Wind and Sailing
By Dick Wischer
Without wind there is no sailing, period. The wind is your propeller, the power that makes your boat go. The best explanation is this, without wind you have no means of propulsion. In model yachting we always seem to have enough wind to move, perhaps very slowly, but some way is made through the water. The wind, be it a knock down gale or a whisper is the driving force for sailing. The amount of wind indicates the selection of sail and the trim necessary to maintain maximum boat speed. Wind is invisible. It's not like the sport of football where you can see the ball coming at you. You can't see the wind, it's elusive. No sooner do you figure out where itfls coming from, and its force, than it changes. There are ways to see where the wind is coming from, and how near it is, if you can read the signs.
To sail well is learning to find the indicators and being able to read the surface of the water. In model yachting things happen fast, so we have to watch carefully for that breeze that will give us an advantage. It is a good idea to have a telltail on your backstay, or a wind direction indicator in the mast crane that can indicate any breeze near your yacht. Watching other yachts will help; reading the water ripples, or the leaves on the trees in the direction you are going helps to find the motor needed to move your yacht. Remember that wind shifts all the time, you will seldom have a steady wind coming from one direction. Following other yachts makes finding the wind easy, but then you are not in the lead are you? In very light air find your own wind, getting ahead is the goal, try to keep your yacht moving, you must find the air that others canflt see.
Glassy patches on the pond indicate no wind in those spots. Watch the water. Disturbances and small ripples indicate a breeze. Sailing the edge of that area holds the most wind, it has the lift needed to move you when others are standing still.
When you sail too close to the wind your yacht will stall. The sails flap, and you will have no way on. Do not let your wind vane fool you. When going to windward the wind vane will point higher than any onshore indicators. This is because true wind and apparent wind come into the picture. The boats forward motion makes the wind vane move forward of the true wind you feel on shore.
Pinching is a point of sailing that causes you to stall. When you pinch coming to close to the wind you come to a standstill. It is best to be aware that pinching is more of a hindrance than an asset. It's a rare case when pinching gains you an advantage.
If your approaching a buoy and have the room, it is best not to pinch to round the mark. Pinching will put you close to the buoy, and a hard over rudder is like putting on brakes. A better system is to round the buoy smoothly with moderate rudder. There are times when you have to turn hard, for example, when many yachts are rounding the buoy at once, thatfls life.
When sailing downwind it is better to broad reach than run with the wind. Wing on wing may look great, but itfls not as fast as broad reaching. If possible, try gybing back and forth on broad reaches to reach your mark. This looks good in print, but hard to force yourself to do on the pond. You have to try this to see how effective it is. Remember you have to have room for this type of maneuver. Starboard still has rights going downwind. Sailing smart has its advantages.
Practice, Practice, Practice
A good way to learn on your own is sail upwind and slowly swing the bow into the wind. When the sails start to tuff, fall off until they fill. Work at broad reaching, gybing and running with the wind too. If you can find a buddy willing to do some one on one, that will be helpful.
Without wind there is no sailing, period. The wind is your propeller, the power that makes your boat go. The best explanation is this, without wind you have no means of propulsion. In model yachting we always seem to have enough wind to move, perhaps very slowly, but some way is made through the water. The wind, be it a knock down gale or a whisper is the driving force for sailing. The amount of wind indicates the selection of sail and the trim necessary to maintain maximum boat speed. Wind is invisible. It's not like the sport of football where you can see the ball coming at you. You can't see the wind, it's elusive. No sooner do you figure out where itfls coming from, and its force, than it changes. There are ways to see where the wind is coming from, and how near it is, if you can read the signs.
To sail well is learning to find the indicators and being able to read the surface of the water. In model yachting things happen fast, so we have to watch carefully for that breeze that will give us an advantage. It is a good idea to have a telltail on your backstay, or a wind direction indicator in the mast crane that can indicate any breeze near your yacht. Watching other yachts will help; reading the water ripples, or the leaves on the trees in the direction you are going helps to find the motor needed to move your yacht. Remember that wind shifts all the time, you will seldom have a steady wind coming from one direction. Following other yachts makes finding the wind easy, but then you are not in the lead are you? In very light air find your own wind, getting ahead is the goal, try to keep your yacht moving, you must find the air that others canflt see.
Glassy patches on the pond indicate no wind in those spots. Watch the water. Disturbances and small ripples indicate a breeze. Sailing the edge of that area holds the most wind, it has the lift needed to move you when others are standing still.
When you sail too close to the wind your yacht will stall. The sails flap, and you will have no way on. Do not let your wind vane fool you. When going to windward the wind vane will point higher than any onshore indicators. This is because true wind and apparent wind come into the picture. The boats forward motion makes the wind vane move forward of the true wind you feel on shore.
Pinching is a point of sailing that causes you to stall. When you pinch coming to close to the wind you come to a standstill. It is best to be aware that pinching is more of a hindrance than an asset. It's a rare case when pinching gains you an advantage.
If your approaching a buoy and have the room, it is best not to pinch to round the mark. Pinching will put you close to the buoy, and a hard over rudder is like putting on brakes. A better system is to round the buoy smoothly with moderate rudder. There are times when you have to turn hard, for example, when many yachts are rounding the buoy at once, thatfls life.
When sailing downwind it is better to broad reach than run with the wind. Wing on wing may look great, but itfls not as fast as broad reaching. If possible, try gybing back and forth on broad reaches to reach your mark. This looks good in print, but hard to force yourself to do on the pond. You have to try this to see how effective it is. Remember you have to have room for this type of maneuver. Starboard still has rights going downwind. Sailing smart has its advantages.
Practice, Practice, Practice
A good way to learn on your own is sail upwind and slowly swing the bow into the wind. When the sails start to tuff, fall off until they fill. Work at broad reaching, gybing and running with the wind too. If you can find a buddy willing to do some one on one, that will be helpful.