Trip-Adventure

Sailing is the art and technique of piloting a boat using wind power. Sailors manage the force of the wind on the boat’s sails by shifting the rudder, rigging, and center board, which all affect the direction and speed of a boat. While sailing can be difficult to master, and sailing mastery only comes with lots of experience in varied wind and sea conditions, few endeavors are as rewarding as sailing.

Sailing takes place in many varied water environments from small lakes in the Midwestern United States to the azure waters of the Mediterranean, to the wild and unpredictable seas of the Southern Ocean. A huge variety of sail boats exists from small sunfish, to catamarans, to ocean-going yachts. Sailing as an essential means of transport has gradually died out, in all but the most remote third world coastal countries. At the same time, sailing for recreation has become a huge activity worldwide. Sailing races have become big business with small local races to the large scale ocean races like the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race.

Sailing, of course is all about shifting the the boat’s rudder, rigging and center board in response to the boat’s position to best take advantage of wind conditions. The sail above the water is used to catch the wind. Below the water, the keel or centerboard and the rudder work together to provide and opposing force in response to the sail, and this push and pull is what allows the sailor to direct the boat in virtually any direction.

When a boat is traveling roughly perpendicular to the wind is called reaching. A beam reach occurs when the boat is sailing at 90 degrees perpendicular to the wind, the sails positioned somewhere close to a 45 degree angle to the wind. A broad reach is used when the boat is more than 90 degrees away from the wind. Depending on the boat design, a broad reach or a beam reach may be faster.