Main
The Main sail counteracts the forces of the genoa by providing lift and pushing the bow of the boat towards the wind. As such it is important to get the balance between these two sail correct in order to avoid ‘weather helm’. If necessary one can reef the sails to maximise this balance.

Spinnaker
The spinnaker is the large, usually colourful, sail that is deployed when you are sailing downwind. The spinnaker has various nicknames, such as ‘kite’ and is controlled with three ropes and an additional pole. The pole is basically an extension of the boom, but out the front of the boat. A halyard raises the sail (crew lower it!), and is controlled with a sheet and guy. The pole is attached to the guy rope and it is this that helps provide shape to the sail. When the time comes to gybe then it is necessary to change the pole over from the old guy to what was the sheet, which now becomes the new guy.

Asymetric Spinnakers
In a similar fashion to the conventional spinnaker this is used downwind mainly, though it is possible to sail closer to the wind than with a conventional spinnaker. Controlled using the same system – sheet, guy, halyard – but with an extendable pole the sail provides significant ‘drive’.

Winches
Winches are used to control the various ropes on yachts. They consist of a drum that the rope is ‘coiled’ around, usually with three or four loops. Some winches are ‘self-tailer’, like the one below – this means that there is a part on the winch which holds the ‘tail’ of the rope. The tail is the loose end. The forces on sheets and halyards are significantly higher than on dinghies hence the need for a bit of assistance provided by the winches. In the top of the winch is a hole/slot for the winch handle to go in, often with a locking mechanism to prevent it falling out. Winding on the handle allows the drum to turn and thus pull in the rope that is colied around it. Winches can come in multi-speed, which means they have gearing within them which changes the speed depending on which way you turn the handle – one way for fast, one way for slow. When winching it is advised to get your upper body over the top of the top (so you are hunched over it) and then using both hands, turn the winch handle.

Race committees sometimes set up start lines that have a favoured end – more on this below. Starting at the favoured end can pay dividends, and also being the windward boat helps – but remember – windward boat must give way so make sure you aren’t squeezed out of the start line.

Another aim is to be crossing the start line at maximum speed – it is not much use to park yourself on, or just below the line, and then try and accelerate from a standing start – boats with more momentum and carrying speed will just cruise past you. So, how to carry speed? Well, the best method is to keep the boat moving prior to the start and make sure that you are lined up with your chosen start point on the line so that you can power over the line on the gun (start signal, usually a horn or whistle, accompanied by flags). So, to summarise and generalise, you want to be starting on starboard, as close to windward as possible (without getting squeezed out), at full power – hence maximum speed, crossing the line as the bell goes. Sounds easy in theory!! Remember that everyone else is thinking and trying to do the same!

There are alternatives though. The most common of which is the “port-end-flyer”. This can be quite a risky manoeuvre – but can pay off. Starting from the less favoured end, on port and usually in clear air (everyone else is at the other end) means you have no rights what so ever, but what you do have is speed – the aim is to hopefully cut across the pack and stay in clear air to maximise the boat speed. WATCH OUT FOR THE OTHER BOATS – YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS! So be prepared to tack and avoid as necessary.

Correct end
Which end to start? There are two ways to discover the favoured end (if there is one). The first and simplest is to position your boat right in the middle of the line, facing DIRECTLY into the wind, then, the bow of the boat will be pointing to one end more than the other – the end it is pointing towards is the favoured end. What you are working out here is which end of the line will give you the highest upwind sailing angle (races are usually started with an upwind (beat) as the first leg.

The alternative method, and one that is used when there are a lot of boats to make the above dangerous/risky, is to sail along the line, in both directions, directly from one end to the other. This will allow you to see which angle will provide you with the highest pointing angle, and thus is the direction/tack to be on at the start.

Line of approach
As stated earlier, the line of approach should be the one that allows you to be one of the most windward boat, sailing at full speed, on starboard (assuming you arent doing a port end flyer!) This is crucial to the start as the correct line could mean a difference of several places – selecting the right line comes with practice and appreciating the wind shifts that will invariably happen – something to consider if maybe you have cut it a little fine for getting round the committee boat or start line mark! Allowing for such shifts will help you select the correct line of approach.

Speed
Speed – as stated you need to be crossing the line as the gun goes, at full speed – irrespective of a starboard or port start – a boat carries a lot of momentum so starting from a standing start will not be as good as carrying momentum and having the boat already cranked up. Use the area downwind of the start line to sail around in, staying close to the line, and tacking and gybing as neccessary and avoiding the other racers! It is important to stay close to the line so that you are able to hear any commands, such as course changes, easily – you cant if you are half a mile from the line!

