Tradewinds Sailing Blog

Sailing is such a peaceful and quiet sport … except when it isn’t.  Unfortunately, when it isn’t quiet nobody can hear anything!  For those situations, have hand signals set up.  At Tradewinds, everyone is taught to use hand signals while anchoring.  Some other common situations that might benefit from hand signals include:

• Approaching a dock or slip
• Sails that are luffing and/or over trimmed
• Raising and lowering sails
• Picking up a mooring

What hand signals you use is entirely up to you and your crew, however, they should be fairly straight forward and understandable.

Here’s a tip from the maintenance crew.

Don’t leave the life lines laying on the deck when you leave.  They are a tripping hazard, and if you step on them they damage the gel coat on the deck or bend the pelican hook requiring replacement.  Instead, attach them in their proper location or “hang” them from the lifeline itself.

If you didn’t think about it 10 minutes ago, you waited too long.

Actually, certain things you should think about before you leave the slip.  Tradewinds procedures regarding checking fuel levels and rigging the main halyard before leaving are perfect examples.

Here’s another for you.  Is the anchor ready to deploy if needed.  Too often, I see someone look up at the bow from the cockpit then look at the stern pulpit, and announce to someone down below something like “Primary and secondary anchors, check.”  Instead, look at the anchor and ground tackle.  How is the anchor secured in the bow roller?  How is it deployed?  Test the windlass if it has one.  Does it have a control unit that is stowed somewhere (find it).  Where is the switch to turn the windlass on (usually on the DC panel, but not always)?  Where is the breaker (generally not on the DC panel) and has it been tripped?

I was on a boat recently (not a Tradewinds boat) where the owner had secured the anchor using a shackle through the anchor shackle.  He didn’t want it to accidently deploy.  The problem was that he had not used the anchor in years, and over time the shackle had rusted closed.  It took penetrating oil and two pairs of vise grips to get it undone.  Definitely not available for an emergency.

Have you every actually tried setting up the emergency tiller?  Did you know that many of them require a special “key” to open the emergency tiller port?  If so, where is that key stowed?

I’m a firm believer that if I’m ready for an emergency, it won’t happen.  Plan for those emergencies before you leave the slip!

Have you noticed how the best sailors seem to put in the least effort!

I taught an Advanced Docking class a few weeks ago, and one of the class participants made a comment that showed a lot of insight!  “It’s more about finesse than force!”  That is so true.

When I first learned to do a fairway turn, the shifts came hard, fast, and furious and nearly always involved too much throttle which in turn led to another hard shift and too much throttle to correct.  As my skills have improved, I find myself only shifting a couple of times during the turn using just enough throttle to hold my position in the fairway.  As long as the boat is doing what I want (turning while staying in place) I do nothing.  I jokingly tell people that I’m basically a lazy person and don’t want to work any harder than I have to.

The same is true about every aspect of sailing.  During the first day or two of Basic Keel Boat, tacks are accompanied by knees, elbows, and arms flailing.  By day three, things happen much quicker and smoother.

The best “docker” knows exactly how far it takes to turn the boat and exactly how much speed is required for best rudder control.  Coming down the fairway, she sets the required speed and when she gets to the required turning point makes a simple easy turn.  Then, knowing when to go into reverse (most likely without added throttle) allows the boat to ease to a stop just before the end of the slip.

All of this requires you to know the boat.  How much speed is required to obtain rudder control in varying wind conditions?  How far does it take to turn the boat 90 degrees to port and/or starboard under varying conditions?  What are the effects of propeller rotation (prop walk and wash) in forward and reverse?  Start getting this knowledge during the check out on that boat.  But, that isn’t enough … every time you take a boat out practice a couple of basic maneuvers.  Test for minimum maneuvering speed, bring it to a stop, back it up, fairway turn to the right, fairway turn to the left, what happens in forward if you let go of the wheel (please don’t let go of the wheel while in reverse … bad things happen).  All of this will take only a couple of minutes.

One last thought.  Any time you see one of those sailors that make it look easy … WATCH!  You will learn so much, and before long, it is you others are watching!

You set out one fine morning for a day’s sail.  After arriving at the end of the Potrero Reach, you get your sails up and turn to a course of 214 magnetic (214M) because you know that is the direction of Raccoon Strait.  On that course you know from past trips there are a couple of buoys which you will pass about a quarter mile off to starboard, and one off to port about a half mile.  All is well in the world, and you commence to sailing and socializing.

What you didn’t take into consideration is the 1.4 knot ebb crossing your intended course at nearly right angles.  Even though your bow is pointed at 214M, the course made good is 200M.  You are pointed at clear water and Raccoon Straight, however, the boat is headed directly towards R “8” a very hard and unforgiving buoy!

Here’s a quick easy visual check to determine if you are on a collision course with “something”.  If that “something” … in this case the buoy … appears to be fixed in relationship to the background, you are headed straight for it.  If the background seems to be moving to one side of the buoy, you are going to pass on that same side.

With a bit of advance planning you would know steering a course of 228M (call it 230 because it’s a nice round number) would put you right down the center of Raccoon Strait.  Now all you have to do is hope the wind co-operates and you don’t have to do a couple of dozen tacks to get there.

It can be very useful to quickly calculate the reciprocal of a course, but if you are like me, adding or subtracting 180 degrees from the course I’m on is beyond my normal mental capabilities.  In other words, I can do it with a calculator or on paper but not in my head.  Unfortunately, those times I typically need to do it quickly I have neither.

