Friday, 5 April 2013
Paddle Boarding - Lessons for Beginners
Many people are looking to enjoy the popular paddle boarding sport. Fortunately, even those who are inexperienced can learn and soon be on their way to enjoying their new skills. Anyone looking to learn how to stand-up paddle can do so in 30 minutes. Such boarding facilities like those of Laguna Beach paddle boarding offer experienced instructors who give lessons and teach beginners everything they need to know before they can enjoy the beautiful Laguna coastline. This is a great way to enjoy the view, discover some marine life, and have fun. The instructors offer small classes that allow each individual to get full attention.
The basic beginner lessons offer a complete tour that includes learning ocean safety, proper paddle handling technique, an overview of the equipment, and how to use it. The instructor then accompanies the learners on the first paddle boarding experience. Novices in the sport should have their first paddle boarding experience on calm water. This is the best condition for learning. The ideal conditions include calm, flat water that does not have any obstacles such as boats and buoys. When mounting the paddleboard, the beginner will find it easier to kneel on the board first rather than standing upright immediately. By getting into a kneeling position, slightly behind the boards center point, the boarder is able to feel for the boards balance point.
Keeping the hands on both sides of the board helps to stabilize it. After getting comfortable, the beginner is ready to stand up. This should be done one foot at a time, placing the feet where the knees were. Some learners find it necessary to have someone stabilize the board in the water as they learn how to stand on it. This should not be too difficult and most people get the hang of it within a few minutes. While on the water, there is a paddle boarding stance that helps the users to remain balanced as they stand upright on the board. The feet should be placed parallel to each other approximately hip-width distance. They should be centered between the edges of the board, and not on the rails.
To maintain proper balance, the boarder should always keep the toes pointed forward. The knees should be bent and the back should remain straight. The hips and not the head should be used to balance. The head and shoulders should remain upright and steady, and only the hips should be used to shift the weight. One's gaze should always remain level on the horizon and not at the feet. After a few minutes, you should notice that as the forward momentum increases, the stability also increases. After learning how to balance on the board, the learner is ready to paddle and have a good time.
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Add Years To Your Boat By Taking Care Of It
You invested a lot of money to buy your favorite boat, so why not spend some time taking care of it to make sure that it stays good for long. Whether you are planning to take your boat to the water or have just returned from a fishing expedition with friends, it is important that you thoroughly check the engine and other components to detect the problems, if any, and solve them before they become major issues. In this article, we will share some tips to help you add more years to your boat by taking good care of it.
First of all, you need to check the engine, bilges, and fuel system. The engine is undoubtedly the most essential machinery of your vessel and a problem in the engine can not only take a lot of time to get sorted but also cost you dearly. Furthermore, as this is the messiest part of the boat, it is advisable that you start from here. If the oil filter was not changed last season then you must do it now. You should remember to drain the fuel tank before the commencement of winter or fill it about 95 percent to avoid any water vapor from collecting.
Water is the biggest enemy of the fuel tank and if it enters mistakenly, it would lead to rusting, corrosion and create a breeding space for a bacterial formation that damages the fuel. This formation may form lumps that clog the filters and ultimately lead to more expensive damage.
In order to treat and rectify this problem, the antifreeze should be replaced and cooling system flushed. Check to see if the batteries are in good condition and replace them if required. Start the boat engine to make sure that its running smoothly. You must also check the bilge pump after confirming that there's no oil present in the bilges. Make sure that the pump works perfectly and filters are free from any type of blockages.
Another important factor while taking care of your boat is to check that the electronic and safety items are working fine. You must perform a thorough test to ensure that all the components are working fine, without any complications. When checking for the safety parameters, make sure that you have the proper sized life jackets for yourself and all other crew members on the boat. You should also have auto releases, a fire extinguisher and right-sized spare gas cylinders on board.
When cleaning the boat inside out, make sure you check the canvas, vinyl, and other upholstery items carefully to make sure that there are no mildew, dirt, and tears. You must repair the tears and holes if any, and clean the surface using the recommended cleaner.
You must examine the hull thoroughly to detect any chips, cracks, blisters and repairs, if any. The sail should also be checked for any possible damage to see whether you can rely on them during the windy conditions. This is just a rough guide to help you take care of your boat to add more years to it. For more detailed information, you must rely on the instructions provided in the boat manual.
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Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Ten Top Sailing Tips for Safer Sailing in 2013
Sailors from around the world have sent in their favorite sailing tips, proven time and again to enhance sailing safety for day sailing, racing, or cruising. Check out these "top ten" tips to keep your sailing crew safe and sound!
1. Develop a skipper-mentality underway. Keep a running dialog going in your head that begins with just these two words...
"What If?...
For example...
What if the backstay parts while sailing downwind?
What if a windward shroud snaps while beating?
What if your engine quits in a crowded marina?
What if the mainsail batten jams when hoisting?
