Boat Sailing in Fair Weather and Foul, 6th ed.

by A. J. Kenealy

Diagram No. 5,
Close Hauled on Starboard Tack.

Diagram No. 2 shows a racing yacht running before the wind with all her balloons expanded to the breeze. The spinnaker set to starboard not only adds greatly to her speed, but it also makes the steering easier, as it counteracts the pressure of the huge mainsail and club topsail on the port side, thus causing a nicely-adjusted balance. The balloon jibtopsail catches every stray breath of air that is spilled out of the spinnaker, and it also has considerable possibilities as a steering sail, in addition to its splendid pulling power. For a vessel, however finely balanced and carefully steered, owing to various conditions of breeze and sea, has a tendency to yaw and fly up in the wind. Thus a strong puff or a heavy sea striking the boat may make her swerve from her course in an effort to broach to. Then the jibtopsail does good service as, when it gets full of wind, it pays the head of the boat off the wind, and materially assists the helmsman in steadying the vessel on her course.

Diagram No. 6.
Dead Beat to Windward.

It may be remarked that steering a yacht under these conditions, in a strong and puffy breeze with a lumpy, following sea, calls for the best work of the ablest helmsman. A boat will generally develop an inclination to broach to, which means to fly up in the wind. Sometimes, however, the notion may strike her to run off the wind so much as to bring the wind on the other quarter, causing her to gybe. This would mean disaster, probably a broken boom and a topmast snapped off short like a pipe-stem, with other incidental perils.

Diagram No. 3 shows the manœuvre of gybing, which is to keep the vessel away from the wind until it comes astern, and then on the opposite quarter to which it has been blowing. Fig. 1 shows a boat sailing before the wind with the main boom over to starboard. Fig. 2 shows the operation of luffing to get in the main sheet. Fig. 3 shows the boom over on the port quarter, and the operation complete, except trimming sail for the course to be steered.

It may be remarked that gybing a racing yacht "all standing" in a strong wind requires consummate skill and care. A cool hand at the helm is the prime requisite, but smart handling of the main sheet is of scarcely less importance. The topmast preventer backstays should be attended to by live men. When a vessel is not racing, gybing in heavy weather may be accomplished without the slightest risk; the topsail may be clewed up and the peak of the mainsail lowered, and with ordinary attention the manœuvre is easily performed.

Diagrams Nos. 4 and 5 show the same racing yacht close hauled on the port and starboard tack. The spinnaker and balloon jibtopsail are taken in. A small jibtopsail takes the place of the flying kite. This sail, however, is only carried in light winds, as it has a tendency, when a breeze blows, to make a craft sag off to leeward.

Diagram No. 6 shows a boat beating out of a bay with the wind dead in her teeth, a regular "nose-ender" or "muzzler." She starts out from her anchorage on the port tack, stands in as close to the shore as is prudent, goes about on the starboard tack, stands out far enough to weather the point of land, then tacks again, and on the port tack fetches the open sea.

Diagram No. 7 illustrates a contingency frequently met with in beating to windward, when a vessel can sail nearer her intended course on one tack than another. Thus suppose her course is East by South and the wind SE, she would head up East on one tack (the long leg) and South on the other (the short leg).