Sailing (lesson) Upwind Efficiently... and getting there faster!

.

Wind shifts are very rarely noticed except by pilots and sailors. But they can make a HUGE difference in making progress to an upwind goal. Recognizing and using wind shifts is one of the two main ways sailors can get UPWIND most efficiently. The other is using sail trim and steering when CLOSE-HAULED.

First let's talk about sailing upwind.

If you are not yet completely familiar and comfortable with this diagram of Points Of Sail, please go back because the rest of this lesson will not help you. (Sailing Lessons Table Of Contents (link))

We can go upwind by steering the boat at any course above a beam reach. As we steer a course closer to the wind, we pull the sail in, until we can pull it in no more. This happens at approximately 45 degrees to the wind.


For sailing "close-hauled" we sometimes we tell beginners "corner to corner" referring to the clew (link to GLOSSARY) of the mainsail being over the corner of the transom. But many boats including Lasers and Javelins, can pull the mainsail closer to centerline than that.


I tell students "close hauled" means that you are pointing CLOSE to the wind and the sail is HAULED in tight/hard, to help them remember.

How hard do you pull in the sheet, and how close an angle to you steer? That's a good question.

Let's say that a sailor slowly turns his boat from a close reach to close-hauled.

As we turn and trim, the boat goes closer to our goal but also slows down. If we turn a little and pull, always keeping the sail just a tiny bit away from luffing, using our telltales for scientific accuracy (!), we are going as fast as possible for that angle.  By using a little math, we can see how fast we are going towards a goal directly upwind.... one we'll have to tack to get there... but don't worry about that just now, just be aware that 1- we can get our sail trim ju-u-st right for best speed and 2- 'close hauled' is a narrow range of courses just like 'broad reach' is a generic description for going downwind at an angle.

 


All three of these boats are Close-Hauled. Boat A has pulled her sails as tight as they can possibly go, and is steering an angle so close to the wind that the sails are not driving the boat well. Boat A is going slow, and as a consequence is more difficult to steer and is also sliding sideways (called "leeway") because the water flowing past the centerboard or keel in not sufficient. Boat B is steering at a wider angle, but not by much. However that slightly wider angle is letting her sails provide more power, her sheets are eased perhaps a few inches, and she is going faster thru the water. She is not making as much leeway. Boat C is steering at a wider angle yet, and has eased the sails enough to notice. She is going faster yet and making less leeway.

Terminology: Boat A may be said to be "pinching."

Boat C is "footing." All three are close-hauled.

If 'Close-Hauled' is just a range of angles, how can you tell when you're doing it, versus sailing on a close reach? Is it just a matter of opinion? Not really, when sailing on a close reach, you don't have to pay as much attention to wind direction because pulling in, or easing, your sail will not make a difference in what course you steer. Nor are you planning to TACK (link) to reach an upwind goal.

When sailing close-hauled, if the wind shifts against you, towards your bow, you may be able to pull your sails in a bit tighter and keep going, but you may lose speed toward your goal.




So which is faster to a goal directly upwind: pulling the sail in super-tight, until you hear it squeak, and aiming as close to the wind as you can without luffing, or steering a slightly wider angle and easing a few inches, so the boat goes a little faster?

I don't know. It will depend on a large number of variables, and learning  to answer that question is part of becoming a good skipper... not just for racing but for all-around skillful and effective sailing.

 In general, in boats that are more old-fashioned, or heavier, or when the water is more choppy, the boat will have greater effectiveness at wider angles.

When sailing close-hauled, the skipper (or the helms-person steering) -must- pay attention to the angle of the wind, and steer accordingly. You must watch the leading edge of the sail, the luff, and either read the tell-tales (those little ribbons on each side of the sail) or the old fashioned way of looking for a bubble or bulge caused by wind around the leading edge. The tell tales or the bubble will tell you when you must bear away, turn slightly away from the wind, and the rest of the time you must concentrate on bringing the boat as close as possible, as tight an angle as possible, to the wind, for the close-hauled course you think best (pinching or footing).

Let's say for now that we can pick a fast effective 'close hauled.' We can choose pinching or footing, and sail those courses well enough that we are very sensitive to the angle of the wind, and will instantly know when the wind shifts.

WIND SHIFTS- it's always happening whether anybody notices it or not!


When close hauled on port tack, let's say the wind shifts to the left, or counter-clockwise if looking down on the boat from above. We're sailing at our best, and we instantly respond by easing the sail very slightly. The boat will speed up, which is great, but now we are at a slightly wider angle than we want for our absolute best efficiency to get upwind. So we get back to our best "close hauled" by turning slightly to port, toward the wind, and pulling those inches back in. We have just been LIFTED, that wind shift is called a LIFT, and we are now aimed closer to from our upwind goal! Nice!

But hey, the darn wind is always shifting, not two minutes goes by and we are still sailing at our best and we recognize that the wind has shifted to the right, clockwise, and we pull our sail in so the boat instantly slows down a little. Ee quickly get back to our optimum close hauled by turning slightly to starboard, away from the wind, and easing the sail back that little bit we pulleded. We have been HEADED. This wind shift is called a HEADER.

Just by doing this alone, we have gotten far ahead of our friend who is sailing along with us, but is busy looking at the animal shapes in the clouds or wondering what if Superman had a fight with Batman.

But what if we tack on the header? Will that work even better?

We know that the wind is always shifting, in strength as well as direction. If we're on a lake or small bay, we can use landmarks... a certain house on shore, an odd-shaped big rock, etc etc... to see whether we are being lifted or headed.  This should come naturally and is a good place to start. A compass is even better.

http://nbnjrotc-sail.blogspot.com/2011/02/sailing-lessons-on-line-table-of.html