Indian Harbor Yacht Club Beginner Sailing Handbook

Home , Boom (sailing), Boom vang, Cunningham (sailing), Forestay, Jib, Jibe

Indian Harbor Yacht Club

Focus on Sailing Handbook

Thank you to US Sailing for providing some of the diagrams contained in this handbook.

Table of Contents

Boat Diagram ...... 3 Rigging Diagram ...... 4 Sail Diagram ...... 5 Parts List ...... 6 Control Lines ...... 8 How it Works ...... 9 Points of Sail ...... 11 Tacking and Gybing ...... 13 How the boat turns ...... 14 Sailing Skills Checklist ...... 16 Basic Sailing ...... 16 Intermediate Sailing ...... 16 What to Bring ...... 17 Notes ...... 18

Boat Diagram

Rigging Diagram

Sail Diagram

Parts List

Head: The top of the sail. This is where halyards get attached. Foot: The bottom edge of the sail, attached to the boom. Leech: The trailing edge of the sail. Luff: The leading edge of the sail. Roach: The area along the leech of the sail. Tack: The bottom, forward corner of the sail. Clew: The bottom, aft (back) corner of the sail. Batten: Stiff plastic pieces inserted in the leech of the sail. They help shape the sail. Grommet: Small plastic or metal-reinforced holes in the sail that allow us to connect lines or halyards to the sail. Tell Tales: Pieces of yarn attached to the sail that tell us how to trim our sails. Leech Tales: Pieces of yarn attached to the leech of the sail that tell us how to trim our sails. Mainsail: The larger of the two sails that is further towards the stern of the boat. Jib: The smaller of the two sails that is further towards the bow of the boat. Spinnaker: A large sail only used while sailing downwind, or below a beam reach. Mast: The upright pole that supports the sails. Boom: Connected to the bottom of the mast at a right angle. It allows the mainsail to be adjusted in and out. Spinnaker Pole: A removable pole that is connected to the front of the mast, roughly in line with the boom that supports the tack of the spinnaker while it is in use. Mainsheet: A line that is attached to the boom that allows the skipper to adjust how far in or out the sail is. Jib Sheet: Attached to the jib, it allows the crew to adjust the jib, in and out. Halyard: A line that hoists sails up the mast. Every sail has a halyard- main, jib, and spinnaker.

Side Stays: Also known as shrouds, these are wires attached to either side of the mast, and lead down to the sides of the hull. They keep the mast from falling down. Head Stay: Also known as the forestay, it is a wire attached to the front of the mast that leads down to the bow. It works with the side stays to keep the mast up. Windex: It is on the top of the mast and always points into the wind.

Control Lines

Control Lines are what we use to adjust the shape of the sail, and help generate or reduce power. In general, the more curve or shape there is to the sail, the more lift and power is being generated. (This principle is outlined in the next section.)

Outhaul: Connected to the clew, the amount of tension on the outhaul controls how flat or deep the foot of the mainsail is. A tighter outhaul creates a flatter sail. Cunningham: Connected to the tack, the amount of tension on the cunningham controls how tight or loose the luff of the sail is. A tighter cunningham creates a flatter sail. Vang or Boom Vang: Attached the boom and the base of the mast, the amount of tension on this controls this controls how tight or loose the leech of the sail is. It also prevents the boom from lifting up in the air while sailing downwind. In general, the vang should be tightened as the windspeed increases.

How it Works

Bernoulli’s Principle:

One of the most important factors in sailing upwind is the lifting effect explained by Bernoulli's Principal. The sail acts just like an airplane wing. When the wind flows over one side it fills the sail while the air flowing on the other side is moving faster and cannot push as hard and thus the sail receives a force that is perpendicular to the direction of the wind. This would normally not push the sailboat against the wind but the keel of the boat resists much of the lateral movement so that the boat has only one direction it can move which is forward, providing that the combined forces that are pushing the boat perpendicular to the wind are greater than the force of the wind pushing the entire boat and sails backwards.

Points of Sail

Upwind: As close to wind as we can sail without entering the no-go zone. Sails should be trimmed all the way in so that they don’t luff. The term close hauled describes the angle of the boat relative to the wind, the boat’s course. Also known as beating, or beating to windward. Close Reach: Also referred to as a tight reach, it is the point of sail between upwind and a beam reach. Sails are trimmed less than when sailing upwind – roughly with the boom just past the stern corner. Beam Reach: When the wind is hitting the boat directly on its side (beam), or 90 degrees to the wind. Sails are trimmed about half way in. Broad Reach: The angle between a beam reach and dead downwind. Sails are eased out even further. Downwind: Also known as running or dead down wind, this is when the boat is sailing in the same direction the wind is blowing. Sails should be let all the way out. When sailing directly downwind, your tack is determined to be opposite of whatever side the mainsail is on. No-Go Zone: Also called being “in irons.” The heading through which the bow of a boat passes during a tack. The boat cannot sail at this angle because of a lack of lift being generated by the sail(s).

