- "Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the water"
Learning how to sail a yacht, including the basic principles of wind direction, sail trim, and steering.
Basic sailing terminology: Introduction to sailing vocabulary, parts of the sailboat, and how to communicate on a boat.
Wind direction and velocity: Understanding wind patterns, how sails work, and how to harness wind to propel the boat.
Points of sail: Identifying and navigating the different angles at which a sailboat can move relative to the wind.
Sailboat rigging: Types of rigging, the function of each component, and how to adjust for optimal performance.
Knot tying: Essential knots, such as the bowline and cleat hitch, for tying and securing lines on a sailboat.
Sailing safety: Safety gear, procedures for handling emergencies, and how to avoid common sailing hazards.
Navigation: Fundamental navigation principles, such as compass bearings, chart reading, and determining position.
Rules of the road: Legal responsibilities and regulations governing boating traffic, and how to navigate safely in crowded waterways.
Weather forecasting: Basic meteorological principles, how to interpret weather forecasts, and how to adjust sailing plans accordingly.
Sailboat maneuvering: Techniques for tacking, jibing, and executing other sailing maneuvers.
Racing principles: Strategies and tactics for sailboat racing, including reading wind and water conditions and anticipating competitors' moves.
Maintenance and repair: Essential skills for maintaining and repairing a sailboat, including hull, rigging, and engine repairs.
Apparent wind: The wind force and direction felt by a yacht while it’s in motion.
Point of sail: The angle of the boat to the wind, and where the wind is coming from. There are eight different points of sail.
Leeway: The sideways movement of a yacht made by the wind and current.
Lift: The force that pushes a yacht upwind while sailing close-hauled.
Heeling: The degree of tilt a yacht experiences from the wind.
Center of effort: The point where the wind force acts on the sails of the yacht.
Center of lateral resistance: The spot on a yacht where the underwater forces are equal to the wind forces on the sails.
Trim: The process of adjusting a yacht’s sails, keel, and rudder to maximize speed and efficiency.
Tacking and jibing: The two maneuvers that enable a yacht to change direction by crossing the wind at different angles.
Headway: The forward motion of a yacht.
Drift: The amount of movement from wind and waves that a yacht experiences without making any headway.
Sailing by the lee: Sailing with the wind coming from the opposite side of the mainsail, requiring careful control for stability.
Luffing: The flutter of the sails when the wind reaches the critical angle, causing a loss of speed and momentum.
Reefing: The process of reducing the sail area by folding or rolling the sail when the wind picks up beyond the yacht’s capacity to handle.
Beating: To sail upwind, usually accomplished by tacking back and forth across the wind.
Goose-winged: Setting both sails on opposite sides of the boat for maximum power.
Running: Sailing with the wind behind the boat.
Planing: When the boat is going so quickly that it rises slightly out of the water.
Sailing upwind: Sailing in a direction pointing into the wind.
Stalling: When the sail stops functioning because the angle between the wind and the sail is too great.
- "From prehistory until the second half of the 19th century, sailing craft were the primary means of maritime trade and transportation"
- "Naval power in this period used sail to varying degrees depending on the current technology, culminating in the gun-armed sailing warships of the Age of Sail"
- "Sail was slowly replaced by steam as the method of propulsion for ships over the latter part of the 19th century"
- "Large improvements in fuel economy allowed steam to progressively outcompete sail in, ultimately, all commercial situations"
- "In the 21st century, most sailing represents a form of recreation or sport"
- "Recreational sailing or yachting can be divided into racing and cruising"
- "Cruising can include extended offshore and ocean-crossing trips, coastal sailing within sight of land, and daysailing"
- "The sails are set to an angle that optimizes the development of wind power, as determined by the apparent wind"
- "The forces transmitted via the sails are resisted by forces from the hull, keel, and rudder of a sailing craft"
- "By forces from skate runners of an iceboat, or by forces from wheels of a land sailing craft"
- "This combination of forces means that it is possible to sail an upwind course as well as downwind"
- "The course with respect to the true wind direction (as would be indicated by a stationary flag) is called a point of sail"
- "Conventional sailing craft cannot derive wind power on a course with a point of sail that is too close into the wind"