Sailing To
and Back To Your Slip
Sometimes
your engine won’t work. Sometimes your
fuel is low, or you have run out of fuel.
Sometimes you have damaged your propeller. Sometimes you just want a challenge…
There are
many reasons that might come up that require you to use your sails (yes your
sails) to maneuver out of the marina or back to the marina and your slip.
Check the
wind. How strongly is the breeze
blowing? What direction is the breeze
blowing. Think about the course(s) you
will need to sail to maneuver the boat to where you want to go. Sailing against the breeze in a series of
short tacks along a slip row is nearly impossible. There is not sufficient room to get the boat
up to a speed where tacking is possible.
But beam reaching, broad reaching or running are more than easily
accomplished.
Next
consider which sails to use. I would
recommend using your working jib or another jib that is easily handled from one
tack to another… and a jib that will fill easily with the breeze you have. It is particularly nice if the breeze is at
an angle that allows you to stay on one tack throughout the maneuver.
Okay, here’s
one way to sail away from your slip and the marina. Start with the jib sail down on the deck and
ready to hoist. Sheets attached and rove
through the lead blocks, etc.
Hop aboard
and hoist your jib sail. As the sail
fills, you will begin to sail down the slip row. Get ready for the turn.
Make the
turn and head for open water. As soon as
you are clear of the marina and any other obstructions, head up into the breeze
and hoist the mainsail.
Enjoy your
sail.
Coming back
to the marina and sailing to your slip is done in much the same way as sailing
out of the marina. Make sure that you
know where the breeze is coming from.
You will not be able to easily tack your way up a slip row. So, check to see if you will be sailing on a
broad reach or a run.
Douse your mainsail
and flake it securely to your boom.
Start heading toward your turn into the slip row. When you have made the turn into the slip
row, trim or ease the jib sheet as needed.
Keep the boat moving.
This part of
the sail back to your slip will be easiest if you are on a broad reach or
run. A beam reach will do alright too…
but don’t try sail close hauled unless you are very confident that your boat
won’t gather any leeway and slip sideways into parked boats in their slips.
Get ready to
take down your jib sail. If you have a
roller furler, this is pretty easily done.
If not, you might rig a jib downhaul line before you leave the marina. The jib downhaul line is secured to the jib halyard
shackle and is rove through a block at the base of the forestay, then back to
the cockpit. Releasing the jib halyard
and pulling on the jib downhaul line will quickly douse the jib and hold it on
the deck.
As your boat
approaches your slip, gauge your speed and then douse the jib so as to be able
to turn and coast into the slip. BTW –
it is a good thing to have practiced this maneuver in open water so that you
will know how far your boat will coast at differing breeze velocities.
Now you are “parked” in your slip with the sails down. Secure the boat to the dock lines. You are home “free”.
Sailing away
from your slip and out of the marina - - or sailing back to your slip are both
easy to do. It takes confidence and a
knowledge of how your boat will react on different points of sail with only a
jib sail hoisted. So, perhaps something
that you can practice when you are out sailing.
