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Archive for the ‘Dinghies Level 2’ Category

Sea Terms
Windward – this is the side of the boat from which the wind is blowing, typically the windward side of the boat is that opposite the side that the sails are on.
Leeward – the side of the boat away from the wind direction

Abeam – this refers to anything that is at right angles to the centreline.

Forward – this is the term used to express any position to that forward of the item in question, i.e the crew sits forward of the helmsperson.

Aft – this is the back of the boat, i.e. the aft quarter.

Ahead – this when the boat is moving forward in the water, i.e. the boat is moving ahead.

Astern – this is when the boat is moving backwards in the water, i.e. the boat is moving astern.

To Weather – this is another term for going upwind, i.e. the boat is moving towards the weather

Downwind – this is the opposite of “to weather”, i.e. the boat is sailing downwind, away from the weather

Amidships – this is the middle of the boat and is the widest part of the boat.

Quarter – as in aft above, this refers to the rear corner of the boat, i.e. aft quarter

Pinching – this is when you are sailing into the no go zone and the luff of the sails start to flap, progress is typically worse when you are pinching . However to gain a slight upwind advantage at time it maybe necessary to pinch a little occasionally.

Sailing by the lee – this is when you are running downwind with the wind on the same side as the boom.

Luff up – this term refers to the boat sailing closer to the wind and is typically used when racing when you want to make a competitor sail closer to the wind. You cannot luff past head to wind though, that is when the sails start to flap and you have forced your opponent into the no go zone.

Bear Away – this refers to when you sail further away from the wind, typically by pulling the tiller towards you. As you bear away you will need to let the sails out.

Planing – this is when the boat rises up and skims over the surface of the water, rising over the bow wave, rather than cut through it, and is typically maximum hull speed and not related to waterline length

Sternway – this is the term used when a dinghy is moving backwards under control.

Broaching – this is an uncontrolled movement towards the wind and occurs when the boat becomes overpowered. At the same time the boat will heal over towards the leeward side. When broaching all the sails need to be eased immediately. At the start of the broach it may be possible to dump the kicker and spill some of the wind from the main, the main being the sail that provides the ability to point upwind.

IRPCS
International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea. These are the rules which apply to all vessels and must be adhered to, detailed below.

Meeting other vessels
Here the rules of the road covered elsewhere on this site come into play. Namely, windward boat, overtaking boat and port/starboard.

Following or crossing narrow channels
Sailing dinghies can sail outside channels as they have a much smaller draft and can effectively go intro shallower water. Therefore if you are crossing a channel you need to make sure that the channel is clear of vessels coming up or heading down the channel, and cross in the shortest possible time, by the most direct route. If following a channel you need to stay between the red and green channel markers as these mark out the deeper water. The colour coding applies when you are heading up a channel, and you keep the red posts on your left hand side. Also, when heading up a channel you stick to the right hand side. This way, boats will always pass port to port.

Action by stand-on vessel
If the other vessel is required to give way then you are required to hold your course and speed. This gives the other vessel time to take avoiding action. If they fail do so then you can alter course and/or speed to avoid them. In this scenario you are the stand on vessel as you have right of way. Even if you are the stand on vessel and you find that a collision cannot be avoided by the action of the other vessel alone then you MUST take avoiding action.

Tell Tales
Tell Tales are located on the sails and indicate the flow of air over the surface of the sail. Usually made form wool or some other lightweight material, they are a fine tuning tool for sailing the boat effectively.

Using the tell tales when helming is useful to ensure that the boat is pointing as high as possible – thus they are most commonly used when sailing upwind. A useful mantra that I use is to move the tiller towards the telltale that is fluttering – you are aiming to have them both streaming in line. So, if the leeward telltale is fluttering, you can head up, if the windward tell tale flutters then you need to bear away. If the whole luff of the sail starts to flap then you need to bear away a lot more! The tell tales really are a fine tuning tool, used to maximise upwind angles.

In terms of sail trimming, if the leeward tell tale flutters then the sail can be tightened, but not excessively so.

Heaving to
Heaving too is a useful manuoevre when you want to stop the boat in the water to sort things out, like swapping helm and crew for example.

