Sailing and Camping

1. Take care of your boat and the sails. Wash the sails with mild soap and water after sailing. Keep them out of the sun and fold the sail neatly when dry. Clean your boat to avoid transferring possible invasive plant or shellfish species to other sailing locations.

2. Check the weather, wind and tide before you go sailing. Start watching the weather a week before you go out. Record wind, type of clouds and how each weather type encountered impacts your sailing.

3. Be prepared for emergencies. Keep your life jackets (PFDs) in good condition and have one for each person on the boat. Make sure you have first aid supplies in a waterproof box.

4. If you are just learning to sail, start with a smaller sized boat with one sail and practice sailing in calm water where there are not a lot of people.

5. Practice capsizing your boat. Think of this like the fire drills you did in school.

6. Develop your sailing vocabulary. From weather terminology to vocabulary specific to sailing, the better you know this, the easier it will be to communicate with your crew. Learn proper sailing etiquette.

7. Practice adjusting the sails to take advantage of the different wind conditions.

8. Do not overestimate your abilities. Do not sail in rough water unless you know what you are doing. You could wind up in trouble. Make sure someone on land knows your plans before you go out sailing.

9. Watch out for the boom. You don't want to get hit in the head or possibly thrown overboard. Make sure your crew and passengers are aware of when the boom is going to swing.

10. Watch for other boats and keep control of your own boat by making sure you are sailing at a safe speed.