Saltwater Sailing

If you are planning to spend a salt water holiday during the next sailing season, either in your own dinghy or a hired boat, don't spoil the experience by going afloat unprepared. Any kind of sailing, whether it is on a lake, reservoir or other sheltered waterway, requires preparation; but none more so than sailing in the tidal conditions of river and sea.

Inland waters afford excellent conditions for gaining confidence and skill in handling a boat; but such experience does not necessarily make you a competent saltwater sailor. So if it is the saltwater creeks and estuaries on which you are proposing your adventure, make the most of the new conditions by learning something about them before setting sail.

Begin with a check on the dinghy and its gear. The type of boat desirable for estuary sailing should be stable, preferably three quarter decked and twelve to fifteen feet in length and equipped, of course, with a centreplate and drop-rudder.

There should be adequate buoyancy compartments or bags to keep the boat and crew afloat in the event of a capsize or swamping, and a pair of oars and rowlocks - the latter secured by lanyards - or paddles. Other essential equipment will include anchor and line, a spare line for towing or mooring, and a bailer.

Another necessary check are the metal fittings, such as shackles, sheaves and rigging screws. Salt is corrosive, and these are liable to rust if not kept greased.

An important item likely to be overlooked on a hot summer's day is clothing. Weather changes quickly, and you are advised to take garments with you to give protection from sun, wind, rain and spray for you might experience all of them in a few hours' sail.
You should go prepared, for even a short sail often turns out to be longer than you planned. You may well be glad to slip on a sweater and slacks and a sailing smock before you get back, even though it was calm and warm enough to start off in shorts and shirt.

Remember that salt wind and sunlight afloat take effect much more rapidly than you realise. At the end of even a short period of exposure you could suffer severe burning. Glare off the surface of the water is another discomfort - it is far more trying than anything on land, so you should include a good pair of sunglasses in your personal gear.

When you have decided on your sailing locality, you can study a chart of the area. Coloured charts specially produced for yachtsmen, covering most coastal areas including estuaries and adjacent creeks, can be obtained from most boat or marine stores and chandlers. These are easy to read, and will show you the course of the deep water channel, and depths of the creeks running off this between mud and sand banks exposed at low water.

Most of the channels are buoyed, and the higher reaches of those not used by commercial traffic may be marked by a painted log, or in the shallower creeks by withies. These are not all marked on the chart, but by studying the course of the channel and the position of the shoals, you should be able to pick up the marks when you get afloat. Then by calculating the state of the tide, you will get a good idea of the depth of water over the banks at any given time.

It is important to find out about local conditions before going afloat. You need to know such things as the strength of the tides; whether exposed banks are hard, or too soft to take your weight without sinking above the knees; the local byelaws or regulations. If there is a coastguard nearby they will gladly give you advice on all these points. Members of the local sailing club will also know the characteristics of the area, and other sources of information would be local boatmen and fishermen.

Remember to make full use of the tides. Provided you work them properly they will be a help, not a hindrance. Sail with them, not against, and bear in mind the rough conditions that can be created by wind against tide. Sailing with the flow or ebb against a strengthening wind you will find quite a breaking swell on the narrowest stretches. So take a note of the weather forecast for the area before setting sail.

Another important point that may be overlooked by the newcomer to tidal waters is the length of the anchor chain. This should be at least three times the maximum depth of water at high tide. If you are using rope it should be five or six times the depth. This applies to any boat likely to be anchored at all states of the tide.

The safe boating rules you should have already learnt on inland waters apply even more on a tideway. Apart from the buoyancy of the boat, personal buoyancy is essential, so you should see that you and your crew have life-jackets.

Salt water sailing needs careful preparation, but this should come naturally to those who have learnt how to handle a boat on inland waters. For those with little or no experience who are keen to spread their wings on tidal waters, the best way to get launched is through a sailing school. Most of these are located on estuaries and natural harbours, so you will begin your instruction under tidal conditions.

The Royal Yachting Association is a good place to look for serious tutoring if you live in the UK.