Chapter Two
Where Wind and
Water Meet
Make it Go!
Since canoe sailors have varying amounts of sailing experience, it
would be wise to devote a few pages to a bit of basic sailing. There are
plenty of good instructional books devoted entirely to sailing small
boats, and most of their information also applies to canoe sailing. I recommend that new sailors read one or two of these books. For our purposes, I will provide a simplified, quick course, more as a means of
understanding the performance and use of different types of canoe sails
than as an attempt to teach the finer points of sailing.
Picture yourself standing on the south shore of Paddler’s Pond, having just finished assembling the rig of your sailing canoe. Conveniently,
the wind on the pond is always from the north, so you’re currently on
the downwind side of the lake.
The first objective is to get aboard the canoe and sail to the Pollywog
Cafe, which sits on the north shore, for lunch. If we push off and point
the canoe due north, not much happens. The sail flaps in the breeze, like
a flag, and the boat drifts backwards. It’s not until we “bear off,” altering
our heading about 45 degrees, to either northeast or northwest, that the
sail fills with wind and the canoe starts to move forward.
We have just learned the first important rule of sailing: No sailboat
can sail directly upwind. Depending on boat design and sail type, there
will be a limit to how close to the wind direction you can sail, or how
high you can “point,” as sailors call it. Some boat/rig combinations point
higher than others, but 45 degrees off the wind is fairly typical for general-purpose sailing craft.
We will make lunch, but to get there we will have to sail a zigzag
course, heading northeast, then “tacking” to a northwest heading, and
then back to northeast, and so on. We will sail “close-hauled,” with the
sail trimmed in tightly, and feel our highest possible course by watching
the sail. If the sail starts to “luff,” losing its shape, we have headed up
too high and must bear off a bit before the boat stalls.
Once we have figured out how high we can point, we can make
another test. Some boats will actually get you to lunch faster if you bear
off a bit more (that is, head east-northeast, or west-northwest), ease the
sail out a little, and let her rip. You will have to travel farther at these
lower angles of attack, but the extra speed may make up for the extra
2 - Where Wind and Water Meet
distance. Most catamarans and other multihulls, for example, slow down
if they are pointed too high, but they will really move at a lower angle.
Many sailing canoes share this feature.
Sailboats that point high and go fast tend to have tall, narrow sail
plans. Some of the best will point well into the 30-to-40-degree range
and still maintain their speed. We’ve already established that a canoe isn’t
a very good platform for trying to counterbalance a tall sail, so with our
lower rig we may, indeed, find that a shallower angle of attack and taking the scenic route will get us there in time to get a table by the window.
We can work our way upwind with a series of short zigs and zags
with many tacks, or a few long ones with fewer tacks. It takes the canoe
a while to get back up to speed after a tack, so the less tacking the better, if we want to beat the lunch rush.
It’s also handy to know that today, when we are sailing with a northwesterly heading, we are on the “starboard tack.” The wind from the
north is coming in over the starboard (right) side of the canoe. By nautical rule, this gives us the right-of-way over sailing craft on the “port
tack.” (However, if a 160-foot-long schooner happens to be coming at
you on the port tack — don’t push your luck.)
Should we zag back to our northeasterly heading, the wind will be
coming in over the port (left) side of the boat and we will be on the port
tack — losing the right-of-way to any boats on the starboard tack.
So far, the wind has been steady and straight out of the north.
However, it isn’t always so predictable out here on the pond. From
moment to moment, both the wind’s speed and its direction will vary a
bit. Learning to play the directional shifts, in particular, is something that
makes a good sailor.
Picture yourself going for lunch on the starboard tack, heading northwest, the wind due north. If the wind were to shift from due north to
northeast for a couple of minutes, we could change our heading to
straight north — straight towards Pollywog’s — and still maintain the
same pointing angle in relation to the wind direction. As long as the
wind stayed shifted, we could, too.
Where Wind and Water Meet - 3
Get Back!
A wind shift such as this, which allows you to change your heading to
a closer course to your intended goal, is called a “lift.” Should the wind
shift back to due north, we would bear off to keep the sails full, back to
our northwesterly course. Using lifts, when they happen, makes the trip
shorter.
After a couple of frogburgers at the Pollywog Cafe, we’re ready to
sail again. Our wind is still out of the north. Before we head home, let’s
check out the east and west ends of the lake. Our course will be perpendicular to the wind direction and is called a “reach.” Actually, there are
three types of reaches, and they are all pretty fast and fun to sail.
new heading. We can also tack to change a beam reach from an easterly
to a westerly heading, but we might want to “jibe” instead.
A jibe is a directional turn, like a tack, but the boat is steered away
from the wind, so that the wind crosses the stern instead of the bow.