Things to look out for include winds swirling around headlands and tunneling off the shore which may present slightly stronger winds than other areas of the course. Watch out for patches of ‘dark’ water – showing a patch of wind stronger than the surrounding area.

Also, take note of the tactics followed by local sailors – particularly if you are sailing at an unfamiliar venue. Be aware also, that features on the shore can have an affect, particularly when the wind is blowing offshore.

Sources of Information
It often helps for racing sailors to equip themselves with as much knowledge as possible about the conditions they are going to be racing in, and not just the winds, but visibility, sea states and tides amongst others. The tides are particularly important as know when the tide is ebbing and flooding and where the tidal streams are strongest can present advantages. Obviously this doesnt apply to inland sailors, but the wind behaviour is just as important, if not more!

Strategy
Once the racing sailor is equiped with all the knowledge they can get about the area they are be racing in it will be necessary to devise a strategy for the race – what end of the line to start from, port or starboard, whats the course, proposed route around the course, other boats, who to watch, time limits, the sailing instructions for the race, protest flag onboard, etc!

The success of a race is often in the start, particularly in one design racing, so it is essential that you are crossing the line as the gun goes – not too early though as then you can be recalled and have to restart. If lots of boats are over the line as the gun goes there may be a general recall and the whole fleet must restart. It is poissible to carry out a ‘port end flyer’ which is when you are aiming to cut across the fleet on port (so you have no rights) but are relying on boat speed to get you across. As this is not the most popular starting method you can often find yourself in clean air and be out of the possible melee ensuing with the startboard starting boats. If starting on starboard then rememebr that while you have right of way over boats on port, you must keep clear of windward boats.

You are aiming to start closest to the wind on starboard, and therefore in clean air (no wind shadows from other boats).

Abeam – this refers to anything that is at right angles to the centreline.

Forward – this is the term used to express any position to that forward of the item in question, i.e the crew sits forward of the helmsperson.

Aft – this is the back of the boat, i.e. the aft quarter.

Ahead – this when the boat is moving forward in the water, i.e. the boat is moving ahead.

Astern – this is when the boat is moving backwards in the water, i.e. the boat is moving astern.

To Weather – this is another term for going upwind, i.e. the boat is moving towards the weather

Downwind – this is the opposite of “to weather”, i.e. the boat is sailing downwind, away from the weather

Amidships – this is the middle of the boat and is the widest part of the boat.

Quarter – as in aft above, this refers to the rear corner of the boat, i.e. aft quarter

Pinching – this is when you are sailing into the no go zone and the luff of the sails start to flap, progress is typically worse when you are pinching . However to gain a slight upwind advantage at time it maybe necessary to pinch a little occasionally.

Sailing by the lee – this is when you are running downwind with the wind on the same side as the boom.

Luff up – this term refers to the boat sailing closer to the wind and is typically used when racing when you want to make a competitor sail closer to the wind. You cannot luff past head to wind though, that is when the sails start to flap and you have forced your opponent into the no go zone.

Bear Away – this refers to when you sail further away from the wind, typically by pulling the tiller towards you. As you bear away you will need to let the sails out.

Planing – this is when the boat rises up and skims over the surface of the water, rising over the bow wave, rather than cut through it, and is typically maximum hull speed and not related to waterline length

Sternway – this is the term used when a dinghy is moving backwards under control.

Broaching – this is an uncontrolled movement towards the wind and occurs when the boat becomes overpowered. At the same time the boat will heal over towards the leeward side. When broaching all the sails need to be eased immediately. At the start of the broach it may be possible to dump the kicker and spill some of the wind from the main, the main being the sail that provides the ability to point upwind.

IRPCS
International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea. These are the rules which apply to all vessels and must be adhered to, detailed below.

Meeting other vessels
Here the rules of the road covered elsewhere on this site come into play. Namely, windward boat, overtaking boat and port/starboard.

Following or crossing narrow channels
Sailing dinghies can sail outside channels as they have a much smaller draft and can effectively go intro shallower water. Therefore if you are crossing a channel you need to make sure that the channel is clear of vessels coming up or heading down the channel, and cross in the shortest possible time, by the most direct route. If following a channel you need to stay between the red and green channel markers as these mark out the deeper water. The colour coding applies when you are heading up a channel, and you keep the red posts on your left hand side. Also, when heading up a channel you stick to the right hand side. This way, boats will always pass port to port.

