I’ve recently learnt to sail but when I’m on the water, all of my theory goes out of my head. Can someone please explain the steps of sailing or confirm what I’ve written below?
- check the wind direction
- think of where I want to navigate to and point the boat relative to the wind.
- think of the points of sail. For the boat’s position relative to the wind, change the main sail to the respective point of sail and the wind will catch the sail.
- use the main sheet to keep the sail in the “point of sail” direction that the wind should be in.
- make very small movements to keep the boat going straight towards my target
- once i’m going straight, check the sail if it’s luffing periodically and trim the sail if necessary
when tacking,
- use the tiller to turn the boat around, either pull it fully towards or away from me
- once the boat is turned around, pull the tiller so that it’s now straight and you can let the tiller handle lay on the side of the boat
- switch sides as usual
thank you!
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I’d change your initial points up a bit:
- Assuming you’re under engine leaving the harbor, put the bow into the wind (do you have a relative wind indicator?)
- Put the main up
- Decide roughly where you want to go, to port or stbd
- Turn off the wind in that direction enough that the main fills with wind
- Turn off engine
- Deploy genoa
- Decide more specifically where you want to go and turn the boat in that direction
- Trim the sails to your new point of sail. Always start from the front of the boat, and trim to the telltails. The closer you are on the wind the tighter the sheets have to be, the further you are off the wind the looser.
For tacking: The tiller just changes direction of the boat. Tacking means changing course though the wind. Because the boat doesn’t sail upwind you have to go through the wind quickly to avoid irons. So if you’re on a starboard tack (wind is blowing across stbd side of the boat) and you want to get on port tack,
- you’d push the tiller over to port so the bow of the boat swings to starboard
- the boat will swing through the wind until the main swings across and the genoa tries to blow through the hole
- release the genoa port sheet
- stop the turn of the boat with the tiller (push it back to port)
- haul in the genoa starboard sheet
- retrim genoa and main for new point of sail
In general whenever you make a course change you have to say
- Am I going to need a tack or gybe for my new desired course
- If so execute the maneuver
- Get the boat pointed in the desired direction
- Trim sails to the telltails front to back
Good explanation. This is the way.
Backing it up one step further, a common beginner mistake is to decide on a destination irrespective of the wind direction. This sometimes makes sailing more difficult than it needs to be and can result in the unnecessary torturing of guests as the captain stubbornly pounds into wind and wave to achieve a destination not superior to other options that would provide a more congenial travel experience.
Therefore, I would add:
- Choose a destination with due consideration for wind and wave.
Beginners should note that a beam reach is typically the fastest point of sail on flat water. A broad reach is the fastest and typically most comfortable point of sail in wavy conditions. Close-hauled is the most exciting for short periods of time, but will exhaust your guests (and stress your rig) if prolonged in windy and wavy conditions. Pointing dead down wind can be fun when sailing wing-and-wing or with a spinnaker, but is often rather exhausting for the helm as it requires close attention.
I can’t remember who it was anymore, but I once saw a video by a women’s cruising instructor who said: “If it’s hard, you’re doing it wrong.” Over the years, I’ve grown to more fully appreciate the truth and wisdom of that advice.
Backing it up one step further, a common beginner mistake is to decide on a destination irrespective of the wind direction. This sometimes makes sailing more difficult than it needs to be and can result in the unnecessary torturing of guests as the captain stubbornly pounds into wind and wave to achieve a destination not superior to other options that would provide a more congenial travel experience.
this is really helpful, thank you!
You’re (almost) book right, but sailing wasn’t made by or for people reading/writing about it.
Most seamanship is actually about managing poor conditions, poor weather, poor alertness, lack of judgement due to weather fatigue/boredom/hangovers, but also changes in weather, wind, currents, equipment failure etc.
I would suggest you start from the opposite direction, see your boat as a tool, and explore what you can do with it.
Try what happens if you pull in your sail or not in the current wind, where is a nice sweet spot?
Do you know how to find the wind direction without your instruments? How precise can you get?
How does the tiller respond, what happens if you turn fast or slow or in between? Is there a difference up against the wind or down? Is there a difference to port or starboard?
How straight can you steer? How straight does the boat go when you steer straight? How does this change over different winds?
If you don’t try this with a comfortable/skilled sailor, you might want to avoid some things with risk of injury, like:
keep to low to moderate winds, with mild gusts, when practicing (or the forces and noise will make things unhelpfully harder),
only do tacks/turning against the wind for now (turning with the wind behind you can have the boom launch you off the boat, and wind you or even knock you out), and
Do have backup emergency equipment, if something goes bad you do want to be rescued even if your SRC got wet, mobile lost signal, and you fell overboard. Prepare according to your size boat and waters, signal whistles, flares, or automated beacons can be good. Also make sure that someone will look for you, leave a plan with check-in times with someone on land.
(A plan with check-in can be as simple as: I’m going out thereabouts over the weekend, I’ll send you a text on where I anchor in the evening, and I’m expected back late Sunday night. Here’s my number, here’s the number for the rescue service)
And in case your brain works in a way that needs steps, for a practice trip I’d suggest these steps:
- Prepare everything you need according to your boat, waters, weather, safety needs and trip. Make sure to double check that you have everything you need before casting off.
… Get out on the water, prepare the rig you want to practice, etc…
-
Pick a direction you want to go in, note a landmark, buoy, or something stationary to steer towards. If you don’t pick a direction straight against or with the wind, the rest will be easier.
-
Try adjusting your sails to give you some speed. If you have a common Bermuda rig, start with your foresail, it’s going to be easier to see when it’s good, and it will give you speed enough to steer. I usually teach it as: take the sail in until it gets that nice billowed curve, and then let it out again until it just about can’t keep it. Then do the same with the mainsail.
Note that if the boat changes angle against the wind, you’ll have to adjust the sails and/or start over. When you’re starting out, you’ll have no chance to keep the boat going straight for long enough to both hit your landmark and trim your sails.
-
Check your course against your goal, try to adjust course a bit (10-15 degrees) and adjust the sails as needed.
-
Now try keeping course against the wind rather than the landmark. Can you sail with the wind straight from the side? How do you adjust the sails for that? How does that affect what you need to do with the tiller to keep straight?
-
Repeat for different wind angles. Also, note that winds change around obstacles, sails, and with time of day. Typically not a deal breaker, but enough to be confusing if you’re not aware.
This is probably enough for the first dozen trips. Remember to save energy to be able to get back, moor, and set everything ship shape again.
As you get more comfortable, you can try doing tacks (same sail adjustment procedure), then try doing a tack so that you only need to adjust the foresail, then maybe trying deliberate listing, sailing donuts (with continuous sail adjusting) with a gybe, and then onto maneuvering tasks like stopping at a buoy, doing a figure of eight Man-overboard maneuver, picking up something out of the water.
And somewhere along this you start doing actual boating, learning to moor, anchoring, cooking, planning your days, routes, planning for weather, etiquette with other boats, etc.
You haven’t mentioned what kind of boat you have. Sailing a monohull vs a catamaran is somewhat different, also the size and rig make a difference. Your process looks about right to me, for a typical small monohull boat.
It’s mostly about practice, though, sailing needs to be instinctive. Try not to overthink it.
420 or laser type boat
I wrote a post the got deleted and I’m sorry but I’m not going to rewrite it. The gist was go play, make it a game and not a step by step recital. Don’t worry about doing something “wrong”, that’s where you’ll learn (just mind your head)
Only thing is, never let go of the tiller. When you tack lead with your aft foot and pass the tiller and mainsheet behind your back while always looking forward.
