Basic sailing techniques

It's a complete waste of effort if your boat's not tuned right.

Hilarious

It's like Groundhog Day all over again.

Well, you guys wonder why the sport is declining but neither of these terms is well understood or defined. There is no easily readable reference that helps the beginner much less the intermediate sailor.

This is all I set out to do, and I'm satisfied with the result:

http://connect.garmin.com/player/91690890

No pictures but I do have a witness.

BS

Sailing is in decline because people are too lazy to bother to take the time to learn. They want a magic setting or some miracle technique provided to them on an internet forum.

Anyone can learn to sail in a few hours and be more or less able to get back to where they started. It takes years though to be able to do it fast, and to compete at a high level most will never be able to generate the knowledge in combination with the feel.

There are a ton of books that give you all the information you need to be able to be a great sailor. Ricks right here is a very good one. They are books though, not snippet posts. And, you can read all you want, but you still have to covert that to practice and experience.

Does this help? (from here: http://ezinearticles.com/?Basic-Sailing-Techniques&id=3714857)

When interested in sailing a boat, the direction of the wind will determine the various movements associated with this invigorating activity. Before you attempt to take a vessel across the open water, you should first become familiar with some of the following important sailing techniques:

Steering and Turning

The techniques you use to change direction and steer a sailboat will become influenced by the direction of the wind. Some of the terms associated with direction changes or turns are referred to as tacking, heading up, heading down, or jibing.

Heading up (or luffing up) refers to the kind of steering where the wind is close to coming in direct contact with the front (or bow) of the sailboat. When you head closer to the wind, you need to

trim

the sails, which means bringing them closer to the center of the boat. When you head up where the wind is almost ahead, the sails will

luff,

which means that they begin to flutter without any lift. If the boat becomes too hard to maneuver, then it enters a state called

in irons.

Tacking (or coming about) is one of the most basic of turning techniques of sailing, as it requires one to bring the bow of the boat through the wind so that the wind comes across the opposing side of the boat. The boat then sails away on the opposite tack.

Heading down

is known by many different terms, including

bearing away,

bearing off,

falling off,

and

freeing off.

This technique of sailing involves steering in such a way that the wind comes from closer to the aft of the boat. The method includes easing the sails, which means to let them out away from the center of the vessel.

Jibing (also gibing) is a turning motion that causes the boat to head down past the point where the wind crosses at the stern of the sailboat. The sails and boom then swing to the opposite side just before the sailboat sails off on the opposite tack. Exercising caution is highly recommended when jibing, as the sail and boom can cross the middle of the boat with great speed where misjudgment can cause a small sailboat to tip over. Improper jibing may also hurt passengers not paying attention, as well as cause damage to the rig of a larger sailboat. All of these circumstances increase in risk during times of strong winds.

Trim

An important part of sailing involves keeping the boat in

trim,

which deals with steering, balance, and other aspects. First, you will

Course to Steer,

where the boat is turned towards your intended destination by using the wheel or tiller. People may choose a specific bearing (such as steering 180 degrees), aim for a particular landmark, or base their course in regards to the wind direction. Trim refers to the fore and aft balance of a sailboat. The goal is to adjust the movable ballast in a forward or backward motion in order to accomplish what is called an

even keel.

When traveling an upwind course in a smaller sailboat, passengers often sit in the front. Positioning of passengers means less when the sailboat is larger or weighs more.

When balancing, it is the port and starboard that is involved, where the aim is to regulate the weight in order to avoid unnecessary heeling. Trimming sails is quite important, as the sail should be pulled in until it becomes filled with wind. It should not exceed the point where the front edge of the sail (the luff) becomes completely aligned with the wind.

While this is just a taste of common sailing techniques, it is also advised to seek information on

running,

reaching,

sailing upward, reducing the sails, reefing, hulling, and learning the different sail points

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3714857

No,I just need to remember not to pinch.

What terms? Rick White has an awesome book about sailing that got me started on the right foot and it's still available. There are tons of resources for this information.

Someone over on Sa commented that rather than going for the latest gear upgrade, you should get a coach.

Go to one of Rick's or Robbie Daniel's seminars. Maybe hire John Casey for a day.

