Coming about

One year, our Christmas present was too big to fit under the tree. So our parents parked it on the street. It was just about the first thing we saw that Christmas morning.

My sisters may have had mixed feelings, but I was completely thrilled. This new family vehicle was just what I wanted: a sailboat!

Blame it on Howard K. Pease and Rob White, a couple of authors whose stories dealt with adventures on the high seas. Pease wrote about huge cargo ships and Rob White told tales of smaller craft – powered by the wind and often operated by children or teens. I devoured the books written by both men and dreamed of spending my life at sea.

Our little Omega probably didn’t impress other sailors much. It was an open craft, about 16 feet long, a bit broad in the beam (it had to accommodate our family of five) and boasted two sails – the main and a jib.

The most critical maneuver for sailors is tacking.

Aerodynamics make it possible for a boat to actually sail upwind – not directly into the wind, of course; but, when “close hauled,” a boat can come pretty close. The sails form an airfoil, the same principle that provides lift for airplanes causes sailboats to be pulled, rather than pushed, through the water.

By alternating course from one side to the other – a maneuver known as tacking – sailors can make good progress directly against the wind.

The term for this act of moving the bow from one side to the other is “coming about.” The smoothness and rapidity with which a crew completes this move significantly affects their average speed. Racing crews work frantically to minimize the time required to move from one side of the wind to the other.

One sailor generally manages the tiller or wheel and the mainsheet – a rope used to control the sail that is mounted on both mast and the boom. The boom swings from one side of the boat to the other depending on the tack.

“Ready about!”

This command alerts the second crewmember to loosen the sheet that holds the jib – a second sail attached to the forward part of the mast. This sail is not attached to a boom; it must remain flexible so it can be pulled in front of the mast and make its way to the other side of the boat and complete the tack. The line is freed from its cleat, but held taut by the crewmember for the moment.

“Helms alee!”

As he makes this announcement, the first crewmember pushes the tiller away from his body – toward the side of the boat that the sails are on. This forces the bow in the opposite direction – directly into the wind.

When the boat turns into the wind, both sails begin flapping, or “luffing.” At this point only momentum allows the helmsman to maintain control and, in this configuration, it’s just a matter of time before the craft actually begins moving backward. Rapid progress through the wind is critical to maintain forward momentum.

Just as the bow passes through the eye of the wind, the opposite side of the jib catches the wind and billows out on the opposite side of the mast. The force of that wind helps speed the turn.

At the same time, the boom crosses over the stern; it will soon fill with its own dose of air and will again drive the boat forward.

“Cut!”

At the critical moment when the lateral force of a reversed jib is no longer needed to help turn the boat, the commander alerts the crewmember to release the sheet binding the jib to one side of the boat and to haul in the opposite line.

All that remains is to adjust course and trim the sails to the optimum course.

Sailors take pride in the efficiency with which they come about. A well-made boat, a skilled crew and a good wind can make tacking work like poetry.

My rigging has become fouled here along the shores of Lake Ontario. I’m caught in the doldrums for a few days while plotting a new course.

My hosts for this 12-month voyage have once again come through for me and I’ll soon be underway, with no added costs or serious inconvenience. I’ll be staying in alternate, but comparable accommodations for the next week or so, but will be back on schedule by the time I reach Quebec.

While tacking is a sailor’s favorite maneuver, it’s sometimes necessary to jibe. During a jibe, the wind crosses behind the boat. The sails don’t luff, but when the wind gets on the opposite side of the main it changes sides quickly, with the wind’s force behind it.

Jibing can be done safely; but sometimes an inattentive crew will suffer an accidental jibe. In this instance, a careless sailor can be struck by the boom – even knocked overboard.

No wonder that even when executing a controlled jibe, the captain shouts, “Jibe-o, duck!”

Tacking and jibing notwithstanding, it appears to be clear sailing for Wandering Dave as I begin the second half of my trip.

Red skies in the morning,
sailors take warning.
Red skies at night,
sailor’s delight.