The boat basically lies across the wind, with the jib backed and the helm hard over, in the opposite direction to the force of the jib. What this means is that the jib is trying to blow the bow of the baot away from the wind, but is counterbalanced by the force of the rudder. The main is fully let out, which is ideal as the boom is out of the way and there is space in the boat to move about and sort out things. The only thing to be aware of when hove-to, is that the boat will drift slowly downwind, as the force of the wind is still acting on it. When going into the hove to position, it is best to ease the main, then back the jib and then slowly ease the helm to balance the jib. If you do the helm too early, or too fast, then there is the possibility of tacking.

Going into the hove to position is best done from a beam reach – the main can be fully eased and the boat is already lying across the wind, its just a case then of backing the jib, and moving the helm (push it away from you). On a single hander, such as a topper, simply, ease the main out fully from the beam reach point of sail – the principles are the same, the main is out of the way and the boat will slowly drift downwind. The helm is usually left centred in this scenario as there is no jib to counterbalance.

Reefing afloat
The best method of reefing afloat is to be hove to, with the jib backed and the helm hard over. The boat will lie across the wind and slowly drift downwind. The main can be dropped in this position and the reef can be put in, in the same manner as it is done when reefing ashore.

Alternatively, you can pick up a mooring and secure your boat to it. When selecting your mooring you need to consider the tide as if it is ebbing you do not want to be left high and dry! Also, some moorings are private or cannot be used for various reasons.

Generally, private moorings will have “private” written on them, and you can tell from other yachts or boats that are moored in the vicinity whether they may be feasible to tie onto. However, you should only be a short space of time and therefore most moorings should suffice.

Towing and being towed
Before towing – ensure that it is safe for you to approach the vessel to be towed. Sail past and communicate with the crew: sails down, centreboard up, and what you are about to do. In light winds – Lie-to to leeward of the vessel to be towed and pass them the tow line. It must be lead from the stern of your boat (attached to a strong point with a round turn and two half hitches), via the bow of the other boat to a strong point (thwart, mast, etc). Instruct the crew of the vessel to be towed to lift the centreboard; sit at the back of the boat and steer to follow you.

In heavy winds – Lie-to upwind of the vessel to be towed and throw the tow line to them. The line can also be floated down on a buoy if you have one. The rest of the procedure is the same as above.

The different technique is used to minimise the risk of damage in strong winds and waves.

Remember when towing that you will not be able to sail very close to the wind. The secret to upwind sailing is to have a long tow line and to build up as much speed as possible and then aim more upwind. Don’t pinch as you and your tow will just drift downwind.

Fisherman’s Bend
The fisherman’s, or anchor, bend (J) is an especially strong and simple knot that will not jam or slip under strain and can be untied easily. The knot is used to attach a rope to a ring, hook, anchor, or other object. It is made by taking two rounds of the rope around a solid object, then passing the end under both turns to form a pair of half hitches. When not under strain, however, the fisherman’s bend may slip loose if the free end is not secured.

Sheetbend
The sheet bend, or weaver’s knot, is widely used by sailors for uniting two ropes of different sizes. The end of one rope is passed through a loop of the other, is passed around the loop, and under its own standing part. An ordinary fishnet is a series of sheet bends.

Clove Hitch
This knot is used to temporarily fasten a rope to a spar, mast, tree trunk, and so on. The clove hitch is made by passing the rope’s end around an object and then crossing it over the rope’s standing part to form a loop, then passing the end around the object again to form a second loop, through which the end is passed. The knot can be detached simply by lifting it off the object. The clove hitch rarely slips, but it can work loose with continuous tugging.

Spinnaker
Spinnaker – the spinnaker is the “third-sail” and is used on downwind points of sailing, typically when running. On dinghies there are two types available, a conventional spinnaker and also the asymmetric spinnaker. The asymmetric is typically used on the higher performance and more modern dinghies.
Conventional spinnaker – this is rigged using a spinnaker pole and controlled with five ropes, namely a halyard, pole uphaul, pole downhaul, guy and sheet.