To avoid the potential hospital bills involved with sailing by the lee,
always do your downwind sailing with the boom on the side of the
canoe that is AWAY from the wind (south side in this example). That
way, it would take a monster wind shift to get behind the sail and give
you a headache.
On the other hand, had we been on the port tack, heading northeast,
when the wind direction shifted from north to northeast, we would have
found our canoe pointing directly into the wind and stalling fast. To
keep moving and maintain our proper pointing angle, we would have
had to alter course to due east.
A “beam reach” is square to the wind; in this case, a straight east-west
track, and can be sailed in either direction. A “close reach” is similar, but
slightly upwind. We will be sailing an easterly or westerly course, but
also angling northward a bit in the process — not as high as we were
when we sailed close-hauled to get up to this end of the lake, but we
can still make some upwind progress.
For example, if you are sailing straight east, with a north wind (you
are on a beam reach), and decide to make a U-turn and head west, you
could turn to the left (north or upwind — a tack), or turn to the right
(south or downwind — a jibe). A jibe usually slows the boat less than a
tack and might, thus, be preferred.
While reaching, just as while sailing upwind, we can take advantage of
wind shifts to get to our destination faster, but it’s a little different in
concept. We can already make drastic changes in heading by aiming the
boat and adjusting the sail to whatever reach it happens to be, so we use
the shifts for speed.
If we were angling downwind, sailing a broad reach, the boat would
already be pointed somewhat downwind, due to our heading. It would
be much more efficient to jibe than to tack, which would require making
a looping 270-degree turn onto our new heading.
If our particular canoe sails fastest on a beam reach, pointed east or
west, a wind shift might allow us to stay on a beam reach but actually be
headed more upwind or downwind, depending on where we want to go.
Just as we saw when going upwind, a shift will either put us on a more
direct course to our goal, or on one that takes us farther from it. Tacking
or jibing to the favored heading may be the best choice if you think the
shift is going to last for a few minutes.
Once we have reestablished our boat-heading to wind-direction angle,
we will be fine, headed east. East?...but lunch is north. East is taking us
farther away from where we want to go. This is called a “header.” Being
headed makes your trip longer.
But we can fix this easily. All we have to do is tack. Remember, the
northeasterly shift that is heading us on the port tack was a lift on the
starboard tack — a lift that will take us directly to our destination!
Since we’re already at the north end of the pond, we might choose a
“broad reach” instead. Rather than just heading east or west, a broad
reach will put us on a southeasterly or southwesterly course. We will be
heading home but via an indirect route, with side trips to the east and
the west sides of the pond.
To sail any reach, the sails are eased out a bit. The trimmed-in-tight
mode that we used coming upwind will tend to stall the boat and heel it
over on a reach. The sails, when eased, can develop maximum aerodynamic lift (sails are airfoils, just like a wing). The lift is formed on the
convex, downwind side of the sail; easing the sail helps aim that lifting
force so it is pulling the boat forward. Rather than using our airfoil to
fight its way upwind, we can now use it to generate maximum speed.
On a close reach, the sail might be trimmed almost as much as it was
when sailing close-hauled. On a broad reach it would be eased out as
much as 45 to 50 degrees from the centerline of the canoe, and on a
beam reach it would be somewhere in between.
One way to determine how much to let the sails out on any reach is
to ease the mainsheet (the line controlling the sail) until the sail starts to
flutter, then trim the sheet in just enough for the sail to fill and start
accelerating the canoe.
Just as we did when sailing up the lake, we can zigzag our way back,
linking easterly and westerly reaches. On close reaches, we can tack,
swinging the bow into, and then past, the oncoming wind and onto our
4 - Where Wind and Water Meet
In high winds, jibing can be pretty exciting. As the wind catches the
sail from behind, the boom can swing across very quickly and with a lot
of force (that’s probably why it’s called a boom). There can be a momentary, wild ride as you get the boat under control on its new heading. If
you find yourself in windy conditions and a jibe might be a bit hairy,
tack instead.
Tacking slows the boat and is much gentler than jibing, even though
you may be making a loop instead of a direct turn to your new heading.
Tacking is easier on both you and your equipment; any sailor who claims
he has never tacked when he might have jibed is lying.
While working your way back on a broad reach, there is one heading/sail-trim configuration that should be avoided: “sailing by the lee.” If
we were headed southeast, for example, we could let the sail out on
either side of the boat until it filled, and the boat would go. But letting
it out over the port (left, and also upwind) side is asking for trouble. All
it would take is a slight wind shift (to the northeast in this case) to put
the wind directly behind the sail. In such an event, before the boat will
even slow down, the sail will flutter, the boom will lift a bit, and the sail
and boom will come flying across to the starboard side of the canoe,
pulverizing anything that gets in their way — particularly, your head.
