Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

344
Part 7: Sailing, Sailing …
Docking into the wind is risky if there’s no area where you can shoot past the dock,
because your speed has to be calculated just right to stop the boat before it hits the dock,
but not so soon that the dock is still out of reach. A sharp turn while still a boatlength or
two off the dock may bring you in just right, but have a hand ready to heave a line in case
you’re too far out, and have the fenders over the side in case you’re closer than you think.
Remember that the rudder can also be a brake. Turning the tiller rapidly all the way to
one side can cause the rudder blade to stall, which burns off a lot of boat speed.
Anchoring Under Sail
It’s by far easiest to anchor under power, and if you have an auxiliary engine that’s what
you should do. However, if not, here’s the procedure for doing it the way that Captain
Cook and Magellan did it:
1. Drop the jib before you approach your selected anchorage. If you don’t, it’s going to
be in the way of the person handling the anchor on the bow.
2. Select the spot where your anchor needs to go to allow lots of scope and hold you
in place. If you’re picking an overnight spot in a cruising sailboat, choose an area
where the boat can swing 360 degrees with any changes in wind and tide without
going aground or bumping another boat.
Boat Bytes
To anchor in a harbor
crowded with both power
and sailboats, choose a
spot near the other sailboats.
They are more influenced
by current than wind due
to their deep keels and will all
swing at about the same rate,
while the powerboats will swing
mostly based on the wind direction.
Besides, if you’re a sailor
you don’t want to be in among
all those generators and poo-
3. Sail toward your drop spot and turn directly into
the wind as you get within two or three boatlengths,
or whatever your estimate of stopping
distance is under the prevailing conditions. The
sails will luff and the hull will coast to a stop.
4. Lower the anchor and pay out the rode as the
wind pushes the boat backwards. (If there’s not
much wind, you may want to “back” the mainsail
by pushing the boom out to one side so the sail
fills and makes the boat sail backward.) Few sailboats
will drift straight backward. You will probably
be blown off to one side, and it might be
important to take just enough strain the rode as it
pays out to keep the bow pointed more or less
into the wind. If the boat turns away from the
wind you risk drifting or sailing over the rode and
tangling it in the keel, propeller, or rudder.