Another beautiful day sailing... practice tacking!

.


OK, it's only our 2nd day of real sailing. But it really was a great time out on the water.

Now, how many different kinds of TACKs are there? The harness, straps & buckles, put on horses... the pointy kind used to stick notes to a bulletin board and often used in practical jokes... the amount of stickyness of adhesives... then there are three kinds on/around sailboats.

Wait, big keelboats can have tillers? But all the others have steering wheels! We need to practice steering with the hiking stick (tiller extension) too

The lower forward corner of the sail is the TACK of the sail (makes sure you know the names of the other corners, and the edges)... then there is whether the wind is hitting the boat on the port or starboard side, such that the boat is ON one or the other "tack"... then there is the action of turning the boat so that the bow passes thru the wind and the sails change sides... in other words TACKING (link).




.



 'Dutch Wind' sailing down wind (Point Of Sail = Running) with a student at the wheel, and the sails adjusted correctly


.

 We practiced tacking today, and changing from one point of sail to another without tacking, and of course sailing on a steady course.


Sailing a steady course is more difficult than many beginners realize. Sailboats have little or no tendency to go straight. It is the skill of the sailor the keeps it going properly.


.

PB's 'Wicked Good' with mainsail furled and students relaxing from the strain of their sailing lesson

.
So, once we know all the Points Of Sail, and how to go from one to the other effectively, we can sail the boat to any destination. Well, any destination with water that's deep enough, but we will get into other aspects of navigation and reading charts later.

Think about how we would get to a location that was directly upwind. The boat cannot sail straight there, but how can we sail to get there?

.


 

 Sailing in close proximity to other boats, it is important to be able to steer effectively AND to know the Right-Of-Way rules. The two boats are on a broad reach on starboard tack. If you're looking straight at the photo, the wind would be coming from an angle behind you, over your left shoulder. Who has Right-Of-Way?







These big boats have engines, our little Javelins and Lasers do not. We've said we can get anywhere, and of course once we get there, we need to stop... that will be the next skill.



Engines introduce a new level of complexity, although they make it easy to go when the wind is light or the channel is too narrow to tack back & forth.

.


Coach John Jackson's Georgie Girl tows another training vessel into port.

Could anything go wrong when towing a boat?


Of course stuff can go wrong when towing, we all know there are millions mistakes to make, most of them leading to damage or injury. For one thing, both vessels may steer with difficulty, and inattention to the tow rope can get it wrapped in the propellor.


One of the nice things about boating is that there is always more to learn!



These next two photos are actually from last week


Sailing downwind, Point Of Sail = "running." Something else is going on in this photo, too. This boat is going down a narrow channel, note the posts on each side with the green square and red triangle.








So, you can see at this point, we are sailing in...
The day's sailing, and learning, and practice... is over.


.

(photo curtesy of Kim T.) We keep out lifejackets on until all the way ashore. We will have a brief meeting and talk about what we learned, then back to the world of home and school.

And be back next week for more, and better, sailing!

.
... posted by Assistant Sail Coach Douglas King