Some of the Most Skilled Sailors Aren’t Holding the Tiller — Why the Crew Matters

Some of the most skilled sailors in a boat aren't holding the tiller.

One of the assumptions beginners often make is that the person sitting at the back with the tiller must be the "captain".

The helm steers the boat, so surely the helm is in charge and everybody else is simply helping?

Not necessarily.

In a well-sailed dinghy, the crew is not a passenger. The crew may be controlling one of the principal sails, helping to keep the boat balanced, looking for other boats, watching the wind, spotting tactical opportunities, moving body weight at precisely the right moment and communicating constantly with the helm.

On more complicated boats, the crew may also be dealing with a spinnaker, pole, trapeze, runners or other controls.

And on some boats there is more than one crew member.

My own sailing has reinforced this repeatedly. Much of my sailing is actually as crew rather than helm. On our RS Toura, one of my main jobs is controlling the jib.

I sometimes describe the jib as the boat's turbocharger.

It looks relatively small compared with the mainsail, but use it properly and you can very definitely feel its effect on the boat.

Then move into a boat such as an A-Rater and the division of jobs becomes more interesting again. There may be a helm, a forward crew and a midhand, with responsibilities shared between them. Depending on how the boat is organised, the midhand may have important sail-control responsibilities too.

Suddenly the idea that the person holding the tiller is doing everything becomes rather difficult to sustain.

The Helm Steers — But Sailing the Boat Is a Team Job

The tiller is visually obvious.

Move it and the boat changes direction.

That makes it easy for a newcomer to assume that steering is the most important job aboard.

But steering is only one part of keeping a sailing boat moving efficiently.

Imagine a helm trying to sail upwind while:

• the jib is badly set;

• the crew is sitting on the wrong side;

• nobody is watching for another boat approaching;

• nobody notices a gust coming down the river;

• the crew moves at the wrong moment during a tack;

• and nobody communicates.

The helm may have perfect control of the rudder and the boat can still be slow, unbalanced or unsafe.

Good sailing comes from several actions happening together.

The best crews often perform them so smoothly that an observer hardly notices.

Jib Control — Much More Than Pulling a Rope

The first obvious crew responsibility in many dinghies is the jib.

The jib is the smaller sail set forward of the mast.

A beginner can easily think:

"Pull it in until it looks tight."

Unfortunately, sail trim does not work quite like that.

The jib needs continually adjusting according to the direction in which the boat is sailing and the strength of the wind.

Sailing close-hauled, it will usually be sheeted relatively firmly.

As the boat bears away from the wind, it needs easing.

Sail onto the opposite tack and the old jib sheet must be released while the new one is brought in.

That sounds straightforward when written down.

Doing it smoothly while the boat is moving, the helm is turning, the boom is crossing and your own body needs to change sides is rather different.

Why I Think of the Jib as the Turbocharger

On the RS Toura, I particularly notice the difference good jib trim makes.

Get it badly wrong and the boat still sails.

Get it right and the entire boat seems to wake up.

The important thing is that the jib does not work independently of the mainsail.

Together, the two sails form an aerodynamic system.

The airflow around one affects the airflow around the other.

The gap between the jib and mainsail — often called the slot — therefore matters.

Pull the jib too tightly and you can restrict the airflow.

Leave it too loose and the sail loses its effective shape.

Trim it correctly and the sails begin working together.

That is why I like the turbocharger comparison.

The jib is not simply a little extra piece of cloth at the front.

Used properly, it contributes to the whole aerodynamic performance of the boat.

Watch the Tell-Tales

Many jibs have small pieces of wool, ribbon or other material attached to them.

These are tell-tales.

They give the crew an extraordinarily useful view of what the air is doing.

Rather than simply asking:

"Does the sail look right?"

you can look at the airflow.

If the windward and leeward tell-tales are streaming sensibly, the sail is probably working effectively.

If one begins lifting or behaving erratically, something needs changing.

That might mean adjusting the sheet.

But it can also tell you something about the boat's direction.

A good crew can therefore feed information back to the helm:

"You're pinching slightly."

"Come up a little."

"Ease away."

"That's good."

The crew has become part of the boat's feedback system.

The Crew Helps Balance the Boat

Sailing boats respond enormously to weight.

Where people sit matters.

If the wind increases and the boat begins heeling, crew weight can be moved outwards to help keep the boat flatter.

In lighter conditions, everybody may need to move inboard.

Move too far forward and the bow may be pushed unnecessarily into the water.

Move too far aft and the stern may drag.

In very light winds, surprisingly small movements can make a noticeable difference.

