Sail cruising in NZ

Things they didn't teach in the Coastguard day-skipper course

but are essential for me

How to Rescue a Man Overboard in a yacht

A man overboard (MOB), also called crew overboard (COB) or person overboard (POB), is a very serious boating emergency. Most boating deaths occur after falling overboard. Since you can't trust your engine to start immediately, and since most MOBs don't occur in flat water in calm conditions, you must know how to efficiently turn the boat around and return to and stop beside the person under sail.
First, remember these general principles for any MOB:

Immediately throw floating objects in the water near the person, including life rings, boat cushions - anything that will float, and the more the better. The person can hold onto these things to help stay afloat until you return - important even if the MOB is wearing a lifejacket. Things in the water also make it easier to locate the area of the MOB, which can be critical in high waves or at night.
Get all crew on deck to help. Assign one person to keep watching and pointing at the MOB at all times while the rest of you handle the boat.
Press the MOB button on your GPS unit or chartplotter, if you have one. You might think you can easily return to and find the person in the water, but it can be easy to lose track in poor conditions, and knowing the person's GPS position may be necessary.
Start the boat's engine, if you have one, to assist with or manage your return to the victim. Loosen the sheets as needed so that you're not fighting the sails when you turn. Remember to be in neutral or turn the engine off when you near the victim.

This diagram shows a simple method for turning the boat back to the MOB and stopping. Different MOB maneuvers have been developed for different kinds of boats and different conditions (we'll see others in the next pages), but if you want to remember just one that can be used by all boats and in all conditions, this is a good one that is easy to practice and remember. Here are the key steps:

While throwing floating things overboard (point A on illustration) and gathering other crew to help, the helms-person immediately turns the boat onto a beam reach (B). If needed, sails can be quickly trimmed to keep forward momentum and steering. Note the compass heading.
When crew are ready, gybe the boat (C) and head back on the other beam reach. You will be on a reciprocal course (D) after this 180-degree turn and can use your compass to confirm you are on course.
Because it typically takes two to three boat-lengths to gybe, you will be about that distance downwind when you reach the person in the water. Depending on the boat and conditions, it may also take two to three boat-lengths for the boat to come to a stop when you turn into the wind (E) to reach the MOB. Ideally you stop just beside the person. If there is any risk of stalling before reaching the MOB, angle your reciprocal course (D) to approach closer before turning into the wind.

Advantages of the beam reach-gybe maneuver include:

Starting on a beam reach means you can always return on a reciprocal course to where you started.
If you lose sight of the MOB, sailing the same length of time on both beam reaches will put you in about the same place.
When you return to a spot just downwind of the MOB, it is more likely you will see the person or things you threw overboard as they drift downwind toward your position.
There is less risk of running over or past the MOB when your final approach is into the wind rather than on another point of sail.

Nonetheless, other MOB sailing maneuvers are useful in some situations. Here are the other effective methods.

When sailing offshore in a larger boat, especially in conditions where it is more difficult to keep an eye on the person in the water, you might use one of the two quick-stop methods shown here. Both involve very quickly turning into the wind, as soon as possible after the MOB is recognized, so that the boat stays close nearby. Because the boat will stall when headed up into the wind to stop it, you will then need to fall off the wind again in a controlled manner to gain way and turn back to the person.
Although these two methods may at first seem more complicated or more difficult to remember, both actually use one very similar principle: turn right away into the wind to stop, and then fall off again and turn in the most natural manner to return to the person.
This one I like best, as there is no jybing which is scarey for inexperienced crew, and dangerous in windy conditions.

Go to this page for other methods to use inshore in calmer winds and seas.

What If Your Engine Dies at a Bad Time?

Being prepared for any problem or crisis when sailing involves three steps: considering "what to do if" it happens right now, having the right gear or equipment ready if needed, and having a plan in mind to avoid losing precious time to panicked thinking.
The most seamanlike sailors are always thinking about their sailboat in the present conditions and considering what crisis might suddenly occur, however unlikely. You may have only seconds to react. To be prepared in case your boat's engine dies at the worse possible time, follow those three steps.

