Post on 18-Jan-2018
description
Victoria Nyanza Sailing Club
Beginners Course Sailing
Sailing and Safety
• Always wear a lifejacket• Check your equipment before you
go out• Don’t sail in weather beyond your
capacity• Never, ever, 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
Sailing is a safe sport so long you stick to the following rules
!#@%*
Main parts of a LaserMast
Boom
Sail
RudderCentre board
Hull
Main sheet
Kicker
Traveller
Low pressure
Why does a sailing boat move?
Low pressure
Why does a sailing boat move?
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
DriftWith a closed sail, the drift is high
With a more open sail, the drift is less
When the sail is fully open, there is no drift
When the wind hits a boat from the side or front, it is pushed sideways and forward at the same time – the sideways movement is called 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 a gust hits the boat:
1: Bring more body out of the boat2: Drop a bit of
mainsheet
When the gust reduces… 1: Sheet in
2: Bring your 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 directionHardening up – sailing closer to the wind
Changing directionHardening up – sailing closer to the wind
Changing direction: hardening upPush the tiller away from you
The boat turns closer to the wind
Pull in your sail
Straighten your tiller
And continue sailing
Changing directionBearing away (from the wind)
Changing directionBearing away (from the wind)
Changing direction: bearing awayPull the tiller towards you
The boat turns away from the wind
Let out your sail
Straighten your tiller
And continue sailing
The no-go zoneA boat cannot sail into the no-go 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 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 sailingA point of sailing is relative to the wind
Points of sailingA 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
TackingStep1:
Push the tiller
away - The boat will turn towards the wind
TackingStep2: Move your body to
the other side while the
boom comes across
TackingStep 3:
Straighten your tiller when the sail is full,
switch hands
Beating
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
Changing direction: gybing
GybingStep 1:
pull your sail in a bit
GybingStep 2:pull the
tiller towards
you – the boat turns away from the wind
GybingStep 3:
while the sail comes
across, move
quickly to the other
side of the boat
GybingStep 4:
straighten the tiller
and continue sailing
GybingStep 5:change
tiller and main sheet
hands
Basic rules: Port - Starboard
This boat sails a starboard tack ...
… because the sail is on its port-side
Starboard
Port
Port
Starboard
This boat sails a port tack ...
… because the sail is on its starboard-side
When a starboard and port boat meet, the starboard boat has right of way
Starboard-PortThe port boat can either duck behind the starboard boat ….
Starboard-Port… our it can tack
Basic rules: leeward-windward
Windward
Leeward
The windward side of a boat is where the wind hits the hull …
The leeward side of a boat is where the wind leaves the hull …
A boat sailing to windward of another boat has to keep clear