Gybing Conventional Spinnakers – Unclip from the mast, trip the old guy off, clip the new guy, put the new end back on the mast. Top tip – ease a couple of inches (only) of downhaul before the gybe.

Asymmetric Spinaker – These differ in that there is no spinaker pole attached to the mast but rather an extendable pole which is deployed from the bow of the boat. The tack of the spinaker is fixed to the end of this pole, the head of the sail to the halyard and then there are two sheets attached to the clew of the sail. The sheets lead to either side of the boat (outside of everything). and feeds back to blocks on the boat. With an asymetric sail, remember that you cant sail dead downwind easily as the sail is designed to be used about 10-15 degrees off dead downwind. You cover slightly more distance but faster.

Gybing Asymetric Spinakers – This process is pretty straightforward compared to conventional spinakers as there is no pole activity to worry about. Quite simply, when the gybe is initiated by the helm, the crew releases the sheet, the sail flys foward and round the forestay whilst at the same time the crew is pulling in on the new sheet ready for the new point of sail.

Trimming Spinakers – The aim is to keep the sail full at all times and this applys to both types of spinaker. When the trailing edge starts to collapse you need to sheet in, when it has filled again, ease it out until it is just on the edge of the trailing edge collapsing. With conventional spinakers, the angle of the pole will need to be adjusted. You are aiming to keep this as a straight line extension of the boom and this is acheived by adjusting the guy (ease/tighten). The up/down angle of the pole can also be adjusted to allow the sail to be as square on to the wind as possible.

What is the correct procedure for lowering the sail?

Conventional – To drop, there are various techniques, but the simplest is – the gatherer grabs the guy, around max beam (or pulls down the tweaker and grabs the sheet). On command “drop”, the guy is cast off completely), the sheet eased completely and the halyard blown (but kept under control). The gatherer pulls the kite down FAST. This is easiest if the boat is kept on a run. Trouble happens if the guy does not run completely, or the helm starts to harden up, either of which can refill the kite some distance away from the boat – best avoided. As is dropping the kite in the water and trawling with it.

Asymetric – Crew takes the sheet in hand as close to the sail as possible and pulls in to allow the tack of the sail to be grabbed. Then gather in the entire foot of the sail. The halyard is released and the sail pulle down as fast as possible and stowed. As the helm hardens up then the jib needs to be pulled in.

Other tips – tape up your spreader ends to avoid them tearing the kite, don’t reach-to-reach gybe until you can run-to-run, and avoid all this in more than 15 knots true until you are confident in what you are doing.

Trapeze
Trapezing is the art of improving the righting angle of the boat. This done by getting more weight outboard of the boat. Typically it is the crew that will do the trapezing, however, in some higher performance boats both helm and crew trapeze. The dinghy will have trapeze wires possible rigged from about three quarters of the way up the mast down to the sidedeck, near the shrouds. On this wire is a ring, which you hook into using a trapeze harness. There are a multitude of different trapeze harnesses on the market but perhaps once the best ones is the “nappy harness” which is one which is basically like a nappy and surrounds your entire waist, together with straps that go over your shoulders and back support. On the front of the trapeze harness is a hook which connects you to the ring. When trapezing you stand on the side of the boat and let the trapeze wire support your weight. This applies a much greater righting leverage than sitting on the side decks and allows the boat to stay upright while sailing faster. To get out on the trapeze you do the following: On the new tack you clip on. Then bring your front foot up so that it is resting on the sidedeck, back foot still inside the boat. One hand holds the jib sheet, while with the other you can place it on the side deck and this combined with your front foot allows you to push out from the boat, ensuring that the trapeze harness is taking your weight. At all times weight should remain in the trapeze harness otherwise there is the risk of it becoming unhooked. Then, as you push out from the boat you bring your back foot out so that that too is placed on the sidedeck. In order to get your balance you need to keep shifting your weight around until you feel comfortable. Both feet should be about shoulder width apart on the sidedeck. Your free hand (the one not holding the jib sheet) is now semi-redundant, and as such is best placed behind your neck/head which allows you to balance and also to stay out of the way. As the wind eases and strengths you can swing your weight inboard by bending your legs, or come right back into the boat. When it is time to tack, you need to swing inboard on the “ready about” command, unclip, tack and switch sides, clip back on, and then go back out on the wire on the new tack.

