High Pressure, No Wind… and a Very Patient Sailor

High Pressure, No Wind… and a Very Patient Sailor

There are few things more deceptive in sailing than a beautiful day.

Blue skies. Warm sunshine. Not a ripple on the water.

Perfect… right?

Well—yes, if you’re having a picnic.
Less so if you’re trying to sail.

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🌤️ What Is “High Pressure” Anyway?

High pressure systems are the atmosphere’s way of saying:

“Let’s all just calm down a bit.”

In simple terms:

• Air is sinking rather than rising
• Clouds struggle to form → clear skies
• Winds are generally light or non-existent

For most people, high pressure means a lovely day.
For sailors, it often means very little wind to work with.

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⛵ The Reality of Sailing in No Wind

You launch with optimism…
You rig everything perfectly…
You push off…

…and then…

Nothing.

The sails hang like damp laundry.
The telltales droop in quiet resignation.
And the boat moves—if at all—at walking pace (on a good day).

On the River Thames, this is even more “fun” because:

• The current is still moving
• Which means you can be going backwards while facing forwards

A wonderful lesson in humility.

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🧠 Why It Feels So Hard

Sailing in light winds isn’t just slow—it’s technically demanding.

Everything matters more:

• Boat balance – even small movements slow you down
• Sail trim – too tight or too loose = no drive
• Weight placement – sit in the wrong place and you stop

And worst of all…

Every mistake is painfully obvious because there’s no wind to hide it.

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🎯 The Skills You Actually Learn

Oddly enough, these frustrating days are some of the best for learning.

You develop:

• Patience (lots of it)
• Feel for the boat
• Awareness of tiny wind shifts
• The ability to spot the faintest ripple on the water

In stronger winds, you can get away with a lot.
In no wind, you have to sail properly.

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😄 The Humorous Reality

There’s a particular moment every sailor knows:

You’re drifting along…
Another boat catches a whisper of wind…
They glide past you majestically…

…and you sit there thinking:

“They must know something I don’t.”

They don’t.
They just found the breeze first.

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🧭 Tactical Tips for High Pressure Days

If you do find yourself out in these conditions:

• Look for wind lines (tiny ripples on the water)
• Keep sails slightly looser than usual
• Minimise movement in the boat
• Watch other boats (they are your wind indicators!)
• Accept that speed is… optional

And most importantly:

👉 Don’t fight it—work with what little wind you have

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🌅 Final Thought

High pressure days teach you something important about sailing:

It’s not always about power.
Sometimes it’s about finesse.

And occasionally…

It’s about drifting gently down the Thames, enjoying the sunshine,

and pretending you meant to go that slowly all along. 

Why “Looking Around” Is the Most Important Sailing Skill

 

Why “Looking Around” Is the Most Important Sailing Skill

There’s a moment when learning to sail where everything feels like it’s happening at once.

The tiller’s in one hand. The mainsheet in the other. The crew is saying something about the jib. The wind shifts. The boat heels. And just as you think you’ve got it under control…

You realise you’ve been staring at the front of the boat the whole time.

Sound familiar?

👀 The Skill No One Teaches First

When I started sailing at the Upper Thames Sailing Club, I thought the most important skills were:

• Steering
• Trimming sails
• Not falling in

All useful… but not the skill.

The real skill?
👉 Looking around. Constantly. Properly. Intentionally.

It sounds simple. It isn’t.

🚤 Why It Matters (Especially on the Thames)

Sailing on a river like the Thames isn’t like being out at sea. It’s busy. It’s narrow. And things happen quickly.

If you’re not looking around, you’re missing:

• 🚤 Other boats (some much bigger than you!)
• 🌬️ Gusts of wind approaching across the water
• 🌊 Changes in current and flow
• ⚓ Moorings, buoys, and obstacles
• 🧭 Where you actually need to go next

I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve been happily sailing along… only to realise we’re heading straight for trouble.

Usually because I was too busy admiring my excellent (and short-lived) sail trim.

🌬️ Reading the Water

Looking around isn’t just about avoiding collisions.

It’s how you see the wind.

• Dark patches on the water? More wind.
• Ripples changing direction? A shift is coming.
• Other boats suddenly heeling? That gust is heading your way next.

The sailors who glide past you effortlessly aren’t lucky.

They’re watching. Constantly.

🧠 Free Speed (Yes, Really)

Here’s the surprising bit.

You don’t need new sails.
You don’t need a faster boat.
You don’t even need more strength.

👉 You just need to look around more.

