Rowan Griffin

GCSE PE Coursework

For my PE coursework I will be looking at myself sailing in a two man dinghy, I will analyze my current performance in the helming position and discovering how I could improve my technique and performance.

My name is Rowan Griffin, I am 15 years old, weigh 9½ stone and am 5’4’’ Tall. I started sailing when I was 8 and have loved it ever since although I only started sailing regularly in the past 6 months and have recently taken a course at Llangorse Sailing Club.

My responsibilities in the helming position are the tiller and the mainsail. I sit aft in the boat. The tiller is the steering so I am responsible for directing the boat and controlling the mainsheet, i.e. the position of the mainsail. I am also responsible for telling the crew member what to do, when to go about and gibe.

The skills needed for sailing are:

Stamina – both cardiovascular and muscular. Cardiovascular because races often last over an hour, are often back to back and in strong winds boats can take a lot of energy to handle.  Muscular endurance is needed because when you have a long close hauled tack, it can take a lot of strength to hold the mainsail taught and if you cleat it you run the risk of not being able to un-cleat it and sheet it out fast enough and consequently capsizing.

Strength – upper body and torso strength is needed in sailing. Upper body strength to control the sails and torso strength for leaning out to keep the boat balanced.

Agility – some agility is needed in order to duck the boom during gybing.

Balance – balance is needed mainly to move around the boat when it’s moored but some is needed during gybing and going about.

Timing – timing is needed when going about or gybing around a buoy. If you turn too soon then you collide with the buoy and loose speed you turn too late you give opponents the chance to slip in front of you and give you their bad wind.

Mental preparation – this is required because in sailing you have to rely on the wind, which can be very erratic. For example, if you are close hauled then a strong gust of wind can capsize you, almost guaranteeing you last place in any race. To avoid capsizing you have to be prepared and ready to release the mainsheet at any time. This also requires Concentration.

Sailing Terms:

Port – Left

Starboard – Right

Tacking – Tacking is the method of sailing against the wind, you sail diagonally into the wind, changing direction (tack) to keep the same course. A port tack is when the wind is to port, the boat is moving to starboard and a starboard tack is when the wind is to starboard, the boat is moving to port. If two boats are on a collision course the following rules apply:

Motor makes way for Sail.

Sail makes way for rowing.

Sail on the starboard tack makes way for sail on the port tack.

Join now!

Sail on a tack makes way for sail on a run or broad reach.

Going about – When tacking the turning maneuver used is going about, this is turning, bow to the wind. It is shown in the diagram above.

Gybing – this is turning with the wind behind you. It is a lot more dangerous than tacking and if done incorrectly can easily result in a capsize. When the boat turns the wind catches the mainsail and swings ...

This is a preview of the whole essay