From Steering the Boat to Sailing the Boat — Your First Lesson in Tactics

Once you stop worrying about every little mistake, you finally have enough spare brainpower to ask the question that really matters: where am I actually trying to go?

In the early stages of learning to sail, almost all your concentration is occupied by the boat itself.

Where should I sit?

Which way do I move the tiller?

Is the sail too tight?

Why has it started flapping?

Am I about to hit the boom?

Have I turned too far?

Why has the boat stopped?

And perhaps most importantly:

What am I supposed to do now?

That is perfectly normal.

When you first learn to drive a car, you are thinking about pedals, gears, mirrors and steering. Eventually those individual actions become automatic enough that you can start thinking about the road ahead.

Sailing is much the same.

Once you realise that getting stuck head-to-wind, allowing the sails to flap or making a slightly untidy tack are all recoverable, something rather interesting happens.

You begin to look beyond the boat.

You stop concentrating entirely on keeping it moving and begin thinking about where you actually want to sail.

That is the point at which sailing starts becoming not just a physical skill, but a tactical one.

And this is where it becomes really interesting.

Sailing Is a Continuous Series of Decisions

A sailing boat rarely follows a simple straight line from A to B.

You are constantly making small decisions.

Should I sail a little higher?

Should I bear away?

Should I tack now or continue for another thirty seconds?

Is there stronger wind over there?

Am I sailing into another boat's path?

Would I be better on the other side of the river?

Can I reach my destination on this course?

Some of those decisions matter enormously in racing.

But even if you never intend to race, tactical thinking makes ordinary sailing easier, safer and much more satisfying.

The important change is this:

Instead of reacting to what the boat does, you begin anticipating what is likely to happen next.

That is a major step in becoming a sailor.

Start by Choosing a Destination

One of the best exercises for a beginner is surprisingly simple.

Pick somewhere you want to sail towards.

It might be:

• a buoy;

• a tree on the bank;

• a moored boat;

• a clubhouse;

• a bridge;

• or another obvious landmark.

You are not necessarily trying to arrive exactly alongside it.

You are simply giving yourself a target.

Without a target, beginners often sail wherever the boat happens to be pointing.

The boat is moving.

The sails are full.

Everything seems successful.

But there is no particular plan.

Once you choose a destination, the whole exercise changes.

You now have to ask:

Can I sail directly towards it?

Sometimes the answer is yes.

Sometimes it is definitely no.

The Wind Decides Which Routes Are Available

A sailing boat cannot simply point anywhere and keep sailing.

If your destination lies directly downwind or across the wind, you may be able to head towards it fairly easily.

If it lies upwind, you cannot sail directly there.

You already know from our previous lesson on sailing upwind that the solution is to tack.

So your route might look something like:

Start → sail on one tack → tack → sail on the other tack → destination.

This introduces one of the most important ideas in sailing:

The shortest geographical route is not always the fastest sailing route.

A beginner may look at a buoy and think:

"It is over there. I should point the boat straight at it."

But the wind may have other ideas.

The experienced sailor looks at the same buoy and thinks:

"I can't sail directly there, so which route gives me the best approach?"

That is tactics in its simplest form.

Look Up, Not Down

Beginners understandably spend a lot of time looking inside the boat.

They watch the tiller.

They watch the mainsheet.

They look at their hands.

They look at the sails.

All of those things matter.

But eventually you must start looking much further ahead.

Where are the other boats?

Where is the bank?

Where is your next mark?

What is the wind doing ahead of you?

Is there room to tack?

Are you sailing towards shallow water?

Is someone approaching who may force you to change course?

A useful rule is:

Sail the boat you are in, but think about the water you are about to enter.

That change in viewpoint makes a considerable difference.

Do Not Sail Right Up to the Problem

This is something beginners often learn the hard way.

Suppose you are sailing towards the riverbank.

You know you need to tack eventually.

So you keep going.

And going.

And going.

The bank gets closer.

You think:

"I can go a little further."

Then suddenly there is very little room left.

Now the tack has to work perfectly.

If the boat gets stuck head-to-wind, you may find yourself drifting towards the bank while trying to recover.

It is much easier to tack while you still have plenty of space.

The same principle applies to moored boats, pontoons, shallow water and other sailors.

Give yourself options before you need them.

Experienced sailors often appear calm because they make decisions early.

Beginners sometimes appear extremely busy because they make the same decisions ten seconds later.

A Practical Exercise: Sail Around Three Marks

A very useful coaching exercise is to choose three obvious points on the water and sail between them.

They do not necessarily need to be racing marks.

Imagine three buoys making a rough triangle.

Your task is simply:

Buoy A → Buoy B → Buoy C → Buoy A.

At each stage, ask yourself four questions.

Where is the wind coming from?

What point of sail am I likely to use?

Will I need to tack or gybe?

Where should I make that manoeuvre?

Do not wait until you arrive at the buoy to start thinking about the next leg.

While you are approaching Buoy B, you should already be thinking about Buoy C.

That is an important habit.

Good sailors are rarely thinking only about where they are now.

They are thinking about what happens next.

Wind Is Not Quite as Constant as the Diagram Suggests

When we learn sailing theory, the wind is usually drawn as a nice straight arrow.

Real wind is less cooperative.

It changes direction.

It changes strength.

It becomes disturbed by trees, buildings and other boats.

On a river, particularly, the wind can sometimes appear to come from slightly different directions within a surprisingly short distance.

You may be sailing nicely on a reach and suddenly find the sail beginning to flap.

Has anything gone wrong?

Not necessarily.

The wind may simply have shifted.

Instead of immediately pulling harder on the mainsheet, look around.

Ask whether the boat needs to change direction.

This is one of the points at which sailing becomes much more than following fixed instructions.

You start observing.

You start interpreting.

And eventually you begin predicting.

