How do you read the wind on the water when sailing?
Look upwind at the surface of the water: darker, rippled patches have more wind in them, and smoother, shinier patches have less. Gusts travel downwind towards you, so you can see them coming and get ready.
What should you do when a gust hits a sailing boat?
Spill wind from the mainsail by easing the mainsheet or dropping the traveller, and if you are close-hauled, steer up slightly towards the wind. When the gust passes, trim back in and bear away to your course.
How windy is too windy to go sailing?
For learners in a keelboat, 7 to 10 knots is ideal and 17 knots or more is for experienced crews with a reef in. Above about 22 knots, inexperienced crews should stay in harbour, and in a gale (34 knots or more) everyone should stay in port.
What is the Beaufort scale and how are wind speeds measured?
The Beaufort scale describes wind strength from force 0 (calm) to force 12 (hurricane) by its effect on the sea. Sailors usually measure wind in knots: one knot is one nautical mile per hour, a little under 2 kilometres an hour.
When should you reef the sails?
Reef when the boat heels more than about 20 degrees, you have to pull the tiller hard to windward and she keeps turning up into the wind in the gusts. If you are wondering whether to reef, it is time to reef.
How do you reef the mainsail on a yacht?
Stop or slow the boat (heave-to, or sail close-hauled with the mainsheet eased), ease the kicker and the halyard, hook the reef cringle at the luff onto the hook at the mast, re-tension the halyard, then pull the reefing line tight to hold the new clew down to the boom.
How much should a sailboat heel?
A keelboat sails well heeled up to about 15 to 20 degrees. Beyond that she spills wind, becomes hard to steer and slows down, so reduce power by easing the mainsail, flattening the sails or reefing. Small dinghies are sailed nearly upright.
What is a sea breeze and when does it blow?
A sea breeze is a wind that blows from the sea onto the land on sunny days, because the land heats up faster than the water. It usually starts in late morning, is strongest in mid-afternoon and dies away around sunset.
How do you read a marine weather forecast for sailing?
Look at the wind direction (where it blows from) and strength in knots, the gusts, when it is expected to change, and the sea and swell heights. Check the forecast covers the whole time you will be out, and plan for the worst of it.