So you’ve decided to learn to sail, and as a beginner, you are planning your first time out. There are probably all kinds of questions in your head about how to best prepare for your first time sailing. This article is will give you the best start possible by providing sailing tips on what to expect, some basic rules all sailors follow, and recommendations on some of the important gear you’ll need.
7 Essential Sailing Tips
- Check the weather and wind report
- Learn how sails use the wind
- Start on a small, single sail boat
- Understand, then practice emergency procedures
- Practice how to slow or stop the boat
- Bring along an experienced sailor
- Be flexible.
Check the weather and wind report. This is one of the most important sailing tips I can offer. If you are going to sail for the first time, it is a good idea to make sure there is suitable wind and weather. Too much wind or gusty conditions, and the boat may be too challenging to control. You also don’t want too little wind for obvious reasons. Wind that is forecasted to be between 10 and 20 knots is recommended. Check here for local wind forecast in your area.
Learn how sails use the wind to propel the boat. Don’t assume you can just figure it out once you’re on a boat. Make sure you have some information in your head about how to sail. I would highly recommend some online research on the principles of sailing. Get to know what experienced sailors know. You need to learn this before your first time sailing.
Start on a small beginner sailboat designed for day-sailing. These types of boats are light weight, easy to maneuver, and only have one sail. With minimal moving parts, it is much easier to see and feel how and why the sails interact with the wind. I would highly recommend Escape sailboats.
These are air filled plastic hull (roto molded contruction) sailboats capable of carrying up to four kids or two adults. There is a main sheet, but that’s all. Honing in on your sail trimming skills is left to more advanced boats.
These are great sailboats for those wanting to experience sailing for the first time. The site boats.com did a great review on several models of the Escape sailboat. Check it out here.
Practice “emergency” procedures. One such emergency is capsizing. Your first time on a sailboat will likely be low key and tame. This is the ideal time to purposely capsize your boat so you can see exactly what you need to do to right it. This is another one of the more important sailing tips. Do this several times during your first sailing day if possible.
Practice how to slow or stop the sailboat. You will be returning to the beach or wharf at the end of your sail. You do not want to collide with the wharf or any other vessel sharing the wharf. Make sure you practice how make a controlled stop under sail.
You may find that even though you practiced, you don’t have the confidence to slow or stop your sailboat under sail power. That’s OK. A helpful tip is to bring along a small paddle. Amazon carries a perfect paddle for this. It is light and compact, yet telescopes to up to full size. When you get near the dock, either drop your sail or release all the sheets and paddle in.
Invite someone along who has experience. Friends with sailing experience can give effective and timely sailing tips that will build on your growing practical knowledge.
If you can’t find anyone, try showing up at a sailing club race day and just hang out on the wharf. Talk to those setting up for a race. Often racers will welcome new sailors, or they may just have an available seat that needs to be filled in order to qualify for a race. Bring your own lifejacket and gloves and above all, do what you’re told.
Be flexible to changing weather conditions, changing boat traffic conditions, changing crew morale, and changing water current and depths. Much of sailing requires you to “wing it”.
Frustration grows when reality does not meet expectation. Be prepared for contingencies and learn to adapt. This gets easier with experience, but you have to give yourself a chance to build up that experience.
The act of sailing is a lifelong learning process. In order to preserve safety and enjoyment for all, there are a few sailing rules you need to be aware of.
Rules You Must Know
The rules that are listed below exist to deal with the collision potential of two boats that are soon-to-be occupying the same space. They are not necessarily sailing tips. More like essential info before even trying sailng. No one wants a collision. This means rule setting, and rule setting often requires specific vocabulary and defining common applications for the rule. Look for these terms in bold.
One main concept about sailing is that while under way, sailboats under sail are either in a port tack or a starboard tack.
Rule: Stand on Privilege
The sailboat in a starboard tack has stand on privelege and does not give way. The sailboat in a port tack therefore must give way.
A port tack means the wind strikes the port side first, then crosses the boat towards the starboard side. This will put the boom over the starboard side. In a port tack, the port toe rail is higher out of the water than the starboard side. Here the port is the windward side, the starboard is the leeward.
