Tacking (sailing)

“ A small amount of clumsiness in tacking a vessel will cause her to miss stays and get in irons, that is, she will lie up in the wind, all her sails shaking, and refuse to fill on either tack. She has now lost all headway, and commences to go astern. In order to get way on again, haul the head sheets to windward, which we will suppose is the port side. Put the tiller to starboard. As the vessel is going astern, the rudder will now produce the reverse effect of what it would were the vessel going ahead; so putting the tiller to starboard turns the vessel’s head to starboard. ”

“ Is the art of putting a yacht about, so that the wind, which has been blowing upon the starboard side, we will say, shall blow upon the port side, or on the opposite side of the sails to which it was before the manœuvre was executed, and, when used to force the vessel by a series of angles towards the direction from which the wind proceeds, is called "beating to windward." Sometimes the wind is not dead ahead, and yet [51] in such a direction that the yacht cannot proceed except by tacking once in a while. ”

“ The tack, instead of being carried forward, is brought down to the mast, where it is hooked on to an iron hook if the sail be a small one, and if the sail be a large one it is fitted with a tackle, so that the tack can be bowsed down after the sail is hoisted. ”

“ The tack of a mainsail is generally hauled down by means of a maintack tackle, generally a luff tackle purchase, but in smaller cutters a short rope spliced into the tack of the sail is sufficient, which can be made fast to the boom or to a cleat on the mast. ”

“ On first going on board a big liner after being accustomed to Mana, it felt an alarmingly dangerous means of transit.
Existence on any ship has drawbacks in bad weather or extreme heat, but on the yacht the arrangement by which the saloon and cabins were connected with the deck-house made the circulation of air particularly good. A sailing ship is also without the universal and unpleasant draughts which are omnipresent in a steamer. ”

“ The lofty peak of our wherry's sail holds the air over the bushes, and we keep slowly moving along, while smaller boats are either becalmed or, catching sudden puffs, lay over at alarming angles. It is a Saturday evening, and very many little yachts, from the open lugsail sailing boat on which a high-roofed cabin-top has been placed to the 4- or 8-ton yachts of smarter build, are making their way down to more open waters for the happy and healthy week end, most blessed to the person whose occupations are sedentary. ”

“ When close-hauled, it should be at a sufficient angle with the keel to insure the boat moving ahead through the water. When running free, the boom is swung out to a greater degree over the side, and in going before the wind, or scudding, it is more nearly at a right angle with the mast.
Tacking is the process of working a vessel to windward, or against the wind. When you are ready, put the helm down (that is, if on the port tack, the end of the tiller goes to starboard, turning the rudder to port, and the boat obeys by coming up into the wind) ”

“ If you have to jibe all standing—what is called a North River jibe—that is, with the sheet all off—just as soon as boom goes over put your helm hard the other way; this will throw the boat’s head so the wind will strike the fore side of the sail and break the force of the swing. It is a very dangerous method, unless you are a skillful skipper, and should never be employed except in an emergency. ”

“ Scandalizing a mainsail consists of tricing up the tack and lowering the peak, thus much reducing the area of canvas.
The squall over, we hoist the peak and lower the tack again. The man at the tiller now complains that in this strong wind “the vessel is carrying enough weather helm to pull his arms off.” The cause of this griping, as it is called, is plain enough. When we got under way our sails were nicely balanced, and the yacht steered easily with just a slight weather helm. ”

“ The tack is a most important rope in a balance-lug boat, for after the sail has been hoisted with the halyard and it is required to give that last haul on the sail which brings it to its proper tautness, a much smaller amount of power will do this when applied to the tack than if applied to the halyard. ”

“ If not in too deep water, anchor at once and stow your sails snugly. You can then ride out the fury of the squall in perfect safety; that is, if your ground tackle is sufficiently strong. If your cable parts and you are on a lee shore and there is a harbor to run for, scud for it under bare poles or with a fragment of sail set. If there is no refuge under your lee, set as much sail as your boat can safely carry and thresh her off shore. ”

