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Sailing 101: Learning the Basics

Sailing is a good fun sport and an excellent way to test skill, stamina and strategy when it comes to sailing in races. Learning the basics takes time to become a proficient sailor and you will soon discover the things you can and con not get away with in different conditions.

The things that are most important to learn are the wind direction and the way the boat can travel and how to turn your boat or yacht.

Wind Direction
Whatever the wind direction your boat will be able to travel at 3 different degrees to the wind. This does depend on the type of boat but for the sake of this example we are going to assume you have a standard dingy with two sails a Jib and a Main sail.

You can sail at around 45 degrees into the wind known as a beat, at around 90 degrees to the wind known as a reach or with the wind directly behind you called a run. You cannot sail directly into the wind. This is known as head to wind and the sails will not fill hence you cannot move. Sailing 101: Learning the Basics

Turning your Boat
There are only 3 ways to turn your boat; a tack which is when you turn your boat through the head to wind position to continue sailing against the wind at 45 degrees. This is the slowest of the turns but is the best when sailing into the wind when learning the basics this is the first turn to learn.

The next is the gyb ; this is when you are sailing away from the wind direction either on a Reach or on a Run. This is a quicker way to turn and the sail will snap across the boat with the power of the wind. The last and only other way to turn a boat is to capsise, not really a turning manoeuvre but it does happen so be prepared.

There is a lot to learn when it comes to the basics of sailing and the best way is to get out there with an experienced sailor and give it some practice.

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