Look for Clues on the Water

You can often see changes in the wind before they reach you.

A darker patch of rippled water may indicate stronger wind.

A smoother patch may indicate less.

Flags and burgees tell you something.

So do trees, reeds and other boats.

Watch what happens to a boat fifty metres ahead.

If it suddenly heels and accelerates, there may be a gust coming towards you.

If several boats ahead slow down, perhaps the wind has weakened.

If they all begin altering course, perhaps the wind has shifted.

This is one reason sailing can become so absorbing.

The water is constantly giving you information.

You simply have to learn how to read it.

The Fastest Boat Is Not Always the One Pointing Closest to the Destination

There is a temptation, particularly when sailing upwind, to point the boat as high into the wind as possible.

After all, if the destination is upwind, surely pointing closer to it must be better.

Not necessarily.

Point too high and the sails lose power.

The boat slows.

The centreboard and rudder become less effective.

Eventually you may stop altogether.

Another sailor may be pointing five or ten degrees further away from the destination but travelling much faster.

They can therefore arrive first.

This is an important lesson because it challenges the instinctive idea that:

more direct = more efficient.

In sailing, the better question is:

Which course gives the boat the best combination of direction and speed?

That is the beginning of tactical thinking.

Sometimes You Should Sail Away from Your Destination

This can feel very strange.

Imagine that your destination lies upwind and slightly to your right.

You are currently sailing on a tack taking you slightly to the left.

Every second, it appears that you are sailing further away from where you actually want to go.

The beginner's instinct is often to tack immediately.

But that may be the wrong decision.

Continuing for another minute might put you in a much better position for the final approach.

This is one of the reasons sailing rewards patience.

You do not always steer towards your destination.

Sometimes you position the boat so that the next part of the journey becomes easier.

That idea becomes enormously important in racing.

But it is just as useful when cruising around the river.

Think About Space, Not Just Direction

When deciding where to sail, beginners often think only about the direction they want to travel.

Experienced sailors also think about the space around them.

Imagine three possible routes.

Route one takes you close to several moored boats.

Route two takes you towards the bank where the wind may become disturbed.

Route three is slightly longer but leaves plenty of open water.

For a beginner, route three may be by far the best choice.

Why?

Because it gives you room.

Room to tack.

Room to correct mistakes.

Room to slow down.

Room to avoid another boat.

Room to think.

There is rarely a prize for squeezing through the smallest available gap.

Keep an Escape Route

This is particularly useful when learning.

Whenever you sail into a confined area, ask:

What will I do if the manoeuvre does not go perfectly?

Suppose you are planning to tack between two moored boats.

If the boat fails to complete the tack, what happens?

If the answer is:

"I drift harmlessly into open water and try again,"

that is a fairly forgiving situation.

If the answer is:

"I hit the pontoon,"

you might want to choose another place to tack.

Good tactics often involve arranging things so that small mistakes have small consequences.

River Sailing Adds Another Ingredient

On a river such as the Thames, tactical sailing can be particularly interesting.

The river is comparatively narrow.

Trees and buildings affect the wind.

There are moored boats.

There may be motorboats.

There may be current.

There are bends in the river.

One side may have better wind than the other.

That means sailing fifty metres to the left rather than fifty metres to the right can sometimes make a surprisingly large difference.

You begin to notice places where the wind is often stronger.

You learn where it tends to become disturbed.

You discover that one apparently attractive route repeatedly leaves you sitting in almost no wind.

Local knowledge gradually builds.

And that is another part of becoming a sailor.

You do not just learn how boats behave.

You begin to learn how your stretch of water behaves.

Current Can Change the Picture

When sailing on tidal or flowing water, the water itself may also be moving.

That matters because the boat is moving through the water while the water is moving relative to the land.

You can therefore point the boat towards something on the bank and still find yourself moving sideways relative to it.

A simple way to experience this is to choose a fixed object ashore and watch whether its position changes relative to the boat.

If you are being carried sideways by current, you may need to aim slightly away from your true destination to compensate.

The exact amount will depend on wind strength, boat speed and current.

At beginner level, the important idea is simply:

The direction the bow is pointing and the direction the boat travels over the ground are not always exactly the same.

Other Boats Are Moving Problems

Of course, there is another complication.

Other sailors.

They rarely remain conveniently stationary while you make your plan.

You may decide on the perfect course towards a buoy only for another boat to appear in the way.

You therefore need to keep looking around.

Not once every five minutes.

Frequently.

Good situational awareness is one of the most valuable habits you can develop.

Do not become so absorbed in trimming the mainsail that you forget there is another dinghy approaching from behind.

Do not stare at the buoy while ignoring the boat crossing ahead.

And remember that avoiding a collision matters far more than proving who technically had right of way.

The formal rules of sailing are important and deserve their own lesson.

But the first rule for a beginner is much simpler:

Keep looking around and do not create situations that require last-second action.

Begin to Notice What Other Sailors Are Doing

One of the best ways to learn tactics is to watch experienced sailors.

Suppose you are sailing along one side of the river and somebody else repeatedly chooses the opposite side.

Why?

Perhaps they know there is more wind there.

Perhaps they are avoiding current.

Perhaps they want a better angle towards the next mark.

Perhaps they are simply making a mistake.

Do not automatically copy them.

But do ask the question.

Why did they choose that route?

This habit becomes particularly useful when you start racing.

You can learn an enormous amount simply by observing where the better sailors go and then trying to understand why.

Racing Begins Long Before the Starting Gun

You do not need to become a racing sailor to enjoy tactical sailing.

But racing makes these decisions much more obvious.

Suddenly it matters whether you tack now or ten seconds later.

It matters which side of the course has stronger wind.

It matters whether another boat will block your route.

It matters whether you are sailing quickly in the wrong direction.

That is why club racing can be such a useful part of learning.

You do not have to be good enough to win.

