Sailing
Wooden sailing boat
Sailing is motion across a body of water in a sailing ship, or smaller boat, powered by wind.
How sailing works
The force of the wind is used to create motion by using one or more sails. The movement of the air over the sails acts in the same way that air moves over an aircraft's wing. The pressure difference created on either side of the sails drives the boat forward. In sailing, usually, two or more sails are used in conjunction with another to maximise the smooth flow of air. The sails are adjusted to create a smooth laminar flow over the sail surface. This is called the "slot effect".
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Today, for most people, sailing is a hobby. Sailing can be further divided into two areas: Racing and Cruising.
In ancient times (see Odysseus), ships used following or rear-quarter winds. They therefore had to wait in port or at sea for the right wind directions.
Basic sailing techniques
First see the notes on points of sail which introduce some important principles.
As a sailing boat heels several forces begin to counteract this movement. Firstly the force of the buoyancy of that part of the hull which is being submerged, secondly the force of the water pusihing back against the centreboard or keel , and lastly the wind spilling from the top of the sail. All these forces tend to right the boat. However if the boat heels suddenly beyond a certain point of stability it can capsize.
Ropes or wires that hold up masts are collectively called standing rigging and are called of shrouds or stays.
Ropes or wires that control the sails are known collectively as running rigging. Those that raise and lower sails are called halyards. Ropes that adjust (trim) the sails are called sheets.
Ropes used to tie the boat up when alongside are called lines or springs.
Walls are called bulkheads. The toilet is the head, the kitchen is the galley, etc. Sails in different sail plans have unchanging names, however.
For the naming of sails, see sail-plan.
Sailing terms have entered popular language in many ways.
"Broken up" was the fate of a ship that hit a "rocky point."
"Pooped" refers to the aftermost deck of a ship, taken from "puppis" the Latin word for "stern".
"In the doldrums" referred to being becalmed, windless, especially in the narrow band of hot windless water "the doldrums", near the equator.
"Adrift" meant literally that a ship's anchor had come loose, and the ship was out of control near land and therefore in serious danger.
"Keel-hauled and hung out to dry." was the rather nasty process of attaching a sailor to a rope, and drawing him under the sailboat while underway, and then hanging him from a yard-arm (under his shoulders usually, not by his neck), where officers and crew could mock him.
Turning a sailing boat
There are four basic maneuvers a sailing boat can perform while underway. They are:
Trim
An important aspect of sailing is keeping the boat in "trim". To achieve this a useful mnemonic (memory aid) is the phrase.
This helps you to remember these essential points;Reducing sail
An important safety aspect of sailing is to adjust the amount of sail to suit the wind conditions. As the wind speed increases the crew should progressively reduce the amount of sail. On a small boat with a jib and mainsheet this is done by furling in the jib and by partially lowering the mainsail (this is called reefing).Sail trimming
Heeling
When a boat leans over to one side, it's called heeling. To prevent heeling, (in a smaller boat), all sailors should climb onto the high side of the boat. If that doesn't help, sailors can hike out (using hiking straps if available). Hiking out basically means you brace your feet on the bottom of the boat or under the straps and lean out over the high side as far as possible. Sailing close to the wind
Modern sailing ships are able to steer towards the wind from an average of 25 degrees relative to apparent wind for most sloop-rigged yachts, to as little as 16 degrees for modern (America's cup type) racing sloops. How close a boat can sail to the wind depends on the wind speed, since what the boat "sees" is the apparent wind, i.e., the vector sum of the actual wind and the boat's own velocity. The apparent wind is what the windex on top of the mast shows. Because of this, people often talk about how close a boat can sail to the apparent wind. A good sloop can sail within 25 degrees of apparent wind. Perhaps an America's Cup sloop can sail within 16 degrees, under the right conditions. Those figures might translate into 45 degrees and 36 degrees relative to the actual wind. The angle at which the wind meets the boat is described by points of sail.Sailing safety
Sailing hulls and hull shapes
Sailing boats typically have one, two, or three hullss.
Vessels with one hull are known as monohulls, those with two or more are known as multihulls.
Multihulls can be further subdivided into catamarans (two hulls), and trimarans (three hulls).
A Sailing boat is turned by a rudderwhich itself is controlled by a tiller or a wheel. Smaller sailing boats often have a stabilising, raisable, underwater fin called a centreboard (or daggerboard). Larger sailing boats have a fixedkeel.Sailing terminology
Sailors use many traditional nautical terms for the parts of or directions on a vessel; starboard (right), port (left), forward or fore (front), aft (rearward), bow (forward part of the hull), stern (aft part of the hull). Vertical spars are masts, horizontal spars are booms (if they can hit you), gaffs (if they're too high to reach) or poles (if they can't hit you). Too many ropes!
Actually, only a few of the "ropes" on a boat are called ropes.
There are some ropes: A few examples, the bell rope (to ring the bell), a bolt rope (attached to the edge of a sail for extra strength), a foot rope (on old square riggers for the sailors to stand on while reefing or furling the sails), and a tiller rope (to temporarily hold the tiller and keep the boat on course). A rode is what keeps an anchor attached to the boat when the anchor is in use.Sailing regulations
Sailors are expected to know the essentials of boating safety which include;
Sailing traditions and etiquette
There are many, more esoteric, etiquette rules, traditions, and customs that will demonstrate to others advanced knowledge of boating protocol such as; pulling up the fenders when you're not in port, the use of flags.See also
Yachting, model ship, ketch, sail-plan, cat boat and sloop, Dinghy sailing, Dinghy racing, Yacht racing.