Stop Staring at Your Sails — Learn to Read the Water
The next gust may already be visible fifty metres ahead of you.
One of the first things we teach when learning to sail is to look at the sails.
Are the tell-tales streaming properly?
Is the jib beginning to lift?
Should the mainsail come in?
All of that matters. But there comes a point when staring constantly at the sails actually begins to hold your sailing back.
The sails tell you what the wind is doing now.
The water can often tell you what the wind is about to do next.
Once you begin to recognise dark patches, ripples, smooth areas and gust lines moving across the surface, the whole river starts to look different.
You stop merely reacting to the wind.
You begin anticipating it.
And that is one of the biggest steps from simply being able to sail a boat towards becoming a better sailor.
The Wind Leaves Clues on the Water
Wind blowing across water transfers some of its energy into the surface.
Very light air may leave the water almost mirror smooth.
As the wind increases, tiny ripples begin to form.
A stronger puff creates more disturbance.
From a distance, that area may therefore look darker or more textured than the surrounding water.
What appears to be a mysterious dark patch moving down the river may actually be an area of stronger wind approaching your boat.
You can sometimes see it many seconds before it arrives.
That matters enormously.
If a gust is fifty metres away, you may have enough time to:
prepare the crew;
adjust your position in the boat;
ease or trim a sail;
consider your course;
anticipate a wind shift;
decide whether a tack might soon be useful.
Instead of suddenly discovering that the boat is heeling sharply, everybody aboard already knows what is coming.
That is a completely different style of sailing.
What Does a Gust Look Like?
There is no single appearance that every gust produces.
Water, light and wind direction all affect what we see.
However, there are several useful clues.
Darker patches
Probably the easiest clue for beginners to recognise is a darker patch of water surrounded by smoother-looking water.
The increased wind creates more small ripples.
Those ripples reflect the sky and surroundings at many different angles, changing the apparent brightness of the water.
On the Thames this can be surprisingly obvious.
You may look upstream and see what appears to be a dark patch travelling towards you.
That may be the next puff of wind.
Watch it.
Does it move?
Does it spread?
What happens to another boat when it reaches them?
Then wait.
A few seconds later you may feel exactly the wind you have just been watching arrive.
The first time you consciously notice this happening is quite memorable.
A Gust Line Can Look Like a Line Across the River
Sometimes the boundary between stronger and lighter wind is particularly clear.
You may see an almost distinct line across the surface.
On one side the water is relatively smooth.
On the other it is covered with small ripples.
That is often called a gust line.
It is worth watching both the line itself and its angle.
Suppose it is approaching your boat diagonally rather than squarely.
One side of the boat may enter the new wind before the other.
Or a boat further across the river may receive the gust several seconds before you do.
That tells you something very useful.
The wind is not simply becoming stronger.
It may also be arriving from a slightly different direction.
Look at Other Boats
One of the best wind indicators on the river is another sailing boat.
Imagine you are sailing towards a boat fifty metres ahead.
Suddenly it heels.
Its crew moves.
Its mainsail is eased.
Then it accelerates.
Nothing has happened to your boat yet.
But something probably will.
The boat ahead has just become your advance warning system.
In a fleet this becomes particularly useful.
You can often see a gust arriving at the boats ahead and watch the effect move progressively through the fleet.
Likewise, if several boats ahead suddenly lose speed and their sails start hanging loosely, you may be about to sail into a hole.
Good sailors are constantly gathering this sort of information.
They are not necessarily staring intensely at one particular thing.
They are scanning.
Water.
Sails.
Trees.
Flags.
Other boats.
Clouds.
Then back to the water again.
The Glassy Patch May Be Just as Important
Everybody notices the gust that makes the boat heel.
The opposite can be equally important.
Sometimes an area ahead looks unusually smooth or glassy.
That can indicate very little surface wind.
Sail into it and the boat that was moving beautifully a few seconds earlier may suddenly slow almost to a halt.
The sails soften.
The helm becomes less responsive.
The crew asks:
"Where has the wind gone?"
But perhaps the warning was already visible on the water.
This can be particularly frustrating on inland waters because the wind is rarely distributed evenly.
Trees, buildings, hills and bends in the river interfere with the airflow.
One part of the river may have useful wind while another, only a short distance away, can be almost completely sheltered.
So another useful habit develops.
Do not automatically sail towards the smoothest-looking water.
Sometimes you should be asking:
Where is the pressure?
What Sailors Mean by "Pressure"
Sailors often talk about finding pressure.
It sounds rather technical, but usually they simply mean finding the area where there is more useful wind.
You might hear someone say:
"There's more pressure on the far side."
They are not necessarily measuring atmospheric pressure.
They have probably noticed that the water over there is darker, the boats are moving faster, or the sails are carrying better.
For somebody learning to sail, this is an important change in thinking.
Instead of seeing the entire river as one uniform area of wind, imagine it as a constantly changing patchwork.
Here there is a little more wind.
There is a lull.
Another gust is approaching.
The left side looks stronger.
A patch of pressure is spreading down from the bend.
The river becomes almost like a moving weather map.
The Gust Is Not Necessarily Coming Straight Towards You
Here is where reading the water becomes even more interesting.
Suppose you can see a dark patch approaching.
The obvious assumption is:
More wind is coming.
But ask another question:
From what direction?
Watch the texture carefully.
Look at the edge of the gust.
Watch boats that enter it before you.
Perhaps their heading changes.
Perhaps their sails suddenly need trimming differently.
That gust may contain both a change in wind strength and a change in wind direction.
This links directly with recognising lifts and headers.