Where Wind and Water Meet - 5
Starboard Tack
W
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Sailing Angles
\
Close-hauled
Sailing Angles
\
Close-hauled
Close reach
Close reach
Beam reach
Beam reach
Broad reach
6 - Where Wind and Water Meet
Port Tack
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Run
Run
Broad reach
Where Wind and Water Meet - 7
An increase in wind speed (velocity shift) can also occur from time to
time. At first, it will seem like a change in wind direction. This is because
the breeze that we feel and react to while sailing is a combination of the
true wind direction and the boat’s heading, as the boat moves through
the wind. This is called the “apparent wind.”
If our wind is from the north and our canoe is sailing toward the
west, the wind that we feel, the wind that the sails and the telltales (the
small streamers attached to the sail) respond to, will appear to come from
somewhere between north and west. If we could stop the boat and
check the wind, we would find that it was still from the north, but as we
started sailing again, it would again seem to shift slightly westerly. The
faster our boat moves, the more westerly our north wind would appear to
be.
Iceboats, the fastest sailing craft, can sail many times the speed of the
wind propelling them. So fast are these boats that the apparent wind is
always blowing in your face (and it’s really cold, believe me). Since regular sailboats and canoes have to move rather slowly through the water in
comparison to iceboats, which skate across a frozen surface, their apparent wind will never shift to the bow of the boat, but it will shift somewhat.
A puff of faster wind — the velocity shift mentioned earlier — can
change the apparent wind that both we and the sailboat feel without
changing the true wind’s direction. Since the apparent wind is an average
of true wind and canoe movement, skewed by the relative speeds of
both, changing the true wind speed will change the equation. The boat,
in turn, may also speed up, because it’s getting more wind/power/aerodynamic lift.
action, or just a puff that will eventually give you a bit more speed.
What if we had left Pollywog’s and our frogburger wasn’t sitting too
well, and all we wanted to do was get back to the car and seek medical
attention? We have already learned that a sailboat can’t sail straight
upwind, but it CAN sail straight downwind! We could lie in the bottom
of the boat moaning, point the bow due south, let the sail out 90
degrees to the line of the keel, and sail home. This is called “running.”
Port/Starboard Situations
W
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Sta
Two canoes sailing to weather on opposite tacks. The boat on the
starboard tack, the green one, has the right of way. The red boat must
either tack below green to avoid a collision, or it must bear off and duck
the stern of green, resuming the previous course on the port tack when
green has cleared.
rb
oa
rd
t
ac
kh
as
rig
ht
Running is usually rather slow and peaceful. The wind that you and
the boat feel is the actual wind speed, minus your boat speed.
Sometimes, after a windy, spray-filled, upwind leg, turning and running
downwind feels as if you came out on an entirely different day.
-of
-w
ay
If red tacks below green to starboard, she will be sailing in
disturbed air from green’s sail and will probably slow down. If
red can manage to stay with green and overlap her, red would
gain the right of way, being the boat farthest away from the
wind. If red can then point higher than green, green will probably have to tack away. This is a common racing move, but not
very friendly for daysailing.
Here again, boat/sail-rig configuration will determine the actual efficiency of running. It’s quite possible in some boats that you may get to
the ambulance more quickly by using your sail more as an airfoil, broadreaching back and forth to go south, than just running straight down,
where the sail acts more like a windsock.
Some of the sails now used on canoes and kayaks, and some in this
book, are downwind sails only. They can usually be sailed as “high” as a
broad reach, but that’s about it. They are common for tripping, as they
stow easily, and can be used instead of paddles when you are lucky
enough to have a favoring breeze.
Obviously, in real life, the wind isn’t always out of the north, but
these basic sailing principles are the same when the wind blows from any
direction.
Perhaps having to deal with all this is the real reason for the invention
of the outboard motor! Don’t worry, you will either get the hang of
changing apparent wind or learn to ignore it. I know many diehard
sailors who wouldn’t be able to define apparent wind to save their lives.
The important and surprisingly simple lesson here is that an increase
in velocity — a change in the apparent wind — will at first seem like a
shift in wind direction. Don’t be too quick to tack or jibe. Wait a few
seconds and then decide whether it’s really a directional shift, requiring
8 - Where Wind and Water Meet
ld
t
us
r
Po
tt
a
m
ck
yie
Remember: Short words—Port, Red, & Left—go together
as do the longer words—Starboard, Green & Right
Where Wind and Water Meet - 9
Tacking and Jibing
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3
Tacking while sailing to weather
This canoe is sailing
on a close-hauled
course, pointing as high
as possible, with a
north wind. Forty-five
degrees off the wind
is about as close as
most sailboats will
sail, so our actual
course on this tack
is northeasterly.