In fact, at first you almost certainly will not.

The value is that racing gives every sailing decision a purpose.

There is a start.

There are marks.

There is a defined route.

And there are plenty of other sailors making slightly different decisions from you.

That turns an ordinary afternoon on the water into a fascinating practical lesson.

My Own Experience — The Moment Sailing Becomes Much Bigger

There is a stage in learning where you feel as though you are simply trying to keep the boat under control.

The tiller needs attention.

The sail needs attention.

The wind appears to keep changing.

Every tack seems like a major event.

Then, almost without noticing, some of those things begin to become automatic.

You stop thinking:

"Move the tiller this way."

You simply turn.

You stop thinking:

"The sail is flapping, therefore I need to pull it in."

You simply trim it.

That releases your attention for something much more interesting.

You begin looking further ahead.

You notice the next gust.

You start planning the next tack.

You wonder whether the other side of the river might be faster.

You position yourself before arriving at the next mark.

That is when you realise that sailing has several layers.

The boat-handling is only the beginning.

A Simple Beginner Tactical Routine

The next time you sail, try repeating this little sequence in your head:

Where am I going?

Choose a destination.

Where is the wind?

Work out the likely point of sail.

What happens next?

Think about the next turn, tack or gybe.

What is around me?

Check boats, bank, shallows and obstructions.

Do I have room?

Avoid creating unnecessary pressure.

Has anything changed?

Keep watching the wind and the water.

Then repeat.

You do not have to calculate everything perfectly.

The purpose is simply to develop the habit of looking ahead.

From Reacting to Anticipating

This may be the biggest change in the whole beginner sailing journey.

At first, sailing is reactive.

The sail flaps — you respond.

The boat turns — you respond.

The wind increases — you respond.

You get too close to the bank — you respond.

Gradually, sailing becomes anticipatory.

You see the gust approaching and prepare.

You tack before you run out of water.

You ease the sail before the boat becomes overpowered.

You position yourself correctly before reaching the mark.

You choose a route that gives you room if something goes wrong.

That transition from reacting to anticipating is one of the clearest signs that you are becoming more confident.

You Are No Longer Just a Passenger

There is a lovely moment in learning to sail when the boat stops feeling like something that is happening to you.

You begin to feel responsible for where it goes.

You are not simply steering.

You are choosing.

You are reading the wind.

You are planning.

You are changing your plan when circumstances change.

And occasionally you will make the wrong choice.

You will tack too early.

You will sail into a patch with no wind.

You will follow somebody who turns out not to know where they are going.

You will find yourself on completely the wrong side of the river.

That is fine.

Because just as we discovered in the previous lesson, mistakes are recoverable.

And tactical mistakes are often among the most useful ones.

They teach you to ask:

What could I have seen earlier?

The Beginning of Real Sailing

Learning to pull a sail in is useful.

Learning to steer is essential.

Learning to tack and gybe gives you control.

But eventually all of those skills become tools for something larger.

You begin using them to solve a constantly changing problem:

How do I get this boat from here to there, efficiently, safely and enjoyably, using the wind that I actually have rather than the wind I wish I had?

That is the beginning of tactics.

It is also one of the reasons sailing never really stops being interesting.

You can spend a lifetime becoming better at it.

The wind will change.

The current will change.

The boats around you will change.

Your decisions will change.

And even on a stretch of water you have sailed hundreds of times before, no two journeys are ever quite identical.

Once you stop merely trying to keep the boat moving, you discover something important.

You are no longer just learning how to control a sailing boat.

You are learning how to sail.

My name is Philip. I started sailing when I was 65. 

I joined a club and because my son had already been part of a club for many years - borrowing all types of boat. He knew what we needed and the type of boat I would require. 

So we did by an RS Toura - a virtually unsinkable dinghy which has given me the confidence to experiment and learn and take my RYA exams and become a competent sailor and then to move up to the boat of my dreams - the A-Rater.

---

Coming Next in the Beginner Sailing Series

From First Sail to First Race — What Happens Next?

First sail → crewing → coaching → independent sailing → racing → spinnakers, trapezes, yachts, traditional boats… perhaps even an A-Rater.

Return to https://pmrsailing.uk/Lessons.html

 

What Happens When Things Go Wrong?

Every experienced sailor has been pointing the wrong way, stuck head-to-wind or wondering why the boat has suddenly stopped.

There is a moment in learning to sail when everything seems to be going surprisingly well.

The boat is moving.

The sails look approximately right.

You are beginning to understand the tiller.

You have even completed a couple of tacks without hitting anybody with the boom.

And then, quite suddenly, nothing works.

The boat stops.

The sails start flapping violently.

The tiller appears to do absolutely nothing.

You are pointing in completely the wrong direction.

Or perhaps there is an unexpected crash as the boom flies across.

Maybe the centreboard hits the bottom.

Something falls overboard.

Or, in the most memorable version of events, the entire boat turns upside down.

Welcome to sailing.

None of these things necessarily means that you have done something terribly wrong.

And they certainly do not mean that you "can't sail".

They mean that you are learning.

Sailing Is Not About Never Making Mistakes

One of the biggest differences between beginners and experienced sailors is not that experienced sailors never make mistakes.

They do.

The difference is that experienced sailors have usually seen the situation before.

They recognise what has happened.

They know what caused it.

And, most importantly, they know what to try next.

That experience only comes from actually sailing.

You can read about sailing.

You can watch videos.

You can learn the names of every rope, fitting and point of sail.

But sooner or later you have to get into a boat and discover what happens when the wind, water, boat and sailor don't quite agree with one another.

Fortunately, most common beginner problems are surprisingly easy to solve once you understand them.

Problem One: You Get Stuck Head-to-Wind

This must be one of the most common things that happens when somebody begins sailing.

You try to tack.

The bow turns towards the wind.

The sails begin to flap.

And then the boat simply stops.

