Can anyone recomend a good advanced book on sailing. My wife and I were out on Sunday and the seas picked up and the wind changed direction and we had some trouble getting back to port. The problem was picking a good course to sail to maximize speed while trying to stay off of the beach. Basically we needed to sail west, however the wind was pretty strong out of the south west with 2-4 foot seas. We were not to happy sailing out 3 miles into the Atlantic Ocean with the wave action, so we opted to stay closer to the shore. The problem was that we could only point so high and the waves and current would drive us closer and closer to shore. We would then have to tack south east to get some sea room, and then lose ground on the return trip. I explained to my wife that we were doing everything correctly, however she thought there might have been a better way.She loves "how to" books and asked me to try and find some resources that might help in getting better at charting courses and picking the best points of sail.
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There are many good books on sailing in general, sail trim and navigation. Here is a link to an Amazon listing that resulted from a search on "sail trim." I don't have a specific book that I would recommend, I would suggest browsing in a local book store to see what fits your needs the best.
There are many good books on sailing in general, sail trim and navigation. Here is a link to an Amazon listing that resulted from a search on "sail trim." I don't have a specific book that I would recommend, I would suggest browsing in a local book store to see what fits your needs the best.
Advanced technique? No!
You do not need advanced techniques, you need to pay attention to your senses. All sailors, all authors will agree on one thing...the water is your friend and the shore your enemy. If you look back on it you will realize that the closer in to that leeshore you got the rougher conditions were. You were exceedingly lucky that you were not driven ashore. What you did was a boneheaded refusal to think the problem through. When sailing if you fail that, you will come to grief most assuredly. So, the point is this, you do not need an advanced book, you need a sound beginners book, and as was recommended, Annapolis is a pretty sound book. Read it thoroughly and then go out and practice, practice, practice...particularly practice stopping to think. hey, not flamin' ya, just passing along what most of the rest of us old greybeards were told and taught...fro generally the same reasons and circumstances too, I might add.
You do not need advanced techniques, you need to pay attention to your senses. All sailors, all authors will agree on one thing...the water is your friend and the shore your enemy. If you look back on it you will realize that the closer in to that leeshore you got the rougher conditions were. You were exceedingly lucky that you were not driven ashore. What you did was a boneheaded refusal to think the problem through. When sailing if you fail that, you will come to grief most assuredly. So, the point is this, you do not need an advanced book, you need a sound beginners book, and as was recommended, Annapolis is a pretty sound book. Read it thoroughly and then go out and practice, practice, practice...particularly practice stopping to think. hey, not flamin' ya, just passing along what most of the rest of us old greybeards were told and taught...fro generally the same reasons and circumstances too, I might add.
Advanced techiniques (reply)
Thanks for the advise, and just for the record we were never in danger of running aground or coming close to the shore. My point was that it was getting very late in the day, we had a return trip of 12 nm miles and the wind and seas had picked up. One option would have been to really go off shore to clear land or try and stay within range of the shore. We did try and find deeper water, and the waves picked up, as did the wind. I would hev expected the opposite (local conditions are usually such). I am not taking offense to what you stated; so what is the correct answer? Should I have sailed directly south the 3-4 miles and then headed west or were there other options that we did not think of. By the way as this was happening we had had an earlier engine overheat, and my 6 year old was throwing up every 10 minutes or so.
Thanks for the advise, and just for the record we were never in danger of running aground or coming close to the shore. My point was that it was getting very late in the day, we had a return trip of 12 nm miles and the wind and seas had picked up. One option would have been to really go off shore to clear land or try and stay within range of the shore. We did try and find deeper water, and the waves picked up, as did the wind. I would hev expected the opposite (local conditions are usually such). I am not taking offense to what you stated; so what is the correct answer? Should I have sailed directly south the 3-4 miles and then headed west or were there other options that we did not think of. By the way as this was happening we had had an earlier engine overheat, and my 6 year old was throwing up every 10 minutes or so.
A racing tactic
is called the "long tack." Conceptually, you figure, based on the wind angle and your intended destination, which is the longer tack that gets you to the "mark" and sail that first. In many cases, given wind, current and destination, the shorter tack may actually take you away from where you want to go! Throw in the shoreline and it complicates the mix. The English call it the "long board." You'll come across it in your reading. You could also check Sailnet.com which has many articles on sailing. I agree that going into a local West Marine, or other store with a good array of books, is worth an hour or two of your time. Sit down and browse through some of the books and find the one that you like the best. Nigel Calder's Cruiser's Handbook may also be of use to you. I've been sailing for over 25 years and I appreciated the very thorough review he gave of sailboat handling and relatively simplified explanations of things we all know in our veins (like Did.. said above) but appreciate being presented clearly. There are other things in that book you may find useful, too. Lotsa stuff out there. The trick is to depend on YOUR own appreciation of what's being presented by any given author, because all the information's pretty much the same, but the way it is shown is different. Stu
is called the "long tack." Conceptually, you figure, based on the wind angle and your intended destination, which is the longer tack that gets you to the "mark" and sail that first. In many cases, given wind, current and destination, the shorter tack may actually take you away from where you want to go! Throw in the shoreline and it complicates the mix. The English call it the "long board." You'll come across it in your reading. You could also check Sailnet.com which has many articles on sailing. I agree that going into a local West Marine, or other store with a good array of books, is worth an hour or two of your time. Sit down and browse through some of the books and find the one that you like the best. Nigel Calder's Cruiser's Handbook may also be of use to you. I've been sailing for over 25 years and I appreciated the very thorough review he gave of sailboat handling and relatively simplified explanations of things we all know in our veins (like Did.. said above) but appreciate being presented clearly. There are other things in that book you may find useful, too. Lotsa stuff out there. The trick is to depend on YOUR own appreciation of what's being presented by any given author, because all the information's pretty much the same, but the way it is shown is different. Stu
all the more reason...
You said your engine had overheated, and your child was ill. You were sailing as close as you could to the wind and barely maintaining your near shore course. ALL (except the child) are absolute reasons to get so working room. Although you mentioned that going out you experienced higher winds and waves, you did not say how far out, and it is implied that it was certainly not the three miles that you thought would be necessary fro a good tack back to port. ABSOLUTELY you should have went farther out, not doing so risked the child, the crew, and the boat. You were lucky that time...log it, celebrate it, but never try and repeat it. Letting time constraints dictate tactics is probably the largest single factor in boating disasters, alcohol and inexperience follow closely. g'Luk
You said your engine had overheated, and your child was ill. You were sailing as close as you could to the wind and barely maintaining your near shore course. ALL (except the child) are absolute reasons to get so working room. Although you mentioned that going out you experienced higher winds and waves, you did not say how far out, and it is implied that it was certainly not the three miles that you thought would be necessary fro a good tack back to port. ABSOLUTELY you should have went farther out, not doing so risked the child, the crew, and the boat. You were lucky that time...log it, celebrate it, but never try and repeat it. Letting time constraints dictate tactics is probably the largest single factor in boating disasters, alcohol and inexperience follow closely. g'Luk
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