boat owner

Wind and tide together – leaving the mooring

1 This is about as

head-to-wind as

a boat can be.

2

As Neil prepares to let

go of the mooring, Ian

holds the boom out to

starboard and the bow

swings to port.

3

With the wind now well

off the starboard bow,

Ian releases the boom and

returns to the wheel.

4

Safely away on

starboard tack.

There was never any

doubt about which way

the boat was going to go.

4

Now it’s just a matter of

bringing the jib across.

Mission accomplished.

1

Neil hoists the jib with the

sheet already around the

port winch, so it starts blowing the

bow to starboard straight away.

2

The jib is now fully hoisted

and, in the cockpit, Ian

sheets it in a little harder.

3

That’s pretty definite –

they’re going to be

heading off on port tack.

This should be as straightforward

as can be, nearby moorings or

obstructions notwithstanding.

Most important is to be able to

determine on which tack you sail

away. Sometimes it won’t matter;

on occasions it will be critical.

In theory, once you have dropped

the mooring and established

stern-way you can use the helm

to steer the boat. In practice,

however, the wind is more likely to

blow the bow off one way or the

other first, making the decision for

you. So how can you exert any

influence? If, for example, you want

to head off on starboard tack, it’s

often enough just to hang on to the

mooring, wait for the stern to swing

to starboard and then drop the

buoy from the starboard side to

encourage the boat to go to port.

Alternatively, try one of the

techniques shown here.

Wind and tide together – leaving the mooring

Seamanship

MAINSAIL ONLY

BOTH SAILS

Sailing in astern: how to gain and maintain control

Leaving a mooring under sail with

wind and tide together (or with

no tide, which calls for the same

general approach) is one of those

situations when it can be useful to

know how your boat handles in

astern. You won’t usually need

to drop back very far to clear the

buoy and, if you use one of the

techniques we’ve just shown, you

should soon be under control.

Inevitably, however, there will be

times when the boat is moving

astern with the wind on the bow

and lots of flapping going on. All

too often you see someone at the

helm looking bemused, thinking

the boat is about to head off

in one direction, getting set

accordingly and then finding it’s

actually going the other way.

There’s rarely a need for this

uncertainty: by using the rudder,

pushing out the boom or backing

the headsail – possibly a

combination of any of these – you

should be able to persuade the

boat to go the way you want.

Sailing in astern can be such

a useful skill that we devoted

a feature to the subject in

PBO August 2002.