A starboard tack means the wind strikes the starboard side first, then crosses the boat towards the port side. This will put the boom over the port side. In a starboard tack, the starboard toe rail is higher out of the water than the port side. Here the starboard is the windward side, the port is the leeward.
As mentioned above, the rules of the road on land are in place to fascilitate organized traffic flow over finite road space. More importantly, rules of the road are meant to mitigate against collision potential. This same idea is also applied to sailboats as they relate to all other boat traffic.
Rule: Sailboat-to-Sailboat
The right-of-way for sailboats using the same wind and under the same heading, has been well established and does not vary. In order to prevent collisions at sea between sailboats, these few rules must be followed.
Stand on privelege is the term used to describe the vessel that does not have to alter course in order to avoid an impending collision. In fact the vessel with stand on privelege must not give way in a potential collision scenario. Memorize this. You do NOT want to get this wrong.
If two sailboats are sailing side by side and the space between them is diminishing, the leeward vessel has stand on privelege. The windward vessel must give way. This means in layman’s terms that the boat downwind has the right of way. The upwind boat needs to adjust its path based on what the downwind vessel does.
Important note: Sailboats running with the wind (downwind) can have their boom on either side of the boat. In this case, the boom will indicate which tack the boat is on rather than the wind direction.
In some situations, the sailboats may not be going the same speed. One may be notably faster, and in fact, may be overtaking the other. In this situation, the overtaking vessel must give way, and the vessel being overtaken must not give way.
Rule: Sailboat to Other Pleasure Craft
Sailboats under sail always have stand on privilege over any other motorized pleasure craft that is also under way. This is because motorized pleasure craft is more maneuverable and can operate at a variety of speeds and in almost any weather or tidal current condition.
Tip: A sailboat with both the sails up AND the motor engaged are considered a power vessel and does not meet the criteria for stand on privilege.
If a pleasure craft is not under way (anchored) or does not appear to be piloted (adrift), then sailboats must give way. This goes without saying, but common sense sometimes ain’t so common.
Rule: Large Vessels, Commercial Vessels, Fishing Vessels
Anything that can run right over your sailboat and hardly even feel the impact has the right of way. Large shippting tankers with limited maneuverability, commercial fishing vessels in fishing mode, cruise ships, tugboats towing a barge, ferries etc. should all be given a very wide berth.
Keep Yourself Safe and Comfortable
Learning to sail is at times physically demanding. There are times of physical exertion, there are times when you’ll be too warm or too cold – sometimes in the same day. You’ll find that your attention is on one thing, and you’ll stub your toe, or let rope slip through and burn your hands because you’re so focussed. These tips will definitely help keep your mind focussed on sailing and your body well protected and comfortable.
- Wear an inflatable lifejacket
- Use sunscreen and lip protection
- Wear proper sailing footwear
- Use good gloves
- Water Bottle with a carabiner
- Pack it all in a waterproof bag
Inflatable Lifejacket
Wear an inflatable life jacket. These are highly, recommended purely because of their unmatched maneuverability and comfort. There are several available on the market. I would recommend a Coast Guard approved lifejacket over an immitation or knock-off one from China. Those are a real gamble.
Amazon.com has a ton of inflatable lifejacket options, but this one is the best I’ve found. It’s Coast Guard approved, it automatically inflates upon submersion, and the CO2 refill cartridges are available at any Wal-Mart or here on Amazon.com
Sunscreen
Use sunscreen and lip protection. Seriously, the sun is one thing but the wind can really do a number on exposed skin. I have endured many fantastic sunny days sailing, thinking I was OK from burning because it was cool out. That night the burn set in. It just didn’t make sense how bad it was considering I didn’t feel the heat of the sun much at all.
Because of the potency of the sun and wind in combination, I’d recommend a sunscreen with some real staying power. This link takes you to Amazon.com where you can find my favorite sunscreen. Read up on it, but in short, this stuff doesn’t run or drip into your eyes if it gets wet or combines with sweat. It has zinc and titanium barriers to reflect back radiation (What???).
