We have several drills which work on the skills of sailing to windward.... ... one is "The Cone" (link) ... and here is another to work on these specific skills.
First, what are the skills of sailing to windward? One is recognizing when the boat is CLOSE-HAULED. This is when the sails are pulled in tight, the boats is sailing at a an angle close the wind direction. Sounds easy!!
Here's a refresher on the
POINTS OF SAIL > > > >
You can see at a glance (and it also follows common sense) that a sailboat cannot sail upwind by simply pointing straight into the wind. Some people might say that it is not common sense that a sailboat can go upwind at all... ... ... ...
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One of the keys to sailing CLOSE-HAULED is that the sails are pulled ("hauled") in tight ("close") and the skipper must steer carefully to keep the wind angle just right: sails driving but not at too wide an angle.Boat A is sailing at too close an angle to the wind. Her sails are pulled in as tight as possible, but they are not producing much drive & the boat is moving slowly, almost certainly making leeway (the centerboard prevents leeway, but it is also a foil and needs velocity of flow just like the sails need wind).
Boat B is sailing a close-hauled course, "pointing" at a close angle but not too close to the wind. Her sails are driving & her speed is sufficient.
Boat C is also sailing close-hauled, but at a slightly wider angle... her sails may actually be eased just a small bit. She will be moving forward at greater speed than Boat B, but due to the wider angle she will have to sail a greater distance to arrive at an upwind goal.
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Now we get to the actual Pipeline Drill!
The buoys are set as gates in a line to windward. This keeps the students focussed on making progress upwind towards a specific goal. The buoys also serve as fixed reference points to help keep the students oriented to what their sailing/wind angle is, to help them get familiar with judging the point at which to tack towards a goal, and of course they get to practice tacking effectively.
In this diagram (to the right -> -> ) we see two boats in "The Pipeline." One has just completed it, the other is just beginning.
The beginning boat enters the downwind (leeward) or lower gate. They are on PORT TACK (remember, a sailboat is always "on a tack" referring to which side the wind is coming over; this is different from the action of "tacking"). She is close hauled, and the skipper has just realized that he will have to TACK at a point where he can aim the boat thru the next gate.
You can see that TACKING will be a key skill to complete this drill; both the timing of when/where to tack so the boat's course will go thru the next gate; and of course being able to tack effectively.
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Let's look at TACKING. This is when the sailboat turns toward the wind & continues turning until the wind is on it's other side.
note- not every turn is a TACK. Be sure to know when you're turning so the wind is going to change sides; and make sure you know whether you are GYBING or tacking!
The Skipper's Job- to plan the tack so that the boat goes where it is supposed to... ... to steer the boat & keep it under control at every moment thru the maneuver... ... to handle the main sheet... ... shift his/her position so that 1- visibility of the boat's path & it's sails are clear and 2- the boat stays (relatively) level.
Somewhere in there, the skipper must communicate with the crew. This is where the traditional commands "Ready about" and "Helm a-lee" come in handy. These are the preparatory & executive commands... "ready about" means get ready to tack... "helm a-lee" means the tiller is moving to the leeward side of the boat, thus the boat is turning, so begin doing whatever is needed to tack.
Skippers should also note that it is their job to make sure the boat really does tack, that it does not stall in irons or end up pointed straight into the no-go or dead zone, at too close an angle to the wind.
The Crews Job: the tasks assigned to the crew never change, however the priorities can be different at times. The crew is the lookout, the crew is the line handler for all lines except the main sheet, the crew is the moveable ballast which does the most to keep the boat from heeling excessively.
When tacking, the crew should make sure there are no close obstacles in the boat's path, or to make sure the skipper knows about anything he needs to steer around. More communication! The crew must shift the jib sheets as the boat tacks, so that the jib helps drive the boat as much as possible into the tack, and fills on the new tack to regain drive as soon as possible after the tack. The crew will probably (not always) need to shift his position also.
Key Points: 1- the boat must be accurately steered from a close-hauled on one tack to close-hauled on the other tack... 2- the sails must be handled so that the boat keeps moving... 3- the skipper & crew must shift their positions in the boat to keep it level as possible.
Back to the PIPELINE DRILL
Can the students tack right between the gate buoys?
If you're good, sure... but probably not.
Make the tacks properly, get moving on a close-hauled course, plan your next tack, continue...
Before long, it will seem easy. Then we will begin to take it to the next level with 'The Cone' drill, refine our ability to trim the sails for best drive, possibly get some lessons on roll-tacking, and perhaps begin learning how the laws of physics allow a boat to sail against the very force that is propelling it in the first place.
One of the great things about sailing is that there is always plenty more to learn.
...posted by Assistant Coach Doug King