Here is an easy way to make the calculation in your head.  Take the course you are on and either add or subtract 200, then do the opposite math operation and subtract or add 20 back.  Works every time and it’s quick.

Here’s an example:  You are going from the exit to the Potrero Reach across to Paradise Cove on a heading of 247 magnetic when the fog rolls in.  247 is greater than 200, so I’m going to subtract 200, leaving 047, then add 20 back.  I end up with a course to steer of 067 to get back to the entrance of the channel home.

Hopefully, you remembered to calculate what the currents would be doing before you left!

I have to admit, I love going to Sam’s for lunch!  It’s a great destination that isn’t far off my typical day sail around the bay.  Unfortunately, there is the “hate” side of the relationship also.  I hate being stuck in the mud, and this dock is one of the easiest on the bay for this to happen to you!

This weekend really drove that point home.  Three Tradewinds boats got stuck there at low tide over the New Year’s holiday weekend!  It seems there were (and will be) minus tides on the 1st through the 7th, all in the late afternoon.  Which means you can pull into the dock in the early afternoon for lunch and have plenty of water.  Unfortunately, while eating, the water goes away, leaving your keel stuck.  The only way off is to wait until the tide comes back in enough to float the boat.

How can that possibly happen?

• It’s important to know that there is only about 4.5 feet of water at the end of the dock at a zero tide.
• Yesterday, January 4, low water of -0.7′ was at 5:09PM.
• One of the boats that got stuck has a keel depth of 5.2 feet, which means that at low tide, the keel was about 1.4 feet into the mud, and not going anywhere.  Knowing how the tides work on the bay, the lowering tide probably put the keel into the mud at about 3:00PM, and it didn’t come out until about 7:30PM

And more importantly, how can I avoid it in the future?

• First, know what the tides are doing!!!  Ask yourself “Am I planning to leave Sam’s at a lower tide then when I arrived?”
• Use the depth sounder to determine water depth when you arrive.  You need to know how the depth sounder reads in relationship to actual water depth.  The sounder may be calibrated to read from the surface of the water, the level of the transducer, or the bottom of the keel.  Use a lead line to figure out for sure (talk to a Tradewinds staff member if you aren’t sure how.)
• Remember, at a zero tide, there is only 4.5 feet of water at the end of Sam’s docks.  That depth gradually decreases to about 2 feet as you move down the dock towards shore.

One last thought.  Sam’s is 6.5 miles from D Dock.  Traveling at 5 knots, that’s almost an hour and a half.  If sunset is at 4:54PM, you need to be on the way home no later than 3:30PM to be back at the dock before sunset (and that doesn’t include time needed to pump the holding tank!

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could tell when and where those big ships will appear?  Actually, you can.  On San Francisco Bay, VHF channels 12, 13, and 14 are dedicated to exactly that.

• Channel 12 is reserved for ships outside the Golden Gate, whether approaching or exiting the bay.
• Channel 14 is utilized by commercial traffic inside the Golden Gate.  If you learn the docks and anchorages around the bay, you will always be on top of the traffic.
• Finally, Channel 13 is for “bridge to bridge” communications … no, not the kind of bridge you drive across … ship’s bridge to ship’s bridge.

Set your handheld VHF to scan these three channels as well as channel 16, and you will not get caught unawares when it comes to commercial traffic approaching your location.

For more information on VHF radio channels, turn to page 71 of the Tide & Current Tables.

I get this question a lot: “Why do big ships have right of way (Stand on vessel) when operating in our SF Bay? I always thought a sailboat had right of way over power vessels.” During our Captain’s License course this weekend, the class engaged in a lively debate over this question. Of course, part of the class is devoted to in-depth study of Right-of-Way Rules, formally known as COLREGs – International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea or Navigation Rules. We get into the nitty-gritty detail of the International and Inland Navigation Rules.

At this point, I’d like to make a plug for obtaining (purchase or download for free) a copy of the Navigation Rules, studying them and keeping copy in your duffle bag. By the way, every vessel 12 meters or more in length must have a copy of these rules on board when under way.So what is the answer to the question above?  Drum roll, please…

The answer is Rule 10, Traffic Separation Schemes, part (j) which states: a vessel of less than 20 meters in length or a sailing vessel shall not impede the safe passage of a power-driven vessel following a traffic lane. This rule applies in both International and Inland Rules.For many of you, your exposure to the rules may only have been presented in terms of what you need to know to sail one of our boats or pass an exam according to ASA standards. You know, for example, that a sailboat on a starboard tack is the stand-on vessel vs. an approaching vessel on a port tack which is the give-way vessel. But, did you know that was Rule 12, Sailing Vessels, part (a), sub-part (i)?

(a)    When two sailing vessels are approaching one another, so as to involve risk of collision, one of them shall keep out of the way of the other as follows:        (i)                When each has the wind on a different side, the vessel which has the wind on the port side shall keep out of the way of the other; …

It’s kind of similar to when we learned to drive a car. We all got a Drivers Handbook. Remember that way way back when? It’s true for driving a car that you don’t need a copy of the CA State Vehicle Code  in your glove box or memory, but we are still responsible for following the laws prescribed. And, guess what, if something goes wrong, it is the Vehicle Code that is going to sort things out.  It’s the same for boating and the COLREGs. The good news is there are only 38 Rules. If you are serious about spending time on the water, I recommend learning them.