How to choose the right boat for you - part 1.

When you start sailing, you most probably gonna start is one of the following: a steady, stable learning dinghy in one of the clubs or a yacht with a keel. Both have its own advantages, but to really learn sailing and be good in it, you need to practice in a dinghy (see the definition in my earlier posting). Not surprising, that most of the successful yacht racing sailors are coming from a longer dinghy background.
Well, assuming, that have a solid knowledge of how to navigate around in a boat, after a certain point comes the question, which is the best boat for you, what kind of boat should you buy (or choose in your club)?

If you're not sure of your knowledge yet, older or have kids and need a stable boat without the chanche of capsizing, you should choose something like a Pirate, a Laser 2000 or a Laser Stratos. These boats can carry multiple people (2-3) at the same time, so they are perfect for sailing learning or teaching. They usually carry a smaller sail area, so you can evade scarry situation in case the wind would strenghten during sailing, and most probably you will stay dry. These boats maximally fulfill the those sailors, who have relaxation on their mind when they go on the water.

But some of us change from keeler yachts to dinghies not for relaxation, but for the speed offered by the light, planing hulls and relativelly big sail areas, like on the 470, 49er, Laser Vago, Laser 2, Laser 4000, or the RS Performance series. On these boats you will definitelly get wet, maybe even capsize, but will have the possibility to experience how does it feel to fly over the water on a trapeze. The only problem, that after these boats getting back on a keeler yacht is like getting out of your Porsche and boarding a horse carriage or bus. Of course, to sail these boats to their maximum needs a certain ammount of practice and skill, and of course, the beginning of the learning curve can be painful.

Next time, I go into details!

heavy weather 470

Just been looking for some 470 images, when I ran into this video:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/51088
Some waves are pretty wicked, but the guys are handling well (the second half of the video is about Lasers)

Why dinghy sailing??

On Wikipedia the definition of Dinghy sailing is the following:

"Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using (1) the sails and (2) underwater foils (daggerboard or centreboard and rudder). It also involves adjusting (3) the sail trim and (4) balance by movement of the crew, particularly in windy weather ("move fast or swim"). In rivers and tidal waters the effective choice of route in terms of existing and anticipated wind shifts (5) and currents (6) can be important."

My favoutite part is the "move fast or swim" definition :-)

The real sense behind "getting wet" is the achiavable speed, because of the planing hull designs, and the lack of stabilising weight carried on conventional sailboats, as the crew is the satilising "factor" by moving its weight.
As it's stated on wiki, "a boat which is planing is skimming along the surface, rising up on its own bow wave. This results in less friction because of reduced waterline length, reduced displacement (the amount of water needing to be pushed aside by the boat), and reduced 'wetted area'. The power given by the sails has to overcome less resistance, and therefore speed increases dramatically."

Another available cool technique in dinghy sailing is trapezing. This involves using the crew to provide more leverage to keep the sails vertical, by hanging outside the boat on a harness and rope attached to the 'hounds' or upper mast. As a result the boat is easier to keep upright, and the sails can deliver maximum power most of the time. Boats may have only one trapeze, such as the 470, where only the crew uses the trapeze. Boats, such as the 49er, may have trapeze wires for both the skipper and the crew.

On wiki their is a fairly comprehensive overview of the different dinghy types as well, what I wouldn't rewrite, just let me paste here the two entries most relevant to my forthcoming blog postings:
"Skiffs are the fastest and arguably most difficult type of dinghy to sail. A skiff has a flat narrow hull with a disproportionately large sailplan, usually consisting of an asymmetric spinnaker, blade jib and fully battened main. Sailors manage the rig with the use of racks (wings) and trapeze. Examples are the 49er, an Olympic boat, and the advanced International 14.
High Performance dinghies are fast and powerful dinghies designed for racing around an Olympic triangle (Olympic Racing Course). Examples of such dinghies are the Flying Dutchman, the Fiveohfive (505), the Jet 14, the Fireball, the Osprey, the Javelin and the 470. They can all plane easily, even upwind and they use trapeze and a symmetric spinnaker. Not all are two handed boats: the Contender and the RS600 are high performance single handed boats equipped with a trapeze, but not a spinnaker, and demonstrate a comparable performance. Skiffs are usually classed as High performance dinghies."

As the spring has just started here in northern hemisphere Europe after the unsailable winter, just reading and writing about sailing is already sending my thoughts to the waterside... can't wait to here this year's first splashes of water under the bow!! Go-go-go ;)

For taste of things to come...

I'm about to write about all the experiences, feelings, and how-tos about dinghy sailing, plus all the related cool things I stumble into.
As a beginning, for "taste of things to come", a video about how to sail well a 470 class dinghy (it's not me unfortunately, but the guys are pretty close... :D)
Well, pretty cool feeling, I can tell you ;)