The more I practice/pretend to be a sailor, the more I realize the importance of sailing smart — Allowing for the wind direction and speed is really important even when you have no sails up at all.

Dudes are impressed when my sailboat just pops into a slip at LakeShore park or gently drifts up to the McKinley courtesy dock. The truth is not that I am a good parker, it's that I choose a spot that the wind will help me into.

Having a bimini top up also sails your boat, I have found.

One of the most important lesson I ever learned from my old sailing mentors is to drive so that you have the maximum amount of time to come up with a plan to save your boat if something were to go wrong. For example, if there is a wind out of the south and I am going through a harbor gap under engine power, I will hug the southern side of the gap. If I were to suddenly lose engine power I would have a few seconds to figure out how to fend off the rocks on the north side of the gap.

My goal is to be that solo sailor that approaches the mooring into the wind (under power) and calculates the perfect time to cut the engine and then walk up to the bow just as the boat comes to a standstill, and grab the mooring lines. When sailing solo I usually have to grab them from the cockpit and walk them to the bow.