Flights of Freedom

Byte Sailing 25 Oct 2020 Conditions: Light wind S, picked up to 8 knots SW? at 1100h, consistent.  Roll-Tacking Heel boat leeward and tack. Once boat passes irons, body follows boom position and heel to new leeward, maintain till sail stops luffing, then STRAIGHTEN RUDDER, get onto windward side, flatten and change hands. If didn't straighten but beared away, will oversteer and might even capsize (when you bear away to beam reach with your sail in too tight, you get a lot of heel with little drive) .  (Also take care to prepare and free up some rope allowance prior to tack to prevent stepping on it. If stepped on it, and about to capsize, heck it, let it go, focus on controlling the rudder, and do whatever it takes to hike out and over the gunwale like my life depended on it). Changing hands After completing Tack, with RUDDER STRAIGHTENED, body on the new windward side, keep current tiller hand behind back, grab tiller ext base with current sheet hand, (sheet currently through...

 SB20 Helming Steer according to telltales on jib - depending on what mode you want to achieve, telltale positions would be as follows: high and slow mode - windward telltale 30 deg up, leeward telltale streaming straight, middle mode - both telltales streaming straight out, low and fast mode - windward telltale streaming straight out, leeward telltale 30 deg up Also easy mnemonic, when the telltale is pointing up and/or waving around, you can imagine that the telltale is waving frantically at you, warning you that you're turning too close to that particular side

Jib sail: Different trim for high mode and low mode. High mode will have jib in tighter, low mode will have jib looser.  Mainsail: Downhaul tight when sailing upwind for flatter sail shape in higher apparent wind. Downhaul looser (vang tight enough to maintain boom horizontal) when sailing downwind for fuller sail to catch more air.  Outhaul controls depth in lower third of mainsail. Ease to add depth and power. Tension to flatten and depower. Upwind should have outhaul tight and downwind should have outhaul loose. Vang takes over job of pulling down on mainsail clew and controlling twist when boom is eased out for downwind. Use to keep boom horizontal. Vang eased - more twist. Vang tight - less twist. When wind increases, leech will open. Vang on to close leech and reduce "air leak". When going downwind, pull the vang to keep top batten parallel with boom.  When going upwind, vang kept simply snug (not tensioned) in light to moderate conditions because sail twist will be...

Byte Pre-Sailing Reflections  Targets to achieve: Internal Affairs - Intra-Boat Management Execute smooth hand over hand sheeting in with improved rope positioning. Also tidy up ropes before doing a tack/gybe (make sure you are ready for tack/gybe before performing one) Practice main sheet tricks - stretch out length of rope and lay on knee prior to tack or gybe Hike out with thighs on boat gunwale Manage outhaul, downhaul and vang consciously to maintain good sail shape. Lift and lower daggerboard for different points of sail Manoeuvring Around Wind - Tacking & Gybing Turn by correct amount during tacking (slightly over-turn then head back to wind is fine). (Also do so by visualising current heading and new desired heading.) Tacking technique to be improved - changing hands and moving the tiller extension around forward. Keeping hands on main sheet instead of letting go.  When the wind shifts aft, point into the wind more rather than letting out the sail. Likewise when th...

Little thrills: happy and excited to get to use a brand new, larger sail Byte Sailing Brief Overview: Gusty wind conditions today. Pointers acquired: Look out into distance/distant aiming point.  Hike out with thighs on boat gunwale.  Improve hand over hand sheeting in with improved rope positioning. Also tidy up ropes before doing a tack/gybe (make sure you are ready for tack/gybe before performing one) Make sure to adjust the dagger board the next time.  Have been under-turning on tack. Might need better wind sense and envelope sense to know new heading to tack to.  Tacking technique to be improved - changing hands and moving the tiller extension around forward. Keeping hands on main sheet instead of letting go.  Tugging at main sheet to initiate swing over too early sometimes during the gybe. Turn more and watch for sail flap/depowering, then tug to initiate swingover.  Rudder control still not steady, especially when I'm sheeting in with both hands (inc...

SB20 Sailing Use wind indicator if available. Sometimes sail trailing edge will have telltales going off wrongly, but leading edge will still luff. So prioritise leading edge.  Also, developed a system where I will sit FWD of the main sheet pulley, and not cross over the traveller cleat. And when tacking, I've got to be nimble and squeeze in the gap between the main sheet and the traveller.  Shift weight around to lean/roll the boat when turning. Roll the boat towards the outside of the turn to encourage it to turn in the opposite direction. (eg roll to starboard and boat will turn to port). Watch for optimum timing to move from one side to another, especially when tacking or gybing. When gybing: 1. Lean weight out to initiate heel away from sail and encourage steering, 2. Initiate sail swingover, 3. When boat has arrived at desired heading, dash over to the other side and lean weight out to flatten /unroll the boat, re-power the sail and accelerate. When tacking: ...

