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Sports: Sailing

[ Background | Equipment | Where ]

Background of the Sport

Sailing uses the wind to power the boat's motion. It's not as much by pushing the sail (as is the case when sailing downwind) but by creating forward-pulling lift using airfoil-shaped sails (when sailing across or into the wind). The joy of sailing combines the joy of being on the water, the power you feel in harnessing natural forces, and with the thrill of going fast without significant energy on your part.

Sailing dates back to the ancient Phoenician traders, though the technology of sailboats has improved dramatically over the years. Innovations in the past 50 years include fibreglass hulls, metal masts and booms, synthetic sails, computer controlled laser cut and sewn sails, and computer aided design for boat hulls have made sail boats faster, safer, cheaper, and easier to maintain.

Small sailboats under 20 feet in length come in two main configurations: either single hull or multi-hull (like a catamaran). They typically have one mast, one mainsail (the big one), and a jib (the small triangular at the front, to direct the wind around the mainsail), and sometimes a spinnaker (the large round-shaped one for going downwind). Small boats are designed for a limited number of people to crew, with them either sitting in or around the cockpit (which may be a tightly stretched tarp between the catamaran hulls), or supported from a trapeze rig over the edge of the boat (in high winds). Smaller boats with centreboards include modles like Albacores and Lasers.

In coastal waters and in larger lakes, boats can get larger (with fixed keels), more sophisticated (and much more expensive), and can handle larger numbers of people. Some such boats even have multiple masts, and complex sail configurations. Such larger yachts are suitable for a sailing on open water for significant distances, and provide sleeping, kitchen, communications equipment, even entertainment facilities.

Equipment

To go sailing, you'll need a boat, and lifejackets.

Where

Sailing and power boating are popular activities on the lower estuary. Since 1939, the Charlottetown Yacht Club has run activities including weekly sailboat races held in the Harbour oerv the summer in preparation for Charlottetown Race Week in July. P.E.I. Sailing Association can be reached at (902) 368-4110. To learn to sail, contact the Canadian Power And Sail Squadron (CPS) in Charlottetown at (902) 569-2230, Summerside Yacht Club at (902)436-2153 or the Charlottetown Yacht Club at 902 892-9065.

PEI's warm waters and prevailing wind combine to produce one of the best sailing destinations on the continent. Here are a couple of the high points, keeping in mind that these are also popular spots for windsurfers:

• Rustico Bay on the central north shore of Prince Edward Island is thought to be the premier sailing site on the Island for any skill level. On-shore winds gust to about 18 knots.
• Prince Edward Island National Park is a prime location for locals out jumping the waves, aprticularly near thee Robinsons Island launch
• Still in the park, Covehead is only five minutes away from Rustico Bay, but with some offshore reefs to create exciting waves while providing splendid views of magnificent sand dunes along the shoreline. Watch for a good north wind to create tall driving swells.
• The quaint fishing village of North Lake offers you a dock or on the beach launch, for sailing in ocean surf as you get ready for your next adventure. Located near the easternmost tip of the province, intermediate sailors learn quickly inside the reef, while the experts move out past the break and into the thundering ocean waves.
• Souris Beach and Basin Head. At both these locations, beautiful beaches reach into rolling swells that transform themselves into perfectly spaced waves. Best when a south wind blows and you want to be on the south shore.