GROUND SCHOOL

Handbook

ABOUT

We are a NYC-based free sailing collective

Free Sailing School (FSS) is exactly what it says it is—a free catamaran sailing collective based in NYC. We are an inclusive group of environmentalist sailors—experts, wanna-bees and everyone in between who share the same desire to get on the water.

We are looking for free or barter for labor beachable sailboats within sailing distance of NYC. We teach our members how to fix, maintain, and sail any small sailboats that is given us. All our boats either get used regularly or are given to people that will use them regularly.

We aim to help everybody have access to sail in NYC—for free! We want to make sailing a non-elitist sport. We share skills, help each other, and strategize together on how to sail in NYC with no or little money.

WHO WE ARE

OUR MISSION

OUR VISION

CATAMARAN

Basic Anatomy of a Sailing Catamaran

• Often called "beach cats" or "cats," catamarans have two hulls separated by a mesh platform called trampoline.

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• They are more stable and can provide a faster ride than monohulls

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• Cats are a lot of fun to sail, but they need a good Force 3 breeze to really get going and are not a good choice for light winds.

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• As the saying goes, you can trust a beach catamaran sailor with a yacht but you can't trust a yacht sailor with a beach catamaran.

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• Video: Hobie 16 Boat Parts Explained

POINTS OF SAILING

How to Catch the Wind

• Catamaran sailors should bear to windward on a close reach, not attempting to point high upwind.

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• Running is also inefficient, except in light winds. Sail a succession of port and starboard broad reaches, jibing across the downwind course.

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• Center the mainsheet for upwind sailing; ease it down the track downwind.�
• Video: Wind Directions

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BASIC MANEUVERS

Moving Upwind vs Downwind

• Moving upwind is when the catamaran is moving in the direction to which the wind is blowing.

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• To move upwind, the catamaran would need to tack in the direction of beam reach or close reach

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• Moving downwind is when the catamaran is moving against the direction to which the wind is blowing.

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• To move downwind, the catamaran would need to jibe in the direction of broad reach

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• Catamarans tend to tack and jibe more slowly than monohull dinghies, but provide better stability.

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TACKING

How to Move Upwind

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• To tack, steer into the tack with the rig powered up and the boat sailing at speed. Steer carefully through the tack; be aware that slamming the rudders over can make them act as brakes.

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• Both crew should stay on the windward side until the jib has backed. This will help to lift the leeward hull, so that the catamaran pivots on the inside hull. Keep both the mainsheet and the jib sheet pulled in tight until the jib starts to back and the bows bear away on the new tack.

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• The helmsman should face aft while moving across the boat, easing the mainsheet to help "pop" the battens into their new position and accelerate the catamaran onto the new tack.

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• Video: Fundamental of Tacking Techniques
• Video: Common Tacking Mistakes

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JIBING

How to Move Downwind

• Unlike tacking, when jibing, the sails are powered up through the entire maneuver and thus more care and control is required.

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• Begin the jibe by centralizing the traveler and sheeting the mainsail. This prevents the boom from swinging and slamming too hard over to the other side.

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• Once the boom changes side, release the mainsail as far as possible to ensure you keep the power on as you go through the second part of the jibe.

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• It is preferable to tack a cruising catamaran instead of jibing and not recommended at all in strong winds or bad conditions.

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• Video: Downwind and Gybing Catamaran Sailing Tutorial

WIND DIRECTION

How to Read the Wind

• TELLTALES: The pieces of yarn or sailcloth on the boat and the sails that stream in the direction of the wind.

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• WET FINGER: Wet your finger and hold it up. The side of the finger that will dry faster and feel cold as compared to the other side shows the direction of the wind.

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• WIND ON FACE & EARS: Keep your face towards the wind's general direction and turn slowly from one side to another, If the wind is blowing from the left side, the left side of the will feel more wind and the left ear will hear more noise from the right ear. At the point when you hear the same amount of wind noise in both the ears then you are facing towards the wind. It only works when you are in a free area where you can feel the unobstructed wind on your face.

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• SAILS: When the sail is gripping too strong, the luff (the edge of a fore-and-aft sail next to the mast) will curl towards the boat. This will result in make a large area on the luff which is swelling in rather than out. If you are sheeted all the way means that you are aiming as far upwind as possible.

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• WATER RIPPLES: Where the wind is strong, the ripples will be bigger and darker. Where it is light, the ripples will be smaller and lighter. Where there is no wind, the water will look like a mirror.

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TELLTALES

How to Decipher the Wind Direction from the Telltales

• Telltales tell you both the direction of the wind and the direction you're sailing

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• One way to tell the direction that you should be be sailing:
• Both telltales hang straight down: You're in iron. Ease sail
• Both telltales stream straight back: You're in the sweet spot
• Windward telltale flutters, leeward telltale streams: You're sailing too close to the wind, trim sail to turn turn away from the wind
• Windward telltale streams, leeward telltale flutters: You're sailing too far from the wind, ease sail to head up towards the wind

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• Video: How to Use Telltales and Wind Indicators on the Catamaran

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IN IRONS

How to Get Out of Irons

• “Being in irons” describes a boat that is stopped when pointing into the No-Sail Zone, directly against the direction of the wind.

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• To get out of irons, you need to turn the boat so the wind is coming over the side of the boat instead of over the front of the boat. The fastest way to do this is to sail backward. Once the boat starts moving, you will be able to turn it.

