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!
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…
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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.
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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.
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Check your course against your goal, try to adjust course a bit (10-15 degrees) and adjust the sails as needed.
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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?
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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.
