Need advice for sailing out of a slip in light winds

[daddle]

Ignore the motor boats. The smart ones just motor past knowing the sailboat is far more maneuverable and cool too. The stupid ones try to pass on some insane idea of a proper side that only a non-sailor would try.

Back in the day our entire fleet would sail out of the marina on race day without incident. It was a long beat up a 60 foot wide fairway. We did it in a 33 footer. No problem. Confidence and practice.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by OldFrog75

How does one make headway from a dead stop on a beam reach in very light winds without drifting/slipping to leeward?

The short answer is that one doesn't. There will ALWAYS be a little bit of slipping to leeward. With practice, and the advise that you've gotten here, though, you can minimize it to the point that it is not a factor. That's what you need to do. Don't obsess about eliminating all slippage completely. Focus instead on getting a good push off, and getting the boat sailing quickly enough, so that a little bit of slipping to leeward won't make any difference at all.

Good luck, and kudos for working on this important skill. You'll be the better sailor for it.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

+1; great drawing.

(And it confirms I didn't understand what the OP was trying to do)

[David M]

Many marinas have a size limit for sailing inside of the marina. Above that size and you must motor.

Don't be sheeted in tight until you get a little forward flow across your keel and rudder.

In the illustration back your rudder sooner so you do not get so far aft. You should not be getting a 1/4 of a boat length close to the vessel downwind of you. For backing you want your rudder turned to port, not starboard like the illustration shows.

[boatman61]

Next time you go out find an outa the way bouy or something and practice sail control at slow speeds.. learn how the boat responds.. the speed it falls off can be used to advantage... backing the head sail as a brake/control means.. reversing using the main..
Then do some pick ups on mooring bouys.. when your good enough to place the boats bow over the bouy.. stroll up and pick up before she falls off... instead of a frantic scramble...
your getting there..
All great fun

[xiabbo]

My vote goes to sculling out with the tiller (keeping your boathook & a fender handy and the very first thing you do when preparing to get underway is clear the anchor). 2-4 knots of wind is manageable with a boat up to 12 tons. i know because I sailed my Morgan 34 3 years without an engine. it really sharpened my skills immeasurably. luff the main until your stern clears the dock, then flatten the main and sail away. check your marina rules to see if this is "illegal" and change slips if it is and you like to hang with folks who know how sailboats work.

i think it is quite lovely to sail around and do not consider it hotdogging any more than watching any other activity done well - like playing a musical instrument for example. I have seen yachts bombing through anchorages in Nantucket and the Vineyard and it is breathtaking! I have had folks I was speaking with a moment before just silently vanish when I went below to make tea. Mysterious and really right at the heart of what makes yachting under sail so appealing to me. One of my proudest moments was sailing into the little hurricane hole at Bill Baggs State Park and dropping the hook perfectly even tho I had an engine. One guy in the anchorage got all paranoid and ran around his deck with a fender and a boathook but when it was all done I received couple attaboys.

I suggest you practice sailing out the anchor. Read Hiscock for instructions. A real confidence builder that saved my bacon more than once. It is called seamanship.



Two things sailboats seem to consistently do are: make women's clothes fall off and turn otherwise normal men into captain bligh.

[rognvald]

"check your marina rules to see if this is "illegal" and change slips if it is and you like to hang with folks who know how sailboats work." Xiabbo

"i think it is quite lovely to sail around and do not consider it hotdogging any more than watching any other activity done well - like playing a musical instrument for example. I have seen yachts bombing through anchorages in Nantucket and the Vineyard and it is breathtaking!" Xiabbo

Xiabbo, am I to assume by your first statement that boaters who choose to motor, for safety and consideration, rather than sail into their slips do not know how sailboats work? Is this the true test of seamanship?

Secondly, do you require paid admission to the fortunate onlookers who witness the profound artistic beauty of your seamanship prowess as you weave your Morgan 34 like the rising and falling notes of Itzhak Pearlman's Stradivarius playing Mozart's Violin Concerto #5? I can assure you,if that is so, you would indeed be someone everyone would want to "hang" with at the dock. Of course, there is no pun intended. Good luck and good sailing.

Mozart 's Greatest Violin Piece - YouTube

[xiabbo]

Two things sailboats seem to consistently do are: make women's clothes fall off and turn otherwise normal men into captain bligh or smart alecks.

[Alecadi]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

+1; great drawing.

(And it confirms I didn't understand what the OP was trying to do)

I'm confused : the attachment of the bow string line to the boat get from bow to stern passing through midship in 3 little drawings... So which one is it?

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by rognvald

Secondly, do you require paid admission to the fortunate onlookers who witness the profound artistic beauty of your seamanship...

Wow. You've really got quite the chip on your shoulder, haven't you?

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Alecadi

I'm confused : the attachment of the bow string line to the boat get from bow to stern passing through midship in 3 little drawings... So which one is it?

You are right, the line gets shifted to help turn the boat. hopefully by a keen and enthusastic crew.

I would lead it outside everything down the portside. But make it fast to the bow initally.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Wow. You've really got quite the chip on your shoulder, haven't you?

Look, Denver . . . contrary to what you might believe, there are still some of us who have a sense of humor (perhaps not your own) and don't necessarily believe that sailing is the "be all" and "end all" of life. And, if I were to say that I find it absurd or comical that someone compares sailing a boat through a crowded anchorage or marina as equivalent to playing a musical instrument , that is my opinion. There is no malice intended and I certainly do not have a "chip on my shoulder." I just happen to find it humorous and hardly an aestethic feat of seamanship and what I call "hotdogging" when safer options are available. Lighten up . . . you might find life more interesting. Good luck and good sailing.

[denverd0n]

You think that I'M the one who needs to lighten up!?! Now THAT'S funny!

[JPA Cate]

Rognvald had an unpleasant experience with a J22 whose skipper probably just wanted to go racing, not deal with the scratch he'd put in R's boat. I can see how such an incident would affect R's point of view, considering that he might still have angry feelings about "sailors hotdogging", based on that skipper's rudness and the damage done. And we all know sometimes racers do not behave considerately.

However, what I think is really sad here is that the OP is actually going to be a lot safer sailor and less likely to collide with someone for practicing his maneuvering using his sails only, and Rognvald doesn't seem to understand that....

All the racing dinghies including the Etchell's and all the kids learning to sail in small dinghies have to sail from the place in the marina where they are launched out of the marina to where they are going to be sailed. This isn't about hotdogging, it's how it is. These boats are light weight, and extremely responsive, and unlikely to cause anyone real damage.

Most marina damage I've seen has happened under power, never from the dinghies.

I applaud the OP for asking for suggestions on how to do what he wants to do, and I think he's received some pretty good ones, too. Good luck with it, mate.

[knots2u]

You could try the highwayman's knot to release a doubled line from the cleat on the end of the finger.

Quick release knot - YouTube