Im a competitive sailor and a coach of people with disabilities, a kids' learn to sail coach, and a race coach. I spend a lot of time doing and thinking about sailing and being on the water.
Sailors or boaties like me are often labelled for life - we have caught 'the sailing bug', we are the 'old salts', the old sea dogs, and the ocean addicts. But the truth is you don't need to be an 'old salt' or even a 'new salt' to be a sailor. In fact you only need a couple of hours out of your time every now and then to enjoy the calmness of going back to nature, back to basics, to float on the sea, river or lake. You don't need a road map for sailing, nor do you need all the jargon. You need to know how to read a weather forecast, to read the tide timetable and to know what your wind limit is. You can learn sailing, have fun on the water and find secluded places inaccessible to land lovers. All great for the mind, soul and body. Yes, there are skills to learn. But if you pick the right sailing conditions and the right boat to learn on, with a bit of effort and guidance you will be sailing! The TIWAL is a great boat to learn on, and have fun on, and visit places on!
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Do you want to be in Auckland during the Americas Cup in 2021?Here is a video of the course areas. I hope to provide more insights as we go on.
The organising yacht club is the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Westhaven Marina, and most viewing boats will be leaving from Westhaven or the Viaduct, located on the south side of the Harbour Bridge. For easy access to Westhaven Marina and the Viaduct choose accommodation around the Viaduct, Wynyard Quarter, St Marys Bay, Freemans Bay or Ponsonby. Devonport (North Shore) is one of the prime onshore viewing spots for courses B and C and there are regular ferries to the city from here. Course E is near Waiheke Island - a wine drinkers paradise, and only a 40minute ferry ride from Auckland!!! Some dates for your diary: TBC. AC Challenger Series 25th-27th February, 2021 Superyacht Regatta, Auckland 28th February 2021 Dinghy Bridge to Bean Race (including TIWAL) Auckland FEB/March TBC TIWAL Cup Auckland 1st - 6th March, 2021 J Class Yacht Fleet, Auckland 6th/7th March, 2021 - the Americas Cup starts 21st March, 2021 - Americas Cup finishes Sometimes the quickest way to learn how to make a boat sail is to follow an experienced sailor around a racecourse.
Sailing in and amongst a fleet of boats who are looking out for your safety is also going to add a whole lot more fun to your day. You will find local yacht clubs are very inclusive of all types of boats joining their weekend racing. The club volunteers and the club organisers make the whole experience amazing - there are so many passionate people around you. You are entering a whole new community of people who have one thing in common - they love being in, on and around the water. There are always stories to share at the end of the day whether it is battling the elements, navigating your way around a course or weaving in and out of other boats. This is what sailing is about. It is about feeling alive and being involved in a huge community of people who want to share the feeling with you. Go to www.tiwal.nz to get started on your sailing journey. Learn to Sail Part 2. Have you have decided to give sailing a go? Firstly, you need a little understanding of the wind, the sail and the parts of the boat which are underwater. You need to know where the wind is coming from. The first reason you need to know, is so you can turn the boat into the wind when you are setting up the boat.. or when you are launching the boat into the water. If you turn the boat away from the wind the sail will fill with wind and the boat will try and jump around and make it very hard to push into the water without it falling over! Now lets get onto the water. Your sail is your engine - so looking at your sail is important (as well as looking where you are going!). When you are on the water you need to know where the wind is coming from because when you point the boat into the wind you won’t move anywhere - the sail will just flap. Wind direction awareness is also needed so you can stop the boat on the water whenever you like - just turn the boat into the wind and let the sail flap. If you want to move forward you need a curve in the sail. This creates power. You need to point the front of the boat away from the wind and pull the sail in just enough so there is a nice curve (and no flapping). Perhaps you have turned away so far from the wind that the wind is now directly behind you? Now you need to let the sail out enough to catch the wind. A good rhyme to remember is ‘if in doubt, let it out’ (the sail, I mean). But if it flaps, pull it in! So where do you sit? You and the wind will work together to balance the boat. If the boat is tipping to one side you need to move to balance the boat and make it flat again. This means you will usually sit opposite the sail - to balance the wind pushing against the sail on the other side. When the sail changes sides so will you (this is called a tack or gybe). You also need to know what is happening under the boat (underwater) that is helping you move and turn. Your rudder turns the boat - but this will only work if you have water flowing over it - you need to be moving to turn the boat. Your centreboard (the board in the centre of the boat) helps you sail towards the wind. So it is important to have this all the way down into the water - otherwise you will slip sideways. So, now you know where the wind is coming from, that you need to look at and adjust your sail, and you know what is helping the boat move and turn underwater. Stay tuned for more tips! #tiwal #dream_big_pack_small Check here to see a comparison of inflatable tenders by Yachting Monthly magazine.
https://cdn.tiwal.com/…/yachting-monthly-sailing-tenders-co… We were inspired to try our own version of a fitting for an outboard for the back of the TIWAL. We had a bit of fun this weekend trying an electric motor. It was so easy to use, quiet and fast - we couldnt believe it! And it was so nice to see the TIWAL 3 as a practical tender; after all, I wouldn't give up the chance to have a small sailboat on board, would you? We will put more videos up on Youtube. In the meantime you can see more articles on www.tiwal.nz Have a great week, Melinda There is a demo on the Gold Coast on Saturday 16th November for the TIWAL 3.
