learning to sail

[macdiver]

If you guys remember my introduction post, my only sailing experience was on a crewed cat in the BVI's.  That trip got me interested in learning to sail.

This spring I joined a local sailing club for the spring frostbite races.  This club owns 5 J27's for racing.  I decided to join just for the spring to give me a chance to see if I liked sailing.  Of course I loved the BVI trip, but it is easy to love sailing on a 44 cat, when all you have to do is enjoy the food and cocktails.

The first race was a cold windy day in Philly.  Temps were mid 40's with a 15 to 20 knot wind.  As we tacked to head to the start line, we were hit by a gust and heeled over enough to take water on in the cockpit.  I was quick enough to jump to the high side and stay dry but one guy got pretty wet.  My job for the day was grinding the jib.  One the first race we were last across the start line, last around the buoy, and then went aground as the captain tried to take a short cut to pick up a position or two.  We barely made it back to the start finish line in time to start the second race.  I really did not learn much on this day except that a lot can go wrong quickly.

My next time out, the weather was really warm, but there was very little wind.  The decision was made to make it a cruising day, since racing was out of the question.  The captain explained the rules of the road to me and let me take the helm.  The wind was blowing across the river, so it was a beam reach to head upriver.  However, the wind was only strong enough to hold the boat still against the current at most.  Often we would drift backward when trying to go upriver.  Overall it was a nice day and I learned a little about the rules of the road and points of sail.

The third trip was rescheduled due to 25 to 30 knot winds gusting to 40.  On the rescheduled day, the weather was cloudy, temps in the 50's and winds of 10 to 15 knots.  We got three races in.  This time I assisted in setting up the sails by connecting the sheets to the jib.  I learned to tie bowlines in the army but hadn't tied one in 20 years.  The captain checked my knots and we were good to go.  My job again was working the jib.  The captain kept telling me to check the telltales but wouldn't tell me to tighten or let out the sheet.  So I experimented all day.  It was a great learning experience if I could only remember what I did.  It seemed as though I could get the windward telltales streaming nice and the leeward fluttering or the leeward streaming and the windward fluttering but rarely both streaming.  We never passed anyone, but were never passed either. 

The final day of sailing it was hot out.  Winds were light and were blowing upriver.  We started the first race and all of the boats went to a wing and wing running configuration.  I became the gybe preventer on the main while the other crew member was the whisker pole on the jib.  It was a good day to learn about apparent wind.  While running upriver, it seemed as if there was no wind however, we were moving against the current albeit slowly.  Once rounding the buoy, the boat really moved with the sails set for close haul and the current working in our favor.  It took about 45 minutes to do the upriver leg and ten for the downriver leg.  After one race,  we decided to just cruise with everyone getting some helm time.  This captain continuously quizzed me on the rules of the road and points of sail.  He also gave good information on how to adjust the sails.

Each time out I had a different captain and could see that each had there own preference on what the crew should do and how to do it.

Overall, this was a great experience and I learned a lot.   Unfortunately,  my work schedule doesn't allow me to participate in this club during the summer.  They race on wed and Thu and leave the docks at 5:30.  I'm looking into a different yacht club that has weekend racing during the summer.  The difference though is that the second club doesn't own any boats.  I'm not sure how easy it will be to become crew on someone else's boat. 

I'm hoping to continue to learn to sail by racing and have started talking to my accountant (read wife) about buying our own boat. 

Hopefully I didn't bore you pros to bad with my report

[Frank]

Thanks for the update...keep sailing,learning,saving and having fun.Keep working on the 'accountant' too ;D  as to boring us with sailing storeies...NEVER HAPPEN..keep em coming..thats why we are here ;)

[Lynx]

macdiver - Suggestion, talk to some of your present club memebers and ask for a recomendation(s). Word does get around.

Good luck.

[Zen]

Racing n Phillly! Is this on the Sculkill(sp)?

[CapnK]

Hey mac -

Everybody has to start somewhere and somewhen, right?  ;D Good on ya, then! And also - Thanks for the report from your 'starting' perspective. Different perspectives for most of us who've been sailing for a longer time are a good thing, IMO. I like teaching people because of that - sometimes they see things in a way that can complement and add to my own experience. :)

A tip on that sail trim - you want the leeward telltale to stream straight aft, and the forward windward ones to *just start* fluttering. That means that the wind flow is attached on the back of the sail, without the sail being trimmed in too much. I try to get the forward windward telltale fluttering up at about a 45* angle, streaming a little, but not too much. That's just me... :)

AFA getting a crew slot - lots of sailing/yacht clubs have mid-week "beer can" races. Held in the evening and fairly informal, they aren't as competitive as the weekend races, and you can just show up and look for someone needing crew or a deck ape, usually. Even better, you might wind up getting a more 'permanent' crew position, once you sail with/get to know some skippers this way. It is how I got my 'sailing fix' when I lived boatless in Indianapolis (over on Eagle Creek Reservoir). :D

I like your subtlety, the "erosion" method - a patient, long-term plan which wears down those objections which may get in the way of that most important thing, having your own boat... ;D

Keep the reports coming! And Have Fun! :)

[macdiver]

Zen:

The sailboat racing is on the Delaware river.  The Schuylkill River (pronounced school kill) is used for rowboat races.  The Dadvale regatta which features college rowing teams from around the world is held on the Schuylkill every May.

