In this edition of Alive, Auntie Alb responds to a letter from an Inland sailor relating to things that have to be done differently when sailing on the sea. She really got the bit between her teeth in rising to this challenge, such that I've decided to split the excellent guidance she provides into two parts. Part 1 is outlined below and deals principally with the upwind legs. Part 2 will appear in the Summer Alive (just in time for you to have the full picture when going to Looe!) and will deal more with the downwind legs.

It's good to hear that you are thinking of coming to Looe. It is a lovely, friendly place. The sailing will be good and the socials great. I reckon that it is going to be a fun week.

You shouldn't worry too much about those "open waters" because after all, they are only a bigger version of what you are already sailing on. So what if the legs are longer and the waves bigger? The wind will be steadier and less fluky. As for the tidal current, well, it is not that strong and anyway, it gives an extra interest. In fact, the set-up at Looe is exactly what the Albacore was designed for.

When Uffa Fox designed the Albacore, he created a boat that was reasonably fast yet was stable enough for families to sail in the choppy waters of the Solent. It wasn't long before there were fleets all along the South Coast. It also soon spread up both the North Sea and Irish Sea coastlines into the tidal estuaries of the Thames, Humber and Severn as well as on both the Forth and the Clyde.

Compare that spread with the situation today. The number of clubs that sail Albacores on either the sea or in estuaries can be counted almost on one hand. The Albacore is now an inland class sailed on a variety of inland venues from Perthshire to Chichester.

Sailing on such confined waters gives a sense of security in that there is always land around. The land also gives us bearings and provides information on our heading when beating. Small venues also mean that the legs are short and there's lots of mark-rounding action. The constantly shifty winds mean that we have to tack and tack again to make the most use of the variations. However, we rarely have enough room to give us time to wind the boat up into the "groove" to maximum speed.

Still, the skills we develop inland can be adapted for sailing on the sea. All we need to do is:

1) Develop a system to make sure that we are making our best headway to windward even though there are no easy reference points around (apart from other boats that is!)

2) Develop techniques to minimise the effects of waves when beating and maximise their help when offwind.

3) Develop a sense of the overall picture so that it is almost as if we are looking down from on high at the race course. We can then create a strategy for getting to the next mark as quickly as possible, taking into account the effects of both the (distant) land on the wind and of the tidal currents.

At first glance it seems that all three skills revolve around what is happening to the environment outside the boat. We can't of course control that environment. So at best, our job is to cope! However, we also have to monitor what is happening inside the boat and constantly question whether it is going fast enough. After all, it is no good going the right way up the beat if the boat is going there slowly.

So with that in mind, let’s now look at the two areas of responsibility:

1)  Albacore races are increasingly being won by sailing the shortest distance. This means making the most of any wind variations that occur - even offshore. For example, if we were to sail on a 10º header ("knock" in North America) for half a mile, we would be 150 metres downwind of where we should have been. Now, no one is going to be daft enough to do that all in one go, but it is all too easy on a mile-long beat to build up that sort of deficit. Remember Mike Holmes’ famous saying after a fluky offshore wind had places changing all over the place. He said "if you got it wrong, you heaved to for a bit. If you got it really wrong, you heaved three…” 

So, how do we organise our heading so that we are always on the tack that is getting us to that windward mark quickest. In past Auntie Albs, we have talked about the importance of Windshift Tracking (Alive No. 87-Spring 1997). If you remember, we should decide before the start during several practice beats, whether the wind is oscillating about a mean or is progressively shifting one way. Both need differing strategies.

In an oscillating wind, aim to stay on the lifted tack pretty much in the centre of the course. Avoid either wing like the plague because it is so easy to get dumped!

The best way to decide on what the wind is doing is to use a compass to monitor the boat's close-hauled track. As the helm is busy getting the boat through the water, reading it has to be down to the crew. He must be able to see it easily even when sitting out and so it should be mounted somewhere at or above deck level near the mast.

It is pretty straight forward stuff. All the crew has to do is note the heading on each tack and then, as a gust or lull comes through, see if it changes. It is not long before a picture emerges of what is the middle of those changes. All the crew has to do from then on is to call out when the heading goes up or down from that mid-point or mean by using expressions such as "up 5; up 10; mean; down 10; down 5; and so on. Remember that the aim is to stay on the lifted side of the mean. So, if the boat's heading takes a knock, then tack. This enables the boat to take advantage of the lift on the other tack and so still stay above the mean, thus getting us ever closer to that windward mark.

