Tradewinds Sailing Blog

Top off the water tanks!

Even before you reach the stage where you are overnighting on boats, it is a good idea to get in the habit of topping off the water tanks before you leave the dock. Why?

1. When you do go out over-night at some point, you won’t forget to fill them because you’ll be in the habit!
2. Filling and using the water in the tanks helps to keep them fresh. Whenever possible, find a use for the fresh-water on board. Use it to flush your head system when you visit the pump-out!
3. Keeping them full keeps air out of the tanks and without the air space, there is not room for growth to contaminate the tanks.
4. The boat is designed with the weight of the full tanks in mind. The extra weight, distributed in the right areas of the boat, will help keep things comfortable on a windy San Francisco Bay day.

Use the water hose at the dock to top off the tanks before you leave. Even though we don’t normally drink out of the tanks in the fleet boats, we still consider it “potable water”, so avoid using hoses at places like pump-out stations to fill the tanks. These hoses are often dropped into waste-tank fill fittings to flush out waste tanks.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Summer is coming and the wind is starting to blow through the marina. When was the last time you practiced leaving and returning to the slip in more than a couple of knots of wind? Very rarely, we see people plan a whole day for docking & motoring practice, but what sometimes makes more sense is to plan an hour or two at the beginning of your day when you are going sailing. It’s hard to focus on real practice when you come back exhausted from an exciting day on the bay. If you spend the first hour after leaving the slip practicing in various empty slips around the marina, you’ll be amazed at how quickly your motoring skills improve. You’ll also find that you get a much better feel for the handling characteristics of each boat here in the safety of your home marina, before you get in close quarters somewhere else, like Angel Island or Sam’s!

In particular, pay attention to the acronym you learned in Basic Coastal Cruising, L.O.T. A common mistake when leaving downwind slips is to get to the planned (L)ocation, but not get the boat (O)riented in the correct direction before making your (T)ransition to forward.  If you get out into the fairway and find that you are still pointed toward your slip, it is usually a good idea to go straight back in and try again. Use your prop-walk and steering  to back until your bow is pointed down the fairway before you change gears! When you change direction, do it with a little authority rather than allowing the prevailing wind to blow your bow back toward the slips. (With authority, but being careful to throttle down and allow the engine to idle before shifting!) Don’t be afraid to use a little power to get the boat moving. Once you have steerage, remember to throttle down and keep your speed low in the fairway.

Be careful out there!

Most modern yachts have electric bilge pumps. Whilst they are a great convenience they do have limitations. They are usually fairly low volume and most are not able to remove enough water fast enough to keep a holed vessel afloat. They can burn out easily if left running when there is no water to pump. But the main limitation of them is that, on boats where they have been fitted they become the only means that is ever used to remove water form the bilge. As a result there is no certainty that the manual pumps will work when required. If you have several pumps on board, it is good practice to use all of them regularly and to rotate the pump that is used to remove any excess bilge water. Tradewinds recommends exercising the manual bilge pump(s) every time you check out a boat to help keep them lubed and working properly and to ensure they will be available to you if you need them! It’s a good idea to have one person excercise the pump while another listens in the bilge for air flow if there is not enough water to pump.

Prevent damage by working together to raise the main sail! Often, the person on the winch has a clear view of the sail and should be looking up while they grind to make sure that nothing is getting caught and everything is going up smoothly. What if they are under the dodger or paying attention to other details? Many boats are equipped with dodgers that will obstruct your view of the sail while you are at the winch. Many of the same boats are equipped with Stack Packs, Lazy Jacks, Dutchman, or other sail flaking systems. Be sure that someone is watching the main go up as it is being raised. Often battens will get caught on lazy jack lines and the sail will need to be dropped down a few inches to clear it and re-raised. In the extreme case, the halyard may be hooked up to the head of the sail, but without a clear shot to the top of the mast (It pays to take a good look UP when attaching the halyard as well, to make sure you are clear of spreaders, lazy jacks, and other rigging). As a prepared skipper, be sure you have assigned someone to watch the sail as it is raised and save yourself from broken rigging and lost halyards.

The best sailing is approaching and many of you may be hoping to get asked to crew for a skipper. The obvious thing to do is post a message on the Tradewinds Message Board under Available to Crew. But there is much more you can do to ensure you have the most success in finding slots on boats.

Go to the forum Looking for Crew, scroll to the bottom and check “subscribe to forum.” You will then get an email each time a skipper posts on this forum. Best of all, you will get emails when skippers post last minute openings, which often is the case. A side benefit is that you no longer have to keep “watching” the forum to know when there is a new posting.

