Stress-Free Sailing

Duncan Wells is an RYA instructor and sailing school principal. He has written for many leading boating magazines in the UK and US. He is also the author of Stress-Free Navigation, Stress-Free Motorboating and Stress-Free Mooring (Adlard Coles Nautical), which have helped countless sailors and motorboaters learn helpful boat handling and berthing techniques. He lives in Buckinghamshire.

A great book for those sailors who have just finished their practical Day Skipper course and who need more confidence to sail their own yacht.

• CONTENTSAcknowledgements Preface 1 INTRODUCTION PHILOSOPHY Why learn single-handed techniques? Test boats2 SKILLS & DISCIPLINES Rope Attaching to the dock Mooring lines Knots Boathook Sharing a cleat Shore lines Shoes Keep a clean head Glossary 3 GETTING OFF THE BERTHConditions: wind and tide Prop walk Fendering Back-up plan Grip Finger berth, bows in Finger berth, stern in Along a long pontoon, with boats ahead and astern 4 GETTING ONTO THE BERTH The approach Approaching bows first Approaching stern firstTricky berths, bows first Tricky berths, stern first Strong wind blowing you off a stretch of pontoon Box mooring Rafting up Mediterranean mooring French fingers and hooped cleats 5 SAILING, HEAVING TO & REEFING Sail trim and handling Sailing in a circle on the spot Heaving to Reefing 6 MOORING BUOYS Approach and control of the boat Mooring buoy with pendant and pick-up float Mooring buoy with no pendant7 ANCHORING Coding the cable Quick tips for anchoring success Using a kedge anchor Bahamian moor A line ashore Grounding the bows on the beach Anchor stuck? 8 WEATHER Frontal systems Wind on land and sea 9 HEAVY WEATHER SAILING STRATEGY Using the right sails Centring the effort Balancing the sails Weather helm Setting the boat up for heavy weather Very heavy weather When to heave to 10 NAVIGATION Measure with your body Distances Lee bowing Moon phases Tablet navigation 11 MAN OVERBOARD STRATEGYGetting back to the MOBGetting an able MOB back on board Getting an unconscious MOB back on board Glossary Epilogue Index