CapnK:  Thanks for the advice on reading telltales.  Also weeknights are tough for me to commit to so I am hoping to find a weekend beer can league.  As far as the plan goes, there is two ways I can buy toys.  For smaller purchases, I ask for forgiveness rather than permission.  For larger purchases, my stubbornness normally wins.  ;D

[Zen]

ah yes the Delaware river I forgot. Being so near the school kill I forgot about that one.

I did not remember sail boat races on the Schuylkill River that is why I was surprised.

[Cmdr Pete]

I used to think I was a pretty good sailor, till I started racing. Lots and lots to learn.

I think the most important quality for a racing crewmember is reliability--showing up every week. That and a good, helpful attitude.

To get started reading telltales, look at the middle windward one

telltale goes up--ease the sheet

telltale goes down--trim the sheet

When you're not racing, its easier to steer to the telltales rather than constantly adjusting the sails.

telltale goes up--steer down

telltale goes down--steer up

I usually race on the Tartan 35 featured in this video. Thankfully, the "Tactician" isn't usually aboard. He's really not so bad. Noisy boats are generally slow boats

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3361409791764024589&q=Ben%2BMcAndrew

 

[Ashoreschool]

With the idea you would like your dream to become her dream, There are a couple very good books that may help ease your wife into sailing:

It's Your Boat Too by Suzanne Giesmann (a must read) 
The Cruising Woman's Advisor by Dianna Jessie (who really know what she is talking about)

Now one for both of you:
Changing Course by Debra Ann Cantrell (Excellent book on decision making for couples)

Good luck

Tom and Marilyn
www.Ashoreschool.com

[ThistleCap]

Dear Macdiver,
   
I taught sailing on all kinds of boats for 29 years.  If I can ever get this trailer ready to go, I'm coming to the  Chesapeake.  Since you're within a couple hours drive, give me a weekend and I can get you going.  Then it's just a matter of doing it as often and as much as you can.

First I assume you know the points of sail.  If not, you can get them ingrained in a day.  Every explanation starts with knowing how the boat is traveling relative to the wind, or where the wind is relative to the boat.  There are basically three ways to trim---on the wind, on a reach, and on a run.

ON THE WIND
We won't talk about travelers here; that's another lesson.  So, we'll keep the mainsheet traveler centered.
On the wind, sailing closehauled, we trim the main first.   When hoisting the main, release the sheet and run with the wind  two to three points off the bow.  In English, that means the wind is coming from about the forward most stanchion.  Some will say to run directly into the wind to hoist, but it's safer to have the boom over the edge of the cockpit somewhere rather than bouncing around your head or having the reefing lines and sheet trying to strangle you.   You're concerned with two things--not filling the sail and making it harder to hoist, and not getting the battens caught in anything.
Once hoisted, trim as close to the centerline as you can.  With the jib set, fall off just enough for the jib to fill and trim it while watching the luff of the main.  (We're not going to get into fairleads and sheeting angle either.)  The commands are trim and start.  Trim is bringing the sheet in, start is letting the sheet out.  You'll trim until you see the luff of the main begin to backwind, or start pushing to windward because the slot between the jib and main is being constricted too much and disrupting the flow.  You can carry a very light flutter of backwind if the sail is cut full, but no more.  That's your trim point.  As long as you continue closehauled, you'll trim with the helm.  In sailing to weather, or sailing closehauled, you have no course or heading.  The object is to get as close to the apparent wind and as much upwind as you can.  You sail the telltales.  The objective (basically) is to keep them both streaming---leeward and windward.  Since most of the drive from the sails comes from airflow on the leeward side, keeping the leeward streaming is most critical.  If the windward breaks (flutters or backwinds), fall off the wind, but just a couple degrees.  It will begin to fly upward first, and that's when you start to move.  If it backwinds, you're getting way out of trim.
You finesse the tiller or wheel--fingertips only.  If the outside one breaks, you bear up or closer to the wind.  In short, you steer away from the breaking telltale.  If the wind force changes, so will the apparent wind.  Bear up in the puffs, off in the lulls.
Cardinal Rule---The helmsman that steers least, steers best.

ON A REACH
Here the rules reverse.  Set the heading first and hold that while trimming.  Trim the jib first.  If you  just fell off the wind, the leeward telltale will be breaking.  Start the jib sheet very slowly and stop as soon as the leeward telltale streams.  Ease the main until it backwinds or luffs, and re-trim just enough to stop the luff and no more.  The most common error with new sailors is over-trimming.  Now, hold the heading and trim for wind shifts.  You generally want to steer a bit high of your course.  It helps to compensate for leeway, and if you get a header (wind shift closer to the bow) you won't end up beating later.  If you end up high of the mark, you can always fall off.  