Kicker or Kicking Strap or Vang
All refer to the same item! The first reason for the device is to stop the boom lifting on a run. If the boom is allowed to lift the top of the mainsail blows forward and starts creating force sideways and towards the windward side, rather than forwards. This means that when you get hit by a gust in a serious breeze you could capsize to windward. For the purposes of this section the kicking strap should be utilised to improve performance, rather than just leaving it on tight. The second use of the kicking strap is for all sorts of control of the shape of the sail. This is where the subtle control comes into play, and racers will often have the kicking strap less tight than is desirable for ultimate control because they get more speed like that. Releasing the kicker when a gust hits can also spill some of the wind out of the top of the sail and thus allow the helm to regain control. This is particularly useful if the boat is nearing a broach, or if there is considerable “weather helm”. Weather helm is when the boat starts heeling over so much that the rudder blade starts to lose grip in the water and the boat heads up towards the wind. This is a natural occurrence when the boat is overpowered and can be cured by reefing the sails.

Cunningham
This controls the luff of the sail (leading edge) and is in effect a tweaking line that allows the sail shape to be altered to achieve the best shape for the wind conditions. Generally the cunningham is eased when sailing downwind so that the sail has a fuller, rounder shape, in the same way that the outhaul is eased. When sailing upwind, the cunningham is tightened to flatten the sail out and provide more drive, just as you tighten the outhaul and kicker for upwind sailing.

Mark Rounding
The rule with regard to mark rounding is “wide in-narrow out” this means that you take a fairly wide line into the mark but initiate the turn so that you come out of the manoeuvre as close to the buoy as possible, and also as fully powered up as possible. This also has the benefit that you are effectively “shutting the door” for other boats to possibly sneak through on the inside and thus get a better line (close to windward) up to the next mark. Mark rounding gets better with practice and therefore is one of the racing techniques that gets better with time. This and more detailed racing manoeuvres and tactics are covered in the racing section.

Introduction
The basics of meteorology have been covered in stage 1, and again this section will cover the subject in more detail.

Simple met and Interpretation of Forecasts
Typically weather forecasters present a synoptic chart for a given area and then a forecast based on the data that they have available. Pressure areas – there are two types of pressure areas, namely high and low. High pressure areas are synonymous with good weather and are characterised by having sunny conditions but with very little wind. High pressure areas tend to move slowly and have a higher barometric pressure, hence their name. Low pressure areas are synonymous with worse weather and are characterised by cloudy conditions, possibly rain and also stronger winds. As a result they tend to move around faster and have lower barometric pressure. Typically a single synoptic chart will have a mixture of high and low pressure areas. Synoptic Chart – these provide a method of forecasting and generally provide a satellite picture with isobars (lines of pressure) The closer these isobars are together the stronger the wind in that area. The charts also show areas of high and low pressure. Typically the low pressure areas have bad weather (rain, wind, etc) and the high pressure areas have good weather (sun, but no wind). The chart will also show any fronts that are around. There are three types of front – cold, warm, and occluded.

Barometric pressure
This is a figure expressed in hundreds or thousands. Higher pressure areas have the higher figures, such 1024 millibars of pressure, while low pressure areas have figures such as 924 millibars.

Beaufort wind scale
This is a sliding scale that is used to measure different windspeeds. It goes from 0 (zero) upto 10 (ten), with each band encompassing a small range of wind speeds. The table below shows the different forces and the likely conditions: The Beaufort scale of windspeed was created by Sir Francis Beaufort in 1805 and is still used today internationally. This is a rough guide to what may be expected in open water. Wind speeds are averages, and gusts should be allowed for. Sea conditions are usually worse nearer to land and wave height can increase dramatically.