Conditions: Gusty storm winds, but approx 7-8 knots.  Wind shifts sometimes, so need to ascertain new direction accurately. Still a little unsure about whether I am reading the wind correctly. Maybe might put a wind indicating device that is within the field of view of the camera and review footage afterwards to assess quality of sail trim. Sailed in my first storm today.  Hiking out a lot more today. But the problem encountered was that sometimes right when I hiked out, the boat "un-heeled", and continued rolling the other way. So I'll have to immediately sit up and in. Two possible reasons: maybe I hiked out too much, or when I hiked out, I unknowingly/accidentally slightly pointed the boat, which reduced the side force pressure and resulted in the rolling back towards me, past the neutral point. Need to find a way to solve the twitchy controlling and keep the rudder centered even as I move around the cockpit. Going downwind presented another challenge.  Boat felt diffi...

Item 1: Rigging Observation: Rigging boat was slow. Reflection: Unfamiliar with the procedures and the specific parts of the keelboat.  Sub Points: new parts of the boat for me: outstay (line at the back to control curve of mast for depowering the top of the sail) Head of mainsail connected to main halyard via shackle.  Item 2: Main Sail Control Sub points: - Learnt traveller tuning to keep boom centred. (traveller used as fine tuning after sheeting in on the main sheet)  - Keeping top leech telltale streaming out straight (unable to do that even after loosening outstay and sheeting out. Next thing to try: tuning the vang)  - Main sheet, outstay and traveller controlled by the same guy usually. Need to get accustomed to the ergonomics and movement within the cockpit. Sometimes might need to manage spinnaker also. Item 3: Spinnaker Observation:  I am very unfamiliar with the spinnaker as I have never used one before. I am also unfamiliar with the SB20...

Pre-Sailing Pro tips: Try standing up if you can't feel the wind too well. Stand up to feel the wind then sit back down. (Wind shouldn't change too much for the following half hour after your standing-up wind check.)  Train your sensitivity to the wind by using a fan at home to simulate the wind, and then try to mentally understand how to sense the wind and get a sense of how various winds at different directions feel like.  Post Sailing Reflections: Conditions: Wind was stronger and more stable today when we went out.  Today I was monitoring my sail a lot more closely and constantly checking the telltales. I'm still a bit unsure of how to use BOTH telltales. I'm going by the rule of thumb that both telltales have to be pointing straight out to have proper trim, but what to do when the inner/windward telltale keeps drooping and what does it mean? (I think I was on beam reach.)  A: Means that side is not catching enough airflow and you need to turn the boa...

Pre-Sailing Reflections  Objectives Identified: 1. Push Close-hauling limits (sail as close-hauled to the no-go zone as possible and ride just on the limit) 2. Maximize Velocity Made Good 3. Seek to hike first before releasing sheet when boat heels Post Sailing Reflections Managed to close in my close hauling envelope a little. More wind awareness. Obtained via letting out the sheet, allowing the sail to flap, and then sheeting in. And then remembering the rough direction of the wind. However, at times, it was still a great challenge to determine and respond quickly to wind direction, so I used nearby wind-telling aids like flags. For this, though, sometimes it feels like the wind that hits the flag is different in nature from the wind that hits my sail, so I'll have to be careful about that and discern accordingly.  Encountered a lot of gusts today and had to adapt quickly to the new gust. As for a legitimate technique to deal with gusts, I haven't quite gotten it...

Origin of Terms Series The "Today QiYun Learnt" Digest Alright, here's another fun fact for the day: The English word "salary" is derived from the Latin phrase salarium argentum , which means "salt money'. This was because salt was so valuable even in those times that it was also used as a currency, and was part of the payment made to soldiers in Rome.

Today I learnt that disposing of a Singapore flag is permitted, but it has to be concealed and not prominently visible in the rubbish bin etc. So for instance, it has to be sealed properly in a black trash bag. This makes sense too, as it looks quite disrespectful to see a national flag sticking out of a rubbish bin. That's all for today.  Source:  https://www.nhb.gov.sg/what-we-do/our-work/community-engagement/education/resources/national-symbols/national-flag#:~:text=Any%20worn%20out%20or%20damaged,bag%20before%20being%20disposed%20of.

Was just brainstorming potential locations on a sailing dinghy to mount an action camera and here are a list of possible solutions I have come up with and will try out soon. Possible Detachable Action Camera Dinghy Mounting Locations and Techniques 1. Boom Mount via Wrist Mount around Boom Backup Security: Floating wrist strap attached to camera and looped through boom. 2. Bow Mount via Handlebar Mount around Bow Eyelet Backup Security: Securing tether attached to camera and looped through bow eyelet 3. Tiller Mount via Handlebar Mount around Tiller Backup Security: Securing tether attached to camera and tied/hitched to tiller 4. Stern Mount via Suction Cup Mount on Stern Deck Backup Security: Securing tether attached to camera and tied to rudder attachment point If necessary, possible to use helmet extension linkage bar to add distance. POV Mounting Head strap Backup Security: Tether head strap to life vest via tethering line looped through head strap and life vest strap. Chest mounti...