Advice on finding and harnessing the wind at various points of sail

deeman

Member
I had a FANTASTIC day on the water yesterday. What a rush that thing is. This was my second time on this boat, and the first time was in 2-3mph winds so it was kind of useless. Yesterday I experienced 4-11 mph winds and it was great. I got better and beating, block to block, and watching how the waves (tiny waves-it's a small inland lake) hit the hull at a certain angle.


I am pretty new at sailing and have only spent short amounts of time on windsurfers and small sailboats. I am kind of struggling to find wind - or should I say harness the wind. I have a wind vane on the mast and it does really help me figure out where the wind is coming from. I just need to learn better that if the wind is coming from this direction, I should have my sail at this position and I should point in this direction. I am sure it's a journey of learning and having it become instinctual, but I felt like Stevie Wonder out there just pointing the boat in all directions until I felt her take off.


I did have the kind of bad habit (I think it's bad) to let the sail out to between a close and beam reach while "hunting" and once I stated moving, I would keep sheeting in and picking up more speed. I would eventually be block to block and loose the wind and start the process again. Should I just leave the sail where it's at once I get a good run going and trim accordingly to stay in the zone?

Also, what is the fastest point of sail. I was just trying to have fun and not worried about where I was going. I suspect it's close-hauled, but not sure.

I know there are some vague questions - but I guess my biggest challenge is finding how to harness the wind - and to stay with it.

Mike
 
Fastest point of sail is broad reach.

With experience, you'll feel the wind on your ear, adjust without thinking, allowing you to focus on other important aspects like keeping the boat flat etc.

For the moment, use the luff of the sail to guide your trim. As you accelerate, fall off slightly to keep that luff happy. And, in the light air you're talking about, block-to-block might be a bit much.

An interesting book that I used to learn to sail eons ago is this:

http://www.amazon.com/Sail-Power-Co...7150/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315917421&sr=8-1

It appears to be a might pricey these days though. This one is also good, but a bit more technical:

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-S...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315917498&sr=1-1
 
Thanks PAX for the response. I suspect it will come it time and I love the learning process. I went out again today and was more conscious about where I was pointing, where the sail was and the boat speed. It's slowly starting to make sense.

I did have my fastest sail yet today while sailing a broad reach. The old' girl was scooting!

Thanks again!
 
A quick tip from me is that when your sheeting in, you need to pay attention to your rudder, as you sheet in apply more rudder towards leeward. The reason being is that if you don't your boat will continue to head more windward and place you in the irons (thus a lost of wind and valuable speed). A common mistake I see when I coach the younger ones just learning. Hope that helps!
 

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