What if the anchor drags on a black, stormy night?
2. Shift the helm watch in fog or rough weather every 30 minutes. Extensive research proves that attention spans fall after this period.
3. Tie a small diameter line with a float on one end to the outboard end of your anchor rode or chain. In an emergency you might have to cut the anchor line (or let out all your chain). The float will serve as a marker so that you can retrieve your ground tackle later on.
4. Use this rule if you have a leak... "slow down and raise high". If under sail, heave to on the same tack as the damaged side of the boat. If under power, shift weights to the undamaged side of the boat.
5. Protect costly sailing rope from chafe. More anchored vessels are lost in storms due to parted anchor lines than dragging anchors. Use lots of chafing gear, check it often, and readjust it as needed.
6. Descend a companionway ladder so that you face the ladder. Grip both handholds and work your way down the ladder on the balls of your feet. If you slip, this position protects you from serious back or neck injury.
7. Add extra security to lifelines when coastal or offshore sailing.Veteran offshore sailors rig an extra set of chest-high rope lifelines. Use shroud cleats to anchor the lifeline between the bow and stern.
8. Make collision avoidance maneuvers early and change course by at least 60 degrees. Large ships can take up to a mile or more to stop in an emergency. Always assume that they cannot see you.
9. Pump more speed and power into your sails on reaches. Ease each sail until the luff just begins to flutter. Then trim each sail just enough to put the luff flutter "to sleep". Watch your boat accelerate like a stallion on steroids!
10. Button up your boat before heavy weather arrives. Close hatches and ports. Remove cowl vents (except for engine cowls). Apply extra lashings to dinghies. Above all--keep your decks clear!
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Learn to sail like a pro this season with these top ten sailing tips. Keep your sailing crew or partner safe and sound on the waters of the world--wherever you choose to sail or cruise!
Captain John with 25+ year of experience shows you the no-nonsense sailing skills you need beyond sailing school! Sign up for his FREE highly popular "Captain John's Sailing Tip of the Week". Find out how you can get instant access to 675+ sailing articles, 140+ sailing videos, 190+ newsletters and 14+ Free eBooks at SkipperTips
Sailing Tactics Revealed: Running Aground!
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU RUN AGROUND DON'T PANIC -- doing the wrong thing can put you on harder.
Now that you're on the bottom, take a minute to evaluate the situation. Check the bilge to be sure that you haven't holed the boat and aren't taking on water. What is the nature of the bottom? If it's soft sand or grass, chances are good that the boat is undamaged, and that if you need to motor or kedge off you won't grind a hole in the boat.Your objective is to get safely into deeper water.
Motoring off -- If you have a motor or engine your first inclination will be to start it up and try to back out. This may work, but be careful. In sandy or muddy bottoms you are likely to suck sand up into the cooling system and render the motor useless. A powerful engine in shallow water can actually push sand from the stern to under the keel, making the situation worse. If you're on rocks and you reverse hard, you may drag the hull along the rocks and damage or even hole the boat.
Set out an anchor. One of the first things to do is to set out an anchor to keep your boat from being pushed even farther onto the shoal. If you have a dingy you can use it to carry out an anchor. If you don't have a dingy, and if conditions are calm, maybe someone wearing buoyant flotation gear can swim an anchor out. Be aware that this is not an easy task and a person can become totally exhausted very quickly. If your boat is a small one, your anchor is also probably small enough and light enough for you to be able to throw it far enough for it to work, but be careful if you do this. You don't want to go overboard with it. Keep as much tension on the anchor line as you can. This alone may help free you up, especially if you have a rising tide, or if passing boats create enough of a wake to raise you up momentarily.
What is the state of the tide? If you've gone aground on a rising tide, you may just be able to wait a couple of hours until it rises enough to refloat the boat. If you've gone aground on a falling tide, however, you need to get into deeper water fast, or you may be stuck where you are for an entire tide change. If this happens, and if the boat is likely to end up lying on its side, close up hatches and companionways to keep it from flooding. If you'd be better off lying on one side than on the other, try to kedge off an anchor from what you want to be the low side. You may also be able to control which side ends up high by shifting crew and gear weight. Where is the deeper water? It may seem obvious that deeper water lies behind you, but it might be even deeper beside you. Of course it's not directly in front of you -- if it were, you wouldn't have run aground in the first place. To find where the deeper water is, you have some options. If you have a lead line you can lower it off the boat from all sides to get a measurement of the depth. You can make a lead line by taking a light line and attaching a weight to the end. You could also very quickly put a boat hook or an oar in the water.