Shipping Forecasts
Shipping Forecasts – these are broadcast on the radio at various times during the day and provide a complete picture of the weather (verbally) for various locations around the UK coastline. The UK meteorological service website has very good weather forecasts on its site and can be found at http://www.meto.gov.uk/sec3/sec3.html. The coastguard also issue forecasts on VHF, there will be an announcement by them saying that they are about to issue a forecast and which channel you should switch too. They will also issue any relevant storm, severe weather or gale warnings. They will also cancel any previous warnings at this time. Typical shipping forecast prediction – DOVER WIGHT PORTLAND (this is the area it relates to) NORTHEAST OR EAST 3. MAINLY FAIR. MODERATE OR POOR (this says that the wind direction and strength will be northeast or east, blowing force 3. The general weather conditions will be fair, while the visibility will be moderate to poor.) These are the UK shipping forecast areas (Ref – http://www.meto.gov.uk/sec3/shiparea.html)

Resultant Wind
This is when the sea breeze and the prevailing wind converge and create the illusion that the wind is coming from in between where they are both blowing from.

Observation
Observation – as stated in stage 1 the best forecast for the current moment in time is too look around you. You will be able to see what the wind is doing by looking at fixed objects such as flags and trees and feel it on your face. You can see what the water conditions are like in your immediate vicinity, though bear in mind about onshore and offshore winds. In an offshore wind, the water close to the land will be sheltered by the lee of the land and can therefore be slightly deceptive.

Introduction
The basics of launching and recovery for various scenarios have been covered in stage 1. Therefore this section will run through the more advanced techniques that can be employed in launching and recovery.

Sailing Backwards
A useful method that can be employed in the majority of instances is sailing backwards. This is typically done by facing the boat into the wind and then holding the boom out manually as far as possible. The jib (if applicable) is not used in this manoeuvre. Once the sail fills then the boat will start to move backwards. Only very small rudder movements are needed as in effect the rudder is at the front of the boat and therefore has a great deal of turning power. There is also a great deal of force acting therefore the rudder can get snatched away if the movement is too great. Once the boat has backed out into the required area the tiller is pushed over towards the boom (this prevents the boom swinging right across the boat) and the boat turns. The mainsail and jib are then pulled in and the boat can sail off in the required direction. When sailing backwards the boat is highly manoeuvrable and therefore it is a useful method of getting in and out of tight spaces. In order to aid in backwards sailing the centreboard is typically left up and then put down before you turn out of the backwards route.

Coming alongside
This is in effect very similar to coming into a pontoon. Assuming the vessel (hereafter called the vessel) you are coming alongside is facing into the wind you want to approach on a close reach. As previously this allows you to head up and bear away and still have control and power available. During this manoeuvre you want to be aiming for the rear quarter of vessel, though in stronger winds you want to aim slightly downwind of it (this allows you more room to drift to a stop). As you get to within about 3 or 4 boat lengths (or earlier if you prefer) you can release the jib so that only the main is controlling the approach. As you get closer you adjust your speed by easing and tightening the main, still aiming for the rear quarter. At about 2 boat lengths you can start to head up and aim for amidships of the vessel. In stronger winds you can still aim for the rear quarter. Easing the main will slow the boat and then using continual rudder movements you steer alongside the vessel. You should now just drift to a stop alongside. When coming alongside you need to bear in mind about the direction that your boom will take, particularly if the vessel is lying across the wind. You therefore want to be on the downwind side so that the boom is not lying across the vessel. An alternative is to sail past the stern of the vessel and then head up into wind on the other side. If the vessel is lying across the wind and therefore facing into the tide the approach is slightly different. As per the diagram you will approach from downwind of the vessel, on a close reach and aiming for the stern quarter on the downwind/leeward side of the vessel. By aiming for this side the boom will not lie across the vessel. Using the same approach as above the boat is controlled with just the main and rudder movements. The stronger the wind, the further downwind of the vessel you need to aim, this allowing plenty of room to drift to a stop. Once alongside you can moor up and drop your sails.

Use of anchor
The pictures show the different types of anchors that are available, each with their own pros and cons. For dinghy sailing the most commonly used is the CQR as it holds well on a variety of seabed types, and is lightweight.

Tide tables
These show the time and height of the tides. They are produced for all major ports with corrections for smaller local ports. An extract from a fictional tide table is shown below.

