Racing Know how
Paralympic gold medalist honored with Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award
Submitted by admin on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 14:01.
(wickedlocal) After proving that despite a major
setback, the will to sail and compete at the highest level can prevail,
Maureen McKinnon-Tucker of Marblehead was honored with the annual
Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award at ceremonies capping the daylong
Women’s Sailing Conference June 6 at Corinthian Yacht Club in
Marblehead. The award is co-sponsored by BoatUS and the National
Women’s Sailing Association. The award honors a male or female who has
a record of achievement in giving something back to the sailing
Post to TwitterYoung sailors find their sea legs without going in the water
Submitted by admin on Fri, 07/11/2008 - 16:01.
The Bermuda Sun-- Imagine if children could learn to sail without even getting in the water. Now they can thanks to the Bermuda Sailing Association (BSA) and the WaterWise Programme. Five public middle schools across the island have started an on-land way for children to learn the basics of sailing. The
WaterWise Programme is a "learn to sail" programme that begins with
dry-land sessions using Opti Simulators, which are essentially
sailboats with wheels that mimic the actions of being in water. The
simulators enable children to spend time learning the basics of water
safety and sailing before they venture out onto the water. Ben
Nicholls, who is on the Guy Carpenter team and helped build the
simulators, and said the on-land experience the students receive is not
unlike the real thing. "It is very similar," he said. "Apart
from the fact that you don't have the waves splashing over you and the
boat rocking back and forth. We picked middle schools that had a big,
big playground. So they could charge around and not cause too much
damage." The Guy Carpenter team used both recycled material and
new pieces of sailing equipment from the BSA and the Royal Hamilton
Using an asymetrical spinnaker
Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 14:17.
Sailnet.com-- Asymmetrical spinnakers
(or aspins) have become so popular in the last few years that most
sailors are aware of what they are and how to use them. But there are
many versions of these sails, and sailmakers are constantly
experimenting with different shapes and sizes in cruising and racing
aspins-for all-around use or for sailing in very specific conditions. It
would be difficult, if not impossible, to get much of a consensus from
competing sailmakers, regarding the "best" or "correct" size or shape
for this type of sail. However, here are some of the things that I have
discovered by designing and using aspins on a wide variety of racing
and cruising boats over the last several years. One
of the biggest attractions with aspins is that because of their
simplicity, they require less gear and fewer crew to handle than
symmetrical kites, and that makes us more likely to use them more
often. They make downwind sailing much more enjoyable, not to mention
faster, and are extremely versatile sails in terms of achievable angles. Read MoreWinning Sailboat Races Takes More Than Fast Sails and Smart Sailing
Submitted by admin on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 18:08.
PRWeb.com-- UK-Halsey Sailmakers has just posted the 24th animated rules quiz to
its web site. This series of animated, online quizzes has been
acclaimed as the easiest way to learn the rules of sail boat racing. The newest quiz involves a port/starboard situation after rounding a windward mark.
UK-Halsey's quizzes are based on common situations when sailboats come together on the race course. The questions are not about obscure, hard to repeat, situations; they present incidents that happen again and again on the race course. Since most of the quizzes have several related questions, the library of quizzes offers a lot of sail boat racing lessons.
What makes UK-Halsey's quizzes a unique way to learn the rules of sailing is the use of animation, which allows viewers to get a much better understanding of the rule in question. The animations can be stopped and started and played over as many times as necessary for the viewer to come to their own conclusion before checking the answer. Viewers watch the boats move; spinnakers go up and come down; sails luff and are trimmed as well as move from side to side as the boats go around the racing marks. Read More
The Physics of Sailing
Submitted by admin on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 17:23.
Physics Today, February 2008-- In addition to the recreational pleasure sailing affords, it
involves some interesting physics. Sailing starts with the force of the wind on
the sails. Analyzing that interaction yields some results not commonly known to
non-sailors. It turns out, for example, that downwind is not the fastest
direction for sailing. And there are aerodynamic issues. Sails and keels work
by providing "lift" from the fluid passing around them. So optimizing
keel and wing shapes involves wing theory.
The resistance experienced by a moving sailboat includes the effects of waves, eddies, and turbulence in the water, and of the vortices produced in air by the sails. To reduce resistance effectively by optimizing hulls, keels, and sails, one has to understand its various components. Read More
Test Your Racing Knowledge
Submitted by admin on Wed, 02/27/2008 - 15:50.
Think you've mastered the art of racing? Test your skills online using this Online Sailing Test written by US Sailing, Click Here to test your knowledge!