The Dirt
July/August 2007

Sports Clinic

Learning the Ropes

“I love being outside in the elements,” says 2008 Olympic hopeful Anna Tunnicliffe. “On the water it is just you and nature. And it’s different every time. There is not one day when the conditions are exactly the same.” Anna started sailing when she was eight. Now at 24 she is ranked number one in the women’s single-handed class in the United States and third in the world. Look for Anna in October, when she is sure to make waves at the Olympic Trials. In the meantime she shares some pearls of wisdom on how to get on the water and build up your tiller calluses.

Tips for Getting on the Water
Get to the nearest body of water and take a lesson. If there isn’t a community sailing center nearby, try a yacht club. You’ll learn the basics about the anatomy of a boat, wind conditions, and general safety precautions. It will allow you hands-on time in the boat with an instructor, who will teach you how to prepare or rig your boat for sailing as well as the basics on the water. You may be ready to set sail on your own after one short lesson, or it may take several times on the water, depending on your comfort level and prior knowledge. “The time that is needed with an instructor depends on the student as well as on the conditions you are learning in,” says Anna. “The lighter the air, the easier it will be to get comfortable.”

Master the basics.
Once you know how to sail, trying a new kind of boat should require just a brief introductory period to get used to it. But it’s still a good idea to pick a boat and stick with it while you’re learning. You don’t want to be trying single-hull, double-hull, big, and small boats while you’re getting the basics down. Adults are likely to learn either on double-hulled boats, commonly known as catamarans, or single-hulled boats. A popular single-hulled boat is the Laser. They’re great for learning because they’re simple yet can go very fast and are easy to right should you capsize. Catamarans can also be good to learn on because they’re stable and have more capacity to travel distances. The kind of boat you decide to sail will ultimately come down to personal preference and availability.

Seek out the right conditions.
As a beginner you’ll want to look for flat water with a light breeze. Around 5 to 8 knots is ideal for someone who is looking to get comfortable sailing on her own. As you get more advanced, you can look for more-challenging conditions. “When we compete, we sail in anything from 3 knots up to 40 knots,” says Anna. The only way to get comfortable with different wind conditions is practice. Get out on the water as much as you can, and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself in heavier wind.

Get over your fear of capsizing.
“One of the biggest fears I see when I am coaching is the fear of capsizing,” says Anna. Once you capsize once or twice and realize that there really is no danger but getting wet, you’ll be able to put the fear behind you. Under the watchful eye of someone experienced, practice capsizing, righting yourself, and emptying the excess water that has pooled on the floor of your boat. Going through this exercise will make you comfortable with the procedure; and once you know what to expect, chances are you won’t be so afraid of ending up in the water. Once You’ve Mastered the Basics

Learn the rules of the road.
As a skipper, the basic rules of the road that you need to remember are to keep between the channel markers. They are there for a reason, so be safe and don’t go outside of them. Also, once in a channel, remember that big boats like ships or larger powerboats have the right-of-way over you because you can maneuver better than they can in the restricted area. In open water, however, a boat under sail has right-of-way over a vessel under power (except for big freighters). This being said, don’t assume that all power boaters know the rules of the road. A lot of them don’t, and you don’t want to get on the wrong side of that fight; as a sailboat you would probably lose. One important rule to remember from sailboat to sailboat is that a boat on starboard tack has right-of-way over a boat on port tack. A boat is on starboard tack if the wind is coming over the right-hand side of the boat and the sail is on the left-hand side.

Get in shape.
“Sailing uses all muscle groups, especially leg, back, and core muscles. It is very important to have a strong core in both front and back. Many long-term injuries can occur if a sailor has weak muscles here,” says Anna. The other thing you’ll need is strong muscles for hiking. Hiking happens when you put your feet in the straps at the bottom of the boat and then lean far backward over the side of the heeling boat to counterbalance the boat as it leans. To do this you need to be able to hold yourself in the boat by your feet, and this requires strong core muscles to keep you from falling overboard. You will be doing a lot of hiking as you learn to go faster, and strong muscles will help your ability to maintain your heel for longer periods of time without fatigue.

Check out regattas.
Lasers are very popular boats to race and therefore there are a lot of them in the United States. Because Lasers like to race each other, there are organized groups of these boats, called fleets, each of which has its own set of races and regattas. Laser fleets are divided up into groups by location, and each area has a number of regattas for all levels of expertise. Check out www.laser.org to find the opportunities in your area. You don’t necessarily have to buy a boat to get serious about sailing, but if you want to be the skipper (the one who steers the boat), you might want to look into purchasing your own boat. “Most times when you purchase a boat, the equipment you need comes with the boat,” says Anna. “The only additional thing you’ll need to buy is clothing.” If you would prefer to be on the crew of a boat, find a team on which you can regularly crew.

Bond with the elements.
To stay safe and enhance your experience, it is crucial that you learn the basics of wind and weather. Listen carefully to your instructor’s advice and always be aware of your surroundings when you are sailing in new conditions. Every day on the water is different, but the more variety of conditions you experience, the more comfortable you’ll become. If you aren’t able to read the conditions, you will be more likely to get stuck or to capsize, which can be dangerous if it happens in rough conditions. “Two common mistakes are forgetting where the wind is coming from and getting stuck in irons (when the sail is flapping straight down the center of the boat and you start going backward),” says Anna. “If you don’t read the wind properly and don’t adjust your sail trim to the point of sail that you are on, you will slow down or, worse, capsize.”

Put mind over matter.
If you are really going to get serious about sailing and, more specifically, racing, you will have to learn how to maintain your concentration and control your negative thoughts. “Because sailing is a sport where we depend on nature, we sometimes can’t control anything beyond what we are doing. At one point you might be doing everything right and the wind may shift on you and put you in the back of the pack. You can’t get down on yourself because it wasn’t really your fault that it happened, so you just have to stay positive and figure out the best way to come back."

--Bryn Fox