Action by stand-on vessel
If the other vessel is required to give way then you are required to hold your course and speed. This gives the other vessel time to take avoiding action. If they fail do so then you can alter course and/or speed to avoid them. In this scenario you are the stand on vessel as you have right of way. Even if you are the stand on vessel and you find that a collision cannot be avoided by the action of the other vessel alone then you MUST take avoiding action.

Using the tell tales when helming is useful to ensure that the boat is pointing as high as possible – thus they are most commonly used when sailing upwind. A useful mantra that I use is to move the tiller towards the telltale that is fluttering – you are aiming to have them both streaming in line. So, if the leeward telltale is fluttering, you can head up, if the windward tell tale flutters then you need to bear away. If the whole luff of the sail starts to flap then you need to bear away a lot more! The tell tales really are a fine tuning tool, used to maximise upwind angles.

In terms of sail trimming, if the leeward tell tale flutters then the sail can be tightened, but not excessively so.

Heaving to
Heaving too is a useful manuoevre when you want to stop the boat in the water to sort things out, like swapping helm and crew for example.

The boat basically lies across the wind, with the jib backed and the helm hard over, in the opposite direction to the force of the jib. What this means is that the jib is trying to blow the bow of the baot away from the wind, but is counterbalanced by the force of the rudder. The main is fully let out, which is ideal as the boom is out of the way and there is space in the boat to move about and sort out things. The only thing to be aware of when hove-to, is that the boat will drift slowly downwind, as the force of the wind is still acting on it. When going into the hove to position, it is best to ease the main, then back the jib and then slowly ease the helm to balance the jib. If you do the helm too early, or too fast, then there is the possibility of tacking.

Going into the hove to position is best done from a beam reach – the main can be fully eased and the boat is already lying across the wind, its just a case then of backing the jib, and moving the helm (push it away from you). On a single hander, such as a topper, simply, ease the main out fully from the beam reach point of sail – the principles are the same, the main is out of the way and the boat will slowly drift downwind. The helm is usually left centred in this scenario as there is no jib to counterbalance.

Reefing afloat
The best method of reefing afloat is to be hove to, with the jib backed and the helm hard over. The boat will lie across the wind and slowly drift downwind. The main can be dropped in this position and the reef can be put in, in the same manner as it is done when reefing ashore.

Alternatively, you can pick up a mooring and secure your boat to it. When selecting your mooring you need to consider the tide as if it is ebbing you do not want to be left high and dry! Also, some moorings are private or cannot be used for various reasons.

Generally, private moorings will have “private” written on them, and you can tell from other yachts or boats that are moored in the vicinity whether they may be feasible to tie onto. However, you should only be a short space of time and therefore most moorings should suffice.

Towing and being towed
Before towing – ensure that it is safe for you to approach the vessel to be towed. Sail past and communicate with the crew: sails down, centreboard up, and what you are about to do. In light winds – Lie-to to leeward of the vessel to be towed and pass them the tow line. It must be lead from the stern of your boat (attached to a strong point with a round turn and two half hitches), via the bow of the other boat to a strong point (thwart, mast, etc). Instruct the crew of the vessel to be towed to lift the centreboard; sit at the back of the boat and steer to follow you.

In heavy winds – Lie-to upwind of the vessel to be towed and throw the tow line to them. The line can also be floated down on a buoy if you have one. The rest of the procedure is the same as above.

The different technique is used to minimise the risk of damage in strong winds and waves.

Remember when towing that you will not be able to sail very close to the wind. The secret to upwind sailing is to have a long tow line and to build up as much speed as possible and then aim more upwind. Don’t pinch as you and your tow will just drift downwind.

Sheetbend
The sheet bend, or weaver’s knot, is widely used by sailors for uniting two ropes of different sizes. The end of one rope is passed through a loop of the other, is passed around the loop, and under its own standing part. An ordinary fishnet is a series of sheet bends.

Clove Hitch
This knot is used to temporarily fasten a rope to a spar, mast, tree trunk, and so on. The clove hitch is made by passing the rope’s end around an object and then crossing it over the rope’s standing part to form a loop, then passing the end around the object again to form a second loop, through which the end is passed. The knot can be detached simply by lifting it off the object. The clove hitch rarely slips, but it can work loose with continuous tugging.

