Learn How to Sail a Dinghy and Yacht - Beginners Sailing Basics

This website is a complete guide on learning how to sail a dinghy or a yacht. If you are beginning to sail then all information is contained within this website. All pages contain images as well as videos and can be used as a useful tutorial. Consider book marking this page for future reference.

Easy Guide to Sailing

When beginning to learn to sail, a knowledge of the purpose of the hardware on sailboats and common sailing techniques is required. This page contains the full range of sailing terms and is key to understanding terminology used in sailing - Sailing Terms
Knowing the names of the various pieces of hardware and names of boat parts - Boat Parts

It is helpful to have an understanding of how aerofoils and hydrofoils work on a sailboat producing forward drive - Hydrofoil and Aerofoil Sailing Theory
The art of sail making and how modern technology is constantly evolving the sail making process - Sails  
To appreciate the various type of sailing rigs from around the world and keel shapes types of rigs - Types of Rigs
The elements of the standing rigging  and running rigging  on a sailboat such as Ropes, Cleats and Shackles  along with the Winches and Blocks help in understanding their purpose and characteristics.
An important skill in sailing is the ability to tie the full range of rope knots - Types of Knots

How to Sail a Sailboat

When learing how to sail a sailboat, the first sailing experience should be on a small inland lake or a flat broad water area of the coast. Pick a day with a forecast of steady light onshore breezes and no inclement weather - Maritime Weather Forecasts
The mast and boom form the supporting structure for most sails. It is important to understand the various mast rigging systems as well as the concepts such as mast rake and mast bend - Masts and Booms
Rig and de-rig the boat at least once by yourself before proceeding on the first sail. Different types of sailboat rigging, mast stepping procedures as well as the boom fittings are contained in - Sailboat Rigging
The primary control for changing direction is the sailboat rudder. The adjustable center board or daggerboard’s purpose is to counteract the sailboat's tendency to drift sideways - Centreboard and Rudder
Sail rigging is the next step in preparing to sail.   Rigging the jib and mainsail and how they are controlled utilizing mainsheet systems and boom fittings as well as methods to reef a sail - Sail Rigging
Launching a sailing dinghy from a shore requires a different a technique from launching from a pontoon or jetty. When launching from a shore, various elements need to be taken into account as well as an understanding of weather shore and lee shore - Launching and Recovery
Launching from a pontoon or mooring involves other techniques for leaving and arriving at a pontoon as well as leaving and arriving at a buoy. Pontoons and Moorings
Sailing basics requires practicing the basic skills such as stopping the boat along with the understanding the principal points of sailing and sailing fundamentals - Basic Sailing Manoeuvres

Changing direction into the wind is termed tacking. The tack occurs as the bow of the boat passes through the eye of the wind and is complete when sailing on the new course - Tacking
Changing direction and sailing away from the wind is termed gybing. In gybing it is the stern, rather than the bow, that turns through the wind with the mainsail staying full of wind throughout the manoeuvre - Gybing
To apply the theory gained so far, the Sail Trim Simulator allows you to experiment with setting the optimum trim for both the headsail and mainsail - Sail Trim Simulator
To aid in downwind sailing, some sailing dinghies are fitted with spinnakers.  The spinnaker has evolved into the asymmetrical design, allowing high-performance sailing dinghies to carry a spinnaker on a beam reach - Spinnaker Systems
The conventional spinnaker rigging involves attaching the three corners to sheets and  relying on the wind’s force to keep it in position - Conventional Spinnaker
The asymmetrical spinnakers resemble a cross between a large jib and a spinnaker and are set from a long, retractable bowsprits projecting from the bow - Asymmetrical Spinnakers
When sitting out over the transom, the crew weight keeps sailing dinghies upright, sufficient to balance the power of the sails. High-performance dinghies with larger sail areas need trapeze systems so that the crew weight is further out to increase the righting power - Trapeze Systems
When learning how to sail a dinghy, practice capsize procedures on a calm day. Learn to right the boat should it happen to capsize - Capsizing and Man Overboard
To retain body warmth when sailing, the dinghy sailing gear choice is between dry suits and wetsuits.  A sailing wetsuit is the means of staying warm where staying dry is not an option whereas a sailing dry suit has latex seals at the neck, wrist, and feet sealing water from the body - Dinghy Sailing Gear

How to Sail a Yacht

Starting to learn how to sail a yacht requires an overview of yacht rigging such as standing rigging and tuning along with the various sail furling systems - Yacht Rigging
How to handle sails on a yacht is the next step to setting sail. Understanding the various facets of the mainsail, headsails and spinnakers is required for good crew work - Yacht Sail Handling
The main controls on a yacht are lengths of rope. Knowing what types of rope suit different applications and rope work, the art of tying basic knots and rope handling skills are covered by - Nautical Rope and Rope Work
At sea, a potential life-threatening situation is treated as an emergency. Be prepared for any emergency by practicing the following emergency drills before setting sail - Yacht Emergency Drills
The yacht now needs to be released from its mooring or berth and motor out of the marina. A different skill set is required for handling a yacht under power along with understanding ‘prop walk’ and wind and tide effects - Handling Under Power

When sailing a yacht, the skipper and crew need to experience the boat’s characteristics under different situations. How the boat drifts, the effects of sail configurations, sail balance and heaving to is covered in - Yacht Sailing
The procedures of the tack and gybe are the same for yachts as for dinghies but the sail handling equipment is different and the manoeuvres take longer. The procedures for different sail control along with the spinnaker broach are described in - Basic Yacht Manoeuvres
When sailing a yacht and fog descends, take steps to increase safety, the yacht’s visibility and use the correct sound signals - Sailing in Fog
Securing a boat without coming alongside a quay or pontoon can be done by mooring and anchoring. Moorings are laid in harbours, rivers, and bays providing convenient securing points for visiting or resident yachts - Mooring and Anchoring
Boat berthing involves the use of bow, stern and breast ropes, and bow and aft springs at a pontoon or quay. Understanding the procedure and skills required is contained in Preface to Boat Berthing and Techniques for Mooring Rope and Mooring Lines.
Different types of berths present different challenges which are covered in Quay Berthing and Marina Berthing as well as Rafting Up.

How to Navigate a Boat

An understanding of a few basic concepts to begin navigating such as the meaning of position, direction, distance, and depth then apply them to practical maritime navigation - Basic Navigation
Sailing along coasts and in estuaries requires an understanding of the IALA Buoyage System. Buoyage is the system of buoys and other markers identifying features such as channels or obstructions - IALA Maritime Buoyage System
Passage planning starts prior to a voyage with the preparation of a detailed navigation plan estimating of the number of sailing hours, allowing for weather or other factors - Passage Planning
Maritime navigation rules of the road apply to confined channels where the application of the rules prevents a collision with other vessels - Maritime Navigation Rules of the Road
In tidal waters, knowing the height of the tide and the direction of the tidal stream/current is important for safe navigation- Tides

Identification at night of both vessels and the IALA buoyage system involves a  standard pattern  of marine navigation lights - Navigation Lights
Pilotage is the navigation by eye, compass, and chart, when in sight of land. Pilotage is used when entering or leaving harbour where an error of a few boat's lengths can be critical – Pilotage
Navigating is setting a course to steer from departure point to destination and known as shaping a course, and is a vital skill for safe navigation offshore – Shaping a Course
When plotting the estimated position on a passage, errors occur, making the position doubtful. Periodically the navigator fixes the position of the yacht relative to known landmarks or features – Fixing a Position
Records of the course steered, distance run, times of course alterations, and the leeway experienced is used in plotting Estimated Position on the chart - Plotting a Position