It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

A forum for discussing topics relating to MacGregor Powersailor Sailboats
User avatar
sailboatmike
Admiral
Posts: 1597
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 10:17 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Australia

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by sailboatmike »

Ohh yes the old, I have a MAc now not a boat with a tiller issue, it happens to most of us, I had it the first few time out, but you will get used to it and you will learn to check your rudders as you turn to make sure you dont stall them.''

It is very unnerving the first few times when you stall them, and I have had numerous owners of "real sail boats" tell me that the boat is hopeless because it wont turn, the answer is "yes it will" you just have to know how to make it work, much like a car, if you have understeer and keep trying to turn harder you just get more understeer.

I may be a bit harsh but rule No1 is ALWAYS have a PLAN B and prepare for the worst, I cant imagine going into a surf zone without my engine down and running in idle, ready for the next set of rouge waves to come in that break 200 meters from the beach instead of on the beach. It seems a poorly executed plan, that had not been thought through fully and had not taken into account the possibility of things can go pear shaped really quickly and no thought of the "what are we going to do if" factor.

Such as what if the motor wont start to get us outta here if we need to in a hurry
User avatar
Whipsyjac
First Officer
Posts: 296
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:06 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: White Rock, B.C. 96 26X Hull#486 96Merc ELPT 50HP 4 Stroke

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by Whipsyjac »

Come on....127 views until the next exciting chapter

I'm drinking my Ovaltine and cutting out my proof of purchases to send in for my prize...
confluence
Just Enlisted
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2015 11:10 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by confluence »

tell the story :? no one likes this much suspense :o : cant wait are we at 500 yet| confluence :macm:
User avatar
Russ
Admiral
Posts: 7543
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:01 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Bozeman, Montana "Luna Azul" 2008 M 70hp Suzi

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by Russ »

You really suck. :)

Get us all ready for the rest of the story and you ask for more. Damn you!!! Damn you straight to hull. :? :? :? :? :? :?

Okay boys and girls...let's get to 500 so we can see the rest.

--Russ
User avatar
Whipsyjac
First Officer
Posts: 296
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:06 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: White Rock, B.C. 96 26X Hull#486 96Merc ELPT 50HP 4 Stroke

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by Whipsyjac »

Only 29 more views until we find out how our brave hero rescues his overboard crew and defies the forces of nature!
User avatar
sunshinecoasting
First Officer
Posts: 371
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:00 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Sunshine Coast Queensland Australia - "Entropy" Nissan 50 CDI Furling Jib

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by sunshinecoasting »

You know it's going to end with the entire crew and captain being eaten by a shark with no survivors don't you!
Rick62
Chief Steward
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2014 3:02 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Mooloolaba ,Sunshine Coast, Queensland ,Australia

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by Rick62 »

I turned around and looked at my partner. She was surprised to hear what I just said. And the loudness of it.all. In fact I’m sure the whole damn beach heard it. Who cares …but to excuse the pun I have bigger fish to fry. She said what is it? It’s a shark I replied. Her eyes lit up wide. Her mouth gasped. Even though she half new she was surprised to hear me say the word “Shark”The sound and the look of the name can bring terror to the bravest of hearts. The blunt shape of its head and the molten stripes on its back signified it was a Tiger shark. In my book they are worse than the Great Whites. Tigers are the real scavengers of the sea. They will wrap their laughing gear on anything that looks like food. The Great whites may look the part but the Tiger’s serrated teeth angle over like a lazy triangle. Unlike a Great White where their teeth are triangular the Tigers teeth resemble the shape of the Sydney Opera House sails but with little sharp serrations all on the edge. Not to dissimilar to a chainsaw blade in shape. Their teeth serve dual purposes. To cut and tear. In appearance the Tigers certainly look docile enough and don’t have the cold menacing look of a Great White but that’s where it ends. They have taken many lives in the past. And they will in the future. That my friends is set in stone.
I look over to “old Mate” and see he is not making progress. What irony, the thing that saved his life looks like is going to take his life. His life jacket is retarding his swim strokes. He is slowly being dragged out to sea whilst the swell is pushing us towards the breaking shoreline. I quickly scan the water for our uninvited friend and see her now. She is making a large circle around us. Her fin now breaks the surface. Your probably asking yourself how do I know it’s a she and not a he? That’s an easy answer. I have found the most villainess creatures are female. Think Alien (the movie) Think which of the Terminator Movies had the scariest Terminator. It was the one with the female. Think Fatal attraction and, Basic Instinct. Think Black widow spider, Praying mantis and there’s more but right now I am and thinking to myself this is a scene from a Stephen Spielberg movie, and I want no part of it. The shark is trying to decide to pick the Mac or Old Mate. She probably thinks the Mac is a big fat whale and Old mate is slim pickings. She probably has a belly full of pups and is weighing up the situation. I’m sure if we weren’t here old mate would already be breakfast. This cannot be happening! “Honey do something” are words that ring through one ear and out the other. Then the next salvo of words hit me like a Bomb going off at Bikini Atoll. Like a freight train hitting another freight train at 100 miles an hour. Devastating. “I love him! He’s my lover.” We have been seeing each other for the last seven months. We both have been meaning to tell you but we just haven’t found the right time. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry and breaks down in tears that would flood a river. She then looks out to sea and calls out to her "lover" Swim honey swim" She jumps up and down then looks to me for help. I'm numb from head to toe. I'm gutted.