“ When on top of a sea, and all the sails full, the yacht will go fast: when she attempts to bury her head, and kick up her heels, and becalms the jib and lower part of the mainsail, she will go slower. There is one thing to be guarded against in running before the wind, and that is the "jibing" of the main-boom; that is to say, the wind getting on the forward part of the sail, from any cause,—whether by change of wind, or on account of bad steering,—and carrying it violently over to the other side, endangering the yacht, and with a liability, in heavy weather, of carrying away the mast. ”

“ Sometimes, owing to the wind not being directly ahead, we are able to remain longer on one tack than on the other. This is what is called making a long and short leg.
To properly sail a boat on the wind requires constant and minute attention to the helm and the canvas. The best way for the new hand is to sit low down in the cockpit to leeward of the tiller; this places him nearly under the boom. Let him look up and watch his sail just at the throat; here is where it will shake first. To sail the boat close he must just keep that portion of the sail shaking—or lifting as it is termed. ”

“ The lake was subject to sudden and violent squalls, and it was very convenient to be able to let go the peak halyards without leaving the tiller, and have them up again in a moment as soon as the squall had passed, without disturbing the passengers in the least. Had the sail been the uncompromising balance lug, the whole sail would have had to be lowered in a body on to the heads of the passengers.
A topping lift, always belayed so as to feel the weight of the boom, is indispensable in a cat boat, else the end of the boom would drop into the water when the peak was lowered. ”

“ Of course, in yachts over thirty to forty feet in length, with crews, every thing can be made fast: but we are now writing of smaller craft, and it is repeated, in squally and dirty weather never make fast the main-sheet; it is the key to the whole science of boat-sailing, and should never be out of one's hand in time of emergency. It can, after taking one turn, be wound around the tiller, and brought to the same hand as the one that is moving the helm, and yet be instantly cast off, if necessary. ”

“ Don’t run dead before the wind if it can be avoided, especially in a seaway.
Don’t sit on the lee side when sailing on the wind.
Don’t climb up on the masts or into the rigging unless it is necessary. A man’s weight at the top of a mast may cause the boat to capsize.
Don’t lash or tie the helm under any circumstances.
Don’t leave a lowered sail unfurled. It ruins the sail and is dangerous.
Don’t try to run to a mooring or a landing before the wind when under sail. Lower the sail and run in under bare poles or row in. ”

“ Bring the yacht close to the wind, and haul the main-sheet flat aft, and belay it carefully; for, if it should get adrift whilst the sail was being furled, some one might be knocked overboard. Then stand by the throat and peak-halliards, and, at the word "Lower away," ease away handsomely on each, taking care not to let the peak drop too fast, which, if done, sometimes causes the hoops to jam, and the whole sail to stick, till the peak-halliards are hoisted upon again to clear things. ”

“ There are times when the sea is too high, and the sail so much reduced that a yacht will not go about by turning towards the wind, but must be gotten on the other tack by wearing, as it is technically called in ships, where the yards are square, and jibing, as it is called in crafts that carry fore-and-aft sails, i.e., sails that hoist up on a mast, and are stretched upon booms, in contradistinction to those that are fastened to yards that cross the mast at right angles, as in a ship often called by sailors, for this reason, a "square-rigger." ”

“ The fact of the tack being some way down the boom prevents the pressure of the wind from lifting the after-end of the boom and so forming a belly in the sail, as is the case with the ordinary fore-and-aft sail. A balance-lug sail is always rigid; the boom and yard can only move together, and this rigidity renders it somewhat unfit for rough water, where it is apt to considerably strain mast and boat. ”

“ The sail must be loosed and a weight can be attached to its foot so as to sink it and offer more resistance to the water. A short rope secured to both extremities of the raft forms a span to the middle of which the cable is bent. Such a floating anchor breaks the sea in a marvellous manner, and small boats have been often known to ride out the most furious gales in this way. ”