ON A RUN
Skippers' definitions of a run will vary.  For some, it's sailing dead down wind.  For others, you're more than 150-degrees off the wind.  The reason 150-degrees apparent wind is important is because that is where your jib will start to die, lose wind and drive.  It's being starved by the main blocking the airflow.  You have to do one of two things---bear up enough to fill the jib, keeping you on a broad reach, or fall off enough to set a downwind sail of some sort or set the jib on a pole and sail wing-on-wing (main on one side and jib on the other), and you're now running.   Running is the most dangerous point of sail because of the risk of an accidental jibe.  Uncontrolled jibes can injure crew, capsize smaller boats, and in extreme cases, dismast the boat.  Basically when running, there is only one way you steer, like if you need to alter course for another vessel.  You always steer away from the boom.  The jib is your early warning device for an impending jibe.  If the jib starts to collapse, steer away from the boom until it fills.  This puts more wind in the sail and prevents the risk of a jibe.  If the jib blows across the deck to the windward side, you're doing what's called 'sailing by the lee', and VERY close to a jibe.  Conversely, if you get up on the wind enough, the jib may backwind, but there's much less risk from this than jibing the main.  You'll want a vang on the boom, which holds the boom down and allows you to ease the main more without it chafing on the rigging.  You'll also want to rig a preventer, which is a line you add from the end of the boom, run outside all the rigging, and made off to the bow cleat.  Some will try to use a toerail vang as a preventer.  In light air, you can get away with this, but if the wind is more than about 10 knots, you want a preventer.  A vang doesn't have enough mechanical advantage compared with the force in the sail and this can lead to damage. (I know, someone will disagree.)  You  want to run a preventer whenever you're sailing at night, because you can't see the sails as well; whenever you're sailing in following seas big enough to affect steering, or whenever you have an inexperienced person on the helm.  Sail trim is less important on a run than reach or closehaul (ignoring specialty sails).  Chafe is a bigger concern when running.  Let the sails out as far as you can without them rubbing on anything.

These are just the highpoints.  Sailing is often defined as something you can learn to do in a day and spend the rest of your life trying to get it right.  That's also one of the many things that make it so interesting.    

[ThistleCap]

Dear Macdiver,
I don't mean to drone on, but if I can help, I feel I should, for what it's worth.
As for getting your wife interested, it has to be something she shares.  It has to be something she enjoys as well.  You going sailing as captain and her being passenger, let alone a passenger that cooks, washes, and cleans, will never work.  She can stay home in the air conditioning and get a better deal than that.  First, talk with her and find out what she'd like to try, and what she thinks she'd enjoy.  Some women, for example, love racing, some are world-class racers, but many would prefer not ruining their hair, being wet, and coming home with bruises.  For some, lying on the deck with a bottle of lotion is the ticket.  Let her set her own pace, but to avoid frustration, try to find out what her pace is.  And..........she may change her mind.

One of the primary rules of good seamanship is having someone else skilled enough to take over if you're injured, sick, or fall overboard.  If her idea of an enjoyable weekend is curling with a book, for the sake of safety, ask her to at least practice operating the radio, starting and running the engine, weighing anchor, and having rudimentary sail handling skills.  There have been many cases where wives have stood helpless only to watch their husbands drown.  If she wants to be aboard at all, I'm sure she'd be willing to invest in your safety and her security.

If, however, God bless you, your wife thinks she'd love to sail, don't ruin it.  If she wants an enclosed head, give her one.  If she wants a botanical garden to be one destination, so be it.  Learn to cook and be willing to trade off the chores.  My wife and I often used to take turns being captain, day on and day off.  The captain of the day made the decisions, set the itinerary, navigated, and trimmed the sails.  The mate of the day washed the deck, prepared meals, cleaned up, and read.

If there's one thing I hate to see, it's a yelling skipper.  No woman (or man) will stay aboard to be abused.  For one thing, yelling is the clearest signal possible that the skipper hasn't planned ahead.  He's allowed things to get out of control until they become critical, and then he wants to scream commands so others can correct his blunder.  A good skipper respects his crew, especially if it's his wife.  Even if you've done the same thing a hundred times, before you get into any situation, talk it over so everyone enters the maneuver knowing what's supposed to happen and in what order.

There's nothing that adds to the joy of sailing as much as being able to share the experience, and nothing as lonely as being forced to do it alone.  My wife and I sailed together for forty years, and she was a great sailor.  She's been up the mast in a gale to repair rigging, raced other boats for the shear joy of it, sat out a hurricane, lived aboard and home schooled our kids, and sailed across oceans several times.  She no longer sails because of her health, but understands my need to.  And I miss having her with me terribly.  If your wife wants to sail with you,  you're part of a very small minority.  Don't try to manipulate her into it.  Foster it; encourage it; treasure it.

[AdriftAtSea]

I'd second what Thistlecap said... and point out that you are probably not the right person to teach your wife to sail. You'd both be better off if she took a basic learn to sail course and then you taught her the specifics to your boat.

I'd also second the books, especially Changing Course, that Ashoreschool posted.