This is something beginners sometimes overlook because the rudder and sails seem to be the "controls".

Your body is a control too.

Why Keeping the Boat Flat Matters

A dinghy normally works best within a sensible range of heel.

Allow it to lean excessively and several things begin changing at once.

The shape presented by the sails changes.

The underwater shape changes.

The rudder becomes less efficient.

The helm may become heavier.

And eventually, of course, the boat may capsize.

The crew therefore has an important job helping control heel.

You are effectively using body weight to counter the turning effect created by the wind on the sails.

In stronger conditions, this can become quite physical.

On boats equipped with toe straps, you may hike your body further out.

On trapeze boats, the crew can go considerably further, effectively hanging outside the boat from a wire.

The principle, however, remains the same.

Use crew weight to help keep the boat in the attitude in which it sails best.

Moving at the Right Time

There is another important word here:

timing.

Moving your weight is useful.

Moving your weight at exactly the wrong moment can be surprisingly unhelpful.

During a tack, for example, both helm and crew must change sides.

Do it too early and you may interfere with the turn.

Do it too late and the boat may heel awkwardly on the new tack.

Good crews gradually develop an instinct for the rhythm of the boat.

Turn.

Release the old sheet.

Move.

Take the new sheet.

Balance.

Trim.

Settle.

Eventually, what initially felt like six separate jobs becomes one smooth movement.

The Crew Is Also a Lookout

There is another very important advantage to having more than one person aboard.

The helm cannot conveniently look everywhere at once.

The helm may be concentrating on:

• direction;

• sail trim;

• the next mark;

• the river bank;

• maintaining speed;

• or manoeuvring.

The crew can provide another pair of eyes.

That matters for both safety and racing.

The crew may spot:

• an approaching sailing boat;

• a powered vessel;

• a paddleboard;

• a swimmer;

• an obstruction;

• a shallow area;

• a gust;

• a mark;

• or something happening behind the boat.

A simple warning such as:

"Boat coming up behind us."

or

"Powerboat approaching from starboard."

can be enormously useful.

Good crews do not merely notice things.

They communicate useful information early enough for the helm to do something about it.

Communication — Neither Silence Nor Constant Commentary

Crew communication is an interesting skill in itself.

Too little information is a problem.

Too much information can be just as distracting.

Imagine somebody continuously saying:

"There's a boat there."

"Another boat over there."

"The wind looks different."

"There's somebody on the bank."

"We're getting close to that buoy."

Eventually the useful information disappears into the noise.

Good communication is concise and relevant.

For example:

"Gust coming in ten seconds."

That gives the helm time to prepare.

"Boat to leeward."

Useful positional information.

"Clear to tack."

Extremely useful if the helm cannot see everything behind the sail.

"Two boat lengths to the mark."

Useful in racing.

The crew becomes another source of information rather than another source of distraction.

The Crew Can See Wind the Helm Hasn't Reached Yet

One of the fascinating stages in learning to sail comes when you stop simply reacting to what the boat is doing and begin watching what is about to happen.

On inland water in particular, the wind can be variable.

Look across the surface and you may see darker patches of disturbed water.

A stronger patch of wind is approaching.

The crew may see it before the helm does.

"Gust coming."

Now both people can prepare.

The helm might adjust course or mainsheet.

The crew gets ready to move weight.

The jib may need adjustment.

Instead of being surprised by the gust, the boat sails through it deliberately.

That is one of the differences between merely being aboard a sailing dinghy and actually sailing it.

Tactical Eyes

Once you begin racing, the crew's observational role becomes even more important.

The helm cannot spend the entire race looking backwards and sideways.

The crew can.

You might watch:

• which side of the course appears windier;

• where other boats are gaining;

• whether a rival boat is approaching;

• whether you are likely to cross another boat;

• where the next mark is;

• whether the wind has shifted;

• whether there is clearer air elsewhere.

This does not mean the crew continuously tells the helm what to do.

A successful partnership develops a shared understanding.

The crew provides information.

The helm combines that information with what they are feeling through the boat.

Decisions are then made together.

"Can We Cross Them?"

Here is a good racing example.

You are sailing upwind on one tack.

Another boat is approaching on the opposite tack.

The helm is concentrating on keeping your boat fast.

The crew has a better view of the approaching boat.

The question becomes:

Are we going to cross ahead of them?

A good crew is watching the relative movement well before the two boats get close.

If the answer is obviously no, the helm has time to consider the alternatives.

Tack early?

Pass behind?

Alter the tactical plan?

