Training scenario: Cedar Harbour, Pine Bay, Fox Channel and every depth, tide and current figure in this capstone are fictional. They are designed to be internally consistent for learning and must never be used for real navigation. This Is the Last Lesson You have spent this course learning pieces of sailing one at a time. You learned the language of …
How to Plan a Sailing Trip: A Beginner’s Guide
There is a point in learning to sail when the individual skills begin to come together. You know how to steer the boat. You understand the basic points of sail. You can tack and gybe. You have learned how to read the wind, reef the sails, interpret a marine forecast, read a nautical chart, check tide tables and think about …
How to Dock a Sailboat: A Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide
Returning to the marina after a good day of sailing should feel satisfying. For many new sailors, however, the sight of the dock produces exactly the opposite feeling. The sails are coming down. The fairway seems narrower than you remembered. Other boats suddenly look very expensive. Someone is standing on the dock watching. The wind seems to have changed direction …
Sailing Weather for Beginners: Should You Leave the Dock?
There is a moment before every sail when you make one of the most important decisions of the day. It happens before the sails go up. Before the engine goes into gear. Before the dock lines come off. You decide whether you should leave at all. For experienced sailors, checking the weather becomes part of the routine. They look at …
How to Understand Tidal Currents: A Beginner’s Guide
Tidal currents are one of those parts of sailing that can seem mysterious until you understand what the water is actually doing. You may leave the marina with a comfortable breeze, point the boat toward your destination, and discover that your GPS track is slowly sliding sideways. On another day, the same boat on what seems like the same route …
Basic Coastal Navigation: A Beginner’s Guide
There is a wonderful moment in learning to sail when the coastline begins to look different. At first, a new sailor sees islands, bays, rocks, lighthouses and distant headlands simply as scenery. You know roughly where you are because the marina is behind you and your destination is somewhere ahead. Then you begin learning navigation. Suddenly, that lighthouse is a …
Sailboat Emergency Guide: Fire, Flooding, Grounding & More
Sailing is usually a remarkably safe and enjoyable activity. Most days on the water involve nothing more dramatic than adjusting sails, watching the weather, and deciding where to stop for lunch. Still, things can go wrong. A crew member can get hurt. A steering cable can fail. An engine can refuse to start just when you need it. A sudden …
How to Anchor a Sailboat: A Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide
Anchoring a sailboat can seem surprisingly simple. You find a quiet spot, lower the anchor, let out some rope or chain, and settle in. But good anchoring involves considerably more than dropping a heavy object onto the seabed. A properly anchored sailboat is held by an entire anchoring system: the anchor, chain or rope, the angle of pull, the seabed, …
Sailing Right of Way Rules: The Essential Beginner Guide
You are sailing along on a beautiful afternoon. The wind is steady, the sails are trimmed, and for once everything seems wonderfully uncomplicated. Then you look ahead. Another sailboat is approaching. It is not directly in front of you, but it is close enough that you begin wondering whether your courses might cross. Do you turn? Does the other boat …
How to Read Tide Tables: A Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide
Tides are one of those parts of sailing that can seem complicated until someone explains what the numbers actually mean. Open a tide table for the first time and you may see a collection of times and heights that look more like a schedule than useful sailing information. But those few numbers can answer some very important questions. Will there …