The tide table shows the time and height of high and low water above chart datum. Chart datum is the LOWEST ASTRONOMICAL TIDE (LAT) – the lowest a tide could possibly fall without taking the weather into consideration, and is the level which all depths and heights are compared to.

Tidal Stream
This refers to the direction that the tide is flowing in. It can be seen from fixed objects that are in the water such as mooring buoys, posts. Water will pile up on one side and there will be an area of calm water downtide of the object. In the picture below the tide is flowing from left to right and the ‘piling up’ of water on the left hand side of the buoy is clearly visible.

Tidal Range
The tidal range is the difference between high and low water in a specific tide, e.g. the tidal range of the morning tide on the 5th July is: 6.2m – 0.3m = 5.9m

Rule of twelfths
This is the rule which allows us to approximately calculate the rise in height of water at anytime during the tidal cycle.

The rule of twelfths says that:

• In the first hour the tide rises one twelfth of its range
• In the second hour the tide rises two twelfths of its range
• In the third hour the tide rises three twelfths of its range
• In the fourth hour the tide rises three twelfths of its range
• In the fifth hour the tide rises two twelfths of its range
• In the sixth hour the tide rises one twelfth of its range

To work out the height above chart datum we must add the low water height.

The rule of twelfths also shows us that the tide will be at its strongest mid-tide as the greatest amount of water is flowing.

EXAMPLE – We wish to travel to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. The harbour entrance has a bar across it which the chart shows has a drying height of 0.9m. Our yacht draws 2m and we wish to have a 0.5m safety margin. Using the tide table above we wish to work out how soon after low water that we can cross the bar on the 6th July 2000.

Work out how much water we need above chart datum.

• Drying height of bar + draft of vessel + safety margin
• 0.9m + 2m + 0.5m = 3.4m
• LW – 0900 – 0.4m Tidal range = 6.4 – 0.4 = 6m
• HW – 1500 – 6.4m Thursday 1/12 = 0.5m
• 0900 – 0.4m = 4m
• 1000 – 0.4 + 0.5 = 0.9m
• 1100 – 0.4 + 0.5 + 1.0 = 1.9m
• 1200 – 0.4 + 0.5 + 1.0 + 1.5 = 3.4m
• 1300 – 0.4 + 0.5 + 1.0 + 1.5 + 1.5 = 4.9m
• 1400 – 0.4 + 0.5 + 1.0 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 1.0 = 5.9m
• 1500 – 0.4 + 0.5 + 1.0 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 1.0 + 0.5 = 6.4m

So, the answer is that we can safely cross the bar at 1200 and enter Yarmouth.

The Compass
A compass is an instrument which always points in the same horizontal direction. Many different types exist each fitting into one of two groups – gyrocompasses and magnetic compasses.

Gyrocompasses are very large and expensive, unlike the relatively cheap and compact magnetic compass. For this reason the magnetic compass is the choice of most sailors.

Of these, dinghy sailors are likely to use handbearing compasses as they are more portable than large steering compasses.

Variation and Deviation
Variation is the difference between true and magnetic north. It is very important to know what the variation is on the chart that you are using as it allows directions from the compass (which uses magnetic north) to be put onto the chart (which uses true north) and vice versa.

We can find out what the variation is in an area by looking at the compass rose closest to the area on the chart. The compass rose consists of two circles – the outside one is aligned to true north (which never changes); the inner circle is aligned to magnetic north for the year that the chart was produced. Variation changes slightly every year – the exact amount is written inside the rose. On the example below variation in 1990 was 4° 25′ W. This decreases by 10′ E per year (1°10′ E in 7 years). Thus in 1997 the variation in this area was 4° 25′ W + 1°10′ E = 3°15′ W

Deviation is the difference between magnetic north and compass north. This difference is caused by heavy metals and electric cables situated around the compass. To minimise deviation it is important to keep all these things as far away as possible from the compass. Deviation is dependant on the magnetic flux of the boat and changes depending on the boats heading. An example of a compass deviation card is shown below.

Deviation is not important for most dinghy sailors as we will be using a hand bearing compass, which, due to it’s portable nature, has no predictable deviation, as generally it is never positioned in the same place.

