When about halfway to the schooner the foremost of the two swimmers threw up his hands and went down and a few moments later the other sank, but the sensible one of the trio, who stuck to the boat, was sighted and rescued by a passing craft an hour or two later and was none the worse for his experience.
No matter how well you can swim always remember that any solid object is far safer than the water and don’t resort to swimming unless actually compelled to do so. Always bear in mind that it takes but a very little to support a person in the water—an old pail or bucket held perpendicularly and bottomside up, an open umbrella, an oar, a thwart, a spar, a grating or even a high hat or a derby will serve to keep a human being afloat for a long time.
Almost as important as the ability to swim is the ability to keep one’s head and not get rattled under any and all conditions. The sailor should be able to move and act rapidly, surely and intelligently; he should possess decisiveness and judgment and should know just what to do and how to do it on the spur of the moment. When things go wrong is just the time for you to go right and many a trivial accident has become a tragedy through people losing their heads, tangling ropes or gear, jumping about heedlessly and forgetting just what to do under the circumstances.
In boat sailing of all things make haste slowly and NEVER TAKE CHANCES. You can’t be overcautious in a boat and it is far wiser to run for shelter or to shorten sail too soon or in a moderate wind than to wait too long or to carry too much sail in a hard blow. Wherever sailboats are used for pleasure one may see foolhardy men and boys sailing under full canvas in reefing weather and trying to show off but to the man who knows, such actions do not speak of skill or ability but merely of ignorance and bravado. Don’t mind if such reckless fools laugh at your caution and think you are timid; the chances are that you’ll be sailing about safely long after they are food for the fishes.
Before attempting to learn to sail it is well to know something of the principles of sailing and just why a boat under sail does certain things. Many landsmen cannot understand how a boat can sail against the wind or how it can sail with the wind abeam or blowing from the side without tipping over, but it’s really a very simple matter and if you understand why and how these things are accomplished you’ll be able to handle your boat far better than if you merely learn to do certain things without understanding the reasons for them.
Whenever the wind blows against a boat’s sails it has two distinct effects; one tending to push the boat sideways and ahead, the other to push it over or upset it. The former tendency is desirable and must be encouraged whereas the latter must be overcome or resisted.
The resistance which a boat offers to the upsetting or “heeling” force is termed stability and the amount of stability which a boat possesses depends upon its model, its proportions, its weight and many other factors. Many boats have enough stability to overcome the tendency to upset without any artificial aid, but as a rule sufficient stability can only be obtained by adding some weight or ballast at the bottom of the boat. This may take the form of lead or iron on the keel, a weighted centerboard, or lead, sandbags or other weights in the bottom of the hull.
When a boat is heeled over by the wind the sails act like a lever, with the fulcrum at the water line, while the hull below the water line represents the weight to be pried up. Of course you know that the longer the lever, beyond the fulcrum, as compared to the short end on the other side of the fulcrum, the greater is the power obtained.
Effect of Wind on Boats of Various Forms