BYYB Forums

Hi,

Learning how to sail from books and online resources has certainly got me out on the water and moving around. And I'm having a lot of fun while learning too

While out on my second trip yesterday, The wind changed on us during the return trip and we ended up having to fight our way back against the current nearly directly into the wind.

I was able to get the boat to tack just fine, only getting caught in irons a few times but when tacking to port, the profile of the boat was perpindicular to the current in the river and I would lose ground every tack. On the starboard tack, we would regain most of the distance lost from the port tack but it was very slow going.

We ended up having to use the motor to assist us on port tacks to keep from drifting along with the current. And since it was on, we just left it on during starboard tacks.

I'm in a weekender for those that don't know.

So.. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Could I do something different to help prevent being blown sideways?

It seems the wind and the current were combining to push me sideways to port as much as forward, but only while tacking to port, did not have this problem tacking to starboard because the current is much less on that side of the ICW (the channel hugs the east/port side of the ICW where I was sailing.)

A general problem most beginners have, particularly when sailing to windward is to over sheet or "pinch". This combined with the considerable amount of leeward slip, inherent in this keel design, will cause you difficulty sometimes. The amount of slip under normal conditions is substantial, but with a contrary current and pinched up, you'll be fighting a losing battle as you learned.

When faced with this again, take less of a "bite" going into the wind. In other words, sail a little lower (ease the sheets), which will require you to make a few more tacks, but you'll make progress to windward. Sailing with efficiency to windward takes practice in all conditions.

Learning about your boat is also important. Every boat,, even ones of the same make and out of the exact same mold, handle a little different, under the same conditions. Learning how your boat handles, what she wants to make her go better and the noises she makes as she does, will help tremendously. Each boat has it's own set of noises. Happy, in the groove noises, pissed off, I ain't taking you anywhere noises, etc. Once you learn, you can close you eyes and tell if she's in the groove or better yet, a noise pops up and you know she's bitching about the way you have her mainsail trimmed.

I've had an odd noise wake me from a dead sleep, because my body knew it wasn't a proper noise. This is much like waking up from a sound sleep, when you kid starts coughing softly in the middle of the night. The noise wasn't loud enough to wake you, but the noise keyed some part of your brain and slapped you awake. This may sound funny, but it's true and many a cruising sailor has relied on this feature of human nature, to keep an eye on things, while sleeping alone aboard the boat.