Category: sailing tip of the day

Ιαν 31

Anchoring in confined spaces, Beaufort scale and more sailing tips

Rough weather food

In a rough weather case, it is much better to cook a simple meal than trying to prepare sandwiches. Trying to find out the places you have the makings of the sandwiches stored, may cause some trouble like seasickness, so if you still want to have sandwiches, make sure you have them prepared before leaving harbor.

Anchoring in confined spaces

It is a commonplace in the Mediterranean and specially in Greece to have yachts and other vessels anchor directly over the anchor of another vessel or very close to it. This is caused by the pressure on space in small anchorages. The departure of your yacht becomes then a difficult job, and more difficult if there’s no one aboard the other vessel.
In this case try to winch in as much chain as possible whilst approaching the stern of the other yacht. Then reverse hard on the engine and drag the anchor clear.

Beaufort scale

The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure for describing wind speed based mainly on the observation of sea conditions. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale
There are several points that are easy to remember the entire scale

Force 3
White water will first appear
Force 5
Spray begins to splash on the deck.
Force 7
The surface of the sea develops distinctive white streaks

With the points above, it is quite easy to assess wind forces between the points.

You can calculate the Beaufort scale if you divide the wind speed in knots by 5 then add 1 to find the force. For example:
20kn ÷ 5 = 4 + 1 = Force 5.
30kn ÷ 5 = 6 + 1 = Force 7.

Power winches and windlasses

If you have a problem with the power winch or anchor windlass, you better stop the operation by cutting off its power supply.
Make sure that all passengers know how to do this, in case the skipper is away from the working place.

Check lists

It is a good thing to have a detailed written to do list before you start a cruise making sure everything is well.  And one more to check the things before leaving the yacht.
Since yachts become more complicated and include more complex systems, it is easy to forget to switch on or off some vital system when joining the boat of leaving it for a period of time.

Clear the chart table.

Keep your chart table always clean from items that do not belong there.  Anything left on the chart table may fall on the floor, possibly damaging it.
It is easy to get in to the habit of leaving the dividers, pilot books etc. on the table in calm weather, but when the conditions change, everything goes flying.

Cleaning the anchor

Sometimes the anchor brings up large lumps of mud when it is raised
Instead of spending a lot of time trying to knock it off or scrubbing it, try reversing fairly fast with the anchor just below the surface.
The flow of water past the anchor will probably clean the worst of the mud off and there is little risk of damaging the boat with the anchor. You can clean off the residue later at your ease.

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Ιαν 26

Sailing Tip of the Day #6

If you have a situation of tangled ropes, and you are not so sure how to solve the problem, just throw the lines in the water for 5 minutes and the problem is solved by itself!

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Ιαν 26

Safety on Yacht

Alcohol and Boating

While on board of a lovely yacht or on a cruiser you must always remember the cardinal rule. If you must drink, drink in moderation! From the 1000 boating accidents involving people every year, nine out of ten of them are caused because of drinking alcohol. We know it is tough to ask you not to drink on a pleasure boat, but sometimes just a couple of beers are too many. According to statistics, when you’re drinking, you’re much more likely to fall overboard. Another bad thing is that alcohol also reduces the physical ability of your body to protect against cold water. Be careful, alert and act wise!!

Fire Onboard

One of the most distressful things that can happen to a yacht when in open water, is a fire onboard. Although no one wants to face a situation like this, we must admit that it does happen. So you must be ready and prepared to deal with such a case. First make sure you have fully charged fire extinguishers for the type and size of the yacht.

  1. If a fire breaks out while you are underway, stop the boat immediately, to avoid rushing air that acts like fuel to the fire.
  2. Start calling for help.
  3. Immediately turn off the electrical power.
  4. Make sure you understand the cause and the nature of the fire and quickly assess the danger of the fire spreading or a danger of explosion if any. Keep everyone on board together and instruct them to swim clear of the yacht.
  5. If the fire is of material other than gas or oil such as wood or fabric, you can use the water.
  6. If the fire comes from any loose material such as a TV post, a microwave oven, the simplest course of action is to throw the item overboard.
  7. If the fire stems from gas, oil or grease, use your fire extinguisher aiming the nozzle of the extinguisher at the base of the fire.

Fueling your Boat.