To be cont.
After 800 views. :cry:
User avatar
NiceAft
Admiral
Posts: 6157
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 7:28 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Upper Dublin,PA, USA: 2005M 50hp.Honda4strk.,1979 Phantom Sport Sailboat, 9'Achilles 6HP Merc 4strk

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by NiceAft »

My literature taste is non-fiction. I'm outahere!

Ray
User avatar
Jimmyt
Admiral
Posts: 3166
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:52 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Mobile AL 2013 26M, 60 Etec

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by Jimmyt »

Had to put on my waders to read that last entry. I'm with Ray.
budgates
Engineer
Posts: 153
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2014 10:17 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26D

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by budgates »

I find it rather entertaining. Don't stop now.
C Buchs
Captain
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:49 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Camas, WA 98607

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by C Buchs »

Curwen wrote:I can hit refresh 499 times...

Just saying.
I had to test it. Just hitting refresh does NOT add to the number of times this page has been viewed. :evil:

Jeff
Rick62
Chief Steward
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2014 3:02 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Mooloolaba ,Sunshine Coast, Queensland ,Australia

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by Rick62 »

Well by now I'm sure I would have been banned from the site. :cry: I guess you guys a suckers for punishment. By the way I love this forum and all the helpful hints. :)

Con'tBut there ‘s no time for personal feelings right now. I look at her, then the encroaching shoreline then at him and then the menacing fin. I run to the steering pedestal and start lowering the Yamaha. I yell to her quick we need to furl the jib and drop the main. The motor finally, in the water in what seems to have taken an eternity. I’m not a Godly man but if ever I was to say a prayer that I wanted to come true was that I pray for the motor to start. I flick the key and it ignites the Yammy as it settles down like a purring kitten. With the jib almost furled I run up to loosen the main halyard. The main starts to drop and I quickly clamber up onto the top of the deck to pull the main down the rest off the way. I nearly get knocked into the water as another wave pushes us up and over. One more and we all will be swimming with the Tiger. I get back to the helm and see my soon to be Ex Partner pointing at the shark. She yells out quick, Hurry it’s’ getting closer! I slam the accelerator handle forward and the nose of the Mac launches skyward for a second or two. I now motor around in as a tight as arc the Mac can handle and I am sure we are pulling a few G’s. I’ve got to place the boat out of the way of the breaking waves but need to get in close to pick up old mate. I see the fin now making a rhumb line to her intended brunch only 20 to 30 metres away. I should be able to pull up close but not sure if I will be able to get him on board in time. I pull back on the throttle so the Mac slows down and not over shoot. I now see the fin on the port bow and see Old mate on the starboard bow. What if I power in between them may be that will scare the shark away. Or maybe it will just dive and come up from the bottom to grab a pair of dangling legs.Well that’s his problem I think to myself. I’ve done the best that I can. Nothing else a man can do I consort myself. Deep down I know that that’s a lie. Before I can think it through I find myself doing something that I’m going to regret if it doesn’t come off. I don’t know what possessed me to do it. I guess I’m just a nice guy I suppose. Maybe I’m a sucker for love. Maybe I just didn’t want to live anymore. Maybe I was just old-fashioned showing off. I think the real reason why I stepped up to the mark was of the movie Character I was named after. Rick Blaine. You all know who the Character is. Anyone over 50 anyway. Rick Blaine from the movie Casablanca. What would Rick do in a case like this? I thought to myself not waiting for a reply. He was a sucker for love. There was even another man involved. He too lucked out in that department. I quickly looked at my soon to be Ex and I gave a nervous grin and said. “Here’s looking at you kid.” And with that I went into action.

To be Cont. after 1000 views.
User avatar
Neo
Admiral
Posts: 1093
Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:29 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Central Coast, NSW, Australia

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by Neo »

Rick62 wrote:To be Cont. after 1000 views.
I believe this process is ruining your story .... And I'm unsure what you hope to achieve by doing this?
User avatar
Herschel
Admiral
Posts: 1349
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:22 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Orlando, Florida
Contact:

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by Herschel »

Yes, I can appreciate that we sailors take some offense of having our "legs pulled", but we are, also, both purveyors of good yarns and, in the right mind set, consumers of the same. Which one of us has not, at times, spun a good yarn of half truths, or at least, some exaggeration about the size of the waves, the force of the storm endured, the sultriness of the wench on the other boater's boat, or the lubber like behavior of our fellow boaters. Lets enjoy this yarn while it unwinds; perhaps it will be a "shaggy dog" in the end, but I'll hang in there, if for no other reason than today is International "Talk Like a Pirate Day" and a good nautical tale with a boat in danger, a love triangle and a shark make for good entertainment. Better than CIS Paduka, or whatever. Arrrrgh! Matey's :D
User avatar
Neo
Admiral
Posts: 1093
Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:29 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Central Coast, NSW, Australia

Re: It's why they call it sailing...Not cruising

Post by Neo »

When the hair on the "Shaggy Dog (story)" gets so long you can't recognise the dog anymore then everyone loses interest. :(
And when you ask a crowd to wait (for 1000 views) then don't deliver ( at 1109 views) what do you think the crowd thinks of the storyteller ? :P ... Everyone has a life to lead (and a yacht to sail!) away from this forum. :|
Post Reply