Possible Scenarios

You're transiting a harbor or channel.
You're approaching or leaving a dock.
You're close to a lee shore (downwind, at risk of being blown ashore).

Have the Gear Ready

Be sure your anchor is ready to drop quickly if needed.
Have at least one sail rigged and ready to quickly raise or unfurl at any time.
Have a winch handle accessible for quickly trimming the sail.
Have a horn or audible device ready to signal other boats whose path you may block.
Have your VHF radio on, turned to channel 16, and ready to go if you need to call for help or warn others.
Have PFDs ready for crew who need to go on deck to raise a sail or drop anchor.
Have your chart available and depthfinder turned on in case you need to quickly choose an anchoring spot.

Have a Plan in Mind

Your choice of the appropriate action depends on many factors, which may vary moment to moment. That's why you should be continually considering the "what if" question about your engine dying. Consider these:

The direction and strength of the wind.
The directions you are able to sail at present.
How many crew are present to help.
How long it will take to get a sail up and trimmed.
How well the boat maneuvers in tight quarters.
The direction and strength of any currents.
How close are other boats or dangers in the water.
The water depth and the bottom's holding characteristics.
How long you may have to wait before the engine restarts or help arrives.

With all these factors involved, it's not easy to quickly decide whether to anchor, try to sail to a safe area, or drift and call for help. But if you think the situation through in advance, playing "what if" as you motor along, you'll make a good decision much more quickly - and possibly avert a disaster that could otherwise result from panicked thinking.

What to Do if You Run Aground in a Sailboat

Chartplotters and plotting apps have made it easier than ever to avoid running aground in your sailboat, but accidents still happen and the prudent sailor should be prepared by knowing what steps to take. Often you have to act very quickly to avoid a worsening situation.
Of course, prevention is better! Pay attention to your chart and navigational aids, and understand that because of chart inaccuracies you may be closer to a shoal area than you realize.

First Steps: Do You Have to Act Fast?

Running aground may involve a "soft" grounding in sand or mud or a "hard" grounding on a rocky shoal. With a hard grounding especially, the boat may stop very suddenly, causing crew and gear to be thrown forward, possibly causing injuries. The first step is to ensure everyone on board is okay. Then check for a water leak that may demand preparing for repair or abandoning ship rather than trying to get free.
Next, quickly check your chart and estimate your position in the shoal area. Sometimes you may be able to continue in the same direction to reach clear water, although in most cases you generally need to reverse direction or turn sharply to either side to get free. Obviously it is essential to first determine the direction in which the boat ideally should move.
In the worst case, the force of the wind or current continues to drive the boat deeper into the shoal area. In such a case, or when the water level is dropping with the tide, you need to act quickly before the situation gets worse. Understanding your options helps you choose the best course of action more quickly. If the methods below do not free the boat quickly, then set an anchor as soon as possible to prevent wind or current from moving the boat further into the shoal area.
You also need to act quickly after a hard grounding because the hull may soon be damaged or holed by rocks grinding against the fiberglass or other hull material.

Using Your Engine

Sailors often attempt to motor back off the bottom immediately, using the boat's engine. This can be the best strategy - but not always. If the prop or shaft may have grounded (in a boat where the prop is relatively low in the water relative to the keel, which likely is on the bottom), then immediately shifting into reverse could put the engine out of commission. Think before you act. If the prop is a more than a foot above the keel bottom and likely not in contact with the bottom, then reversing may be your best option. Unless you are sure of the configuration of the bottom, use a long boat hook to check the water depth off the stern on both sides to ensure you have clearance.
On a centerboard boat, you may be able to get free by raising the centerboard. Be aware, in this case, that the prop may then be the lowest part of the boat. Take care not to let it strike bottom. With an outboard motor on a transom mount, raise the prop to its highest position just below the surface. Be aware also that as soon as you raise the centerboard, wind or current may start to drive the boat farther forward into the shoal, so raise it only after starting to reverse.
Once you begin reversing, stop if the boat does not soon begin moving backward. The prop wash may be stirring up sand or silt that will choke the engine's water intake for the cooling system, damaging the engine.