Make sure you obey to the following fueling safety precautions:

Before Fueling

1. Stop all engines.

2. Shut off all electricity, open flames, and heat sources.

3. Check bilges for fuel vapors if the boat has an enclosed engine and fuel compartments.

4. Close all fittings and openings that could allow fuel vapors to enter the boat’s enclosed spaces.

5. Remove all passengers from the boat except the person handling the fueling hose.

During Fueling

1. Maintain nozzle contact with fill pipe.

2. Fuel filling nozzle must be attended at all times.

3. Wipe up fuel spills immediately.

4. Avoid overfilling.

After Fueling

1. Ventilate all spaces until odors are removed

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Νοε 26

Sailing Tip of the Day #5

Ask the skipper to show you the traditional way to trace your yacht’s position on the map, using the compass not the GPS!

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Νοε 16

Sailing Tip of the Day #4

Why a ship is called “she”?  In broad terms a ship is like a mother with human inside her womb. Therefore she is “she”.

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Νοε 09

Sailing Tip of the Day #3

The water tanks are limited and you don’t have all the water you need. Be a good mate. While showering, wet down, turn off the water, soap up, turn the shower on to rinse off. This is the Navy Shower!

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Νοε 02

Sailing Tip of the Day #2

A good seaman always walks the deck having the water on his left hand side

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Οκτ 30

Sailing Tip of the day #1

Respect seamanship!
Never leave the navigational light on while your yacht is docked.
It shows an anti – nautical sight!

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Σεπ 30

Sailing tips: Phonetic Alphabet and Signal Flags

A phonetic alphabet is a list of words used to identify letters in a message transmitted by radio or telephone. It helps to prevent confusion between similar sounding letters, such as «m» and «n» when boats, yachts and ships communicate in the sea. For example, the word «EOLIA» would be «Echo Oscar Lima India Alpha» when spelled in the phonetic alphabet.

Each letter has a corresponding signal flag which also corresponds to an international sailing meaning.

Specifically, the letters, the phonetics, the signal flags and their international meanings are:

Letter Phonetic Signal Flag International Meaning
A Alpha
I have a diver down
B Bravo
I am carrying dangerous cargo
C Charlie
«Yes» or «affirmative»
D Delta
I am maneuvering with difficulty; keep clear
E Echo
I am directing my course to starboard
F Foxtrot

G Golf
I require a pilot
H Hotel
I have a pilot on board
I India
I am directing my course to port
J Juliet

K Kilo
I wish to communicate with you
L Lima
You should stop your vessel immediately
M Mike

N November

O Oscar
Man overboard
P Papa

Q Quebec
Ship meets health regs; request clearance into port
R Romeo

S Sierra

T Tango

u Uniform


v Victor

I require assistance
w Whiskey

I require medical assistance
x Xray


y Yankee
I am dragging anchor
z Zulu
I require a tug

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Αυγ 31

Some more tips for sailing the Greek Islands with a yacht charter

So you have decided to have the perfect vacations that you always wanted – To rent a yacht!

Before all, you must read the following advice, and write down the things you really want to experiment and what you want to do.

Advices

Tip. 1
You must see chartering a yacht like a school class, and to understand what the professor is speaking, you must be correctly informed. In this case, the yacht agent is the teacher

Read carefully the Terms and Conditions and the details of the booking procedure

Now that you know the terms and specifications, when you are going to see the chartering operator, you must know the following

Tip. 2
Before deciding what type of boat you need, ask yourself: What kind of vacations do I want? First of all, you must be the kind of person who likes this kind of vacations.
Do I want to ask friends on board for a party in a famous Greek island, or I better be alone in a small cove, scuba diving and reading my favorite book?
That’s the kind of questions you must answer at the very beginning.

Tip. 3

Following the type of person you are (and only you know this), you must decide the type of boat you are going to rent. Sailboats are slower and perfect for a romantic type, but the motor boat gives you the luxury and style of incredible life.

Tip. 4

Friends. Think carefully about the number and the type of friends you are going to have with you on board.

Tip. 5
Define well the time you want to charter the yacht, according to the places you want to visit.

These advices come to help you on your search of perfect vacations. They are not meant to replace the information provided by an agent, but to complete it. We wish you a very good time!

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Posted in Discover the Greek Islands with a yacht charter, sailing greece, sailing tip of the day, yacht charter greece

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