Welcome
In this course, we’ll learn intermediate boat handling by taking a building block approach. With each new block we can grow our sailing competency and sail with more confidence.
You have already started to lay a good foundation by meeting the requirements of a Level 1 small boat sailor. These topics were covered in the Introduction to Sailing course.
A Level 1 (beginner) small boat sailor should be proficient in the 14 skills listed below:
Wind awareness
Rigging/De-rigging
Knots/Lines
Rules of Road
Departure/Landing
Steering
Safety position
Tacking
Points of Sail
Jibing
Overboard Recovery
Upwind Sailing (sail in the groove)
Downwind Sailing (walk the line)
Level 1 sailors can quickly take their sailing skills to the next level and develop confidence by learning and practicing the intermediate boat handling concepts explained in this boat handling course. Better boat handling skills are beneficial for both recreational and competitive sailors. I offer plenty of racing context and racing references, but these concepts and practice exercises benefit recreational sailors just the same.
Boat handing is the foundation for better sailing. On the race course, sailors with better boat handling skills will generally sail faster. Tactical smarts matter little when boat speed is lacking. Working to improve boat handling skills helps us sail smoother and faster and will help us realize better results at regattas.
Boat handling involves three areas of focus: (1) weight management (2) sail trim (3) helmsmanship. These are all dynamic and interrelated. For example, if we want to steer the boat down and around the windward mark, we will ease our main, hike out, and move the tiller. Level 1 sailors and many challenger fleet sailors tend to focus on one or maybe two aspects while intermediate and advanced sailors pay attention to all three when maneuvering the boat.
We categorize types of sailors into three categories: (1) recreational sailors (2) competitive racers and (3) recreational racers. Most of the racers I sail with at Flying Scot regattas are recreational racers who want to have fun and get better. Even those who favor recreation over competition have a desire to get better. Therefore, I recommend those same two simple goals every time we go out on a sailboat: (1) have fun (2) get better.
We also categorize sailboat racers into three primary categories or divisions. (1) Beginner (2) Challenger (3) Championship. Within both the challenger and championship ranks, we can further break it down further into (a) back of the pack (b) mid pack and (c) front of the pack. There is a strong correlation between boat handling skills and performance on the race course. Coaches and instructors don’t need to look at results and in most cases can quickly assess a sailor’s progress by observing their boat handling skills off the race course.
Sailing is just like any sport. The more time we spend doing it, the better we get. Just like other sports, the more time and energy we put into quality practice, the faster we will improve. Newer sailboat racers who work on fundamentals and improving their boat handling skills will leapfrog racers who have been sailing longer who don’t practice. Just a little quality practice can go a very long way. Everyone seems to want to sail faster and do better, but few will spend the time practicing. If you just go out sailing or just go out racing every time, you might want to try spending just 10-20 minutes and pick just one or two things to work on. The next time you’re at a regatta, you can head out to the race course 30 minutes earlier than you usually would and work on improving your boat handling.