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season
After a long break the skipper may need to knock the rust off a few skills, as well as getting
the boat working, says James Stevens
Come spring, when most of us start sailing again, we suffer from a bit of skill fade, especially
this year after being locked down for so long.
Theory knowledge which was red hot the day we took the test is probably not so near the
mark.
Practical skills such as boat handling tend more towards ponderous than slick.
So it’s worth starting the season with your own refresher course.
Fortunately some knowledge and skills always stick.
You don’t normally have to revise how to put on a lifejacket, raise the mainsail or the basic
sailing rules and buoyage.
What you might have forgotten is what is inside the lifejacket, how to prepare the sails for
heavy weather and the less common Colregs.
Modern plotters have made pencils and plastic plotting instruments almost redundant, but a
little revision on how to estimate a position or shape a course on a paper chart might make
a big difference if the electrics fail.
On the chart it is not too important if you are unable to distinguish between a castle and a
fort but it is more serious if you confuse a rock which is not a hazard with one that is.
As chartplotters and instruments gain ever more functions, knowing how to use them is an
important part of navigation too.
Skills such as interrogating features on a vector chart, generating routes and setting alarms
need to be revised, as well as more traditional skills such as how to plot a visual fix on
screen or on paper, and knowing what isophase and occulting lights look like.
After such a long break, some boat handling practice is worth the effort and might save a
fibreglass repair.
Practising manoeuvres is best done with a crew who get involved and have a go.
It is mind-numbingly boring to sit on a deck watching the helm miss buoys or MOB
dummies, unless you know you’re next.
Whether sailing alone, as a couple or with a crew, you’ll get much more from your
shakedown sail exercise by analysing what happened using the principle, Brief, Task, and
Debrief.
Choose a manoeuvre to practise, taking it in turns and providing feedback, starting with
what went well, what didn’t and finally what to do to improve.
Credit should be given not just for technical skills, but also the artistic impression of
handling the exercise without drama or shouting.
If the manoeuvre didn’t work, don’t worry.
Morale will be improved by practice and success.
Moorings
If you can find a mooring in reasonably clear water there are a number of boat-handling
exercises which will help helm and crew work together.
First is approaching as if to moor under sail.
With wind and tide together this is done with the main up, approaching on a close reach,
spilling and filling the main to adjust the speed.
Many boats also require the jib to provide enough power if there is a strong tidal stream
running.
The skill here is judging the start point.
In a really strong tide the yacht will be almost abeam of the mooring to counteract the tide
and at the moment of pick up the yacht is stationary over the ground but still has boat
speed through the water.
To save time when practising simply get close enough for the crew on the bow to tap the
buoy with the boat hook and hand over to the next helm.
A variation of this when handed the helm is to return to the buoy with one tack and one
gybe in either order.
This really concentrates the mind on wind awareness and identifying the approach point
and gives plenty of crewing practice.
Wind against tide moorings are left and picked up under jib alone into the tide.
This is a much easier manoeuvre and a roller furling jib makes speeding up and slowing
down very simple.
Sometimes even under bare poles the tide is too weak to slow the boat down, so zigzagging
towards the buoy will put the keel across the stream and reduce the ground speed.
Man overboard
Yachtmaster examiners love throwing buckets and fenders over the side to simulate a man
overboard.
Not only does this put candidates in the position of thinking what they are going to do with
a crew member in the water, it is also a good test of boat handling and wind awareness
under pressure.
If you are practising, the bucket and fender can go in when the helm is ready.
Brief the crew beforehand and have someone whose sole job is to point at the MOB.
Under Sail
This is only going to work if the boat is stopped next to the bucket with the main flapping.
We’ve all watched boats sail past MOB dummies at several knots with the main drawing.
As soon as the MOB goes in the boat needs to be stopped by tacking into the heave to
position and the dan buoy and lifebelt deployed.
In a real emergency, unless you are sure you are going to retrieve the MOB (or even if
you’re sure) a distress call should be made.
Every member of the crew should understand how to use the VHF radio and a script of what
to say should be displayed near the radio.
Sail away with the wind just aft of the beam checking the wind indicator.
About seven or eight boat lengths away, tack.
You should be on a close reach and you may want to roll up the jib depending on how well
the boat sails without it.
Point the boat at the man and free the main to check it will flap.
If it doesn’t, steer downwind slightly and check again.
Spill and fill and aim to pick up on the leeward side – you’ll drift away if you put the MOB to
windward.
On a windy day you will have to aim upwind because as the boat slows it will make leeway.
Aim to pick up just aft of the shrouds but forward of the boom.
Under power
This is probably the quickest way of retrieving a MOB, and speed is essential in cold water.
Throw the MOB in. Heave to, roll up the jib, check for lines in the water and start the
engine.
Sheet in the main and steer to the downwind position.
Mind the gybe.
Motor upwind to the MOB with the main flapping.
It is easier to arrive slightly on the upwind side.
Keep the prop well clear of the MOB.
This is all fairly straightforward when practising but remember when it happens for real
there will, by definition, be one less crew and a rope around the prop can be fatal.
Every skipper should also have thought how to retrieve the MOB from the water.
Easy enough if they are fit enough to climb up a ladder, but really hard if the cold has
sapped their strength.
It’s worth practising the recovery in a calm anchorage in summer, and make sure your plan
works for a solo sailor if you sail as a couple.
It is far from easy to lift a waterlogged person from the water, however strong you are.
Anchoring
Before anchoring for the night it is important to ensure the yacht is going to stay afloat at
low water.
This is a simple problem but a surprising number of people struggle with it by introducing
the charted depth into the calculation.
Obviously the chart needs to be consulted before dropping the anchor to check the sea bed
is suitable, but the information you need is: the amount the tide will drop to low water + the
draft of the yacht + the clearance you would like.
Make sure you anchor somewhere where the depth at that time is greater than the sum of
these three numbers.
The amount the tide will rise is only relevant for calculating how much chain to put out.
You have more choice where you stop when anchoring than mooring.
Under sail it’s straightforward under main alone or jib alone depending on the direction of
the wind and tide.
For wind-with-tide with the main up, come to a halt by easing the mainsheet on a close
reach and as soon as the anchor is over the bow drop the main before it draws.
Some skippers always anchor under jib alone to avoid this problem.
Reefing
You can easily tear a sail if the crew is not coordinated when putting in a reef.
The most common mistake is forgetting to ease the kicker which is necessary because the
boom is usually higher when the sail is reefed.
Traditional slab reefing requires a crew member at the mast, on the windward side.
The mainsheet is eased to depower the sail, the kicker eased; topping lift raised and the
main is lowered until the mast crew indicates the reef cringle is in line with the ram’s horn
at the gooseneck.
The cringle is attached and the main halyard can then be tightened.
The reefing pennant is tensioned.
It’s important to hoist the sail before tensioning the clew.
Topping lift off and kicker on. Sheet in and secure the reef.