I've said that a couple of times myself. You do need to know the basics of how to get the cat around the course - but a one week coaching session can take at least three years off your

learning on your own

experience pace. I had three days of help from Robbie Daniels earlier this year and my upwind pace on my a-cat and F18 is dramatically improved.

when i started the sport, I took a lesson, I read every article online i could find, joined a few forums, and sailed every week. Then i met good sailors and sailed with them. There were plenty of resources for someone who really wants to learn.

PS i think cat sailing is in decline mostly due to the barriers to entry into the sport (equipment costs, equipment tranport) and other sports that have lots of thrills, and no equiipment to tow

Yesterday, on a different thread, one of the guys suggested a thread specifically on tuning. So, I started the thread hoping to tune in, pun intended, and maybe pick up a few pointers. Then nature took its course...

I think if the inquiry was more specific, we would have something to discuss. These two inquiries are so general, it's on par with asking

how does the world economy work

.

I'm sure I missed an inside joke somewhere in the beginning of this thread, but this post concerns me:

...PS i think cat sailing is in decline mostly due to the barriers to entry into the sport (equipment costs, equipment tranport) and other sports that have lots of thrills, and no equipment to tow...

In my experience, if any portion of sailing is in decline (BTW, lots are of segments are declining, while others are growing), it is all about one very simple (yet so complex) issue:

What are YOU doing to get new sailors into the sport, and to keep them engaged?

Notice, I didn't ask what your fleet is doing, or what your class is doing, or what your fairy godmother is doing; but, what are YOU doing.

The only time I've ever seen growth in our sport is when individuals step up (normally with help from other individual members of a fleet) and make things happen.

Learn-to-Sail days, and the sorts of things that bring in new blood, are the only thing that will grow the sport.

Fun races, and small, focused race clinics (with beginner-to-intermediate focus), with good social events (campfires are usually the best), are key to helping them grow, stay engaged, and form bonds within the group.

Equipment is still cheap if you're using the right platform.

If you have

graduated

up to a big, complicated boat, your only hope to grow that class is to draw off of intermediate or high level sailors from existing classes. This does not have a net gain, the overall growth needs to come from the entry-level classes.

Mike

Best way I've found in developing your own tuning

recipe

for your particular boat and sailing style is to sail and hang out with other folks. I've learned a few things on trim/tune/tactics from sailors in other fleets that can be applied (or modified) to the boat I happen to be on. The downwind trapping thing was new to me but showed serious speed on the 18s at T-winds. Had I not been there to see it, I wouldn't have been able to wrap my pea-brain around how that could be faster than driving deep downwind (VMG in living color)

I guess the other really good way would be to boat-whore. Looking at the folks who get nose-bleeds from standing so high on the podium you'll invariably find they sail a wide variety of boats, formats and venues. I would venture a shot of good rum that they developed their intuition on years and kilometers of hands-on time practicing, winning, losing, and working.

There is no magic number you can dial your boat to, so asking for settings is like asking for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. What is your objective? Make the boat easier to handle (sometimes at the risk of going slower),faster (and oftentimes narrowing the performance

groove

), punch the chop better, etc.?

On a personal level, you've got the basics already in hand. The boat's tuned generally and now it's up to you and your

stick time

. Worrying about your diamond wire tension (650# vs. 675#?) is less important than keeping the boat trimmed properly (pointy side up), making smooth transitions (tack/gybe, spin set/douse) and finding the best wind lane for your intended direction

Mmmmmmm, cookies...

All kidding aside, best post ever.

Sailing with other people, in different areas is the single best way to get past the

You don't know what you don't know

problem.

Sailing at large fleet, high-caliber events (NAs) is also key. It's been said that the experience gained at one week of sailing at these events is equivalent to a year of weekend regattas.

Mike

Jay, my sailing is what it is!

I was thinking more of general discussions on this board.
If tuning is basic to the sport then frequent review is appropriate.

Its too hard to learn sailing alone. I sailed alone for a year on a laser. I learned how to make it to a destination and how to get back home. But I never could get it to go as fast as I thought it should. I learned exponentially more at my first Cat regatta with a coach over sailing alone for a year.

I try making all of the Regattas I can, I just take it easy and try not to run into anyone and learn from advise I get. Last week-end I thought I had done great in a race (for me) until I got told you need to keep the marks on the port side (Doh!) but that is something I never would have learned reading online, because its not something I would have ever thought to look up.

My next big learning needs to be in knowing the right of way and making this N20 go faster down wind, nearly got passed by an TheMightyHobie18 on each downwind leg which is not good. haha.

