Capt. Larry and I met for our three days of training. The weather was great and the wind filled in nicely on our second day.

First day - docking, docking and more docking. We reviewed the boat and I got comfortable as to the mechanical, safety items, and other systems were on the boat. That took up most of the morning. We broke for lunch and then went out on the water... We practiced the required maneuvers for exam and we started docking. We docked 6-7 times in the afternoon and I was able to get pretty comfortable with the boat. Coming from twin screws and power, it was a world of difference with several thousand pounds of ballast and only one screw.

Second day - Sailing. We made our way out down the 5 mile channel to the head of the bay. The wind was blowing at about 11-12 kts and that made for some great training. Also the crab pot buoys and a working fisherman out tending to their traps also made for some good tests. I apologize for not bearing off the wind and interrupting the fisherman out working hard as I cut across the line of pots they were working and had to wait for us to pass.

Third day - My last day with Capt. Larry and all I can say is he is a wonderful instructor. I learned a lot from him and he is just a very nice and knowledgeable fellow. I took the exam and passed with a 98%. We then went on to get checked out. My oldest daughter and wife were on board as crew. We did some light sailing in the harbor then went in for some docking. We docked about 5 more times that day. I feel pretty confident with the boat now. One snag we did run into was getting the spring line. It was a rainy day and the spring line was wet. It must have turned and cinched on itself and my wife had trouble getting it off the piling. Now mind you she is only 5'4", not a good swimmer, and standing on the bow of the sailboat on her tip toes trying like crazy to get the line. Capt Larry went forward to help her out, but did not have any luck. As this was going on our stern started to drift out into the fairway and the boat did a complete 180. While fending off the stern from the other boats anchors I pushed my hand out and the anchor on the boat next to the slip didn't like that and took a chunk out of my hand! Ouch, with blood gushing from my hand and Capt. Larry and my wife getting a line to get us docked, well I have a nice big blood stain on my jeans. I christened the first aid kit on the boat. Needless to say we got the boat in and practiced 2 more times with no issues. That was the only mistake on the day. Lesson learned. No powering your way out and secure the stern and wait until the line is free.