How do you get there? If you have a centerboard, raise it. This will decrease the draft, possibly enough to free the boat. Can you sail off? If you were sailing down wind when you ran aground, harden up and try to go to windward. If you were sailing close hauled, tack immediately and move crew weight to leeward. If sailing off on a reach or downwind would put you into deeper water, ease the sails and fall off toward the deeper water. Move crew weight around to heel the boat in the direction which is most likely to help it to slide off - this alone may reduce the boat's draft enough to free her up. If this doesn't work, drop sails, as the wind on the sails will continue to push you harder onto the shallow water. Furl them out of the way. On deck they will become a slippery liability.
Kedging off -- Once you've set an anchor in deeper water, you may be able to winch it in and pull the boat off that way. Again, moving crew weight around may help immeasurably. It may help to rock the boat by shifting crew weight back and forth as you winch in on the anchor.
Use a halyard -- If you know that heeling the boat in one direction will help, hand a halyard to someone in a dingy who can then carefully motor off the boat's beam and pull it over farther. If you don't have a dingy, a crew member can grab a halyard and swing out over the beam of the boat to try to increase heel.
Get off and push - This technique is obviously only safe and effective in very shallow water, and thus will only work with a very shallow draft boat, such as a day sailor or a multihull. Before getting in the water, be sure to put shoes on. Make sure that the boat won't sail off without you, and that you have a way to get back onto the boat.
Accept tow? As a last resort, if all other options have failed. This may require a VHF call to a towing company. Be careful -- a big powerful powerboat may be able to pull with more force than the boat's equipment can handle--the boat's hull can be damaged. The boat must have a cleat strong enough to take the strain of a tow, which may be considerable. If there is no cleat strong enough, consider tying off to the base of the mast. If the mast is stepped through the deck it will take the strain, if it's stepped on deck it may not. The line used as tow line also must be strong enough to take the strain of towing -- if it breaks under the strain of the pull of a tow boat, it will become a lethal weapon.
When you may not want to refloat the boat -- if you have a hole in the bottom you may be better off right where you are, at least until you've been able to carry out enough of an emergency repair to keep the boat from sinking.
Linda Cullum is from Cape Cod, MA, with a second home in Vermont. She is the author of Learn to Sail! with Multimedia! an Interactive Sailing training CDROM which teaches all aspects of Sailing incliding Knots, Piloting, Rules of the Road, Weather with digital video from Sail Magazine, narration, animation and quizzes.Visit her site at http://learntosail.net Happy Sailing_/)
A Guide for Yachters: The Best Mediterranean Islands
Yachting in the Mediterranean offers many opportunities to experience the beauty, nightlife, history, culture, and beaches; but how to choose which islands to visit? This guide will help boaters discover which islands are best for their needs, whether they are seeking a dance party, a romantic meal, an exotic black-sand beach, or to learn about architecture, culture and customs. Here are the best of the Mediterranean islands and what makes them so.
Capri
Celebrity watchers should set sail to Capri, where VIPs have come for decades - back when Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly and the like first discovered its beauty. Today super yachts of the rich and famous cruise the Mediterranean heading for Capri, where they can explore the rocks Faralyoni, dive in the Blue Grotto, or visit the 18th century church of San Michele in Anacapri.
Ibiza
This beautiful island in the Balearic Islands is decorated in white and blue, little white houses tucked neatly between the blue Mediterranean and the clear blue sky. Ibiza attracts celebrities, particularly because of its vibrant nightlife. While yachting in Ibiza, but sure to take a moment to watch the sun set before heading out to Café del Mar or the various clubs where the day begins after the sun sets.
Mallorca
Simply exquisite, this picturesque island is regal in her mountain landscapes, rocky ledges, and sandy beaches. It draws the Hollywood crowd as well as the average Joe. Those interested in architecture should visit Castle Belver and the cathedral of Santa Maria de Palma de Mallorca. For a relaxing choice, attend one of the sea therapies the let the sea waters take away your stress and make you feel younger and more alive.
Santorini
The unique landscape and black sand beaches of Santorini draw visitors each and every year. Known as the jewel of the Cyclades, this location offers a typically Greek style with little white houses accented in bright blue all perched along the ridge of the caldera. Because of its volcanic history, many of the beaches have a fine, dark sand that is a striking complement to the white structures and blue waters. The Kokini Paralia is a unique red beach on the island that is a must-see. History lovers will want to climb the mountain to reach the Prophet Elijah monastery which dates to the 18th century.
Sicily
This, the largest island in the Mediterranean, also has the most to explore and the widest variety of culture, cuisine, and attractions. The capital of Palermo is a must see. Additional attractions include the Ortiga Peninsula, the Greek castles in Agrigento, and the beaches of Tsefalu. Try a night walk to the top of Mount Etna; the view is worth the experience.
So set sail towards the Mediterranean for a vacation of island-hopping, and if you don't already have your own sailing or motor yacht, why not? Paradise awaits.
Laurie Harley writes for Worldwide Boat Sales, yacht brokers for both new and pre-owned sailing and motor yachts. To learn more about this topic and others, visit http://www.worldwideboatsales.com.
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