Windshifts
the
wi
nd
W
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W
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D
1
2
45 deg
rees
to
A fairly small
westerly shift in
wind direction
allows us to
change our heading — closer to our
desired northern objective
while still maintaining the
same angle to the direction
of the wind. We save time and
gain distance to weather for as
long as the shift lasts. This is
called a “lift.”
Jibing while broad reaching
2
1
10 - Where Wind and Water Meet
3
A shift in an easterly
direction means we have
to bear off to keep our
sails full. Our new
course is making our
trip longer. This is a
“header.” We would
be advised to tack.
On the other tack, as
shown by the yellow boat, the header becomes a lift
and saves us time.
D
N
I
W
Where Wind and Water Meet - 11
The“Forced-Cross”
During one of my more interesting, if not profitable, careers, I
worked as a professional hot-air balloon pilot. I flew a giant tomato over
college football stadiums for a chain of pizza places. Since I didn’t have
any money at the time, I was forced to do almost all of my sailing in a
Sunfish owned by my brother, who had conveniently moved to the
desert and left the boat where there was water.
The sail was pretty bad, so I built a new one out of better fabric and
had its shape computer-plotted with the day’s most advanced sail-design
software. The sail is black, with a hot-pink and lime-green star-cut panel
layout. It is probably one of the most high-tech lateen sails ever built
and still sails well.
Having nothing else, I sailed that boat in all kinds of wind and waves,
and was always amazed by its heavy-weather capabilities. On really
windy days, I would modify the halyard to what was called a “Jens rig,”
named after a well-known Sunfish racer who had pioneered its use.
The Jens rig simply involves tying the halyard of a lateen sail so that
it’s lashed around the mast, holding the yard close to the mast before it
goes up to the halyard lead atop the mast, The entire sail is raised, but in
a lower position than usual. This shortens the non-reefable lateen rig and
reduces the heeling force on the boat.
Instead of meeting at the usual masthead location, the yard and mast
cross 12 to 18 inches lower on the mast, and the boom just clears the
deck. The result, also workable in a canoe, is a more controllable boat in
high winds.
One problem with Jens-rigging your boat for high winds is boom
clearance. Most lateens are rigged with the mainsheet running along the
underside of the boom, so when tacking, if the boom doesn’t hit you,
the temporarily free-hanging mainsheet might try to strangle you.
The Jens-rigged lateen is not the only small-boat sailing rig with this
problem. The mainsheet can hang up on your lifejacket or the low boom
can come across at high speed during a jibe; both possibilities can be
annoying and dangerous. To avoid this some sailors will hang the rig so
high that they can nearly walk under it, but those with more experience
will know the benefits of a keeping it down where it belongs.
12 - Where Wind and Water Meet
Jens-Rigging a Lateen Sail
One of the first obvious conclusions about rigs that canoe sailors
arrive at is that anything that will contribute to the stability of a 3-footwide unballasted sailboat is worth fitting. It greatly outweighs the drawbacks of getting hit in the head or strangled, as long as you can find a
means of controlling the risks.
Since we aren’t bound by class racing rules, we can improve on the
Jens rig by tying a loop of line to the upper spar instead of using the
halyard for that and for raising the sail, too. The loop should be large
enough for the mast to pass through it, yet small enough to keep the
yard close to the mast. The Jens rig makes lowering the sail a real chore.
Our rope loop is much faster to untie.
This brings us to what I call the “forced cross,” though it really isn’t
forced, but rather eased. I use a forced cross when I tack and jibe small
boats and even when high-wind-jibing our big trimaran. I don’t know if
anybody else uses the technique, but most canoe sailors should get in the
habit. It’s easy, it’s controlled, and it works.
Regular Lateen
Configuration
This seems like a lot of buildup for simply grabbing the boom and
the mainsheet hanging from it and bringing them across by hand, before
they can bonk or strangle you, but that’s it!
At a certain point, during any tack or jibe, the sail begins to luff and
the tension on the boom and sheet disappears. During that brief time
you can grab the boom and sheet in one hand and swing them over your
head to the new side. You can even lift them a bit over your head if
clearance is tight.
The forced cross takes less than a second. Then you’re ready to concentrate on finishing the tack — without having to wait, ducked down
in the bottom of the canoe, for the boom and sheet to wander over or,
in the case of a high-wind jibe, to come flying across.
You can’t rush a forced cross. If the sail is still catching wind, it may
resist mightily, but if you learn when to act, the maneuver will be quite
smooth.
Improved Version
Jen’s-Rigged Lateen
Configuration
Halyard
Rope loop tied
to yard
Clove hitch,
rolling hitch,
or topsail
halyard bend
Where Wind and Water Meet - 13