You are pointing directly into the wind.

This is sometimes called being in irons.

The problem is simple.

A sailing boat cannot normally sail directly into the wind.

If you remain pointing there, there is very little useful force from the sails to drive the boat forwards.

Worse still, once the boat has almost stopped, the rudder becomes much less effective.

So you move the tiller.

Nothing much happens.

You move it more.

Still nothing happens.

At this point beginners sometimes conclude that the steering has broken.

Usually it hasn't.

You have simply lost the water flow across the rudder that makes steering effective.

How do you escape?

The important thing is to stop trying to force the boat forwards.

Let the boat begin to move backwards slightly.

As it does, the rudder starts working again — but because the boat is travelling backwards, its effect is reversed.

A small movement of the tiller can help push the bow away from the wind.

Once the bow falls far enough onto one side, the sail begins to fill.

The boat starts moving forwards again.

And suddenly the steering returns.

It is one of those beautiful sailing lessons where something that appeared to be a disaster becomes completely understandable once you know the physics.

Problem Two: The Sails Are Flogging

Flogging is the rather dramatic noise made when a sail is flapping in the wind.

It sounds much worse than it often is.

A flogging sail is telling you something.

Usually it is saying:

"At the moment, I am not properly filled by the wind."

There are several possible reasons.

You may be pointing too close to the wind.

The sail may be eased too far.

You may have just completed a tack.

Or you may deliberately have released the sheet because you want to reduce the boat's power.

The important skill is learning to distinguish between a sail that is flogging because something is wrong and one that is temporarily flogging because you deliberately depowered it.

Remember the simple sail-trimming rule from earlier in the series:

Ease the sail until it starts to complain, then pull it in just enough to make it happy.

If the sail continues to flog even after you pull it in appropriately, look at your direction of travel.

You may simply be trying to sail too close to the wind.

Bear away slightly and see whether the sail fills.

Problem Three: "I've Lost the Steering!"

This can feel alarming the first time it happens.

You move the tiller.

The boat barely responds.

Move it again.

Still almost nothing.

There are several reasons this might happen.

The most common is simply that the boat is moving too slowly.

A rudder needs water flowing across it.

If the boat is stationary, the rudder has very little authority.

The solution is often not to make ever larger tiller movements.

It is to get the boat moving again.

Get the sails filled.

Allow the boat to gather a little speed.

Then make a small steering correction.

This also explains why enormous tiller movements are rarely helpful.

A rudder turned too far can act almost like a brake.

So when the boat starts responding again, remember:

Small movements first.

Let the boat tell you whether more is required.

Problem Four: The Boat Starts Drifting

Sometimes you discover that you are not really sailing anywhere at all.

The sails may be loose.

The boat may be almost stationary.

And gradually the wind or current begins carrying you somewhere you didn't intend to go.

This is drifting.

Drifting itself is not automatically dangerous.

In plenty of situations it is perfectly normal.

But it matters enormously what you are drifting towards.

Open water?

Probably not a major concern.

A riverbank?

Worth paying attention.

Another boat?

Time to take action.

A weir, obstruction or shallow bank?

Definitely time to act.

This is one of the habits experienced sailors develop almost unconsciously.

They don't only ask:

"Where am I going?"

They also ask:

"Where will the wind and current take me if I stop?"

That awareness becomes particularly important on rivers, where the available sailing area may be quite narrow.

Problem Five: The Unexpected Gybe

We looked at controlled gybing earlier in this series.

But accidental gybes happen.

Usually the boat is sailing downwind and the wind crosses from one side of the stern to the other.

Suddenly the mainsail changes sides.

The boom crosses the boat rapidly.

That can be startling.

Sometimes very startling.

The immediate priorities are straightforward:

keep everybody's heads down,

keep control of the boat,

and avoid panicking.

Then work out what happened.

Often the boat has accidentally turned too far.

Sometimes the wind direction changed.

Sometimes the helmsman was concentrating on something else and simply didn't notice the boat wandering across the wind.

This is exactly why experienced sailors become so aware of the boom when sailing downwind.

The boom is not something to fear.

But you should always know roughly where it is and which side of the boat it might cross to next.

Problem Six: The Centreboard Hits the Bottom

There is often a particular sound associated with this.

Clunk.

Sometimes followed by a puzzled expression from the helm.

You have found the bottom.

In a dinghy with a lifting centreboard or daggerboard, shallow water can suddenly stop the board.

Depending upon the boat and its design, the board may kick up, or you may need to lift it yourself.

The first rule is simple:

don't force things.

If the board has hit something, ease the load and lift it if necessary.

A partly raised centreboard may allow you to sail or paddle into shallower water.

The same applies to the rudder on boats fitted with lifting rudders.

The important lesson comes slightly earlier, however.

Start learning to recognise shallow water before you reach it.

Look at the shoreline.

Look at the colour and texture of the water.

Watch what other boats are doing.

And listen to local sailors.

Every sailing club has areas of water where somebody will eventually tell you:

"Don't go too close to that bit."

There is usually a reason.

Problem Seven: Something Goes Overboard

It might be a hat.

A drinks bottle.

A glove.

A paddle.

Occasionally something considerably more important.

The natural reaction is immediately to reach over the side.

That is not always the best reaction.

First, keep the boat under control.

Second, keep looking at the object.

Small things disappear remarkably quickly among waves and reflections.

If there are several people aboard, one person should keep pointing towards the object while the helm manoeuvres the boat.

If conditions allow and it is safe, you can then return and retrieve it.

This little exercise also introduces one of sailing's most important safety principles:

If a person falls overboard, never lose sight of them.

Recovering a floating hat can therefore actually be useful practice.

It teaches observation, boat handling and approach speed without the urgency of a real emergency.

And Then There Is the Capsize

Eventually, if you sail dinghies for long enough, you are likely to capsize.