A patch of new wind arriving from a slightly different direction may lift one boat while heading another, depending upon which tack each boat is sailing.
So learning to read the water does not sit separately from learning about wind shifts.
The two skills gradually merge together.
A Simple Exercise for Your Next Sail
This is something almost anybody can practise.
You do not need to be racing.
You do not need instruments.
You do not even need particularly strong wind.
For five minutes, deliberately stop concentrating only on the immediate area around the boat.
Look twenty metres ahead.
Then fifty metres.
Then towards the far bank.
Ask yourself:
Where does the water look rougher?
Where does it look smoother?
Is anything moving towards me?
Which boats appear to have more wind?
Are flags or trees showing the same thing?
Then make a prediction.
For example:
"I think we are going to get a stronger puff in about ten seconds."
Then see whether you were right.
At first you will be wrong surprisingly often.
That does not matter.
The important part is developing the habit of looking and predicting.
Gradually your predictions improve.
Try Calling the Gusts for the Helm
This is also a useful exercise for a crew.
The crew often has more freedom to look around than the person steering.
Instead of saying nothing until the boat suddenly heels, try calling what you see:
"More wind coming."
"Gust in five seconds."
"Stronger pressure on our side."
"Looks lighter ahead."
"Gust coming from the right."
Communication like this can transform the way a boat is sailed.
It gives the helm time to prepare.
It also makes the crew an active part of sailing the boat rather than simply somebody operating a jib sheet.
In a multi-crew boat that observational role becomes even more valuable.
Preparing Before the Gust Arrives
Imagine sailing upwind in moderate conditions.
You see a strong dark patch approaching.
There are two very different ways the next ten seconds could unfold.
The reactive sailor
The gust hits.
The boat heels.
The helm pulls the tiller.
The sails overpower.
Someone scrambles across the boat.
The mainsheet is eased late.
Speed is lost.
The anticipating sailor
The gust is spotted.
The crew is warned.
Everybody prepares to move.
The helm watches for any directional change.
The boat enters the gust already balanced.
The extra wind becomes extra speed.
Same gust.
Same boat.
Completely different result.
That is why looking ahead matters.
Reading the Water Is Especially Valuable on a River
Open-water sailing certainly involves wind shifts and gusts, but river sailing adds another layer of complexity.
Banks disturb the air.
Tall trees create shelter.
Buildings can funnel or block the wind.
A bend changes your relationship with the surrounding landscape.
Gaps between trees can produce surprisingly strong lanes of wind.
The result can be a patchwork of wind conditions over a relatively small distance.
On a reach such as the Thames, you can sometimes have one boat moving beautifully while another nearby appears almost becalmed.
A few seconds later their situations can reverse.
It makes inland sailing fascinating.
It also makes observation exceptionally important.
Be Careful — Not Every Dark Patch Is Wind
There is an important warning here.
Do not assume that every colour change on the water marks a gust.
Water appearance can also be affected by:
shadows from clouds;
shadows from trees;
reflections from buildings;
changes in water depth;
current;
passing powered boats;
wake;
floating material;
changes in sunlight.
This is why one clue is rarely enough.
Ask whether the evidence agrees.
Is the patch moving?
Are nearby leaves moving?
Are flags changing?
Does another sailing boat heel when the patch reaches it?
Do the ripples have an obvious direction?
The more clues that agree, the more confidence you can have.
Champagne Makes Small Changes Very Obvious
One of the pleasures of sailing a responsive boat is that changes in the wind become much easier to notice.
In a relatively forgiving training boat, a small gust or wind shift might require only a modest correction.
In an A-Rater such as Champagne, changes can become much more obvious.
A little extra pressure can immediately translate into acceleration.
A shift can alter your apparent course noticeably.
A badly anticipated gust can quickly disturb the balance of the boat.
That makes a fast boat a remarkable teacher.
It encourages you to stop waiting for things to happen.
You start watching for the signs that they are about to happen.
That principle applies just as much to someone learning in a club training boat.
The reactions may be gentler, but the information is still there.
Coyote Can Offer an Even Better View
Ironically, one of the best places to study this effect may not be from a sailing boat at all.
From a safety or camera boat such as Coyote, it is possible to look across a much larger area of water without concentrating on sail trim or steering a sailing dinghy.
From there, contrasting patches on the river can become remarkably obvious.
It would make an interesting photographic exercise.
Take a photograph showing several sailing boats spread across the river.
Then look closely at the water surrounding them.
Which boats appear to be in pressure?
Where is the smooth water?
Can you see the gust approaching?
A still photograph can sometimes reveal patterns that you hardly noticed while afloat.
Eventually You Stop Thinking About It
Like many sailing skills, reading the water initially feels very deliberate.
You have to remind yourself:
"Look ahead."
"Find the dark patches."
"Watch the other boats."
Later it becomes almost automatic.
You notice a gust without consciously deciding to search for it.
Your body begins preparing for it.
Your attention moves naturally between the boat and the environment.
And that is an important transition.
Because sailing is not really about operating a collection of ropes, sails and controls.
It is about continually responding to the environment around you.
Stop Looking at the Boat All the Time
Beginners understandably spend enormous amounts of time looking into the boat.
Where is the rope?
Where is the tiller?
What is the sail doing?
As experience develops, your field of attention needs to expand.
Look at the water.
Look at the boats ahead.
Look at the trees.
Look at the clouds.
Look towards where you are going.
The boat will tell you what is happening to it.
The world around the boat may tell you what is going to happen next.
And sometimes the difference between being surprised by a gust and using it beautifully is simply that one sailor looked fifty metres further ahead.
The next gust may already be visible.
You just have to learn how to see it.
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