“ Sit to windward while steering.
If struck by a squall, luff up to it, or ease the sheet, or do both.
Always luff up in the wind before hoisting or lowering sail.
Never climb the mast of a small boat. If anything is wrong aloft, lower the mast to set it right.
Belay a halyard by taking a few turns round its cleat. Do not put a half-hitch on the top of the turns.
Do not jibe in the middle of a squall, if you can avoid doing so. If a jibe is unavoidable, lower your peak first; haul in your mainsheet, and pay it out on the other side, so as to lessen the jerk as the boat jibes. ”

“ The leverage of the outside ballast is so enormous that the yacht becomes practically uncapsizable. But an excessive weight of lead on the keel will strain a vessel in rough water, she will recover herself with a quick jerk after heeling over to a puff, and her every motion will be violent. ”

“ Then the yacht will travel. Do not, because some other yachts seem to be lying closer to the wind, try to make the little vessel head in the same direction, if she will not do so without her sails shaking. Many races are lost through this form of bad sailing. ”

“ In case the yacht springs a leak, the best way to stop it is to pass a light sail over the bows, and bring it aft over the leak by means of ropes on both sides of the yacht. Leaks are more easily stopped on the outside, the pressure of the water forcing the canvas into the damaged part ”

“ The first day that you get under way with your new canvas should be a fine one. If it comes on to blow hard, and you have to reef your mainsail, it will certainly be pulled out of shape. You must not expect your sails to stretch in a day. You will have to tighten up the lacing and haul out the earing many times before your mainsail [89] has stretched its full, and the oftener the better for your sail’s flatness.
Laying up a Boat for the Winter.—In laying up a small yacht, it is well to have her upon shore, and if possible, under cover. ”

“ A great many boats have a tendency to yaw or to swing wildly from side to side when thus sailing and when this is the case the sail is very likely to jibe with serious results. Even if this does not happen the sail may bag out and make the boat steer hard or the boom may “kick up” and become almost unmanageable. If allowed to swing out too far the boat may refuse to obey its helm and will swing around to the wind, regardless of your efforts to keep it on its course, while if kept in too closely the wind may catch it on the wrong side and jibe it suddenly. ”

“ If the yacht takes the ground on any shoal, and is left by the tide, it is always proper to get out an anchor in the direction of the wind, before the tide returns; then, when the water begins to make, the yacht will not be blown higher and higher upon the shoal as she commences to float, but will be held by her anchor, and soon ride head to wind or tide. ”

“ So again while a pull is being taken on each halyard in its turn, the steersman luffs up, thereby relieving the sail of the pressure of the wind, but without stopping the vessel’s way.
And now we approach our moorings; the tide and wind are both with us. We lower our head sails, steer the yacht so that she takes a sweep round into the wind, and we haul in the mainsheet as she comes up. We bring her up head to wind, and she loses her way just as we are alongside the mooring buoy. A hand forward picks up the buoy rope with a boat hook and secures it. ”

“ Distraction is a real danger in boat-sailing, and is probably the commonest cause of fatal accidents. The attention of the boat-sailer should always be concentrated on his business. He has plenty to attend to and think about. He must always have an eye on his sails, and at the same time must keep watching the wind on the water before it reaches him, and the general appearance of the weather. And in spite of these preoccupations he should be continually noting the features of the coast. ”

“ One's natural pride, and the desire to sail fast, prevent often the taking on board of the necessary amount; and then, when it suddenly comes on to blow, the yacht is found to be crank, perhaps dangerously so. How much better would it be to have a little too much ballast, which, when homeward bound,—if there is need of haste, and the weather be settled,—can be discharged over the side, increasing her speed! ”

“ Each sail is hoisted to its masthead by one halyard, and its luff is kept close to the mast by hoops or more usually by a lacing. A boat thus rigged is possibly the safest of any, and is not easily capsized. ”