The calculation to avoid involuntary drying out when anchoring on a falling tide is a lot easier than many imagine. Forget trying to interpolate between tiny soundings on the chart in order to guess …
Sail on the Moon-tide
If you sail in central southern England, you’ll find spring high waters equate to midnight and mid-day. Down in the west country they fall around 0600 and 1800. On the Thames they’re usually in time …
Calibrate the log
The easiest way to calibrate a log is to wait until you’re operating inside a lock somewhere – in a Dutch canal for instance – note the speed over ground (SOG) from the GPS and set the log speed …
An easier furl
Roller genoas have revolutionised cruising under sail, but without a bit of basic maintenance they can still make life a lot tougher than it need be. Winter or spring is the time to read the manual, …
Can’t see it for looking at it
Can’t find the buoy or pier head you’re looking for from seawards? Check the chart for a really conspicuous object on the shore that you can bring directly behind it. Note the bearing of the transit …
Main only
All sorts of boat handling manoeuvres under sail are more easily executed under mainsail only. Often, this involves sailing closehauled, which is where problems can arise. A close-hauled headsail …
