Holding a Constant Heading while Adjusting the Sails

Here, we’re heading to a specific point on land or a compass heading. Thus to keep the sails flying efficiently, we’ve got to adjust the sail set with the varying wind gusts.

If you’ve ever been in a sailboat race you’re completely familiar with the helmsperson constantly steering the wheel and/ or the sail trimmers trimming the sails. Every little change makes a difference that could mean line honors or not.

Here’s NED again. This time watch the efficiency bar across the bottom. You’ll notice the tiniest adjustment to the sails makes a huge difference to efficiency. Sailors who win races fly their sails at 100% efficiency almost all the time. Turn off the tooltips after you understand how NED works.

Figure 2.2-1 NED the Sailing Instructor (repeated)

Telltales are positioned on both sides of the sail and also staggered in positions vertically up the sail. Every telltale is working to tell us what we want to know about the sail at that point.

A photographer friend of mine commented to me once when we were sailing “Wow – you see wind like I see light”. Now that took some explaining but eventually, I got what he meant. Initially, he could not understand how I could “see” the wind. After explaining about the tell tales, ripples on the water, smoke on the horizon, other sailboats, clouds moving, birds crabbing across the wind, flags, wind noise in one ear vs. the other, etc, etc., he proceeded to explain about shadows, diffused light, direct light, overexposure, etc. The point is that as you get good at sailing you CAN see the wind.

So at any one time whilst sailing, you’re processing all the wind data coming into your brain and deciding what to do with it. Sometimes you’re even figuring out how to waste or “spill” the wind because it’s too great.

Right then, that’s Module 2. Let’s run a short test to ensure you gained the knowledge.