Moving to the back seat

by Kim Couranz, SpinSheet magazine
I grew up as a crew member, first as a tween on big boats and crewing in college. As I emerged into the “real world” of working, I wanted to keep sailing. When I moved to the Annapolis area, making friends while crewing on boats both big and small was an important part of my life. But owning my own boat was out of the financial question—and it wasn’t something that I, steeped in “crewness,” ever really considered anyway.

So, I focused on becoming the best crew I could be. I grew my technical and tactical skills. I learned more about weather. I focused on sail trim and how sails affect each other. I took a deep dive into rig tuning and how changing the rig affects the sails. I figured out how to be a good teammate by identifying my strengths and weaknesses and those of my fellow crew to figure out how we could best work together, like a jigsaw puzzle.

Building all those skills made me a better sailor who just happened to be sitting in a crew spot rather than the driver’s seat. But I felt like I was missing an element. What did the helm really feel like, and what was the perspective from the back of the boat? – Full report