New to sailing - Questions?

@Pillphill – anyone who says “I am available Saturdays” and turns up on time always gets a welcome.

neris wrote: »

cant remember last time i was in a dinghy though it was probably last century

The last time I sailed a dinghy most definitely was the last century, when I taught my kids to sail in a Mirror; the last time I raced a dinghy was in the early 70’s in Dunmore East, a Fireball event (East Coast Championships maybe?)

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Oooh, dunno about this!

It always remains someone's call - but not necessarily the helm. I've been on boats where the helm considers his/her only job to be to sail the boat as fast as they can on whatever point of sail they're on. It's the crew's job to figure out tactics, lines to be taken, avoiding other boats etc etc - the helm just follows instructions and sails fast.

Now obviously you need a very tight crew, that you trust 100%, for that to work.

But there's many ways to skin a cat (or is it a pig?).

But I agree with you 110% about the dinghies

I think that is a good post because it brings in a lot of what should be done on any racing yacht. Without wishing to sound like an old f@rt, I’ve always believed that crew should be encouraged, involved and given opportunity – give a newbie the helm to sail out to the starting line, or after the finish to sail back to the mooring. No huge pressure, but gives experience, a sense of reward/merit and gets him/her used to sailing in proximity to other craft.
Who does what and when is ‘horses for courses’ really, and depends on the size of the boat, the ownership structure and the length of the race. What I meant about calling the shots was that “the Skipper is the Skipper”, in charge, and responsible for lives and safety. The final decision on everything is his/her call. However, on a very big boat the skipper might be the owner and not necessarily be the helm (who might be just a ‘hired jockey’). Similarly it might be acceptable for the tactician under the ‘boat rules’ to call the shots. The roles/rules need to be defined. BUT a boat sailed by a committee DOES NOT WORK.
I agree that the helm should concentrate on getting the best out of the boat (just as the skipper should get the best out of the crew) and any good helm would /should take a break and regularly exchange roles e.g. downwind. Beyond 30 mins it is very hard to retain intense concentration. In Dublin Bay the helm invariably (still?) is the skipper and IMO a good skipper should never encourage ‘advice’ but always ask for opinion – “Do you think we will lay the mark with this tide?” or “Is X getting better wind?” - questions like those (a) give an increased sense of involvement to a crew (b) increases their feeling of worth/skills acceptance, (c) improve their concentration and (d) allows the helm to concentrate on getting the best out of the boat while the crew watches what is going on. But it is the skipper’s call to act on the info provided. And when there is discussion the boat stops to listen.
Off now for my Ovaltine!