Please contact Peter from Spirit Marine Queensland on 0416 228 754 if you are interested in having a go in the TIWAL! The Sydney demo will be held very soon.. please get in touch with me at info@tiwal.nz for more details. I coach at Buckland Beach Yacht Club and my latest learn to sail group consisted of five different nationalities! My 'learn to sail' class now had to focus on water confidence, group cohesion along with learning to sail. So how could I push forward some very capable kiwi kids (the son and daughter of one Olympic Gold Medallist) while also catering to kids who had never been in any sort of boat before?
I brought the TIWAL out and I found that more than half of my problems were solved. The kids loved the boat because they felt safe in it, but they could go fast. We could have an instructor on the boat with them or they could sail it themselves in twos or threes. They couldn't hurt themselves in it but most of all, it provided loads of fun for them. The problem now is they expect it out every lesson! I'm very excited to announce the arrival of the TIWAL 2 on December 5th. This means we will be running demo days on Saturday 7th December for both the TIWAL 2 and 3! If you are interested in having a go in the TIWAL 3 or TIWAL 2, please get in touch with me here. (Read on to find out the difference between a TIWAL 2 and TIWAL 3) Also below is a story about taking both TIWALS into the Outback of Australia and watch out for a version of the story in Boating New Zealand Magazine. If you know of anyone who may be interested in reading my emails please forward the following link Clicking here to them. I will be including learn to sail tips and videos. If you didnt catch the latest TIWAL reviews from this side of the world here they are: https://www.boatsales.com.au/editorial/details/2019-tiwal-inflatable-dinghy-review-119852/ https://afloat.partica.online/afloat-magazine/afloat-may-2019/flipbook/26/ Keep safe, and have fun on the water! Melinda. Yesterday, I taught a woman to sail who had never been on a boat before - not in a dinghy or on a ferry. That was a first for me in my teaching sailing experience. I take for granted being able to get on the water in some shape or form. It makes me feel alive!
So why are there so many boaties out there but not many sailors? Yet Captain Cook brought Europeans here on a sailing ship, and the discovery and settlement of almost every nation on earth resulted from sailing the high seas! Once, to cover any distance on water, you either rowed or sailed. Everyone knew about sailing. Today, you can easily learn to sail; to use the wind as your power-source. Perhaps you haven't found the right boat to learn on? Or the best way to transport a boat? Or access to someone who can teach you? Or the right book to inspire you? You can learn about sailing and the wind in a book but sooner or later the best way is to get on the water and learn by trial and error. Stay tuned for some tips! Have fun and be safe on the water, Melinda www.tiwal.nz Like Nautical Nomads of Australia, NZ and the South Pacific to follow adventures of all sorts! Why a TIWAL?
The Tiwals were by far the most compact and easily transported watercraft we saw on our journey into the Outback. You can take a TIWAL as luggage in any vehicle and be on the water in 15 or 20 mins. Anywhere! We have recently experimented with a transom for a small outboard. New electric outboard units like the Torqeedo Ultralite 403 promise to make this boat even more versatile and useful for fishing or as a tender. Removable inflatable sides enclosing the deck are on the drawing board. We wouldn’t have dreamed of visiting the outback if we didn’t have this compact versatile dinghy on board. It opened up to us adventures we never dreamed of. Awarded 2014 Most Innovative Sailboat of the Year by Sailing World Magazine; when properly inflated to 12 PSI, TIWALS are a tough and rigid hull which conveniently packs down to fit in the back of even a small car, boat or caravan. They are made using dropstitch technology also used in SUP’s, and they don’t make a bad camp mattress if you get the pressure right! Merry Christmas, and Happy Travelling! To see videos of our trip visit Facebook page: Nautical Nomads of Australia, NZ, and the South Pacific, where you are invited to share your equipment recommendations and nautical adventures downunder. See you out there! |
Melinda HenshawI am a New Zealand sailor who learned to sail in the beautiful Malborough Sounds and then went onto represent NZ at the 2000 Olympics. Archives
December 2023
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