Sailing and Camping

When you go to sleep at an anchorage, one thing you will want to do is to wake up in the same place. In other words, make sure your anchoring equipment and techniques are safe and secure. You don't want to be taking an unplanned excursion around your chosen anchorage, especially if there are other boats in the vicinity.

You probably know that you should let out as much anchor chain as you can, so that the chain lies horizontal to the sea bottom, and that your anchor should be of sufficient heaviness to keep your boat from dragging during the night.

However, even with the right equipment and the right amount of chain, there are still some little tricks and techniques you can keep at the back of your mind.

One thing you could do is to set another anchor so that it sets in the line between your prow and your main anchor. This setup will allow the boat to swing with the wind and tide, but will stop any fear of dragging. By having both anchors in a line, it is easier to pull them both up when it is time to leave.

If you only have a single anchor out, and the boat is swinging a lot with the wind, there is a bridle technique you can use. Suppose the wind is from the port side, and blowing the yacht sideways around the fulcrum of your anchor. Since this puts unnecessary strain on your anchor, you should remedy the situation.Tie a rope to a cleat at the back of the boat, and tie the other end to your anchor cable forward of the bow roller. Then, as the wind tries to push the stern around, the line will tighten on the anchor rode and prevent any further sideways movement.

Then there's the old bag of sand trick, as Maxwell Smart would say. If you are worried about the sea bottom, in that it is not good for holding an anchor, or perhaps there are rocks where your anchor could snag when you try to pull it up, then the bag of sand is a good option. In this case, get an old sack with a hole in one corner. Attach a trip line to this corner just above the hole, and fill the sack with sand. Tie a strong rope around the neck of the sack, and attach a float to the end of the trip line. Then drop the sack over the side, or bow. When it's time to go, haul up the sack with the main rope, and at the same time jiggle the trip line so that the sand falls out of the hole and back onto the sea floor.

Finally, if the bottom is thick, oozy mud, as in an estuary, a good temporary anchor to use while fishing or having a meal on deck is to stick a pole into the mud and tie your boat up to the pole. You could use the spinnaker pole for this, if you can't find anything suitable on the shore. You can also use this method to keep the stern away from a riverbank, if you have tied up bow-on to the bank. Remember, this is only for a temporary stay, when people are up on deck and it's still daylight, not for overnight stays.

Alright, so you've heard the call of the ocean and decided to learn how to sail! In this article we'll discuss what you can expect from your course and how to extract the maximum from it.

Here's the golden rule... preparation. Buy a simple sailing book for beginners before you start your course and read it thoroughly. The purpose of this is to become acquainted with all the sailing terms you're going to be dealing with during the length of your course. By giving yourself a head start and already knowing the names of all the ropes, points of sail and parts of the boat you'll find that you can concentrate solely on the instruction without having to worry about remembering or forgetting all this new sailing terminology.

Another fun thing would be to buy a short length of rope and start learning and practicing all the common sailing knots... preparation is the key to success in so many things.

Standard sailing courses are generally one week in duration but it's also possible to attend 2 day weekend courses too. Normally the mornings will begin in the classroom with a theoretical look at what you'll be learning during the course of the day. This is explained is simple terms which is easy to follow and by first understanding the lesson in your mind it will be easier to achieve it out on the water.

Testing is very informal and is done along the way, in fact with most schools and instructors you won't even notice you're being tested as it will all seem just part of the instruction. You'll learn how to be a useful member of crew, someone who can understand what is happening under sail and actively contribute to the sailing of the yacht.

The next stage after that should you wish to continue learning to sail will be to prepare you for the command of a yacht where you are making the decisions and a crew is obeying your directions.

There's a common misconception that you need to be a wealthy individual or have access to your own yacht in order to learn to sail and to enjoy sailing as a past time. However nothing could be further from the truth and each week thousands of ordinary people go sailing through clubs and sailing schools all around the globe.

Sailing is something which can be learned at almost any stage in your life. I know of people who can't even swim who are learning to sail and of all ages too. You'll find an enormous amount of schools available to teach you how to sail in many locations ranging from just down the road to far away exotic lands.

Theses schools are very experienced and abide by strict guidelines in their sailing instruction. Almost all sailing schools offer certification which is internationally recognized and this is certainly something worth going for. With the right certification you'll be able to bareboat charter a yacht anywhere in the world and have full use of it for the length of your holidays. It's certainly one way to open up new horizons in your life and make every holiday a big adventure.

If you are feeling up to it the best method to start learning to sail is in a little sailboat around a protected bay where you are in sole command. The downside is that you will capsize quite a lot until you get the 'feel' of sailing however nothing is faster at teaching you the basics than that method.

For the older, more refined, generation you certainly don't have to go down that route in order to learn how to sail. Instead there are what's known as small keelboats which will not capsize and you instructor will be on board with you. This is also a perfectly acceptable method to learn sailing. In part 2 of this article we'll discuss the process and exactly what you'll go through.