Primaterra

Nowadays, sailing is generally referred to as a sport. It should be regarded as such for the following reasons: It is an activity that is done purely for pleasure, and can also be done in a competitive spirit, as in regattas and such. Most of the media attention is in fact turned towards this aspect of sailing, as it is commercially viable for big sponsors. Check the links on the right hand side if you want a few examples. However, most sailors are quite remote from this scene, and prefer enjoying a sunrise out of sight of land, make a landfall in a beautifully remote creek, or have a beer on the helm.

History of sailing

I believe —but I may be wrong, as I need to refresh my memory on that subject — that sailing originated as a way to go fishing, primarily. Ancient people would use their sails in the early morning breeze (thermal wind, see Meteorology) to sail out at see, fish during the day, and come back before sundown. Imagine the advantages for people using this technology, the rowing saved, and probably also the faster speeds that could be obtained. The use of wind energy in that way was definitely a great advance for civilisation. These basics crafts, which probably were more like rafts became used more and more widely also to carry goods from one place to another and developped to reach different shapes in different parts of the world, depending on the environmental conditions, and the needs of that particular society. This evolution brought for example the prao in Polynesia, as well as the clipper on northern atlantic shores. One is not better than the other, they are both extremely suitable to their respective duties and environments. This iterative amelioration of designs is the way naval architecture has been working since these times, and still does today.

Boats therefore bettered immensely since their origins, acquiring in particular the ability to sail into the wind, or to windward. That concept has only emerged fairly recently, because it is difficult to imagine that a boat propelled by the wind can actually go against it. If you would like to understand how, please take a look at the theory of sailing.

We can see in the picture on the right how fishing boats looked like just before the advent of engine propulsion. They are the pinnacle of a technological evolution of millenia, in their particular field (inshore lobster fishing) and area (West of Ireland). Boat with different priorities, such as cargo transport, have different features. These boats are finding renewed interest in parts of the world where they are culturally important. If you are interested in multihulls in particular, please take a look here for a great explanation.

Nowadays, most, if not all sailing boats are used for pleasure. You can take our beginning courses in a range of subjects, from basic saliing theory to meteorology, navigation, etc... We will try to add new material regularly, so please do not hesitate to check back often. Also, we are constantly looking for new ideas and partners, so do not hesitate, fill in the form on the left to publish your own articles.

What is sailing? (you might ask)

Well, sailing can be anything to anybody; some people do it to enjoy an afternoon, some do it in races, to beat the others to dust, some do it for the challenge, some as a way of life... I could keep going on like that for a while, but the point is that all of them, all of these different people looking for different things in sailing, have to live in harmony and understand the nature. In effect, when we are saliing is one of the few case when we have such an important physical contact between us and our environment. Indeed, as all your actions at sea are dependent on the conditions of the moment, a relation with the surroundings is extremely important.

I would even say that it is a matter of safety of primary importance. If for example, I had not expected the sudden reinforcing of the wind while we were rounding this headland, and reduced the sail accordingly, we would have been in trouble, as we had to beat in a force 7 against the current, in a (very rocky) place where I had never been before. As you will realise when you have been sailing for a while, this is not the place to take a reef or change a jib! All this is to say that when you are sailing, you have to be in contact with nature, as your life might depend on it. This is a part that I particularly enjoy, as well as most sailors to whom I asked in Glenans.

Now, you can choose a tutorial below.