You are at the helm of a schooner-rigged sailing vessel under sail on the port tack, on a beam reach, with all appropriate sails set and properly trimmed. You are instructed to "bear off quickly". Which action will utilize your sails to assist with the turn?
• Bear off means turning the vessel away from the wind (toward leeward), not toward it • On a schooner, the after sails and forward sails affect whether the boat tends to head up (weather helm) or fall off (lee helm) • Depowering (slackening) a sail moves the center of effort away from that sail and changes the turning moment on the hull
• On a port-tack beam reach, in which direction are you turning when told to bear off, and which side is leeward? • To help the boat turn away from the wind, do you want to reduce power in the forward sails or the after sails? How does that change the balance between bow and stern? • Which of the listed sails is farthest aft, and what happens to the boat’s tendency to turn if you slacken that particular sheet compared with slackening a sail forward?.
• Be clear which sails are forward (headsails) and which are aft (mains/foresails on the masts) on a schooner • Confirm for yourself: shifting the center of effort forward tends to create lee helm (boat bears off), while shifting it aft tends to create weather helm (boat heads up) • Before choosing, visualize the boat from the side and ask: "If I slacken this sail, does it make it easier or harder for the bow to turn away from the wind?"
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