Specifications

SECTION EIGHTEEN
BASIC SAILING
Sailing is one of the easiest sports there is to learn and we will not attempt to make it difficult by get-
ting too technical. After you have mastered the basic skills, you may want to study further some of
the finer points of sailing, as covered in endless volumes on the subject.
We have previously covered launching and rigging your boat. Assuming you have this mastered, we
will move on.
THE WIND: Before you can go anywhere, you will have to have wind and know where it is blowing
from. Take three pieces of light yarn or commercial tell-tails and attach one to each of the upper
shrouds about six feet off the deck, and one to the backstay. These are quite effective, but leave
some extra yarn on the boat to replace them with later on.
WHERE AND HOW DO I SAIL?: We have drawn a circle and indicated the wind direction. You can
sail in any direction on the circle except the shaded area, which is 45 degrees on each side of the
on-coming wind. Disregard any terminology regarding different points of sail until you have mas-
tered this basic concept.
Because your sails will luff (flap) and your boat will gradually stop dead in the water if you sail into
the shaded area, you will be unable to sail closer to the wind than the approximate 45 degrees men-
tioned before.
HO
W DO WE REACH A POINT DIRECTLY INTO THE WIND?: Tacking!
Simply sail on one tack for a while, as close to the wind as you can, tack (change course) 90
degrees, and sail on the other tack. Gradually this criss-cross course will take you to your desired
point. That is all there is to “beating into the wind”.
The minute you wish to go off in any other direction, it’s simple.
Just remember one thing — your boom will be on the side opposite of the oncoming wind. As you
gradually change course to the areas marked Beam and Broad Reach, you will ease your sails out
until just before they begin to luff. Beginners will have a tendency to have their sails in too tight. Let
them out until they luff and bring them back in until they stop. On a run you will have
the sails all the way out. If the wind is coming more from one side than the other, be sure the boom
is opposite the oncoming wind, otherwise you may have an unintentional gybe.
WHAT DO I DO WITH THE JIB?: Generally speaking, you will trim the jib about the same as the
main. In tacking, the main will take care of itself, but you will have to release the jib sheet each time
and bring it in on the other side. The jib and main should always be on the same side, except when
running. You can put the jib out on the opposite side with the aid of a whisker pole when running.
This is no more than an aluminum pole with fittings on each end that holds the jib out to one side
(opposite the main).
GYBING: This is just the opposite of tacking, but instead of, the bow of your boat passing through
the on-coming wind to change directions, the stern passes through. This can be a little more tricky
and even dangerous in heavy wind. It is a good idea not to gybe in extremely heavy air. You can
obtain the same results by making a 270 degree turn and tacking to get on the other course.