4

KNOW YOUR CREW’S EXPERIENCE

‘Obviously we think the RYA qualifications are

the best way to ensure you are sailing safely,

but experience is also a very important factor,’

says Falk. ‘I had thousands of miles under my

belt before I did any qualifications and I did

one mostly to be working in a commercial

vein, but that experience was vital.’ Ultimately

qualifications are great as a learning experience

for many, but it is not the be-all and end-all.

Understanding the real-world skills of any potential crew before

you plan any significant trip with them is important. Make

sure you have been sailing with them and don’t just rely on

either qualifications or talk of experience. On this latter point,

clearly 1,000nm as a skipper could be very different to

1,000nm as a member of a crew.

It’s particularly important to have a thorough understanding of

the skills of your crew before setting off as you will need to build

a watch rota around those onboard. A standard two hours on, four

hours off system for three only works if all crew are equally capable.

REMEMBER: Always sail with crew and asses their abilities

for yourself, miles at sea or qualifications can’t do this for you.

3

FORWARD PLANNING

‘If you are going further afield, doing your basic

checks is really a must. We see people all the time

setting off without having done sufficient checks,’

the RYA’s Director of Training and Qualifications,

Richard Falk says. ‘Lots of people step on board,

assume all is well and off they go. If you are just

hopping from Cowes to Lymington this might

be a very different set of checks to planning

an overnight sail but it is still worth checking you have everything.

‘A real key though is checking your sails and boat more generally

are ready for all weather. Often people will have had a mainsail

repaired or taken off over winter and then put back on and then

set sail without the reefing lines being set up.

‘In terms of the weather, it can be very changeable in the UK

throughout the year so it is worth considering if you have a good

idea of what the weather is supposed to be doing near the end of

your planned sail. Is the wind forecast to swing from a reach to a

headwind? That would have an effect on sea state and wind chill.

Have you taken seasickness tablets in advance of leaving if this is

possible, as you are likely to then spend more time below?’

Falk adds that there are a surprising number of people who have

not sailed their boats in reasonably benign conditions with their sails

reefed as they would in heavy weather. This is key for understanding

how balanced your boat is when significantly reefed. If you reduce

the mainsail without furling enough headsail it may give a lot of lee

helm. To understand this,

it is vital to have sailed with

your boat in a number of

configurations before it is

needed. As with having a

playbook for manoeuvres

it is worth knowing what setup

gives the best performance

and easiest handling in a

variety of conditions.

REMEMBER: Go sailing in

moderate wind and try a variety

of rig setups that you would

use in heavy weather, to get an

idea of what sail setup provides

the best feel and balance.

2

PLAYBOOK OF MANOEUVRES

In the racing world most sailing teams have

a ‘playbook’, which is shorthand for a series

of processes for every manoeuvre. This is

done to ensure that mark roundings,

spinnaker hoist and drops and so on can

all be done with efficiency.

Usually a quick, efficient drop of a

spinnaker is something that is, hopefully,

rarely required when cruising, but it still makes sense to have a

list of processes involved in manoeuvres. Not only does writing

out a list help to get the process into memory but it also means

it is easy to share with friends or any unfamiliar crew.

Going about things in the wrong order can be needlessly tiring

for the crew and turn a relatively simple task into an arduous one.

Putting in a reef is a relatively common procedure for most

sailors but it can be surprising how many people do it slightly

differently each time. An order of: kicker off; mainsheet eased;

slack taken in the reefing lines; lower the halyard; and take up

the reefing lines, tension the halyard, sheet and kicker is fairly

standard, but make this into a defined, repeatable process.

Doing it slightly differently each time or not being clear on the

process from the outset makes a simple task much more difficult,

at a time when simplicity is at a premium.

REMEMBER: Have a repeatable system for manoeuvres from

reefing to mooring, which makes life easier and less stressful.

PRACTICAL SEAMANSHIP

Qualifications are a useful

skill guide but you need to

find out potential crew’s

capabilities in the real world

Check you have tried

various sail combinations

to understand what is best

in any given conditions

Having a ‘playbook’ for all

manoeuvres saves effort

and improves safety

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