That is much better than discovering the problem when the boats are suddenly only a few metres apart.

Again, the crew is not merely pulling the jib sheet.

The crew is helping sail the race.

More People Can Mean More Specialisation

Moving from something such as an RS Toura into a larger or more specialised racing dinghy makes this division of labour particularly interesting.

My experience with our A-Rater, Champagne, has made this increasingly apparent.

There is another crew position: the midhand.

Now the work can be divided further.

Rather than one person trying to deal with everything that is not the tiller, different people can concentrate on particular areas of boat performance.

In some arrangements, the midhand may have significant responsibility for the mainsail.

Another crew member may concentrate on forward controls.

The helm concentrates more heavily on steering, positioning and feeling what the boat is doing.

The important point for a beginner is not to memorise who pulls which rope on an A-Rater.

It is to recognise the principle:

As boats become more sophisticated, teamwork becomes more sophisticated too.

A Good Helm Relies on a Good Crew

There is sometimes a temptation to regard helming as progression.

Perhaps somebody starts as crew and thinks:

"Eventually I will be good enough to become the helm."

But that can completely misunderstand the nature of sailing.

Some people become exceptionally skilled crews.

They understand sail shape.

They anticipate manoeuvres.

They read the wind.

They communicate brilliantly.

They move effortlessly around the boat.

They make spinnaker handling look easy.

They can tell whether the boat is accelerating or slowing almost instinctively.

That is not an inferior level of sailing.

It is a different specialism.

Indeed, put an inexperienced crew alongside an excellent helm and the difference in performance can be dramatic.

And Then There Is the Spinnaker...

So far we have been discussing the jib.

Eventually, depending on the boat, another sail may appear.

The spinnaker.

Now things become considerably more entertaining.

The crew may need to:

• hoist it;

• control its sheets;

• manage a pole;

• keep it filled;

• adjust it continuously;

• prepare for a gybe;

• change sides;

• and eventually retrieve the whole lot again.

On an asymmetric-spinnaker boat there may also be a bowsprit and retrieval system.

On other boats there are conventional poles and separate controls.

Spinnaker work can look intimidating to somebody watching for the first time.

Like most sailing skills, however, it becomes manageable when divided into a sequence.

And that is a subject worth giving its own article later in this series.

A Practical Exercise for New Crews

If you are learning to crew, try one sailing session in which you deliberately concentrate on only four things.

1. Watch the jib

Look at its shape and tell-tales.

See what happens when you ease it.

See what happens when you sheet it harder.

2. Watch the boat's balance

Notice when the boat heels.

Move your weight and feel the effect.

3. Look outside the boat

Every few seconds, deliberately scan the water around you rather than staring at the ropes.

4. Talk to the helm

Mention genuinely useful things:

"Gust coming."

"Clear behind."

"Boat approaching."

"Jib looks good."

You will very quickly discover that you are not simply travelling in somebody else's boat.

You are helping sail it.

Learning to Crew May Actually Make You a Better Helm

There is another reason I think everybody should spend time crewing.

It teaches you what the other person needs.

If you have experienced trying to trim the jib while a helm makes an unexpected turn, you become rather better at warning your own crew before manoeuvring.

If you have struggled across the boat because a tack was badly timed, you begin to understand how important smooth steering is.

If you have been the person calling gusts, you appreciate how valuable that information is when you eventually take the tiller.

The best sailors understand more than their own position in the boat.

They understand how the entire team works.

Don't Rush to the Tiller

So if you visit a sailing club and somebody says:

"Would you like to come out as crew?"

don't think you have been offered the less important seat.

You may actually have been offered one of the best places from which to learn.

Watch the sails.

Feel the changes in pressure.

Notice what happens when you move your weight.

Look for gusts.

Watch the other boats.

Listen to the helm.

Ask questions.

And gradually you will discover something that experienced sailors already know:

The helm does not sail the boat alone.

The best boats are sailed by teams.

The person holding the tiller may decide where the boat points.

But the person beside them may be controlling its power, balance, awareness and speed.

And once a spinnaker appears, the helm may suddenly be very grateful indeed that somebody else knows what all those ropes are for.

Some of the most skilled sailors in a boat aren't holding the tiller.

Sometimes, they are the people making the person holding it look very good.

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.

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Coming Next in the Beginner Sailing Series

We turn full Circle. Which is the best boat to learn to sail in?

Optimist? Topper? Zest? Wayfarer? RS Toura? Keelboat?

Often, none of those answers matters as much as this:

The best beginner boat is the one your club has available, with someone competent beside you.

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