The training boats for your class each have two sails held up by a vertical, aluminium pole called the mast. “This little sail ahead of the mast is called the jib” the instructor explains, “…and this bigger one behind the mast is the mainsail.”
Next, she points to a couple of ropes attached to the lower, rear corner of the jib. “These lines are called the jib sheets” she says. “When the wind is blowing across the boat from one side, you pull on the opposite jib sheet”. She goes on to show you the mainsheet – a line and pulley arrangement attached to the boom which controls the mainsail. She also points out the tiller, a wooden handle at the back of the boat used for steering.
The best way to become a sailor is to go sailing, so the White Sail program is designed to get you out on the water as quickly and as often as possible. Unless you have bad luck with the weather, your first sail will probably take place on your first day of class and might go something like this:
It’s been a nice, sunny day and the afternoon breeze is just starting to lighten off for the evening. Down on the beach, the students in your sailing class are grouped around a sailboat, watching and asking questions while an instructor shows you how to set up the boat and prepare it for launching.
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instructor with a smile. “Who wants to go first?” Nobody steps forward, so she glances over the group and chooses (gulp) you!
Before you’ve really had time to think, the boat has been wheeled into the water and floated off its launching cart. Standing in water a little above your knees, you hold onto the edge of its hull while your instructor makes a couple of adjustments to the equipment. Then she holds the boat while you scramble in and crouch down low in the cockpit. All the while, the sails – main and jib – have been streaming downwind, fluttering like flags because the sheets which control them are slack. The instructor hops aboard behind you and hands you one of the jib sheets, saying, “Pull in the job and hold it”. As you do so, she sheets in the mainsail.
The results are dramatic. At once, the boat seems to wake up, changing in an instant from a floating clutter of cloth, rope and hardware into an almost living being. The noisy flapping of the sails abruptly ceases. And the boat quietly scoots away, going from a standstill to a brisk pace in a matter of seconds. It’s a great feeling.
After a few moments, you realize that you’re still crouching low in the hull while your instructor is perched on the edge of the boat with her back to the wind. “Come up here on the windward side”, she says, and as you move to sit beside her, she shifts her weight inward a bit to keep the boat level. From here, you can see much better and the sensation of effortless speed is even stronger.
“Now let’s stop”, she says. “Just release the job sheer and shift your body weight toward the middle of the boat”. You release the jib sheet while your instructor eases out the mainsheet and the sails start to flap again. Without the force of the wind in the sails, the boat begins to tip, but you quickly slide your body toward the centre of the cockpit to level it out.
“Now you try steering”, says your instructor, and as the boat sits still in water with its sails flapping, the two of you swap places. Once you’re positioned properly with your back to the wind and your rear hand on the tiller, the instructor sheets in and the boat is off again – this time with you at the helm.
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Before you know it, you’re back on shore while your instructor takes another student out for a spin. The assistant instructor is explaining something about raising and lowering the rudder blade, but you’re only half listening. Instead, you’re thinking back to the way the boat felt as it slid quietly along and starting to see why so many people love sailing…
When you’re on a boat, there are some special words that help you find your way around. If you stand on a boat facing the bow, port means left and starboard means right. It’s a sailor’s custom to associate port with the colour red and starboard with the colour green for navigation lights, buoys and so forth. The fact that “port”, “left” and “red” are short words, while “starboard”, “right” and “green” are all longer is a handy memory aid.
Forward means toward the bow, regardless of how you, the sailor, are facing. Aft means toward the stern. By using these words, you’ll avoid confusion whenever two sailors happen to be facing in different directions.
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Not all sail boats are sloops. Some are cat rigged which means they have only a mainsail rather than both main and jib. Among the most popular cat rigged boats are Lasers, Optimists, Sabots and Sunfish.
Sailboards are something like sailboats and something like surfboards. This dynamic sport needs some special skills that you won’t get from a basic sailing program. If you want to learn how, it’s best to enrol in a training program taught by a CYA-certified windsurfing instructor.
Sailing training programs for adults are often taught on keelboats. These are usually larger than dinghies and are equipped with a heavy underwater fin called a keel in place of a centreboard.
Finally, there are catamarans or multi-hulled sailboats. Often called cats for short, they are, in fact, usually rigged as sloops. Like sailboards, catamarans are exceptionally fast and exciting. The best known type is the Hobie 16, but there are many others.
Taken from the book “Basic Sailing Skills”, by Sven Donaldson.
Used with permission by the Canadian Yachting Association.