Can You Use Your Sails?

If you were under sail when you struck bottom, chances are that you will not be able to sail free because it is very difficult to reverse direction with the bow unable to pivot. The one exception may occur if you were sailing very close into the wind (close-hauled) on a soft grounding. You can try backwinding the mainsail by pushing the boom far out to the other (windward) side. The force may then push the bow back off the shoal - but only if the boat can pivot, and this could cause damage or be ineffective on a hard bottom. In sand or mud it may be enough to break free.
Except in this one case, it is usually better to drop sails after grounding while attempting to use the engine and other means to get free.

Heel the Boat

When a sailboat with a deep keel heels to one side, the keel actually pivots upward, lessening the boat's draft. This may be enough to break free, with or without use of the engine. Remember to check water depth around the boat by taking soundings, as usually you will want to heel the boat toward deeper water.
Heel the boat by positioning all crew on one side. Crew weight on the end of the boom far outboard can heel the boat even further. For maximum heel, if you have a dinghy and can row an anchor out to the side toward which you want to heel, attach a masthead halyard to the anchor rode and then winch in the halyard to pull the masthead toward the water, heeling the boat.
Sometimes heeling by itself may break the boat free. Or it may allow the engine to reverse the boat off the bottom.

Kedging Off

Finally, if still stuck, try kedging the boat off the shoal with an anchor. Row or swim the anchor (buoyed with a PFD) as far as possible out into deeper water. When the anchor is set, winch in the rode from the bow, trying to pivot the bow around to face the deeper water. If the boat moves, continue winching to pull the boat into deeper water. If the boat does not move, move the anchor rode to the stern and try kedging the stern out.

If All Attempts Fail

If you are thoroughly stuck and the tide is rising, keep the anchor rode taut while you wait to float free. If the tide is falling and all efforts have failed to free the boat, there is little to do except call for help (in an emergency) or wait for the flood tide.
If other boats are nearby, you might try a radio call on Channel 16 to see if a powerboat can assist you with a towline. A bigger engine may be all you need to break free. In some cases, if you have an anchor kedge on a tight rode, just the wake from a passing boat may lift your boat's hull for a moment, allowing you to haul it free one step at a time.

The Importance of Good Anchoring Technique

Few sailing experiences are as scary as waking in the middle of the night with the wind blowing hard and your boat dragging anchor toward rocks, the shore, or another boat. And one of the most irritating things for most cruising sailors is finding another boat dragging down upon them or getting tangled in their own anchor line.
Good anchoring technique is crucial for safety. Yet all too often even some experienced sailors are in too much of a hurry and skip one of the important steps for anchoring securely. Some new sailors never learn the essentials and just toss the anchor overboard and assume they’ll be fine.
But it is not difficult to anchor correctly and securely in most conditions. Follow these guidelines to help ensure your boat is safely anchored so you can get a good night’s sleep.

1. Prepare in Advance

Pick your anchorage carefully using an updated chart and paying attention to conditions, including wind direction and speed, likely tidal or other currents, and the forecast. Pay special attention to the chances for a shift in wind direction or speed. If your boat is pulled in the opposite direction during the night because of a reversing tidal current or wind, the anchor may be pulled out.
The ideal anchorage area should have some protection from the wind and waves and not be against a lee shore in case the anchor drags. The ideal bottom is sand or mud, not rock or heavy seaweed or grass. Most cruising guides and some charts show good anchorages that are protected and have good holding ground. Charts also show bottom characteristics when known.
Get the anchor ready before making your approach. Whether on a bow roller or lowered by hand from the bow, make sure the anchor rode is free to run. If the anchor rode is not marked at progressive depths with tags or color codes, stretch it out back and forth on deck so that you know how much rode you are letting out when anchoring. To be safe, plan to put out a rode about 7 times the water depth (counting the height of your bow over the water) at high tide.

