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Welcome to Sailing Tips
Hi, I'm Alison Bour, one of the hundreds of writers here at LifeTips.com. Enjoy these 100 Sailing Tips! If you’re a business, why not hire the expert writers at LifeTips? And if you’re a writer, apply for freelance writing gigs.
Don't Forget to Take Care of Your Sails
Sails are made of tough material. But even though sails are well constructed, they are designed with synthetic materials that have very little stretch. Sails are made by sewing a particular shape into a sail so that any stretch they have is minimal. You want to do everything you can to protect that construction. This is part of good basic sailing. Just like a car engine, sails power the boat so you should exercise great care with them.
When not in use, keep sails out of the sun. UV rays will deteriorate sail cloth over time so they should be in the sun only when in use. You can wash your sails with a mild soap to keep them free of salt and dirt. Don't just stuff a sail into a bag when you are done sailing. This breaks down the filler and reduces the life of the sail. The wrinkles in a sail can take up to an hour to work out, and they also prohibit proper air flow over the sail.
Smaller sails should be folded--accordion-style--or rolled after use. The clew should be on the outside of the roll for the mainsail, and the tack should be on the outside of the roll for the jib. Folding a sail will also save space on a small sailboat.
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Chesapeake Bay Sailing Vacation
Offshore Sailing School Tip: The Inn at Perry Cabin in historic St.. Michaels, Maryland is a great choice for a Chesapeake Bay sailing school. Here you’ll find a luxurious bayside resort steeped in rich colonial history. And with its grand maritime theme, sailing embraces you to the core the minute you walk in the door!
You can learn to sail in four days at this Chesapeake Bay sailing school. You’ll learn from a certified instructor on an award-winning Colgate 26 from Offshore Sailing School – a fun, responsive 26-footer that reflects the beauty of the Chesapeake.
With spectacular natural surroundings, the finest cuisine, amenities and modern communication technology, Perry Cabin is also a perfect setting for Offshore Sailing School’s Corporate Sail-Race Challenge®. Choose team building or leadership programs in half-full or multi-day sessions. And no sailing experience required!
This Chesapeake Bay sailing school is a perfect first time sailing destination, with so much to see and do, you’re sure to be back for more.
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Know the Weather Before You Sail
When you first learn to sail, you'll quickly learn that--between the parts of the boat and basic sailing techniques--there is much to absorb. But, one of the most important lessons you'll learn is to watch the weather. Any good sailing guide should cover how the weather affects your sailing and sailing technique. You should actually begin looking at weather forecasts up to a week before you sail. If you record such weather conditions--and the weather changes that follow--you will be able to better predict conditions for the sailing excursion you have planned.
Every time you are on your sailboat, you shouldrecord all details about the weather including wind condition and direction, cloud cover and how the wind affects the water surface and waves. One of the best sailing tips you can get is to find a good book or Internet site that describes different types of cloud cover such as Cirrus, Altostratus, Cumulus and Cirrostratus. But, your record book should also indicate not just what you saw but the changes that occurred in the weather during your sail. That way, over time you can understand the weather and wind patterns in your area at different times of the year. Here is some additional sailing advice with regard to the weather:
*Learn to observe sea swells closely. Are they from an offshore storm? Are there white caps?
*Utilize a wind-angle indicator if you have one. If this information is translated to the cockpit, write it down in your log book.
*Note the direction of the wind by standing over your compass, feeling the wind on your face and determining its direction. Is it chilly? What does that usually predict in your area?
Remember the weather is fickle and storms can arise quickly and possibly capsize your boat. The more you learn about weather and the better your written records are, the better able you will be to choose the best sailing time of the day or week.
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Learn to Sail on Long Island Sound
Offshore Sailing School Tip: If you live in the northeast, you don’t need to venture far to learn to sail. Offshore Sailing School has a Long Island Sailing School at one of its newest campus locations offering sailing lessons for beginners at Fort Schuyler. Long Island Sound is a great place to learn to sail with its many navigational aids to guide your way. Once you’ve achieved basic sailing skills, your Long Island sailing school instructor will discuss the different types of sailboats available, depending on what your sailing goals are.
At Offshore’s Long Island sailing school in Fort Schuyler your beginning sailing classes will focus on both comprehensive textbook work and on-water sailing each day. You'll train aboard the Colgate 26, an award-winning sport boat that features a comfortable cockpit and easy handling adjustments. Offshore Sailing School--run by sailing experts Steve and Doris Colgate--teaches its students proper methods for reefing, steering with a compass, sailing wing and wing, tacking and jibing, finding wind direction and much more.
