Blue Water Sailing — June-July 2017

(^38) BLUE WATER SAILING • June / July 2017
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H

aving spent most of

our lifetimes sailing

and teaching ocean

passagemaking, we

enjoy following those

new to sailing as they

start mastering skills and assuming

responsibility for their own safety. To

a sailor, this comes under the broad

term of seamanship. We’ve come to

understand that seamanship is gained

from many sources and only partially

by reading books and taking classes.

It’s often repeated practical experience

combined with basic common sense,

preparation, awareness and respect for

one’s surrounding environment that

makes for good seamanship.

Seamanship is one of the keys to

your safety and enjoyment of your

sailing experiences whether you’re go-

ing out on a day sail or on an around

the world cruise. It applies to all ves-

sels and their crew and poor seaman-

ship or judgment can result in dam-

age to your vessel and injury to your

crew. In this article we’ve separated

seamanship into two categories, pre-

departure: how you prepare your boat,

yourself and your crew; and seaman-

ship at sea: tips and advice in dealing

with a wide range of conditions.

BEFORE DEPARTRURE

Becoming an accomplished sailor

takes knowledge and practice but

there are a number of skills you can

study before you go sailing. Take the

time to learn the terminology not

only of the yacht’s parts but also the

sailing commands, realizing that sail-

ing’s unique and specific language

varies from boat types and skippers.

Therefore, study the terminology for

the type of yacht you will be sailing

and ensure that you understand and

can execute the commands given to

you by captain and crew. When an

onboard situation becomes stressful,

there may not be time for someone to

explain what they require you to do.

There should be no need for shout-

ing, which may result when a person

is unsure or unable to explain what is

happening or needs to be done.

Two concerns that frequently affect

new sailors are heeling or falling in

the water. Gaining an understanding

of yacht design, understanding why

vessels heel and what you can do to

reduce heeling frequently helps reduce

anxiety. A competent swimmer com-

fortable in the water will always have

less anxiety than those who are not

strong swimmers. Whether in tropi-

cal or temperate climates, we swim at

most opportunities incorporating long

swims as part of our personal fitness

program. We both enjoy maintain-

ing our underwater skills and this

has proven useful for clearing lines

around the prop, dealing with failed

SEAMANSHIP

FOR CRUISERS

by John Neal & Amanda Swan Neal

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Mahina Tiare III underway