Chartwork
Even for dinghy sailors it is useful to be aware of various elements of chartwork and below is a brief surmise of the elements you need to be aware of.

Position Fixing
Allows you using dead reckoning to place your position on a paper chart:

1. Locate 3 landmarks which are visible around you and marked on the chart.

2. From your location use a handbearing compass and note down the direction of all three points.

3. Mark all 3 lines on the chart using a plotter/parallel rule.

4. The point where they cross is your location.

Three points are needed to ensure accuracy (3 dimensional image so to speak), as per the diagram below.

Steering a given course
Once you have located where you are you can deduce the bearing to the location you want to go to and can thus have a course to steer.

Log
It is useful to keep a record of your sailing activities so that you can refer back to it in the future, especially if thinking of undertaking a similar passage again. You can purchase specific dinghy logbooks, sold by the RYA and at most chandlers, or alternatively just use an exercise book.

Typically, a log book will look like the diagram below. Each time you go sailing you can fill in the details. The comments section can be used for any sort of information that may be useful, from specific experiences encountered on the trip to the weather conditions in more detail, what the sailing was like and the trip in general.

Log books are useful for you to prove sailing experience to others (such as boat hire companies), to keep a record of your sailing, and to act like a sort of diary.

Introduction
Once you have mastered the art then it is natural that you will want to progress further afield. However, it is essential that you prepare properly and ensure that your craft is upto the proposed trip. If you are undertaking a day sail one of the first things that you should consider is taking along adequate clothing. We have already seen in the beginner section the type of safety equipment and clothing that may be required. However for the purposes of a day sail when you are likely to be away from your launch point you should ensure that adequate clothing is taken, particularly if the weather deteriorates.

Wet weather gear
Wet weather gear – jacket, trousers, or one-piece suit. Wetsuit if necessary. Gloves, hat and appropriate footwear.

Dry clothing
Dry clothing to change into if necessary & towel, preferably stored in a waterproof bag. These are just examples, there is no set standard list of what to take but you should always cater for the unexpected…..typically bad weather or a capsize as you wont want to spend all of your trip soaked through!

Equipment
We have already covered the basic equipment that should be carried aboard. A useful item of kit to have onboard is a knife, preferable one of the multi-purpose types that contains a wealth of useful little items such as pliers, blades and screwdrivers. Alternative one of the boson knifes that has a marlin spike on it which is useful for untying ropes. These ideally should be kept clipped to your buoyancy aid as they are often needed in a hurry and therefore need to be found easily.

Righting an Inverted Dinghy
Occasionally it is possible that your dinghy may capsize and be inverted, also know as “turned turtle”. A dinghy normally inverts after it has rested for a while on its side (see stage 1) and without any pressure on the centreboard the weight of the rigging and sails forces it right over. When a boat is inverted there is ample space to swim underneath and free off sheets or adjust the centreboard; you will find an air pocket trapped by the hull. If you are inside the upturned hull then the centreboard casing provides a convenient space to talk through if you are in a two-man dinghy and you need to talk to your sailing partner.

Inversion
This is a situation that is easy to get out of. Once the boat has settled both helm and crew will meet at the stern of the boat and check that they are both alright. They then need to check that the centreboard is “down” i.e. protruding from the hull so that pressure can be applied once the boat starts to come upright. If the centreboard or daggerboard has slipped into its casing the crew can swim under the boat and push it out, as mentioned there will be an air pocket inside the upturned hull. As the crew is swimming under the boat the helm can swim around and catch the centreboard as the crew swings it out. Once the centreboard is down the crew can swim out from under the boat and join the helm on the windward side of the upturned hull. The helm climbs onto the gunwhale and grabs hold of the centreboard. The crew can go behind the helm and apply weight to the side of the hull. The boat will start to come upright and once lying on its side the manoeuvre is the same as that detailed in the stage 1 section. In a single handed dinghy the method is the same except that there is no crew involvement. If you are sailing in a catamaran the weight must be applied to the rear hull quarter that is in the water. This will spin the hull round and it will pop upright.