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If You Have Never Sailed Before

Sailing a boat is not that hard. Too many people turn away and miss out on the fun of sailing because they think that sailing a boat is hard to learn. Granted, it's not as easy at turning the key on a power boat, pushing the throttle forward, and turning the wheel. Except for the fact that you use the power of the wind to push you through the water, instead of a motor, sailing is not that much more difficult and is a lot more fun.

What makes a sailboat go? Wind pushes a sailboat forward the same way an airplane wing lifts a plane off the ground. To get maximum lift, or pull forward, the sails have to be lined up (trimmed) in relation to the direction of the wind so the wind flows over the sail evenly.

Sailboats don't turn over. If you are concerned that the boat will turn over - forget it. Sailboats do not turn over, they capsize. When a sailboat is heeled too far, the water comes into the cockpit and the boat slowly settles into the water on its side. Unlike a power boat, when a sailboat fills with water it does not sink, but floats on its side half way out of the water.

Keeping a sailboat from heeling is easy. Capsizes are rare because keeping a boat from capsizing, or for that matter from heeling, is simple and easy. A boat heels because of the force of the wind against the mainsail. If this pressure against the sail is reduced, the boat will not heel. You reduce the pressure on the sail by lining up the sail in the direction the wind is coming from. This can be accomplished by either turning the boat into the wind, or letting the sail out until it is aligned with the wind.

Trimming the sails. Unless you want to go in the direction that the wind is coming from, you can steer the boat where you want to go and all you have to do is to make sure that the sails are trimmed properly. To trim the mainsail properly, you let it out until it starts to flap. This is called luffing. You then pull it in just enough to keep it from luffing. As you can see, this is not a big deal.

Sailing toward the direction of the wind. Suppose you want to go toward a dock which is into the wind. If you turn the boat and aim it at the dock into the wind, you can see that your sails will luff and you will get nowhere. Again, the solution is easy. You pull the mainsail in as far as you can and then steer the boat so the mainsail is just filling. Your course will be approximately 45 degrees to the wind direction. Of course, you will now not be aiming at the dock, but 45 degrees away from it. You sail this 45 degree course until you come to a position where the dock is 90 degrees from your course. At this point you turn your boat into the wind and out the other side. This is called tacking. You will now be sailing 45 degrees to the wind, but you will be heading towards the dock. So now you can sail your boat to where you want to end up.

Sailing with the wind behind you. The opposite of tacking is called gybing. This is when you are sailing with the wind directly behind you. If you assume a course with the wind coming across the boat from the same side as the mainsail, it will cause the boom to cross to the other side. This is known as a gybe.

Learn to sail in a day. In six hours on the water, in the right sailboat, and with a good sailor to teach you, you can learn enough to sail safely in a boat in moderate wind conditions. Then, with a little practice in steering, trimming, tacking, and gybing, you can venture out when the wind is blowing harder.

The right boat to learn in. The Highlander is ideal for learning how to sail. It is large enough and has enough power so that you develop the right reactions. Larger, heavier keel boats lack the performance characteristics and feel which essential to learning to sail.

For more information, contact Norris Bourdow at nbourdow@aol.com.