For beginners, the idea can sound terrifying.

In practice, in suitable conditions, with the correct safety equipment and proper instruction, learning how to recover a dinghy from a capsize is an important part of becoming confident on the water.

Many sailing dinghies are specifically designed to be righted after capsizing.

The important word here is learning.

Your first capsize recovery should not be something you try to teach yourself from an article.

It should be practised with an instructor, coach or experienced sailor in suitable conditions.

What Normally Happens During a Capsize?

The boat heels further than intended.

The sail approaches the water.

Eventually the mast and sail reach the surface and the boat lies on its side.

The first priority is always the people.

Check that everyone is safe.

Stay with the boat unless there is an exceptional reason not to.

A boat is much easier for rescuers to see than a person swimming alone.

The typical recovery procedure varies between boats, but broadly involves:

releasing sheets if necessary,

positioning yourself appropriately,

using the centreboard for leverage,

bringing the boat upright,

and getting the crew back aboard.

Some boats may invert completely.

Some recover very easily.

Some require particular techniques.

That is why practical instruction is essential.

The Centreboard Becomes Your Lever

The interesting thing about capsize recovery is that the centreboard suddenly acquires an entirely different purpose.

Normally it resists sideways movement through the water.

During recovery, it can become a lever.

The sailor climbs or pulls on the centreboard.

Their weight provides a turning moment.

That turning effect begins rotating the hull back towards upright.

In simple terms:

Turning effect = force x perpendicular distance

The further your weight acts from the boat's pivot point, the greater the turning effect you can generate.

It is a wonderful example of classroom physics becoming very real indeed.

Don't Immediately Try to Climb Over Everything

One common beginner reaction during a capsize is to scramble frantically.

That can make things more difficult.

Instead, slow the situation down mentally.

Where is your crew?

Where is the boat?

Where is the mast?

Where are the sheets?

Where is the centreboard?

What is the wind doing?

Once everyone is safe, capsize recovery becomes a sequence rather than a panic.

That is one of the reasons controlled capsize practice is so valuable.

The first experience becomes:

"The boat has capsized!"

After some practice it becomes:

"Right. We know what to do."

That change in thinking is enormously important.

Sometimes the Best Action Is to Stop Doing Things

This is a surprisingly useful sailing lesson.

When beginners become worried, they often make more and larger movements.

Pull the sheet harder.

Push the tiller further.

Swap sides quickly.

Turn again.

Then undo the turn.

Very soon nobody is quite sure what the boat is doing.

Sometimes the best response is:

ease the sail,

stabilise the boat,

look at the wind,

look around you,

and decide what you actually want the boat to do next.

A sailing dinghy often gives you more time than you imagine.

Learn to Ask: "Why Did That Happen?"

This is perhaps the most useful question in sailing.

Not:

"Who made the mistake?"

But:

"Why did the boat do that?"

If you ended up head-to-wind, why?

Perhaps the tack was too slow.

Perhaps you didn't turn far enough.

Perhaps you turned too far.

If the boom gybed unexpectedly, why?

Perhaps the boat wandered downwind.

If the rudder didn't respond, why?

Perhaps there wasn't enough boat speed.

If the boat kept heeling, why?

Perhaps the mainsheet needed easing.

Each mistake teaches you something about how sailing boats behave.

Experienced Sailors Still Get Things Wrong

Spend enough time around sailing clubs and you will discover something reassuring.

Very experienced sailors still run aground.

They still misjudge tacks.

They still get headed by wind shifts.

They still occasionally end up somewhere they hadn't planned.

They may even capsize.

Watch racing and you can sometimes see extraordinarily skilled sailors make mistakes at considerable speed.

What experience gives them is not immunity from mistakes.

It gives them better recovery.

They recognise what is happening earlier.

They respond more calmly.

And they usually learn something from it.

Confidence Does Not Mean Believing Nothing Will Go Wrong

This distinction matters.

Real sailing confidence isn't thinking:

"Nothing will go wrong."

It is thinking:

"If something goes wrong, I probably know what to do."

And if you don't?

Ask somebody.

One of the great advantages of learning through a sailing club is that there are usually experienced sailors, instructors and coaches nearby who have already made almost every mistake you are capable of making.

Quite possibly several times.

Ask them what happened.

Ask them what they would have done.

Most sailors are remarkably willing to explain.

Before You Panic, Try This

When something unexpected happens, mentally work through a very short checklist.

People: Is everybody safe?

Boat: Is the boat stable?

Wind: Where is the wind coming from?

Sails: Are they filled, flogging or overpowered?

Speed: Is the boat actually moving?

Direction: Where are we pointing?

Hazards: What are we drifting towards?

That tiny pause can transform confusion into a solvable problem.

Mistakes Are Where Sailing Starts to Make Sense

Reading about tacking teaches you the sequence.

Getting stuck head-to-wind teaches you why the sequence matters.

Reading about sail trim tells you where the sail should be.

Hearing it flog teaches you what poor trim feels and sounds like.

Reading about gybing teaches you that the boom crosses the boat.

Experiencing an unexpected gybe teaches you why you should always know where the boom is.

And practising a capsize teaches you something even more important:

the boat going over does not necessarily mean the adventure is over.

You recover it.

You climb back aboard.

You sort the sails out.

And you carry on sailing.

That may be one of the best lessons sailing teaches.

The Sailor You Become Is Built From the Mistakes You Recover From

Nobody steps into a dinghy for the first time already knowing instinctively how it will respond.

You learn by steering slightly too far.

Then slightly less.

You learn by pulling the sail too tight.

Then easing it.

You learn by making a poor tack.

Then making a better one.

You learn what being head-to-wind feels like because one day you accidentally stop there.

And at some stage you may find yourself standing on a centreboard wondering how what had been a perfectly respectable sailing boat thirty seconds earlier is now lying on its side.