The term tack is used to describe which side of the boat the wind is hitting first, and therefore, which side of the boat the sails are on (The skipper should always sit on the opposite side of the boat from the sails). There are only two different tacks, and except while tacking, you are ALWAYS on one or the other. Starboard is the nautical term for “right,” and port is the nautical term for “left.” If the wind is blowing in from the right side of the boat, then you are on starboard, and if the wind is blowing in from the left side of the boat, you are on port.

*You can be on ANY point of sail on either tack

Knowing what tack and what point of sail you are on are the two the most important things to know when you are sailing. These factors indicate where you should be in the cockpit and how your sails should be trimmed. Having this knowledge will also ensure that you can sail in every direction, and get anywhere you want to go.

Tacking and Gybing

Another meaning of the word “tack” is the maneuver that we use to switch from starboard to port or vice-versa while going upwind. This happens when we steer the bow of the boat through wind. For an instant, the boat will be head-to- wind with the sails luffing, until we finish the tack and fill the sails on the other side of the boat. Since the sails will be switching from one side of the boat to the other, as they fill on the new tack the skipper should also switch sides of the cockpit as well. *Remember, the skipper should always sit on the opposite side of the boat as the sails*. Therefore, to tack the boat, you will always be pushing the tiller away from you.

Jibing (or gybing) is another way to switch from one tack to the other. The difference between jibing and tacking is that when we jibe, the stern of the boat goes through the wind instead of the bow. You steer the boat through a jibe by pulling the tiller towards you. Typically we jibe to switch from starboard to port (or vice-versa) when we are sailing downwind

How the boat turns

The primary tool we use to turn our sailboat is the tiller. The tiller is connected to the rudder and uses the flow of water to steer the boat. A sailboat needs to be moving forward or backward in order to have the rudder work. Other factors can influence steering including amount of heel and sail trim. Especially in high winds, the sails have a massive effect on how the boat turns. If you look at the figure above, you will notice that the jib is in front of the center of effort, and most of the main sail is behind it. Therefore, you can see that pushing on one sail or the other would rotate the front or back of the boat around the center effort. Imagine literally pushing on the figure above, if you

14 pushed on the main sail, the stern of the boat would go deeper into the paper, and the bow would jump off the page at you. The exact opposite would happen if you pushed on the jib. Now, take this figure off the page, and imagine the sailboat on the water. If we leave the jib luffing and keep the main sail full of wind, the boat will rotate around the center of effort and turn more into the wind, which we call, “heading up.” If we were to leave the main sail luffing and the jib full of wind, the boat would rotate around the center of effort the other way, and the boat would turn away from the wind, or “head down.”

To have the most effective turns while sailing, it is important that the rudder and the sails work together. So, when you are turning from upwind to downwind (heading down), it is crucial to ease the main sail while pulling the tiller towards you. Conversely, you must pull in, or “trim,” the main sail when pushing the tiller away from you to go from downwind to upwind (heading up). The greater the wind strength, the greater effect the sails will have on steering the boat.

When learning, since the boat turns away from the direction the tiller is moved, you can always remember:

Tiller Towards Trouble!

Sailing Skills Checklist

Basic Sailing Be able to identify: □ Parts of the boat □ Basic terminology □ Where the wind is coming from □ Appropriate sail trim for all points of sail □ Where skipper and crew should sit in the boat

Be able to: □ Leave a mooring □ Return to a mooring □ Sail in a straight line □ Tie basic knots: figure 8, square knot, bowline o Knot resource: www.animatedknots.com □ Tack □ Jibe

Intermediate Sailing In addition to the skills above. Be able to identify: □ Parts of the rigging and sails □ Puffs / lulls □ Basic Rules of navigation and racing o Navigating a channel o Right of way vessels o Racing Rules: - Port/Starboard - Windward/Leeward - While tacking - Clear ahead/clear astern Be able to: □ Sail close-hauled □ Trim sails around marks

What to Bring

Required  Life Jacket – U.S. Coast Guard approved Type 3 PFD  Sunglasses  Closed-Toe Shoes – (old pair of sneakers will do) You will want something without black soles as they tend to leave marks on the boats.  Whistle (attached to PFD) – backup for whistles in boats to call launch

Recommended  Handheld VHF (required when checked out). For calling launch.  Notebook – to jot down notes from chalk talks or on the water points to remember  Wicking clothing. Cotton T-Shirts are not recommended as they do not “breathe” and are much hotter than a wicking shirt  Sunglasses  Sunscreen  Sailing Gloves  Water Bottle  Hat  Spray Gear – Pants & Jacket. Can use a raincoat.

Notes

Indian Harbor Yacht Club

Organized July 1, 1889 Incorporated November 4, 1901

Lat. 41° 00’ 40”N Lon. 73° 37’ 23”W

710 Steamboat Road Greenwich, CT 06830 (O) 203-869-2484 (F) 203-869-0135