A man can only become a good windward helmsman by constant practice and by paying attention to every detail. He must have a quick eye, a firm hand and plenty of grit and strength.
GOING FREE.
SAILING OFF THE WIND
Sailing off the wind, or going free, is a different action from that of sailing on the wind. Sailing free is purely a natural movement, complicated by the fact that a vessel, owing to her weight obliging her to rest in the water, cannot move as freely as a fabric wholly sustained by the air. The fact that friction of the water retards her so that she moves at a less speed than the wind that presses her onward permits of her being steered. Another complication that effects the speed of a vessel going free is the unevenness of the water, the effect of the wind raising surface waves; these greatly retard and hamper her movements. If, instead of rising in waves the sea remained smooth a sailing vessel could be driven nearly as fast as the wind moves, as is the case with ice boats, which on smooth ice move as fast as the wind.
In sailing to windward the faster a vessel moves the more pressure the wind exerts upon her sail. In sailing to leeward this is just the reverse; the faster she goes the less pressure the wind exerts. In the first action she is constantly approaching the source of the wind, in the second receding from it. For instance, if the wind is blowing at the rate of 20 miles an hour and a vessel sailing before it makes 10 miles an hour the pressure in her sails will only be equal to a rate of 10 miles. In calculating how much sail to carry the young yachtsman must remember this: That a windward breeze is nearly double the wind’s velocity, that a leeward breeze is equal to the wind’s velocity minus the boat’s speed; so that more sail can be carried off the wind that can be carried on it.
The amount of sail that can be carried off the wind depends largely upon the form of the boat and the height and action of the sea. If the boat is of a good form for running and the water smooth you can carry all the sail her spars will stand and she can be steered under. But if she is a bad runner, a boat that roots—goes down by the head—or chokes up forward, she will do better with less sail. On all boats there is a time when they reach their maximum speed running and when they will go along easier and better with less canvas. To do her best when running a boat should be kept on an even line—that is, level in the water, and not be allowed to shove her head up or drop her stern down.