Slavishly following the compass to the exclusion of our other senses can however, be fraught with danger. For example, it is all too easy to tack every time there is the slightest header. Sometimes these can be "false" headers caused by changes in wind strength or by the boat wandering through waves. Therefore, always wait until it becomes a significant knock of at least 10º or so before tacking. Another danger in tacking too often, is that the boat doesn't have time between tacks to build up speed again. This is especially a problem in big waves when it definitely pays to tack as little as possible. Sometimes, if the boat tacks immediately the header comes, it is easy to sail back out of the shift and be headed instead of lifted on the new tack. Richard and Jenny Thompson proved that when they won the Thursday race at Torquay last year simply because, when lying in second place, they drove deeper into a big port header than the first and third boats. When they finally tacked, they had gained some 50 metres in as many seconds.

What we mustn't do now - with all this concentrating going on - is to lose track of where we are on the race course. Take every opportunity of getting back to the middle even if this means sailing a mean course from time to time. This keeps our options open and we are ready to grab any bigger shifts that come through. If an incentive is needed to do this, just imagine the horror of making the final approach to the mark on a header as boat after boat on the (opposite) freed tack pours across our bows.

Auntie Alb has dealt many times with how we should sail a progressive shift. Often referred to as a windbend, it is even more straightforward than coping with oscillating shifts. If the compass readings are showing that there is a persistent (although often gentle) change in the boat's track, then sail towards the inside of the bend even though the boat is being headed. Then tack just short of the layline just in case the bend continues to develop and brings up all the hordes from below.

Apart from the compass, there are other rather less sophisticated ways of telling whether the boat's heading is changing. On sunny days for example, the play of shade across the sails is a good indicator. Also the position and angle of other boats is of utmost importance in judging how we are going. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to become obsessed with this and think that every one else is on a freer. The danger then is to decide to chase every one else's shifts. By the time we get there, the shift has gone. This is a passport not only to frustration but also to the back of the fleet!

Inland sailors (including Auntie Alb!) often struggle to come to terms with the fact that, on open water, it usually pays to stay on the freeing tack despite being covered. It is usually better to be going in the right (i.e. shortest) direction on a freer even if slightly down on speed because of the other boat's interference. Tacking onto the header maybe better for speed but the extra distance is usually just too much.

2)  Waves are created by the friction of wind moving over the water and are pushed downwind. The stronger the wind, the bigger the waves - especially if the wind is against the tidal current. Interestingly, it is only the wave that moves downwind because the water stays where it is and simply rotates in a circle. The best way to think about the way it works is to "flick" a length of heavy rope which is being held at both ends. Soon "waves" are working their way along its length even though the rope itself clearly is not moving.

When sailing upwind, waves are speed-reducing because they are moving against the boat's progress, whilst offwind they are speed enhancing as they give an extra push each time they pass. Our aim therefore is to minimise their damaging effect when sailing to windward, and maximise their help when sailing downwind.

Upwind sailing

It is clearly essential to keep the boat moving with as little energy lost as possible. Energy is lost when the boat is slowed by pitching, by sailing uphill(!), and by the waves hitting the bows.

To reduce the risk of these happening, sailors should move back slightly so that the crew is about 250-300 mm aft of the shroud with the helm tucked in behind. This keeps their total weight about the pivot point of the hull and lightens the ends. Next, as the boat climbs a wave, the sailors swivel aft pivoting at the hips. There will be extra weight to the wind at the top of the wave, so an extra sitting-out effort is needed to keep the boat flat. Then, as the boat eases down the back of the wave, the sailors pivot forward again. Total movement of this fore and aft sway is about 500mm.

Auntie Alb has never been a fan of trying to steer through such waves because it is just too easy to get out of sync and stop totally. Then, with the waves piling up against the boat, it takes ages to get going again! However, the boat will tend to luff up slightly as it climbs a wave as the force of the wave's movement heels it slightly. Then that extra bit of effort at the top brings the boat back upright or maybe even over upright to make it bear away and slide down the back of the wave.

This slightly meandering course through and over waves  is absolutely necessary. That is why it is so important that the helm does not grip the tiller extension so tightly that the rudder can't move. Aim to have a loose grip with what could be called a "weak" arm so that the rudder can move as it follows the boat's movement. The analogy in horse riding terms would be that the boat is given its head to find its own easy way through the wave obstacles.

Do beware of the sailors sitting out so hard that they hit the waves. It is a very effective way of coming to a halt. So is the boat hitting several waves, one after the other. Indeed, there may come a time when the speed of the boat and wave are so equally matched that water is no longer flowing past the hull. The foils stop working and then the boat skids sideways. When this happens, ease the main, then sit out and, using minimum rudder (because it will hardly be working anyway), bear away and get that speed going again.

Finally, when tacking, try to choose a flat spot or at the very least, the back of a wave to give the boat a chance of getting round and going again before the next wave comes.

Auntie Alb

To be continued. Don't forget to look out for the remainder of Auntie Alb's guide to sea sailing for the Pondy in the Summer edition of Alive!