By Marcus Libkind, Tradewinds Member

Children can enjoy sailing as much or more as any adult. Children as young as 7 or 8 years old are fully capable of learning the fundamentals of sailing, and many can learn how to handle a boat on their own. The trick to getting children involved is to inspire them, give them the latitude to discover what it is about sailing that is appealing – impressing upon them the importance of being safe at the same time.

If they are young and easily distracted, consider bringing along diversionary toys that can be used to stave off boredom, a bored child on a sailboat is no fun for anyone, and they will likely not ever want to come back. Yet, if the child is engaged in certain activities that are appropriate for their age, their comfort on a boat will develop and likely lead to an appreciation of sailing.

Many parents find success at inspiring their children to join them on a boat by having them invite their friends aboard. A child who would otherwise be bored will often find joy in sharing the uniqueness of a boat with a friend.

Many children, depending on age and attention span, will respond to knot tying. A book that shows how to tie basic knots can be the perfect way to engage a child’s inquisitive mind and capable fingers. Similarly, a book on basic navigation or sea adventures can be a source of amazement to a child. Local guidebooks which include information on various points of interest along a route are another great way to involve a child in the progress of the boat.

When teaching a child about sailboats, emphasis should always be given to safety. Life jackets should always be worn, by both children and adults.

Skipper’s Tip of the Week:

When you’re the Skipper of a boat, you’re responsible for everything that happens on and to the boat. Nerve-racking, isn’t it? It’s hard to know everything about sailing. Even what you do know, you sometimes forget. Things go wrong. Equipment breaks. Sometimes the crew doesn’t know what to do. It’s enough to make you scream.

Don’t scream. Take a deep breath and ask yourself what a great skipper would do. Bad Skippers scream and yell. Great skippers speak just loud enough so the crew can hear and understand, and they never insult or demean. If somebody does something wrong, these skippers suggest, “let’s try it this way..” Great skippers take their time, even when things go wrong. They know that a classy response to a problem can make them look good. But they’re not obsessed about what others might think if they “look bad.” Great skippers know that others think better and work faster when they’re surrounded by calm confidence. Even when they aren’t feeling especially calm and confident on the inside, these skippers realize that being calm and confident on the outside can make things go better.

–       If you have a Skipper’s Tip to share, or a subject you’d like us to write one about, email it to Matt (Matt@TradewindsSailing.com)

Sailing is one of the safest sports.  Have you ever wondered why?  It’s actually quite simple.  It’s called thinking ahead.  Something that the best of skippers do without even “thinking” about it.  When I first started sailing, someone made a comment that if you didn’t think of it 20 minutes ago, you probably waited too long.  The only thing that happens fast on a sailboat under normal conditions is an emergency.  By thinking and planning ahead, you are going to reduce the emergencies you experience and the ones you do have will be controlled and much less scary.  Here are some practical examples:

Before you leave the dock, ask yourself “what will I do if the motor quits.”  Unless you have sails “at the ready” the answer is . get blown into the rocks.  So, how do you prevent that?  Start by getting the sail cover(s) off and stowed.  Next rig the halyards.  Then, just to be safe, re-tie the sail ties into knots that you know will release easily, and position the knots where you can quickly and easily get to them.  While you are at it, make sure the sheets are ready, and the furling lines are not tangled.

But what happens if the motor dies and the sails are useless.  Maybe there is no wind and the current is pushing you into the rocks.  Is the anchor ready?  Is the rode free to run?  I learned this lesson “the easy way” once.  While checking out a boat, I found the anchor lodged in a strange spot that took nearly 30 minutes to free.  Fortunately, I was still at the dock.

How about reefing?  Did you check the forecast before you left home?  Are you aware that a storm front is expected at 2:00 and when it arrives, the 10 knot Southwest breeze you have been enjoying is going to increase to 35 knots from the North.    If the forecast is for 10 knots from the SW in the morning, building to 25 in the afternoon, are you watching the water for white caps.  It’s easy to reef when the white caps start . not as easy when you are overpowered and out of control in 25 knots.

One last thought.  What happens if YOU fall overboard.  Is every member of your crew able to do a recovery?  If not, you are placing yourself and everyone on your boat in danger!  Take every opportunity to practice crew overboard recoveries.  Here’s a thought . when you see some trash floating in the bay . coach one of your crew through a crew overboard recovery.  I have started carrying a small fish net for just that purpose, and I have no shortage of opportunities.  If you do, you have accomplished three good things.  You and your crew are safer . you are better sailor (you really have to learn when you teach someone else), and the bay is a little cleaner.

Be prepared . think ahead … have fun.

By Don Gilzean, Tradewinds Instructor

–       If you have a Skipper’s Tip to share, or a subject you’d like us to write one about, email it to Matt (Matt@TradewindsSailing.com)