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