PAGE 24 • AUTUMN 2007 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SAILING ASSOCIATION
INSTRUCTOR TIP
By Capt. Curtis Collins
Get Ready to Heave-To, Sailors!
H
eaving-to is an important skill to learn and is a
required sailing skill for Basic Coastal Cruising.
By following these steps, you’ll be able to
effectively slow your boat to a crawl while keeping yourself
more stable than you could by dropping the sails.
1. Come to a close-hauled point of sail, making sure the
jib is sheeted in good and tight.
2. Tack the boat, but do not tack the jib.
3. As you come through the wind, ease the main
significantly and let it luff (the jib is now backed). Allow
the boat to lose almost all way while in position.
4. Put the tiller down hard to leeward (rudder steering
you toward the wind).
5. You are now hove to- and the action on the sails is
countered by the action on the rudder. You should be
In the above diagram, the sails are represented in red, the rudder angle by
calm with no forward motion. The boat will be basically
the green and the wind direction by the blue arrow.
stopped; however, it will very slowly drift downwind.
boat should be in the same position as a close hauled to
To resume sailing, the jib should be brought around to close reached point of sail. A beam-to attitude is not
the other side where it is no longer backed. good - especially if you are in large seas. The boat will
cycle through this range of sail as it slowly heads up and
Notes on heaving-to: The basic concept of heaving-to is falls off. Speed over ground should not exceed 1.5 knots.
that you are setting up opposing forces between the jib
and the rudder, effectively stalling the boat. The keel The boat will slowly drift downwind while keeping its
also plays a role in slowing your leeway and as the pivot bow into the wind and seas, so make sure you have
point for the battle between rudder and jib. The dynamic plenty of sea room and regularly check your position.
forces acting upon the boat keep it more stable than if
you dropped sails. As the wind blows against the backed Curtis Collins is an ASA Instructor Evaluator and has been an
jib it starts to push the bow downwind. The boat gains a instructor since 1994. He has raced and cruised extensively in
little bit of way and water starts to flow over the rudder. the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. He is the sailing school
This causes the boat to head back up to windward. The director for Belize Sailing Charters (www.belize-sailing-
jib loses power and the boat slows. While hove-to, the charters.com) and lives in Rio Dulce, Guatemala.
AMERICAN SAILING ASSOCIATION
P.O. BOX 12079, MARINA DEL REY, CA
PRESORTED
90295-3079 TEL: 310/822-7171
STANDARD
U.S. POSTAGE
WWW.AMERICAN-SAILING.COM
PAID
ANAHEIM, CA
PERMIT NO. 514
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