Racing synthesizes all the best in sailing with plus factors that naturally stem from competition. Let the man who proclaims his preference for cruising and his lack of competitive spirit ask himself how many times, while lazying along, he has sprung into action when he sees another boat coming up from behind. It’s the natural response. Whether it be sailing or other sports, competition provides the necessary spark that makes you do your best.
As with other sports, there is advantage to learn young, but many people take up sailing in later life, often with sensational results. An excellent way to practice and refine racing technique is through dinghy racing.
The more I have raced, the more convinced I have become of the predominating importance of sails. In my opinion 75% of success of any racing boat is attributable to sails. This fact should compel the enterprising sailor to learn the characteristics of a good sail and how it is constructed so he will be able to suggest corrections to the sail maker if any defects appear.
No skipper in my opinion can win consistently with poor sails. There is no ability, magical touch or anything else that will overcome this most serious disadvantage. It is for this reason that I believe so staunchly in the complete One Design hull, rig, and sails. Of course , in open classes the hull design is very great importance but sails again must be the best for a well design hull to perform most effectively. It is fun to think that we have won on our own ability but don’t overlook the credit due the designer and sailmaker in open class, or to the sailmaker in the One Design without one design sail equipment.
A vessel’s safety may depend upon her compass. Cruising under conditions of poor visibility, the small craft pilot may have no other means of keeping to his desired track and, crossing a body of open water, no other means of making a good landfall. Running out of time on given course in thick weather and neither seeing nor hearing the expected aid to navigation is not conductive to peace of mind. There is little comfort in a chain of soundings that does not match what the chart shows in the expected vicinity. Stranding because of unexpected contact with rock, shoal or any bottom is unnerving.
The are ways of ascertaining and using variation and deviation, compensating the reduction of deviation to a minimum.
SELECTING A COMPASS
Any new compass looks good in the store, or aboard in the quite motion of the mooring or the marina slip. Its behavior under way, when the sea makes up and the little ship rolls, pitches and yaws, is of supreme importance. Will the card stick at some angle of heel? Will its apparent motion be jerky or smooth and easy? Are the card graduation legible and different heading easily distinguished? Is the instrument to be subject to large temperature changes? What is under the glass appears a bubble which may distract the helmsman? Answer depend on the quality of the compass.
No aviator will knowingly accept a cheap parachute, no sailor a bargain in life-jackets or fire extinguishers. No boatman should settle for cheap compass. Select one adequate for your expected needs. Look at number of them before buying. Pick them up, tilt and turn them, simulating motions to which they would be subject afloat. The card should have a smooth and stable reaction, come to rest without oscillations about the lubber’s line. Reasonable tilting, comparable to the rolling and pitching of your boat, should not materially affect the reading. In fairness to the
compass, if it has internal compensators, they must be zeroed-in before making test.
Pay particular attention to the card. Its graduation should be suited to the intended use. That a large craft may be held more easily on the course than a small one axiomatic.
Except under ideal conditions a small boat cannot long be held on the course with single degree accuracy. The varying effects of wind, sea and indeed of trim brought about by the movement of a person aboard, swing her off the desired heading.
We all know that Europeans are knowing for building things that are well engineered, tested as well as researched, and it will be a surprise for you to hear that behind Freedom Yachts stands one of the sophisticated builders of fiberglass products in the world today. And the company is Tillotson-Pearson and the man behind it all is Everett Pearson, considered to be the father of fiberglass boat building in the U.S. Right out of college he started building Pearson Yachts.
They are knowing for their innovation, and no other line of boats has taking the chances rigging development as have the Freedoms with their unstayed, unsupported carbon fiber mast and self-tending sails to tack. Another plus for Freedoms, it’s design.
For all those, who are like myself are newbies in sailing, I will present great web resources I found in the Internet.
Today I publish a beginning of a video sailing course for newbies created by Tyler Pierce - the Sail Instructor of the Offshore Sailing School at Liberty Landing in Jersey City.
As he says he wants to ”introduce a couple of key ideas and concepts on how to get into the sport of sailing and get sailing safely and efficiently”. In that lesson you will learn the basic components of a sailboat and functions of its parts. Enjoy watching the first lesson.
As we were cruising from New York to Cape Cod, about 3 miles offshore, we observed something fairly large in the water, around Fire Island.
All the people on-board of our boat noticed and heard splashes. It was a whale, what a fun it was, for us to see how she was playing around and waving to us, as she was coming closer and closer to the boat, we realize the size of this whale, she was almost the same size of our boat, perhaps a bit smaller because we did not see her coming out the water fully.
As she came closer to the boat, we started thinking, what she will do next, she went right under our boat. What an experience that was!
Seven years of my sailing experience and five people on-board, we never saw and felt anything like it.