There’s also all kinds of pro-skin moisturizers and butters or whatever that help heal your skin that might already be burned. I just like how it goes on and protects from the kind of abuse a full day of sailing will place on my face and neck.
Lip Protection
As far as lip protection goes, any lip balm will work. I’ve used all kinds of lip balm and I can tell you that the medicated stuff is the worst.
Medicated lip balm feels and tastes like it has a kind of penetrating chemical or ingredient that makes your lips zing a bit. This makes you feel like it has something in it, and that something is doing good for your lips. In the end, the penetrating ingredient has actually done a kind of damage that, your guessed it, more lip balm can help soothe.
Nope, not for me. I like a basic lip balm that puts a coating on my lips so the wind can’t chap them. If it has spf in it, even better. I like to buy in bulk and put lip balm in lots of my bags and in the pockets of the jackets and sweaters I like to wear when sailing. There is nothing worse than needing lip balm and not being able to find any.
Footwear
Waterproof or water friendly footwear is also highly recommended. You are going to find that your feet will take a bit of a beating your first few times sailing. There are lots of places to stub your toe, bang your heel, or get your foot pinched or scratched.
Often you’ll be called to different parts of the boat, and you’ll need to get there relatively quickly. Shoes offer reliable grip and the leverage you need to move safely and confidently around a boat under sail.
Not all footwear is created equal, and in the world of sailing, your street shoes will likely not be entirely suitable for sailing. For your first time sailing, yes, just wear your normal shoes. However, when you decide to take sailing seriously, I would recommend a shoe fit for sailing conditions.
Sailing Gloves
Wet hands and coarse ropes (sheets, hallyards, deck lines) means wear and tear on your hands. Gloves designed for the tasks of sailing will keep your hands protected and provide the grip and leverage you need. I have found Navis Marine sailing gloves to be the best. They don’t stretch out when they get wet. They dry quickly and breathe when they are wet. Pulling up anchor rode and chain is probably the toughest on your hands, and these gloves are awesome. Amazon.com has a great deal on them if you want to check them out.
Water Bottle with Carabiner
OK, I will admit, “staying hydrated” is on any ‘must-have’ list for basically any outdoor adventure or sport. ‘Stay hydrated’ isn’t really the most enlightened of these sailing tips. Its like telling people, ‘Stay alive’.
The sailing tip I have for you is more advice on how to keep your hydration close at hand, while simultaneously being out of your hand for most of the day. For those new and not so new to sailing, I always recommend a water bottle that has a carabiner.
The reason for the carabiner is so you can clip your water bottle onto something out of the way, but still keep it relatively close at hand. The one thing you don’t want is a water bottle rolling around on the floor of the deck. It’ll get destroyed, get tangled up with something, or even more likely, someone will step on it and turn an ankle.
A carabiner allows you to clip the water bottle to the back stay, a lifeline, the topping lift, the pushpit, or even your own lifejacket.
A good quality water bottle with a carabiner is actually not so easy to find. Amazon.com has a few options and all of them are fairly good. I really like the omgogo water bottle because it’s stainless steel so it won’t shatter if dropped. It is double walled so it’ll likely keep beverages cold. It has a straw built in which is actually a real advantage over tipping back the bottle while engaged in sailing.
Waterproof Bag
A great addition to your prepping efforts, and one of my most used sailing tips, is a decent waterproof bag. Properly closed, as designed, will keep all your things safe and dry in the event it takes spray off the bow or goes overboard. Waterproof bags double as a flotation device in the event of an emergency, though probably not the first thing you should use in a man overboard emergency. The link above is a fantastic and affordable bag which even comes with a waterproof cell phone case! I’d recommend the 40 liter bag because it comes with backpack straps.
Conclusion
With these sailing tips, rules of sailing descriptions, and recommended gear, you should be well equipped mentally and physically for your first day sailing. There is so much to learn and so many awesome people willing to teach you their own sailing tips, far beyond this beginner’s guide. You are about to embark on an incredible journey, one that may take you all around the world. Bon Voyage!