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• Do so by pushing the boom out as far as possible away from you, and at the same time, push the rudder the other direction. Soon the boat will be sailing backward and turning.

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• Once the wind is coming over the side of the boat, the sail will fill up. Now pull the sail in and straighten out the rudder, and you'll be sailing forward again.

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WIND GUST

How to Spot and Catch / Avoid Wind Gust

• SPOTTING THE GUST: When you look at the water you’ll see there are different patches with different colours. Usually, the gusts will be darker, but another way to spot them is to notice big circular or oval patches on the water. These patches will also move. Those will likely be gusts. Polarized sunglasses can help make gusts appear more obvious.

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• SAILING WITH THE GUST: More wind equals more speed. So as you go up the beat you should aim to stay in the dark patches (gusts) and avoid the light patches (lulls).

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• AVOIDING TOO STRONG A GUST: When you're hit by too strong of a gust, to avoid capsizing, turn the boat towards where the wind is coming from. The boat will naturally slow down and not tilt as much. This is called rounding up to the wind.

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• Video: How to Spot Wind Gust in the Water
• Video: Reading Wind Speed At Sea Without Equipment

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RULES OF THE ROAD

How Not to Collide in the Waterways

• HEAD ON SITUATION: Keep right or steer to the starboard. Pass port to port.�
• PASSING SITUATION: When overtaking another boat, give way and steer clear.

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• CROSSING SITUATION: Give way to a boat ahead and to starboard. If a boat is in your danger zone (0-112.5°) alter course, slow or stop.

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• THE PECKING ORDER: A vessel lower on the list below must give way to those higher on the list.
• Limited turning ability
• Sail and human powered boats
• Powerboats

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ROPEWORK

Sailing knots

BOWLINE

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• An ancient knot used to form a fixed loop at the end of a rope. It has the virtues of being both easy to tie and untie. The bowline is sometimes referred to as King of the knots because of its importance.

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• The tying procedure can be remembered by the bunny mnemonic �"Up through the rabbit hole, round the big tree; down through the rabbit hole and off goes he.”

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• Video: Nautical How-To - Bowline

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Credit: 101knots.com

ROPEWORK

Sailing knots

CLOVE HITCH

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• Also known as a double hitch, it is simply 2 back to back half hitches around a cylindrical object such as a post, tree, or an axe.

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• The rope on either side of the hitch can be adjusted without untying the knot

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• Holds tight when 1 strand is weighted

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• You can finish it with a half hitch stopper back around the standing part to prevent slipping.

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• Video: Nautical How-To - Clove Hitch

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Credit: 101knots.com

ROPEWORK

Sailing knots

SHEET BEND

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• Also known as becket bend, weaver's knot and weaver's hitch, the sheet bend is practical to temporarily join two ropes of different diameter or rigidity.

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• The sheet bend is related in structure to the bowline so it has a tendency to work loose when not under load.

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• Note that the couple of free ends land up on the same side of the knot. If they are on the opposite sides, the knot would be less reliable.

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• Video: How to Tie a Sheet Bend Knot

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Credit: 101knots.com

ROPEWORK

Sailing knots

FIGURE 8

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• Also known as the Flemish knot, the Figure 8 knot is a type of stopper knot that helps in sailing by not allowing the tag ends of ropes to slip out of the retaining devices.

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• Video: Nautical How-To - Figure 8

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Credit: 101knots.com

ROPEWORK

Sailing knots

CLEAT HITCH

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• This fast and simple knot is used to cleat a mooring line.

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• While securing a dock line to a cleat, first it must be wrapped around the horn that is farther away from it and then around the horn nearer to it. If the sequence is not followed the knot may jam.

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• The hitch unties quickly and neatly.

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• Video: Nautical How-To - Cleat Hitch

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Credit: 101knots.com

GLOSSARY - P1

Sailing and Boat Terms

Bow - Front of the boat

Stern - Back of the boat

Port - Left side of the boat

Starboard - Right side of the boat

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Halyard - Rope used to hoist and lower sails

Sheet - Rope which connects to the clew (back corner) of a sail. It is used to control or trim the sail.

Luff - The forward edge of the sail.

Telltale - Pieces of yarn or sailcloth on the boat and the sails that stream in the direction of the wind.

Tiller - A bar which controls the rudder and is used to steer the boat from the cockpit. It is used in place of a steering wheel.

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Upwind - Sailing against the direction to which the wind is blowing

Downwind - Sailing in the direction to which the wind is blowing

Windward - Toward the wind, the direction from which the wind blows

Leeward - Away from the wind, the direction to which the wind blows

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GLOSSARY - P2

Sailing and Boat Terms

Tacking - Steering the boat across one upwind direction by turning the bow of the boat through the wind. This causes the sails to travel to the other side of the boat

Jibing - Steering the boat from one downwind direction to another downwind direction by turning the stern of the boat through the wind. This will cause the sails to move across the boat to the other side

No-sail zone - This is an area 45 degrees to either side of directly into the wind. It is not possible for a boat to sail in this zone as the sails cannot fill with wind. Tacking is necessary

In Irons - When the bow of a sailboat is headed into the wind in the no-sail zone and the boat has stalled and is unable to maneuver

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More nautical terms: https://www.nauticed.org/sailingterms

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MAKING SAILORS OF OF NEW YORKERS

www.freesailingschool.org