At Fort Schuyler you have the benefit of a campus that blends a comfortable college-town atmosphere with the “greatest city in the world.” Getting to the Long Island Sailing School campus is easy, and accommodations are available right on campus. If you want to learn to sail, do it with Offshore Sailing School, chosen Best of New York by New York Magazine in 2006 for sailing lessons, and ranked #1 by Practical Sailor in both instruction and curriculum.
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Improving Your VMG
In speed sailing jargon, VMG (Velocity Made Good) is the measurement of time it takes to cover a distance between two points. This measurement combines your boat’s speed, angle, and distance. Footing, or sailing lower, can adjust your angle and sufficiently increase your speed, depending on wind conditions and the craft you’re sailing. To find out what you and your boat are capable of, experiment with footing off (when you are moving upwind) and reaching up (when you are heading down wind). Set marks for both and try out different angles. Be sure to time yourself and keep a record. GPS units are a great took for marking your VMG.
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The Paradox of Sailboat Racing
Offshore Sailing School Tip: If you want to win a sailboat race, the key is to make a very detailed plan...and then be ready to scrap it. Before sailboat racing, you'll need to know the ins and outs of the boat, the crew, the water, the weather (as much as you can predict it for the race day), the course, and how to make the boat work to its maximum potential. And practice, practice, practice! Once you begin the race, however, anything can happen. Weather can change, a competing boat and crew could be better (or worse) than you anticipated, etc. In sailboat racing, be willing to throw out all pre-planning in an instant and work with the immediate situation at hand. This is where your in-depth knowledge of boat and crew will be most useful.
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The Master Tactician
The tactician is one of the most important members of any racing team -- whether you're in a local yachting club or the US Sailing Team. It's the job of the tactician to plan out the course of the regatta, and anticipate as much as possible (weather, competition level, etc.) before the race begins. However, to be a truly excellent tactician, here are a few important tips:
Give clear orders to your crew in a positive and upbeat manner.
Don't overreact to mistakes. They happen. Instead, look at the quickest and smartest way to correct them.
When behind, changing tacks erratically will not win the race. Look at the big picture and note where you may be able to move ahead more strategically.
Keep morale high...no matter where you are in the race.
Although it may be hard, try to accept the responsibility for any errors that occur so that your crew can stay focused.
After the race, take notes! Use these to better your performance in the next regatta.
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Blue Water Cruising Course Offered
Offshore Sailing School Tip: Some sailors are content learning to sail close to the shore; others may venture offshore and return the same day. The most adventurous sailors want to learn advanced sailing techniques, the kind they will need if they set their sights on blue water cruising and coastal passage making. It's called blue water cruising because you’re sailing across deep indigo blue oceans with no land on the horizon, and ports-of-call hundreds or thousands of miles away.
If you are comfortable cruising or chartering boats that are 35 feet or longer and looking for a true blue water cruising experience, you should sign up for the Offshore Sailing School's most advanced sailing course –Coastal Passage Making. This course will teach you the ins and outs of long distance navigation, sailing at night, standing watch and even cooking meals while at sea. These advanced sailing lessons are offered from Tortola to St. Martin and back or from Canouan and throughout the Grenadines. You'll sail for six nights aboard a Moorings 50-foot yacht.
Offshore Sailing School is run by renowned sailing educators, Steve and Doris Colgate. All Offshore’s instructors are certified by US SAILING and Offshore’s cruising course instructors are USCG licensed captains. For the Coastal Passage Making course, a maximum of six students and two instructors are divided into two watches – three students and one instructor on each watch. The boat does not stop until it reaches its turning point destination and heads back (non-stop again) to the original port of embarkation. This course entitles students to earn US SAILING coastal Passage Making certification when you study blue water cruising with Offshore Sailing School.
You'll become an expert in many advanced sailing topics including: sail inventories for passages, open water seamanship, tide and current tables, impact of pressure systems, and navigating inlets, shoals and reefs. If you've ever dreamed of blue water cruising, this advanced sailing instruction is something you should do first.
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Forget PDAs, What About PFDs?
Many sailing clubs focus on the thrill of the ride, being surrounded by nature, maybe even catching some rays on the deck of your yacht. All of this is very romantic and could invite a few public displays of affection...but what's often missing from this scene?
PDFs - Personal Flotation Devices. Usually water skiers wear them all the time, however, if you and your fellow club members/crew opt not to wear them, be sure each person on the boat is assigned a PFD and knows where they have stowed it. Do regular maintenance checks on the stock of PFDs to ensure there are no rips, mildew or loose straps.