By spotting wind early, you can:

• Head up slightly and gain speed
• Avoid dead patches
• Position yourself better for the next tack

It’s the cheapest performance upgrade in sailing.

And I like cheap upgrades.

😅 My Personal Failing (and Progress)

I’ll admit it.

I still forget.

I get focused on one thing—usually the wrong thing—and stop scanning.

Then:

• We slow down
• We miss a shift
• Someone overtakes us (again)

But on the days when I do remember to look around?

Everything improves.

Not dramatically. Not instantly.

But noticeably.

And in sailing, that’s often the difference between last place… and slightly less last.

🎯 How to Practise “Looking Around”

Like everything in sailing, it’s a skill you can train:

• 🔄 Scan every 10–15 seconds (make it a habit)
• 👥 Talk to your crew – they can see things you can’t
• 👀 Look behind as well as ahead
• 🌬️ Pick a patch of water and watch it – what’s it doing?
• ⛵ Compare with other boats – who’s faster and why?

It’s not about frantic head-turning.

It’s about calm, regular awareness.

⚓ Final Thought

If you only take one thing onto the water next time, make it this:

👉 Lift your head up and look around.

Because the boat doesn’t just go where you steer it…

It goes where the wind, water, and everything around you allow it to go.

And you won’t see any of that staring at the bow.

One Mast, Two Masts… or Three? How Many Do You Really Need?

 

One Mast, Two Masts… or Three? How Many Do You Really Need?

When I first started sailing on the Thames, I thought a mast was simply… a mast. One stick, one sail (or maybe two), job done.

Then I discovered there are boats with two masts… and even three. Naturally, this led to the obvious question:

👉 Are they better… or just showing off?

Let’s take a look.

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⛵ The One-Mast Boat (Sloop Rig)

Most of us on the river are sailing single-masted boats, known as sloops.

Think of your typical dinghy or modern yacht:

• One mast
• A mainsail
• A jib (front sail)

Why it works:

• Simple to rig and sail
• Efficient upwind
• Perfect for racing and learning

👉 On the Thames, this is king. Less to think about, more time trying not to hit the bank.

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⛵⛵ The Two-Mast Boat (Ketch or Yawl)

6

Now things start to get interesting.

A two-masted boat splits the sail area:

• Main mast at the front
• Smaller mizzen mast at the back

Why have two masts?

• Easier sail handling (smaller sails instead of one big one)
• More balance and control
• Ideal for long-distance cruising

Downsides:

• More ropes (sorry… lines)
• More decisions
• More opportunities to get it wrong

👉 Perfect if you like the idea of sailing and mild confusion at the same time.

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⛵⛵⛵ The Three-Mast Boat (Schooner or Tall Ship)

4

Three masts? Now we’re into proper sailing history.

These are the grand old vessels:

• Schooners
• Tall ships
• Ocean-crossing legends

Why so many masts?

• Massive sail area spread across multiple sails
• Manageable by a crew (instead of one enormous sail)
• Designed for long voyages before engines existed

Reality check:

• You don’t sail one of these on the Thames
• Unless you want to redecorate several riverside gardens in one go

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🤔 So Which Is Best?

Like most things in sailing…

👉 It depends.

• 1 mast → Simple, fast, ideal for rivers and learning
• 2 masts → Balanced, manageable, great for cruising
• 3 masts → Impressive, historical, needs a crew (and probably a cook)

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⚓ Final Thought

As someone learning to sail at 65+, I can confidently say:

👉 One mast is more than enough to get into trouble with.

Add a second, and I’d need a checklist.
Add a third… and I’d need a project manager.

Learning to Sail at 65+ – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

 

Learning to Sail at 65+ – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Short answer: quite a lot.

When I decided to learn to sail properly at 65+, I had visions of graceful manoeuvres, quiet rivers, and the occasional gentle breeze.

Reality has been… different.

There have been:

• Moments where I confidently steered in entirely the wrong direction
• Times when “duck!” was shouted slightly too late
• Situations where I pulled the correct rope… at completely the wrong time

And then there’s terminology.

Port. Starboard. Sheets. Halyards.
At one point I was convinced everyone was just making words up to confuse me.

But here’s the thing…

Despite all of this, it’s brilliant.

Every session gets a little easier. Every mistake teaches something useful. And every now and then, everything comes together and the boat just… works.

Those moments make all the chaos worthwhile.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Sail

 

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Sail

When I first stepped into a dinghy on the River Thames, I assumed sailing was mostly about pulling ropes and hoping for the best.