Gybing Conventional Spinnakers – Unclip from the mast, trip the old guy off, clip the new guy, put the new end back on the mast. Top tip – ease a couple of inches (only) of downhaul before the gybe.

Asymmetric Spinaker – These differ in that there is no spinaker pole attached to the mast but rather an extendable pole which is deployed from the bow of the boat. The tack of the spinaker is fixed to the end of this pole, the head of the sail to the halyard and then there are two sheets attached to the clew of the sail. The sheets lead to either side of the boat (outside of everything). and feeds back to blocks on the boat. With an asymetric sail, remember that you cant sail dead downwind easily as the sail is designed to be used about 10-15 degrees off dead downwind. You cover slightly more distance but faster.

Gybing Asymetric Spinakers – This process is pretty straightforward compared to conventional spinakers as there is no pole activity to worry about. Quite simply, when the gybe is initiated by the helm, the crew releases the sheet, the sail flys foward and round the forestay whilst at the same time the crew is pulling in on the new sheet ready for the new point of sail.

Trimming Spinakers – The aim is to keep the sail full at all times and this applys to both types of spinaker. When the trailing edge starts to collapse you need to sheet in, when it has filled again, ease it out until it is just on the edge of the trailing edge collapsing. With conventional spinakers, the angle of the pole will need to be adjusted. You are aiming to keep this as a straight line extension of the boom and this is acheived by adjusting the guy (ease/tighten). The up/down angle of the pole can also be adjusted to allow the sail to be as square on to the wind as possible.

What is the correct procedure for lowering the sail?

Conventional – To drop, there are various techniques, but the simplest is – the gatherer grabs the guy, around max beam (or pulls down the tweaker and grabs the sheet). On command “drop”, the guy is cast off completely), the sheet eased completely and the halyard blown (but kept under control). The gatherer pulls the kite down FAST. This is easiest if the boat is kept on a run. Trouble happens if the guy does not run completely, or the helm starts to harden up, either of which can refill the kite some distance away from the boat – best avoided. As is dropping the kite in the water and trawling with it.

Asymetric – Crew takes the sheet in hand as close to the sail as possible and pulls in to allow the tack of the sail to be grabbed. Then gather in the entire foot of the sail. The halyard is released and the sail pulle down as fast as possible and stowed. As the helm hardens up then the jib needs to be pulled in.

Other tips – tape up your spreader ends to avoid them tearing the kite, don’t reach-to-reach gybe until you can run-to-run, and avoid all this in more than 15 knots true until you are confident in what you are doing.

Trapeze
Trapezing is the art of improving the righting angle of the boat. This done by getting more weight outboard of the boat. Typically it is the crew that will do the trapezing, however, in some higher performance boats both helm and crew trapeze. The dinghy will have trapeze wires possible rigged from about three quarters of the way up the mast down to the sidedeck, near the shrouds. On this wire is a ring, which you hook into using a trapeze harness. There are a multitude of different trapeze harnesses on the market but perhaps once the best ones is the “nappy harness” which is one which is basically like a nappy and surrounds your entire waist, together with straps that go over your shoulders and back support. On the front of the trapeze harness is a hook which connects you to the ring. When trapezing you stand on the side of the boat and let the trapeze wire support your weight. This applies a much greater righting leverage than sitting on the side decks and allows the boat to stay upright while sailing faster. To get out on the trapeze you do the following: On the new tack you clip on. Then bring your front foot up so that it is resting on the sidedeck, back foot still inside the boat. One hand holds the jib sheet, while with the other you can place it on the side deck and this combined with your front foot allows you to push out from the boat, ensuring that the trapeze harness is taking your weight. At all times weight should remain in the trapeze harness otherwise there is the risk of it becoming unhooked. Then, as you push out from the boat you bring your back foot out so that that too is placed on the sidedeck. In order to get your balance you need to keep shifting your weight around until you feel comfortable. Both feet should be about shoulder width apart on the sidedeck. Your free hand (the one not holding the jib sheet) is now semi-redundant, and as such is best placed behind your neck/head which allows you to balance and also to stay out of the way. As the wind eases and strengths you can swing your weight inboard by bending your legs, or come right back into the boat. When it is time to tack, you need to swing inboard on the “ready about” command, unclip, tack and switch sides, clip back on, and then go back out on the wire on the new tack.