That is sailing.

The objective is not perfection.

The objective is gradually replacing surprise with understanding.

The first time something goes wrong, you may think:

"What on earth just happened?"

The second time:

"I think I know what happened."

And eventually:

"I know how to fix this."

That is when confidence starts to appear.

Not because mistakes have disappeared.

But because they no longer frighten you.

My name is Philip. I started sailing when I was 65. 

I joined a club and because my son had already been part of a club for many years - borrowing all types of boat. He knew what we needed and the type of boat I would require. 

So we did by an RS Toura - a virtually unsinkable dinghy which has given me the confidence to experiment and learn and take my RYA exams and become a competent sailor and then to move up to the boat of my dreams - the A-Rater.

---

Coming Next in the Beginner Sailing Series

Once you realise that mistakes can be recovered from, something rather interesting happens.

You stop concentrating entirely on keeping the boat moving and begin thinking about where you actually want to sail.

That is when sailing starts becoming not just a physical skill, but a tactical one.

Return to https://pmrsailing.uk/Lessons.html

 

14. Coming Home — How to Slow Down, Stop and Arrive Where You Intended

Every successful sailing trip needs one final skill: stopping where you intended to stop.

For a beginner, getting a sailing boat moving can feel like the great achievement.

You have rigged the boat, pushed away from the bank, found the wind, trimmed the sails and discovered that the boat really does go where you point it.

Eventually, however, another question occurs.

How do I stop it?

There is no brake pedal.

There is no reverse gear conveniently sitting beside the tiller.

You cannot simply take your foot off the accelerator.

And unlike a car, a sailing boat does not instantly stop producing power simply because you want it to.

The good news is that a sailing boat can be slowed remarkably effectively once you understand how to remove the driving force from the sails.

The even better news is that good sailors rarely think simply about stopping.

They think about planning an approach.

That distinction is important.

Whether you are returning to a pontoon, sailing towards a mooring, approaching a landing stage or simply coming back to the riverbank at the end of a session, the aim is not to arrive at the destination at full speed and somehow stop at the last moment.

The aim is to arrange the final few boat lengths so that the boat is progressively losing power and arrives almost stopped.

That is what we are going to learn.

---

A Sailing Boat Does Have Brakes — They Are Just Different

Your first sailing lesson may have taught you that the sails make the boat go.

Now we can use exactly the same idea in reverse.

If properly trimmed sails produce driving force, then deliberately allowing them to stop producing driving force slows the boat down.

The simplest method is usually:

Ease the sails.

Let the mainsheet out and the sail begins to flap rather than drive the boat strongly forwards.

But there is an even more effective way.

Turn the bow towards the wind.

As the boat heads closer towards the wind, the sails lose their ability to generate useful driving force.

Turn completely head to wind and the sails will normally flap.

The boat slows.

Eventually it stops.

So the beginner's first braking system is remarkably simple:

Turn towards the wind and let the sails go.

---

Try This Before You Go Anywhere Near a Pontoon

One of the best exercises for a beginner is simply learning what stopping feels like in open water.

Do not make your first experiment with stopping while approaching something expensive.

Choose an area with plenty of space.

Sail along on a comfortable reach.

Then:

1. Look around and make sure the area ahead is clear.

2. Ease the mainsheet.

3. Gently turn the boat towards the wind.

4. Allow the sail to flap.

5. Keep the boat pointing approximately into the wind.

6. Notice how far the boat continues travelling before it stops.

Then do it again.

And again.

Try beginning at slightly different speeds.

You will quickly discover something very important:

A sailing boat does not stop instantly.

It has momentum.

Even when the sail stops driving, the boat continues moving through the water.

That distance varies enormously depending upon:

• boat speed;

• boat weight;

• wind strength;

• current or tide;

• waves;

• whether the sails are still partly filled;

• the type of boat.

Learning that stopping distance is rather like learning the braking distance of a car.

You develop a feel for it.

---

The Secret Is Not Stopping — It Is Arriving Slowly

Beginners often concentrate almost entirely on the destination.

There is the pontoon.

There is the bank.

There is the mooring buoy.

So they steer directly towards it.

Unfortunately, steering directly towards something does not necessarily produce a good sailing approach.

Imagine sailing towards a pontoon with the wind directly behind you.

The sails are full.

The boat is accelerating.

The pontoon is getting closer.

You ease the mainsheet.

But the sail may still remain full because the wind is pushing it forwards.

Suddenly the pontoon is very close indeed.

This is where sailing can become surprisingly exciting.

A better sailor starts planning much earlier.

Instead of thinking:

"How do I get to the pontoon?"

think:

"From which direction would I like to make the final approach?"

That one change in thinking makes an enormous difference.

---

Whenever Possible, Finish Into the Wind

If conditions allow, approaching approximately into the wind gives you a tremendously useful control.

The closer you point towards the wind, the less power the sails can generate.

That means that if you are going too fast, you can head slightly more towards the wind.

If you are slowing too early, you may be able to bear away slightly and allow the sails to fill again.

You are effectively controlling your speed by changing how much power the sails are allowed to produce.

A nice final approach might therefore look something like this:

Sailing normally -> begin final turn -> ease sails -> head towards wind -> lose speed -> arrive almost stopped

That is far more controlled than:

Sail quickly towards pontoon -> panic -> pull tiller somewhere -> hope

The second technique is surprisingly popular during first sailing lessons.

---

But Wind Is Not the Only Thing Moving the Boat

On rivers, estuaries and tidal waters there is another factor to consider.

Current.

A boat can have almost no speed through the water and still be moving over the ground because the water itself is moving.

This is why experienced sailors consider both:

• wind direction;

• direction and strength of current or tide.

Sometimes the tide or river flow may matter more than the wind.

The principle remains the same.

You generally want the final approach to be against the dominant force wherever practical because that gives you greater control and reduces your speed relative to the destination.