It turns out there’s a bit more to it than that.

Here are five things I wish someone had told me before I started:

1. Sitting in the wrong place matters… a lot
Balance is everything. Sit too far back and the boat drags. Too far forward and you bury the bow. Too far to one side and you’re swimming.

2. Stop staring at the sail
I spent far too long admiring the sail instead of looking where I was going. The river, other boats, and the bank are far more important.

3. Small movements beat big ones
New sailors (me included) tend to oversteer. Gentle corrections work far better than dramatic swings.

4. Wind awareness is everything
If you don’t know where the wind is coming from, you’re not sailing—you’re drifting with intent.

5. It’s supposed to feel awkward at first
Everyone looks slightly incompetent at the beginning. The trick is to keep going.

I’m still learning all of this… just slightly less badly than before.

We Have Arrived – Marina, Croatia at Last!

 

We Have Arrived – Marina, Croatia at Last!

After weeks of planning, packing (and repacking), checking lists, losing lists, and wondering if I really needed that many cables… we have finally arrived in Marina, Croatia.

And what a place to arrive.

First Impressions

Warm air. Blue skies. Palm trees.
Already, this feels very different from launching a dinghy on the slightly brown (but much-loved) River Thames.

We’re based near Trogir, a stunning little town that looks like it’s been lifted straight out of a history book and gently placed into the Adriatic. Narrow streets, ancient stone buildings, and boats everywhere.

And not just any boats…
Proper yachts. The kind where everything is shiny, neatly coiled, and far more complicated than anything I’ve been pretending to sail up to now.

The Reality Check

Of course, arriving is one thing.
Actually sailing for a week as “Competent Crew”… that’s something else entirely.

Some early observations:

• There are more ropes (sorry… lines) than I remember.
• Everything is bigger.
• Everything is more expensive.
• And everything matters just a little bit more when you’re not five metres from the bank.

Rosamund is already spotting photographic opportunities every few seconds, which is promising.
I, on the other hand, am wondering how long it will take before I call port “left” in front of everyone.

The Mission Begins

Tomorrow we meet the crew, the instructor, and—most importantly—the boat.

Somewhere out there is a 47-foot yacht waiting patiently…
Probably unaware of what’s about to happen.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

• First attempt at stepping aboard gracefully
• Forgetting how to tie a bowline
• Dropping something important into the sea
• Calling the boom “that big swinging thing”

But that’s all part of the adventure—and exactly why we’re here.

Less than 100 Days to Go – SailGP heads back to Portsmouth!

 

Less than 100 Days to Go – SailGP heads back to Portsmouth!

“100 Days to Go – Will I Be Ready for SailGP in Portsmouth?”

There are moments in sailing when everything feels just a little bit… faster.

This is one of them.

In 100 days, the high-speed, heart-in-mouth spectacle that is SailGP returns to Portsmouth for Season 6 — and if you’ve never seen these boats fly, you’re in for something rather special.

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🚀 Not Your Average Sunday Sail

Now, I sail on the Thames.

We worry about:

• Wind (or lack of it… usually lack of it)
• Current (always in the wrong direction)
• And whether we’ll finish before the next race starts

SailGP teams?

They worry about:

• Hitting 100 km/h
• Keeping control while flying above the water
• And not capsizing on live international television

Slight difference.

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⛵ The Boats That Fly

These aren’t your typical sailing boats. The F50 catamarans lift clean out of the water on hydrofoils — more aircraft than boat.

Watching them is like seeing:

• A Formula 1 car
• On water
• With no brakes
• And the occasional splashy reminder that physics is still in charge

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 Why Portsmouth Matters

There’s something quite fitting about SailGP returning to Portsmouth:

• Historic naval city
• Packed spectator views
• And (hopefully) just enough wind to keep things interesting

For those of us learning to sail “the traditional way,” it’s a reminder of just how far the sport has evolved.

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🤔 Will It Help My Sailing?

That’s the real question.

Will watching the world’s best sailors:

• Improve my tacking?
• Stop me from finishing last?
• Help me understand wind shifts better?

Probably not.

But it will remind me why I started:
👉 The thrill
👉 The challenge
👉 And the occasional moment when everything just works

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🎥 The Plan?

Between now and race day:

• More practice on the Thames
• More filming for pmrsailing
• And possibly… slightly fewer last-place finishes

(We can dream.)

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⏳ Countdown Begins

So here we are.

100 days to go.

Time to:

• Check the kit
• Charge the cameras
• And maybe… just maybe… learn to sail a bit faster