Points of Sail

  • A Point of Sail is the direction of a sailing vessel under sail in relation to the direction of the true wind.

POINTS OF SAIL

  • Wind ↓ 0°
  • No sail zone. (No Go) In Irons. Into the Wind. 60°
    1. Port Tack: wind over port side
    2. Starboard Tack: wind over starboard side.
    3. Fetch to the windward mark, meaning without having to tack.
  • Beating or Close Hauled:
    1. As close to the wind as the sails allow. 60° for square rigged vessels.
      1. Close Hauled. 60-75°
      2. Beating or Working to Windward or going Upwind or Tacking.
  • Reaching:
    1. Reaching: wind over the ship’s side.
      1. Close Reach 75-90° (Heeling)
      2. Beam Reach. 90° (Heeling)
      3. Broad Reach. 135° (Heeling eases)
  • Running:
    1. Training Run. 135-170° Running Downward.
    2. Dead Run (Don’t Go Zone, wallowing)

Other Sailing Terms

  • Wearing About.
    1. A square rigger cannot tack through the wind, so must turn through 270 degrees.
  • Leeway.
    1. The sideways drift from the course the boat is steering.
    2. The closer the boat points into wind, the higher the lateral forces pushing her, so the greater the leeway and heeling.
  • Heeling.
    1. The angle of tilt from the boat’s vertical position.
    2. When Heeling away from the wind, the boat wants to turn into wind.
    3. When Heeling into wind, the boat wants to turn away from the wind.
  • Broach:
    1. Broaching is an abrupt involuntary change in the vessel’s course due to the following:
      1. Gust of wind: whilst the boat is running, a gust can can cause Heeling, the rudder comes out of water, the boat swings round towards wind, and may even capsize, or suffer temporary loss of control.
      2. Wave Action: whilst running with the waves, wave may overtake and lift the stern. The rudder becomes ineffective, the boat may swing across the waves, or worse,  roll and capsize. ‘wave riding’ creates risk of Broaching.
  • Veering:
    1. In the Northern Hemisphere, the wind changes in a clockwise direction.
  • Backing:
    1. In the Northern Hemisphere, the wind changes in an anti-clockwise direction.
  • Windward:
    1. The side of the boat from which the wind is blowing.
  • Leeward:
    1. The opposite side to Windward.
  • Heave to: (stop with sails set)
    1. Stop the boat on a Beam Reach, by keeping the foresail pulling and by backing the mainsail on the main mast.
    2. The sails are still set, so after adjusting the main yard, it is quick to get under weigh again.
  • In Irons:
    1. Stopped with bows pointed directly into the wind and the sails unable to fill.
  • Brace the Mast Square:
    1. Adjust the sheets on the yard until it is square with the mast.
  • Reefing:
    1. To reduce the size of the sail.
  • Luffing:
    1. Sail flaps because the airflow has been disrupted.
  • Luffing up:
    1. Turn into the wind.
  • Bearing away:
    1. Turn away from the wind.
  • Lying to:
    1. Turn onto a close reach and let sails flap, then half raise centreboard: almost stopped.
  • Sailing in Echelon:
    1. Sailing side by side but each slightly behind the one ahead, diagonally.
  • Sailing in line astern:
    1. Sailing one behind the other in a straight line.
  • Sailing in line abreast:
    1. Sailing in parallel side by side.
  • Sailing in a group:
    1. Vanguard (front), Main (middle), Rearguard (rear)
  • (Two points off the beam, six points off the wind, etc 11.5 ( Roman Wind rose is 8 or 12, but in 18th cent 32)

Five Essentials of Sailing

  • Balance
    • tilt or roll of the boat between port and starboard.
  • Trim
    • fore and aft pitch.
  • Sail Setting
    • with relation to the wind.
  • Keel or Centreboard
    • to prevent leeway.
  • Course made good
    • allowing for wind and tide to reach a point.

Sailing Square Rigged Ships

  • Roman vessels were Square Riggers. The Square Rigger returned during the Age of Sail ((c.1450-1850 CE).
  • Best Performance
    • sails best Downwind or on a Beam Reach.
  • Poorest Performance
    • Unlike a modern sailing vessels using a Bermuda Rig (Triangular sail) which can sail up to 45° to the wind, the Square Rigger can at best point up to 60° into the wind.
  • Sails can be turned
    • The yards (or spas) are squared up or perpendicular to the mast when the vessel is moored, but can be turned (tacked) when under sail.
  • Advantages
    • The square rigger can sail backwards briefly. This can happen as it is tacked through the wind, which is why turning was done by wearing about away from the wind.
    • The square rigger can stop suddenly.
    • The square rigger can turn sharply.
  • Speeds:
    • Fastest speed on a Beam Reach
    • next fastest on a Broad Reach, or Run
    • slowest on a Close Reach or when Close Hauled
  • Docking:
    • the boat would sail as close as possible to the dock, then drop anchor. From there, she would be ‘warped in’ by ropes attached to the dock with the other end hauled in by a winch on the ship’s deck.
    • They couldn’t use rowboats, as due to their high sides creating ‘windage’, one gust of wind could push the vessel into another and drag the rowboat with it.
    • Therefore ships had to wait in a harbour or outside one for days or weeks, until the wind was right. It was sometimes easier for a ship to be unloaded at anchor by rowboats than to dock.

Nautical Dictionary

  • The Nautical Dictionary holds technical terms applicable to sailing vessels, seamanship and navigation.

 

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