Kicker or Kicking Strap or Vang
All refer to the same item! The first reason for the device is to stop the boom lifting on a run. If the boom is allowed to lift the top of the mainsail blows forward and starts creating force sideways and towards the windward side, rather than forwards. This means that when you get hit by a gust in a serious breeze you could capsize to windward. For the purposes of this section the kicking strap should be utilised to improve performance, rather than just leaving it on tight. The second use of the kicking strap is for all sorts of control of the shape of the sail. This is where the subtle control comes into play, and racers will often have the kicking strap less tight than is desirable for ultimate control because they get more speed like that. Releasing the kicker when a gust hits can also spill some of the wind out of the top of the sail and thus allow the helm to regain control. This is particularly useful if the boat is nearing a broach, or if there is considerable “weather helm”. Weather helm is when the boat starts heeling over so much that the rudder blade starts to lose grip in the water and the boat heads up towards the wind. This is a natural occurrence when the boat is overpowered and can be cured by reefing the sails.

Cunningham
This controls the luff of the sail (leading edge) and is in effect a tweaking line that allows the sail shape to be altered to achieve the best shape for the wind conditions. Generally the cunningham is eased when sailing downwind so that the sail has a fuller, rounder shape, in the same way that the outhaul is eased. When sailing upwind, the cunningham is tightened to flatten the sail out and provide more drive, just as you tighten the outhaul and kicker for upwind sailing.

Simple met and Interpretation of Forecasts
Typically weather forecasters present a synoptic chart for a given area and then a forecast based on the data that they have available. Pressure areas – there are two types of pressure areas, namely high and low. High pressure areas are synonymous with good weather and are characterised by having sunny conditions but with very little wind. High pressure areas tend to move slowly and have a higher barometric pressure, hence their name. Low pressure areas are synonymous with worse weather and are characterised by cloudy conditions, possibly rain and also stronger winds. As a result they tend to move around faster and have lower barometric pressure. Typically a single synoptic chart will have a mixture of high and low pressure areas. Synoptic Chart – these provide a method of forecasting and generally provide a satellite picture with isobars (lines of pressure) The closer these isobars are together the stronger the wind in that area. The charts also show areas of high and low pressure. Typically the low pressure areas have bad weather (rain, wind, etc) and the high pressure areas have good weather (sun, but no wind). The chart will also show any fronts that are around. There are three types of front – cold, warm, and occluded.

Barometric pressure
This is a figure expressed in hundreds or thousands. Higher pressure areas have the higher figures, such 1024 millibars of pressure, while low pressure areas have figures such as 924 millibars.

Beaufort wind scale
This is a sliding scale that is used to measure different windspeeds. It goes from 0 (zero) upto 10 (ten), with each band encompassing a small range of wind speeds. The table below shows the different forces and the likely conditions: The Beaufort scale of windspeed was created by Sir Francis Beaufort in 1805 and is still used today internationally. This is a rough guide to what may be expected in open water. Wind speeds are averages, and gusts should be allowed for. Sea conditions are usually worse nearer to land and wave height can increase dramatically.

Shipping Forecasts
Shipping Forecasts – these are broadcast on the radio at various times during the day and provide a complete picture of the weather (verbally) for various locations around the UK coastline. The UK meteorological service website has very good weather forecasts on its site and can be found at http://www.meto.gov.uk/sec3/sec3.html. The coastguard also issue forecasts on VHF, there will be an announcement by them saying that they are about to issue a forecast and which channel you should switch too. They will also issue any relevant storm, severe weather or gale warnings. They will also cancel any previous warnings at this time. Typical shipping forecast prediction – DOVER WIGHT PORTLAND (this is the area it relates to) NORTHEAST OR EAST 3. MAINLY FAIR. MODERATE OR POOR (this says that the wind direction and strength will be northeast or east, blowing force 3. The general weather conditions will be fair, while the visibility will be moderate to poor.) These are the UK shipping forecast areas (Ref – http://www.meto.gov.uk/sec3/shiparea.html)

Resultant Wind
This is when the sea breeze and the prevailing wind converge and create the illusion that the wind is coming from in between where they are both blowing from.

Observation
Observation – as stated in stage 1 the best forecast for the current moment in time is too look around you. You will be able to see what the wind is doing by looking at fixed objects such as flags and trees and feel it on your face. You can see what the water conditions are like in your immediate vicinity, though bear in mind about onshore and offshore winds. In an offshore wind, the water close to the land will be sheltered by the lee of the land and can therefore be slightly deceptive.