What does a skipper actually think about at sea? A beginner's guide

Before your first course it is hard to imagine what a skipper's job really is. From the outside it looks like steering and pulling ropes. In practice the crew can do most of that. The skipper's job is to keep a picture of the whole situation in mind and to decide what happens next.

Here is what is going through that head, in plain words.

1. The wind

A sailing boat cannot go straight into the wind. There is a sector of about 80 to 90 degrees, centred on the wind, where she simply stops. So the first question about any destination is: is it upwind? If it is, the boat will have to zigzag, which is called tacking, and the trip will be much longer than it looks on the chart.

The second question is what the wind will do next. A forecast of 12 knots from the west at noon and 20 knots from the north-west by evening changes which way you should go and when you should make the sails smaller.

2. The dangers around you

Land is the main danger at sea. A skipper always knows how far away the shore is and how long it will take to get there at this speed, especially if it is downwind. Most of the time being far from land is safer, which surprises many beginners. Next come shallow water, rocks, and other ships.

3. The boat

Is she carrying the right amount of sail? Too much and she heels over, is hard to control and can round up out of control; too little and she crawls. The old advice is to reef, meaning make the sail smaller, when you first think about it, because it gets harder as the wind rises.

4. The plan and the way out

Good skippers rarely have only one plan. They think: if the wind comes early, if someone is seasick, if the engine will not start, where do we go then? A plan B is usually a nearer harbour or a different route, chosen before it is needed.

5. People and rest

On any trip longer than a day, tiredness becomes a safety issue. A skipper thinks about who sleeps when and makes big decisions before getting exhausted, not after.

How to start practising from home

You can read all of this, but it only starts to stick when you have to use it. That is why we suggest joining THE BALTIC LAP, our race round the whole Baltic Sea, even if you have never been on a boat.

All boats are the same 30 ft cruiser, the wind is the real forecast, and your boat keeps sailing while you are away. Try this for your first day:

1. Look at the wind. Find the wind on the chart and see where it is coming from compared with the next mark.
2. Give an order. Set a heading towards the mark and watch how fast she goes. Then change it by 20 degrees and compare.
3. Find the no-go zone. Try pointing straight into the wind. See what happens to the speed.
4. Step through the forecast. Look a few hours ahead with the forecast buttons. Will your heading still work later?
5. Leave her and come back. Close the page, return in a few hours, and see how far she sailed and how the other boats did. Did you choose well?

That last step is the real lesson: you made a decision, time passed, and now you can see what it was worth.

When you finish a LEG, you can also try parking the boat in that stopover's harbour. Start without wind, and go gently. Most new skippers find this harder than sailing.

The words you pick up

After a week of the race these words will feel natural, and you will follow your instructor more easily on the first day of a course. When you first step aboard, you won't be starting from zero, and it will show.

Knots, sails and ropes you will still learn on a real boat; the race cannot teach you those. Next read Think like a skipper to see how the pieces fit together.

FAQ

Do I need to know how to sail before joining the race?

No. You need a SkipperCheck account and a browser or phone. Nothing bad can happen: the worst outcome is finishing last and learning why.

What should I learn first for real sailing?

Take a practical course with a qualified instructor. Learning the terms and ideas first will let you get more out of it.

Related reading

• Think like a skipper: how an online regatta becomes virtual practice for real decisions
• Sailing tactics you can train online: laylines, VMG and when to tack
• Reading ship lights at night: how to practise what you learned for the exam
• Online sailing regatta simulator — THE BALTIC LAP, a one-design race round the whole Baltic in real wind, in your browser
• Sailing simulator — sail trim, tacks, gybes, reefing and the kites in today's real wind, in the browser
• All articles · Open the simulator

Boat types are described generically; SkipperCheck is not affiliated with any boat builder or class association.