On relatively sheltered inland water, the wind may dominate.

On a strongly tidal river, current can become extremely important.

This is something beginners gradually learn to recognise.

---

A Very Useful Beginner Exercise — Stop Beside a Buoy

Before trying to arrive perfectly alongside a pontoon, practise with something forgiving.

A buoy makes an excellent target.

Choose one where practising is permitted and where there is plenty of clear water around it.

Start several boat lengths away.

Approach on a course that allows you gradually to turn towards the wind.

Your goal is not to hit the buoy.

Your goal is to make the boat stop beside it.

On your first attempt you may stop five metres short.

Fine.

On your second you might sail straight past it.

Also fine.

You are learning.

After several attempts you begin to judge how much momentum your particular boat carries.

Eventually you will find yourself easing the sails and making the turn almost instinctively.

That is when an important change begins to happen.

You stop merely steering the boat.

You start anticipating what the boat will do next.

That is one of the real milestones in learning to sail.

---

Think Three Boat Lengths Ahead

When beginners first sail, their attention is often concentrated on the boat immediately around them.

The tiller.

The mainsheet.

The boom.

Their feet.

Which side they are supposed to sit on.

Whether someone has just shouted something they were expected to understand.

As confidence grows, your vision needs to move further ahead.

When approaching a landing place, start asking questions several boat lengths before you arrive.

Where is the wind coming from?

What is the current doing?

Where are the other boats?

Where will I turn?

When will I ease the sail?

What happens if I stop too early?

And perhaps most importantly:

What is my escape route?

---

Always Have an Escape Route

This may be one of the most useful habits you can develop in sailing.

If the approach is wrong, abandon it.

Sail away.

Go around.

Try again.

There is absolutely no prize for completing a bad approach simply because you started it.

If you are approaching too quickly, too steeply or from a direction that no longer feels comfortable, turn away while you still have space.

Reset the boat.

Make another approach.

I have always thought this is an important lesson for beginners because there is a temptation to believe that once you have committed yourself to approaching the pontoon, you somehow have to finish the manoeuvre.

You do not.

Experienced sailors abandon approaches too.

The difference is that they normally recognise the problem earlier.

---

Prepare the Boat Before the Final Approach

Coming ashore becomes much easier if the boat and crew are ready before you reach the destination.

Do not wait until you are alongside the pontoon before remembering that the painter is buried beneath three lifejackets and somebody's lunch.

Before the final approach, decide:

• where you are going;

• which side of the boat will come alongside;

• who will step ashore if necessary;

• which rope will be used;

• whether centreboard or daggerboard depth needs adjusting;

• whether the rudder needs lifting in shallow water;

• what will happen to the sails.

If sailing with a crew, communicate clearly.

Something as simple as:

"We're coming in on the starboard side. Could you have the bow line ready?"

is much better than suddenly shouting instructions two seconds before arrival.

---

Do Not Jump for the Shore

This deserves its own section because it is such a common temptation.

The pontoon is nearly within reach.

The boat is still moving.

Someone decides to leap ashore carrying a rope.

For a moment this can resemble an Olympic long-jump competition taking place from a moving dinghy.

It is usually unnecessary.

A well-planned approach should bring the boat close enough and slowly enough that somebody can step ashore.

If you have to jump, the approach probably was not quite finished.

There is another reason.

Jumping out suddenly removes your weight from the boat.

In a small dinghy, that can dramatically affect stability.

If the person staying aboard is not prepared, the result may be rather more entertaining than intended.

So the objective is simple:

Step ashore. Do not launch yourself ashore.

---

Never Use Your Hands or Feet as Fenders at Speed

If the approach goes wrong, there is another instinctive reaction to avoid.

Do not put a hand, arm, leg or foot between the boat and the pontoon in an attempt to stop the boat.

Boats can be repaired.

Fibreglass can be repaired.

Woodwork can be repaired.

People are rather more valuable.

If contact is unavoidable, control the boat as far as possible and let proper fenders or the boat's structure deal with it.

The real answer, however, remains the same:

approach slowly enough that significant impact should not occur.

---

What About Sailing Onto a Beach?

A beach landing introduces another set of considerations.

You need to know:

• how shallow the water becomes;

• whether there are rocks or other obstructions;

• whether the centreboard can be raised;

• whether the rudder can be lifted;

• whether waves are present;

• what the wind will do once you arrive.

A small dinghy approaching a gently shelving beach may need the centreboard progressively raised as the water becomes shallower.

The rudder may also need lifting before it strikes the bottom.

But remember what happens when you raise the centreboard.

The boat loses some of its resistance to sideways movement.

Handling can change.

Again, preparation matters.

---

Coming Onto a Mooring

Picking up a mooring buoy is another excellent exercise in controlled stopping.

The principle is similar.

Plan an approach that lets the boat lose power as it reaches the buoy.

The crew prepares the mooring line or boat hook.

The helm controls speed.

You want to arrive with very little forward movement.

One important point is that the bow is normally the most useful place from which to secure the boat.

If you attach the boat incorrectly from the stern in unsuitable conditions, the boat may not lie naturally to the wind or current.

For the beginner, the important lesson is simpler:

arrive slowly, stop beside the mooring, then secure the boat calmly.

---

The Boat Has Not Finished Moving Just Because You Have Reached the Pontoon

There is another stage beginners sometimes overlook.

The boat may be alongside.

But the manoeuvre is not finished until it is secure.

The wind may immediately begin pushing the bow away.

The current may start moving the stern.

Another boat may pass and create wash.

So once alongside, secure the boat promptly.

Exactly which lines are required depends upon the boat and situation, but you should at least understand the purpose of:

• bow line;

• stern line;

• springs on larger boats or where necessary.

On a small club dinghy making a brief stop, the arrangement may be extremely simple.

