I’ve recently learnt to sail but when I’m on the water, all of my theory goes out of my head. Can someone please explain the steps of sailing or confirm what I’ve written below?
- check the wind direction
- think of where I want to navigate to and point the boat relative to the wind.
- think of the points of sail. For the boat’s position relative to the wind, change the main sail to the respective point of sail and the wind will catch the sail.
- use the main sheet to keep the sail in the “point of sail” direction that the wind should be in.
- make very small movements to keep the boat going straight towards my target
- once i’m going straight, check the sail if it’s luffing periodically and trim the sail if necessary
when tacking,
- use the tiller to turn the boat around, either pull it fully towards or away from me
- once the boat is turned around, pull the tiller so that it’s now straight and you can let the tiller handle lay on the side of the boat
- switch sides as usual
thank you!
I wrote a post the got deleted and I’m sorry but I’m not going to rewrite it. The gist was go play, make it a game and not a step by step recital. Don’t worry about doing something “wrong”, that’s where you’ll learn (just mind your head)
Only thing is, never let go of the tiller. When you tack lead with your aft foot and pass the tiller and mainsheet behind your back while always looking forward.