Victoria Nyanza Sailing Club Beginners Course Sailing Sailing

Victoria Nyanza Sailing Club Beginners Course Sailing

Sailing and Safety Sailing is a safe sport so long you stick to the following rules • Always wear a lifejacket • Check your equipment before you go out • Don’t sail in weather beyond your capacity • Never, leave your boat while out on the lake • Keep an eye on your fellow sailors and act if you see something unusual • During racing: stop and help people in distress

Main parts of a Laser Mast Sail H ul l Ki c ke r Boom Main sheet Trav eller Centre board Rudder

Why does a sailing boat move? Low pressure

A boat moves…. • …when air flows smoothly along both sides of the sail • The low pressure on the ‘leeward side’ of the sail pulls the boat forward … • …but also sideways (drift)

A boat stops…. • …when air stops flowing along the sail.

And starts moving again…. • …when the sail is set in a proper angle to the wind

Drift When the wind hits a boat from the side or front, it is When With a the more sail pushed sideways and forward at the same time – the closed open is fullysail, open, sail, the is called drift sideways movement the drift there isisless no is high drift

How to stop drift?

How to stop drift? • You stop drift by putting your centre board down • When your sail is closed and the drift is high, your centre board is all the way down • The more open your sail is (and you move further away from the wind), the more your centre board is up

Sailing a straight line Your rudder and tiller are in the centre of the boat Move the tiller extension a bit to adjust for waves and gusts

Sailing a straight line: keep your boat flat A heeling boat tends to turn in the wind. You have to fight the rudder to make it go in a straight line. Therefore in moderate and strong winds: • Bum over the deck • Shoulders over the water

Sailing a straight line in gusts When the a gust hits the boat: reduces… 2: Drop a bit of mainsheet 1: Sheet in 1: Bring more body outyour of the 2: Bring boat body back in

Points of sailing A point of sailing is the forward movement of a boat relative to the direction of the wind: • Beating – the boat moves as close as possible, roughly at an angle of 45 degrees, to the wind (close haul) • Reaching – the boat moves at an angle of 50 – 140 degrees to the wind (highest speed) • Running – the boat moves at an angle of 140 – 220 degrees to the wind (‘runs away’ from the wind)

Points of sailing: Beating Sail is closed (block-to-block) Centre board is down

Points of sailing: Reaching Sail is half open Centre board is half up

Points of sailing: Running Sail is fully open Centre board is up

Changing direction Hardening up – sailing closer to the wind

Changing direction: hardening up Pushboat The Pull inthe your tiller away turns sail from you closer to Straighten the wind your tiller And continue sailing

Changing direction Bearing away (from the wind)

Changing direction: bearing away Pullout The boat the Let tiller sail turns your towards away Straighten you the from your tiller wind And continue sailing

The no-go zone A boat cannot sail into the nogo zone Because the wind hits the sail too much from the front

No-go zone movement The no-go zone travels with your boat, and is always windward and in front of your centre-board when sailing close haul

No-go zone movement The no-go zone travels with your boat, even when you drift backwards. The only way out in this position is to turn your boat

Points of sailing A point of sailing is relative to the wind

Points of sailing A point of sailing is relative to the wind: When the wind shifts the boat’s direction relative to the land shifts as well if the point of sailing remains the same

Tacking

Tacking Step 1: Push the tiller away The boat will turn towards the wind

Tacking Step. Move 3: Step 2: Straighten your body to the other side your tiller while the when the boom sail iscomes full, across switch hands

Changing direction: Beating

Beating: which route to take? All routes cover the same distance, but think about: Number of tacks Tack to arrive at the mark Wind shifts Other boats

Changing direction: gybing

Gybing Step 2: Step 1: pull the pull your tiller sail in a bit towards you – the boat turns away from the wind

Gybing Step 3: Gybing while the Step 4: Step 5: sail comes straighten change across, the tiller and move and main sheet quickly to continue the hands other sailing side of the boat

Basic rules: Port - Starboard b ar t S rt Po This boat sails When a astarboard port tack. . . and tack. . . port boat meet, … because the starboard … because sail is on itsthe boat right sail is has on its starboard-side of way port-side rd a o r Po t d ar bo ar St

Starboard-Port The port boat can either duck behind the starboard boat ….

Starboard-Port … our it can tack

Basic rules: leeward-windward A boat The windward leeward sailing to side of a windward boat of another is where boat has the wind to keep hits the hullthe leaves clear … hull … Wi nd wa rd Le e wa rd