2. Pick Your Spot Carefully

After studying the chart and choosing a general protected area, look for a spot with the right depth: from a few feet deeper than the draft of your boat (at low tide) to as deep as 30-40 feet if necessary—if you have at least 200-300 feet of anchor rode.
Make sure you are well clear of any channel regardless of how the boat swings with wind shifts, and that there are no hazards if your boat were to swing in a full circle around the anchor.
When other boats are already anchored nearby, follow good anchoring etiquette to stay safe without risking collision or entanglement. The general rule is that the first boat in an anchorage can choose its spot at will and each subsequent boat must stay clear of others already present.
Calculate how much swinging room you may need if the wind changes, based on how much anchor rode you will pay out according to the water depth. If possible, make sure your swinging circle does not overlap with any other boat’s swinging room.
In a crowded anchorage where your swinging room may have to overlap another boat’s, choose a spot among similar boats. Most cruising sailboats with a keel will swing in the same direction at the same time and therefore should not collide if not positioned too close together. But a shallow-draft powerboat will swing on the wind differently from a keel sailboat, increasing the risk of collision if their swinging circles overlap.

3. Approach Slowly

Although you can learn to anchor under sail, most cruising boats lower or furl the sails before making the approach into the anchorage, and anchor under power. Using the engine also gives you more control if a last-minute maneuver is needed.
Approach your planned spot into the wind, keeping an eye on your depthfinder or chartplotter to ensure you are where you want to be on the chart. If there is a strong current in the area that affects the boat more than the wind, approach into the current instead.
As you near the spot, slow down to allow the boat to coast to a stop. If you come in fast and have to use the engine in reverse to stop, there’s a good chance the boat may pivot or turn during the reversing, and the boat then will not at first pull directly back on the anchor. There’s seldom any reason to be in a hurry at this point.
Double-check to make sure you are not too close to another boat and are at the intended depth. If you decide you need to move to either side, circle back around to make your approach again to the new spot upwind or current.

4. Lower, Don’t Drop, the Anchor

Wait until the person at the helm says the boat has stopped completely and is starting to move backward on the wind or current before lowering the anchor. (Watch your GPS speed if you’re not sure.) If the boat is still moving ahead, you may accidentally set the anchor in the wrong direction by pulling it ahead instead of drifting back to set it.
It is important to lower the anchor gradually to prevent the anchor rode from falling down on the anchor flukes and possibly fouling the anchor. In that case you may not realize the anchor has not set well, and if the wind comes up later the anchor can easily drag if fouled. Never just toss the anchor over hoping for the best!
You can tell when the anchor reaches the bottom because of the reduced strain on the rode. Pause a moment to let the boat move back and pull the rode tight. If the boat is floating motionless in the absence of wind and current, tell the person at the helm to put the engine in reverse to start the boat backward. Your goal here is to align the anchor correctly on the bottom, with its shank pulled back in the direction in which the boat will lie at anchor. Otherwise, the anchor chain may foul the shank or flukes and prevent the anchor from setting well.
5. Set the Anchor
Making sure the anchor is well set (that is, dug in well in the bottom) is the most important part of anchoring. The anchor holds the boat by digging its flukes into the bottom, not by just lying there like a weight on the bottom. If the anchor is not set, the boat may seem well anchored until the wind comes up—when the anchor will then bounce along the bottom as the boat drags toward a hazard.
As the boat moves backwards due to wind, current, or the engine’s power in reverse, gradually pay out the rode. Always keep a light tension on the line, but don’t yet clinch it tight. (If you tighten the rode too soon, the anchor will be pulled upward and out of the bottom and will not set.)
Visualize the anchor rode pulling straight back on the anchor shank as the point(s) of the anchor fluke(s) dig in. If your anchor rode is all chain or has a section of chain at the anchor, the pull will be more nearly horizontal along the bottom. This is how anchors are designed to dig in and hold.
When you have about 3 times as much anchor rode out as the water depth (a scope of 3 to 1), temporarily cleat or cinch the anchor rode at the bow and let it pull tight. Keep a hand on the rode to feel the tension. The boat should stop and the rode feel very tight, indicating the anchor has set. If the anchor has not set, you will feel the tension in the rode come and go or feel its pull changing as the anchor bounces along the bottom.
If the anchor has set, continue with the next step of paying out scope. If it has not set, you can also continue but must be very careful to ensure the anchor digs in when you have the proper scope. If the anchor has not set yet with about a 3 to 1 scope, many sailors prefer to hoist it now and try again rather than letting out more anchor rode and having to bring it all back up to try again later.

