How to navigate with google earth

DUTCH SKIPPER’S TIPS

MARCH 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 43

PHOTO: DICK DURHAM/YM

Many people reef too late and reef the

furling genoa instead of the mainsail

because the latter has become too

difficult to manage. This means

the boat is continually luffing.

Reef your mainsail first and

you will go faster. Also, when

approaching an anchorage

or port, reefing your

mainsail means

you will have less

sail to deal with

when dropping it

completely.

PHOTO: GRAHAM SNOOK/YM

Reef early

Take pride

in keeping

ropes tidy

PHOTO: DICK DURHAM/YM

Youngsters are extremely competent with

electronics, the screen is the truth for them.

So when the GPS says the channel is here, and

yet through the porthole is a line of channel

port and starboard buoys 100 yards away, the

physical reality is dispensed with in favour of

the virtual. Always have your binoculars at

hand and actually LOOK at what’s around you.

It’s happening outside

Until sailing is virtual, believe what you see

on the water over what you see on screen

Use your depth

sounder

PHOTO: COLIN WORK/YM at all times

In coastal waters, a

depth sounder can

help you confirm

you are where you

think you are

Use the depth sounder pro-

actively: check the depth

against the chart, and use it

to get a depth ‘fix’ against

a charted buoy. The depth

sounder is one of the most

basic and reliable tools for

navigation on a boat along

with the compass and radar.

If it looks good, it’s functional – and I mean

well-coiled ropes. Always have the anchor

warp coiled down with the fall on top and

make sure the bitter end is actually made

fast! So, too, with halyards: they should be

neatly coiled with loops the same length

and hooked with a bend to the top of the

cleat. They should be ready to cast off at a

moment’s notice and that means being able

to lay them on deck with the fall uppermost.

I always use Murphy’s Law with a twist: if

something can go wrong, it will, and at the

worst possible moment: in the dark, when

you are alone and it’s blowing hard.

It looks tidy and it can be ready to go in an

instant – always important

The mainsail

rounds you up

and reduces

your boat

control. Reef

that first