If the passing vessel be a steamer going at a great speed, she will leave a considerable wash, and small boats should avoid this, although it is the delight of some boat sailers to get into it and ship " green water," as they love to call it.
If the boat carries lee helm trim her by the head a little, or if the mainsheet will admit of it harden it in and ease the foresheet a trifle ; at all events so manage that the boat carries enough weather helm to fly up in the wind when the tiller is let go. If a boat carries lee helm she may refuse to come head to wind, and under some circumstances this might be highly dangerous.
A single hand should never attempt to row and sail at the same time ; if occupied with rowing he cannot attend to the helm and sheets, and the prudent course would be to lower the sail and propel the boat entirely by oars. In case the rig includes a mizen or foresail, one or both could be kept set, but the foresheet should be belayed so that a slight pull on the fall will release it.
The crew of the boat should invariably sit on the bottom boards on the weather side, or if there be much sea amidships. No one should be allowed to climb the mast if the boat is under way, as the weight aloft might capsize her. Nor should any of the crew stand on the thwarts so that they might get thrown down in the lee side of the boat when she lurched, or otherwise imperil her safety.
In cases where the mainsheet leads through a block, through a bull's eye, through a thimble, through a hole, or other similar arrangement, the boat sailer should ever and anon cast his eye on the fall of the sheet and see that there are no turns or kinks in it. If the fall be coiled up, see that the running part is uppermost and the end underneath. New rope and wet rope are specially liable to get foul turns in them. It will also be prudent to see that nothing like a boat's stretcher, mop handle, thole pin, or bailer lies in the coil of a fall of a sheet.
REEFING.—In reefing, the tack and sheet should always be shifted to the reef cringles before the foot of the sail is rolled up and the points tied. Always roll up neatly and as tightly as possible, not only for the look of the thing, but because otherwise the points for the second or third reef may not reach in case they are required. In shaking out a reef always
untie the points and loosen the foot before shifting the tack and sheet.
Rownia ix A Sze.—The principal thing to avoid in rowing in a sea is getting broadside on to the waves ; if a boat gets into such a position she may roll over or be knocked over or be swamped. If possible, row head to the sea, and if the boat is carried too far to windward, take the opportunity of running her off whenever a smooth presents itself. In running before the sea the boat will most likely show a tendency to broach-to, and so get into the trough of the sea that way, this tendency must be instantly checked. In landing on a beach through a surf, it is frequently a good plan, if the boat is not sharp sterned, to row her in bow to the surf, or stern first.
In boarding a vessel that is under way, always row up under her lee. In boarding a vessel at anchor, always bring the boat's head up to the tide, and take a good sweep in coming alongside. Give the order " In bow " when about fifty yards off, and " Oars " (the order for the men to toss their oars in), so that the boat shoots alongside with her way nearly stopped. Avoid if possible going alongside a vessel stem on.
As a rule a boat should always be beached through surf with her sails stowed, as, if she got broadside on among the breakers with sail up a capsize would be inevitable. Upon nearing the beach on a fiat shore recollect that here the wave water itself is moving, and will carry the boat along until it finally casts her up on the beach : as each wave overtakes the boat care must be taken that it does not twist her round broadside on.
As the water at the stern may be moving faster than that at the bow, the tendency of the stern wave will be to turn the boat round if the wave does not take the boat fairly end on. This effect of the overtaking waves can be reduced by towing something astern—a spar broadside on, for instance, made fast to a bridle—and by approaching the shore stern first, so that the bow is presented to the overtaking waves.
If the beach is a steep one the best plan is to row in as hard as possible, choosing at last as the moment for beaching when a sea begins to break and pour in on the beach.