Learning the Ropes....

As I mentioned in a previous post, I set two goals for the final months of 2025:
to develop my skills in something familiar — leather working — and to challenge myself with something entirely unfamiliar — sailing.

Water sports, all of which are very popular here on the coast of Uruguay, are foreign to me. Although I can swim, I’ve never been much of a water person. Being such a land lover is part of what made me want to push myself and try sailing in the first place.

The first of three lessons I took this week was an “all levels” class. When I arrived, we chatted for a few minutes before getting started (in typical Uruguayan fashion) and I discovered that the other two attendees were experienced sailors. I was the only beginner… In some ways, that worked in my favor; in others, it made things more challenging. Everyone already knew what to do, getting ready to set sail and moving around the boat with ease, while the instructor helped me learn some basic knots. It gave me a clear picture of what the process should look like, even if I didn’t understand everything they were doing.

I realized quickly that, just like in English, sailing has a language of its own in Spanish as well. Every part of the boat has a name, and every name is different from what you’d expect! Nothing is simply a cord, rope, or sail — there are shrouds, halyards, stays, jibs and a zillion other things. My instructor assured me that it’s normal for her students to feel lost at first, but that with a bit of research and plenty of repetition, it starts to click.

That makes sense. Right? The problem was this, native speakers (English or Spanish) probably already know the verbs, words like ease or hoist, even if they don’t know the names of every part of the boat. Those verbs aren’t rare per-say, but they aren’t everyday vocabulary, and I’d never heard their Spanish equivalents. I wasn’t just filling in the blanks — EVERY word they said was a blank! Because of this, my daily Spanish study has taken a very nautical turn in an effort to better understand what is happening next time around.

Anyways, during the initial class I learned to tie a bowline knot (shown below) to attach the jib sheets, ropes used to control the position and tension of the headsail, to the sail itself. The bowline is the sailor’s go-to knot because it creates a secure loop that won’t slip or jam, even under lots of tension, but remains easy to untie afterward.

As we left the marina we raised the jib/head sail while still motoring, then turned into the wind to hoist the mainsail. Typically, if you’re anchored or sitting still and already facing the wind, it’s easier to do the opposite — mainsail first, then the jib. Since we had to use the motor to leave the marina we went ahead with the jib. Doing it in that order keeps the boat more stable. The headsail provided balance and some forward motion, which made steering easier while the mainsail was being raised. Once both sails are up, we turned off the engine and let the wind carry us.

All of my classes during the week were taken on this 24-footer named ‘Mr. Chippy’:

Apparently, Mr. Chippy was the cat of famous Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. After professing my gross lack of knowledge about maritime history, I was tasked to watch ‘Endurance’ (a documentary about the above mentioned explorer) as homework.

I got a bit of practice managing the rudder and mainsail, which at least under comfortable weather conditions, seemed like the easiest part!

Overall, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Apparently lots of sailors don’t actually like the water, and many don’t even know how to swim! Maybe I won’t be so out of place among the seafaring after all…

The next day I took two classes back to back. The first was ‘nivel inciar’ , aka beginner level, and the slower pace gave me a chance to pick up more vocabulary and really understand the process of casting off as well as docking the boat. As with any skill, improvement comes with much repetition.

I was hesitant to take a second class that day, but since it’s a bit of a drive to get to the marina from where I’m staying I want to maximize the time I spend on the boat each trip. Part of the reason I was unsure was that it was listed as a ‘chilling’ class. As interesting as many of the people I’ve met have been, I’m not interested in just talking and tanning on a boat right now. Luckily, I decided to see what it was all about and I didn’t regret it!

Since it was a “chilling” class the others who showed up were all experienced sailors who had known each other for quite some time. They wanted to relax and catch up, which gave me the opportunity to undertake more tasks! It was both interesting and informative to listen to all their stories.

I’ve found that sailors are kind of like pilots. Pilots love to talk about flying. Sailors love to talk about sailing!

One man I got to meet was particularly interesting. I didn’t realize at first, but turns out he was the father of the 14-year-old Dutch girl who solo circumnavigated the globe. We talked about homeschooling and her story, as well as many of his own. He and his wife made many ambitious trips as well. I suppose passion breeds more passion!

So, in total, this week I got in roughly 8 hours of sailing. I’m looking forward to get back on the water and keep learning! Just like when I learned to operate heavy machinery in Pennsylvania or took engine classes in Texas, I’m finding myself really enjoying something I didn’t think would suit me. I guess you never know unless you try!

Classes aren’t announced far in advance because of the capricious nature of… well… nature. So, hopefully we have more good weather coming our way!

• Japanese (6hrs)

• Spanish (2hrs)

I was able to meet my language studying goals this week after slacking for the past couple months. Now, I need to put much more focus on Spanish again to get the most out of my sailing classes.

• English Classes Taught (16)

• Guitar (5hrs)

I’ve been getting in ~45 minutes daily before my fingers get tired, similar to how I felt with the cello. ‘A Horse With No Name’ by America is the current song of choice. (‘Needle and the Damage Done’ I’ll be back for you later!) The America song is much easier chord-wise, E minor and D6/9, but can be difficult with the strumming. I think it’s a good pick to help me develop rhythm (of which I have little…).

• Chess (1hr 30min)

• Workout (5x)

As a side project, I’ve been working on small (mainly cosmetic) house renovations. Never having painted a house before, it took a while for me to realize how much you have to mix the pigment together. What was supposed to be white paint kept going on clear, and I thought surely I’m missing something here. Sometimes, you have to learn even simple things the hard way…

Finished ‘Richard III’, ‘As You Like It’, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, and ‘Titus Andronicus’ by William Shakespeare.

Finished ‘Major Barbara’, and ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ by George Bernard Shaw

I’m really not sure what came over me the past two weeks, but I’ve had trouble keeping my schedule and commitments in order. Whether it was forgetting appointments (even though I have reminders) or double booking myself it caused unnecessary trouble. For example, because of these issues, I missed out on two sailing classes that I could’ve taken. Completely my own fault, I’ve come to the conclusion that the solution is to slow down, read things thoroughly, double check, and never assume.