6. Pay Out the Proper Scope

Continue paying out the rode as the boat moves backward, until you reach the desired scope. Many factors affect the scope needed, including the type of boat, the type of anchor, whether the rode is all chain or a combination of chain and line, the characteristics of the bottom, and the wind predicted.
As a general rule, most cruisers prefer a scope of 7 to 1 for safe anchoring overnight. For a lunch stop in a calm anchorage, a scope of 5 to 1 or less may be sufficient, assuming someone stays on the boat in case the wind increases dramatically. With higher winds or big waves, a scope as high as 10 to 1 may be appropriate. Remember that the scope should be based on the high tide water depth. If you anchor at low tide in 10 feel of water and the depth 6 hours later is 20 feet, your scope then would be only half of what it was.
Once you have the proper scope, back down hard on the anchor using the boat's engine to ensure it is well set. The rode should be very tight and not give at all while backing.
Scope can be adjusted later if conditions change, simply by letting out more rode if desired. This increases your swinging distance, of course, so you should confirm you will remain far enough away from other boats or hazards.

7. Check the Anchor Periodically

Even when you’re sure the anchor is well set, changing conditions can result in the anchor dragging. Before relaxing completely for the night, make sure you can tell later on if the boat is dragging.
Your GPS or plotter can reveal changes of position, although small changes may not be noticeable or may be interpreted as just swinging in a different direction. If possible, take sightings on at least two features on shore (choose something that will be visible at night) and note the compass bearings to each. If these bearings change significantly later, you may be dragging. A smartphone or tablet app like My Anchor Watch can also help ensure you know it if your anchor is starting to drag.
Another technique used by old-timers is to let down a small second anchor or weight from the stern just to the point where it rests on the bottom, and then drape it over the boom and dangle a noise-maker like a bucket or pot tied to the free end. If the boat moves very far, the line will pull the noisemaker over the boom to clang down into the cockpit, hopefully waking you to take action if needed!
If you suspect you may be dragging, check the anchor rode at the bow. You may feel or see changes in its tension if the anchor is bumping over the bottom. If you have any evidence of dragging, monitor the situation very carefully. In calmer conditions the anchor may reset, but with gusty or heavy winds it will likely not dig in by itself, and you may have to hoist the anchor and move to a new position and start over.
Finally, in an emergency situation if the anchor is dragging or a gale puts you at risk of dragging—particularly against a reef or lee shore—you can avert disaster by running the engine slowly in forward gear to take some of the strain off the anchor rode.

A common anchoring problem occurs if the anchor's flukes hook under a rock, chain, or other bottom debris and prevent the anchor from being hoisted. Try backing pulling the anchor up from the opposite direction in an attempt to free it. The best solution is to use a trip line or the AnchorRescue retrieval device to prevent the risk of losing your anchor should it become snagged.
Anchoring involves a number of skills, which improve with experience. Many books have been written on the subject, and when cruising in unfamiliar waters or far from home where you may be caught in a tricky situation, it’s a good idea to have a book on anchoring or seamanship on board to consult for appropriate techniques in unusual circumstances.