The Old Sea Dog's Gear Locker

"Then he went on a trip to the Nadgee Wilderness Area and watched in amazement as Doug Fraser set sail and surfed away, STEERING WITH HIS PADDLE! (even though he had a rudder.) OK.  The lack of a rudder was obviously not a problem.  The OSD studied Doug's rig.  Typically, the mast was stepped unstayed in a hole in the deck just in front of the cockpit close enough to be reachable.  This meant that the boom hit him in the face during a gibe and there was no room to swing a paddle for an  eskimo roll.  Obviously, the mast needed to be further forward."
Story

 (Submitted by Noel Wed Jun 16, 2004 )