Rounded the marks to starboard? Hint: Read the Sailing Imstructions...

Hint 2: As there are only an extremely few fast TheMightyHobie18 teams left in the class (like a few handfuls spread across the entire country), any time you get passed by an TheMightyHobie18 (on any point of sail) should be a sign to go back to the beach and consider golf. This simple rule of thumb applies to all boats down to (and including) H16s...

Of course, being a Wave sailor (and a slow one at that), I have little chance of passing one any time soon...

<img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" />

Mike

Jay,(and others!) can you talk more about sailing lanes? I've just recently been introduced to that concept, and I can see the value in paying attention to it. Thanks!

Dave

The search function on CS is limited at best. Unless you start a thread with an easily remembered name it will be difficult to retrieve the information later.

Have you read any of the many books on sailing tactics?

Years ago I got Eric Twiname's,

Start to Win

. I read it once to get an overview of his theory of sailboat racing. I then read it again and tried to remember situations that the varous topics applied to. When I finally started to understand what he was saying, I could see the words from the book as a race unfolded.

Stick with one author so you are not distracted by the different words that each author uses to describe a particular situation.

How do you get to Carnigie Hall: Practice, Practice, Practice.

How do you get to the Pocono's: Quit Practicing.

Easiest way to imagine it is this: the wind is not homogeneous. It oscillates (sometimes asynchronosly) in both direction and velocity. The more generic terms may include

puff

,

pressure

,

veer

, etc.

If you stood at the top of a bridge or building and looked across an expanse of water, you can see some of the vagaries of the wind as it moves across the water. It's harder to visualize while you're on the water, but that's where the really good sailors/tacticians are able to shine.

A good lane, ideally, is one which gives you the best direction and pressure toward your intended direction, as well as no

spoil

from other boats to windward. The lane will most likely be in constant flux, and it's your job to try to stay

in phase

with these changes.

Or, you could be like me and chase flyers and get out of sync which ensures that I won't have to make space in my sailbag for any trophies. <img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" />

Tuning is somewhat similar in car racing. You can get general settings to keep you on the track, but only the really good drivers benefit from all the little tweaks we discuss ad nauseum on the forum

Spreader rake (as an example) won't make you any faster than you are already if you don't already have a good technique for boathandling.

A blown tack/gybe/rounding/start will influence your overall performance far more than an incorrect batten tension.

I think we all talk about the tweaks here because few of us are big enough to really admit we suck at sailing and don't spend time practicing

I know that doesn't help much, but maybe T-back or Matt can take a look at your settings next time you're at T-winds...

I've been through all that with Matt. The boat's fine.

I pinch. Every time I take my mind off that for any reason, when I get resettled, I'm pinching. That and I under sheet for some reason.

...and I'll get with Terry. He thanks you in advance. [he's the only guy I ever beat and then only about 1/3 of the time]

I think the reason people stress on trim is it's easily attainable, without a time investment. Like said before once your game comes up , your tuning can change to it. I see time on the water and rig refinement as two separate things. It irks the crap out of me when people say don't worry about the boat just go sail. How about worry about the boat AND go sail. The 2 together make way more difference than either by itself.

Seat time

is key in any competitive sport, but having your gear right is pretty important also.

It irks the crap out of me when people say don't worry about the boat just go sail.

Especially when they beat you... <img src="<>/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink" height="15" width="15" />

I think a main reason people here focus on setup is because many folks have

complicated

boats, with lots of settings. Also, many of us are engineers. And, it's easier to

see

and

control

setup than it is to sail correctly and repeatably, since no two sets of sailing conditions (within or between races) are ever identical, and even with GPS tracking, you can't really measure what you're doing with the stick and sheets.

EDIT:

How about worry about the boat AND go sail.

The best sailors do exactly this. The trick is to find the right balance, and at some point, you have to forget about the settings and sail what you have."

Mike

few of us are big enough to really admit we suck at sailing

When was the last time you saw someone with the jib sheeted to the wrong side? Those are the people for whom sailing is truly difficult and imo they quit out of frustration.

and even with GPS tracking, you can't really measure what you're doing with the stick and sheets.

next time out I'll mark my sheets with different colors for different adjustments and see what the gps shows...when I get around to it. I also have a Rube Goldberg wind indicator rattling around inside my head...