "As you can see, been having her work on getting us ready to go. Still don't know a lot, but she wants to learn - going to have her do a bit of everything today once we're out there. Any questions?"
"Nah Captain," came the chorus from the crew.
He gave an approving nod then, "Right, get to it then! All hands to deck, taking her out to port. Fallon, get the jib sheets lined up with the clews," Her gaze followed the new direction the finger was pointing - to a large stump of iron that stood at the deck wall, "Then help Jim with getting the sail up. He'll be looking after you."

She barely had time to ask questions before she forced herself off once more. Gathering up the jib sheet, she spit the two ropes, taking the left one over to the left clew and wrapping it around a few times letting it hang loosely. Around her the crew continued to move, long oars pushing against the water and the dock as it was freed from its moorings. With a step over to the other side, she ducked the sail and repeated the process with the right most one. It was with that she was around once more to the mast, the supposed Jim - a scruffy lad with the wispy stubble of youth - coming up next to the boom. He passed her the dangling head of the main sheet, and then another length of rope, the quick instructions coming forth, "Pull on that, hard, need to get the sail up and out."

Fallon did as she was told, the boat bobbing as the dock grew further away. Boom lifted, she pulled what she was told to pull, the previously threaded main sail working its way up the mast - jerking, jarring, the wind catching into it and blowing it out. She continued to pull though, even as the hand pushed her head down. The boom shot overhead, a rattling clang as it was stopped. Sail now taunt, she heard the command to tie it off around the mast, and quickly did so - fingers fumbling as she wrapped it round a few times before bringing it back upon itself. Tucking it in she quickly knotted it the best she could, ensuring it would not at least slip before giving a nod to Jim. He was by this point moving away again, the length of rope that ran along the bottom of the boom being his focus of his attention. He gave her the end, and gave a point towards the wheel of the ship, "Last job for now, get this through the rung before the wheel, going hold it at length while you do it. Knot where it lies alright?"

Taking it she moved, feeling the long length go through her hold as she ducked to tuck it into the rung. The shout from Jim told her he had stretched the boom out across the water, and so gave the opportunity to do the last little bit that needed to be done. With a small pull she jammed it through and quickly knotted it the other side where it rested. With a nod back to him he released it, and the sail gently swung back into position. It was from there that he gave a dash up to the wheel and applied his hands to it - removing the ropes that moored it in position and taking up the length of rope that had been threaded, "Ready to go Captain!"
"Good job, now let's get out of here."

by **Keene Ward** on May 9th, 2015, 6:19 am

Grades

“For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought.”
-Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene

Fallon

Skills

Lores

The Waverider

Rewards/Consequences
None

Notes
Suuuuper informative sailing thread. I want to say I learned things, but all I really learned is there are some funky words for boat stuff. Really good flow of conversation and super prime description of action. Good work!

If you have any questions or concerns, please send me a PM!

Solo Sailing 101: Can you rig it?