The important thing is not to relax completely until the boat can no longer unexpectedly sail away without you.

---

What Happens If You Stop Too Soon?

This is one of the nicest things about practising away from obstacles.

You discover that stopping too soon is not a disaster.

If you are still able to sail, bear away slightly.

Allow the sail to fill.

Regain a little speed.

Then try again.

With experience you begin using very small adjustments.

A little more towards the wind.

A little more sail eased.

A tiny amount of power restored.

That is much more elegant than alternating between full speed and completely stopped.

It is rather like learning to park a car.

Initially every movement feels enormous.

Later everything becomes smaller and smoother.

---

What Happens If You Are Going Too Fast?

Act early.

Ease the sails.

Head more towards the wind if there is room.

If the approach has clearly gone wrong, sail away and try again.

Do not wait until the final metre before deciding something must be done.

One of the most valuable sailing habits is developing the ability to recognise a problem while there is still plenty of space in which to solve it.

---

The "Go Around" Is Not Failure

I would emphasise this particularly strongly to anyone learning to sail.

Sometimes beginners seem slightly embarrassed when they abandon an approach.

They feel they have somehow failed.

Actually, recognising that an approach is wrong and starting again is a sign of good seamanship.

The dangerous sailor is not the person who goes around.

It is the person who knows the approach is wrong but continues because they do not want to admit it.

There will always be another attempt.

---

A Simple Practice Session

If you are learning at a sailing club, try making an entire session around controlled approaches.

Exercise 1 — Stop the Boat

Sail on a reach.

Ease the mainsheet.

Turn into the wind.

Observe stopping distance.

Repeat several times.

Exercise 2 — Stop Near a Buoy

Choose a safe buoy.

Try to stop one boat length away.

Then half a boat length away.

Then alongside without touching it.

Exercise 3 — Recover From Stopping Too Early

Deliberately stop short.

Bear away.

Fill the sail.

Move forward.

Stop again.

This teaches you that an approach is adjustable.

Exercise 4 — Abandon the Approach

Begin an approach.

Then deliberately decide that it is wrong.

Sail away.

Circle around.

Start again.

That may sound like an odd exercise, but it builds a very valuable habit.

Exercise 5 — Return to the Pontoon

Only when the previous exercises feel comfortable should you use exactly the same skills to approach the real landing place.

---

The Crew Has a Job Too

A good landing is teamwork.

The helm should not be desperately steering while simultaneously searching for ropes and trying to climb onto the pontoon.

Before the approach, agree roles.

The helm controls:

• direction;

• speed;

• sail power;

• final positioning.

The crew can help by:

• preparing ropes;

• watching the distance;

• checking the landing area;

• stepping ashore when safe;

• securing the boat.

Clear communication makes everything calmer.

And sailing is usually much better when nobody needs to shout.

---

Your First Good Landing Feels Surprisingly Satisfying

There is something very satisfying about a good sailing arrival.

The boat approaches.

The sail begins to flutter.

Speed disappears.

The bow arrives exactly where you intended.

Someone steps gently onto the pontoon.

A line goes around a cleat.

And suddenly everything is quiet.

No collision.

No jumping.

No desperate grabbing.

No frantic reversing engine because, of course, there isn't one.

Just a properly controlled sailing boat.

When I watch beginners develop, this is one of those moments that shows they are beginning to understand the boat rather than simply react to it.

They have learned to think ahead.

---

The Bigger Lesson: Sailing Is About Managing Energy

There is a useful principle hiding underneath all of this.

Much of sailing is really about managing energy.

When you want speed, you arrange the sails and boat so that the wind gives you energy.

When you want to slow down, you remove that driving force.

When you approach a destination, you gradually reduce the amount of energy the boat is carrying.

That is why experienced sailors often look so calm.

They are making decisions early enough that they do not need dramatic corrections later.

---

Coming Home Is Part of the Sail

It is tempting to think of returning to the pontoon as something that happens after the sailing has finished.

It isn't.

The final approach is part of the sail.

It combines many of the skills we have already learned:

• reading the wind;

• steering accurately;

• trimming and easing sails;

• judging speed;

• planning ahead;

• communicating with the crew;

• understanding momentum;

• staying aware of other boats.

And it introduces something even more important.

Seamanship.

Seamanship is not simply the ability to make a boat move quickly.

It is the ability to operate the boat safely, calmly and intelligently.

Sometimes that means sailing fast.

Sometimes it means sailing slowly.

And sometimes the most impressive piece of sailing you will do all afternoon is arriving at the pontoon at almost zero knots.

Because eventually every successful sailing trip needs one final skill:

stopping exactly where you intended to stop.

---

PMR Sailing Beginner Series

By this stage in the series, we have moved from simply discovering a sailing club to actually handling a boat with purpose.

We have looked at:

• what makes a sailing boat sail;

• points of sail;

• steering;

• sail trim;

• tacking;

• gybing;

• sailing upwind;

• and now slowing down and coming safely home.

The next steps can begin to bring these individual skills together into complete sailing trips — leaving the shore, choosing a course, responding to changing wind and eventually returning confidently without needing someone on the pontoon to catch you.

That is when sailing really starts to feel natural.

My name is Philip. I started sailing when I was 65. 

I joined a club and because my son had already been part of a club for many years - borrowing all types of boat. He knew what we needed and the type of boat I would require. 

So we did by an RS Toura - a virtually unsinkable dinghy which has given me the confidence to experiment and learn and take my RYA exams and become a competent sailor and then to move up to the boat of my dreams - the A-Rater.

---

Coming Next

In the next part of our beginner sailing series. Every experienced sailor has been stuck head-to-wind, lost steering, run aground, suffered an unexpected gybe — and quite possibly capsized.

Learning to sail isn't learning never to make mistakes.

It's learning how to recover from them.

Return to https://pmrsailing.uk/Lessons.html