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Weather

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 20:18:52 GMT

Weather

The weather will most likely determine if you enjoy a day’s sail or not. Before leaving the dock, assess the ability of you and your crew to endure poor weather. I dislike drifting around with little steerage, especially in the dog days of summer. Im happiest in 15 to 25 knots on a sunny day, but my guests might prefer calmer conditions. The point of sail you are on in heavy seas can make a huge difference to enjoying the ride. Running down wind in big rollers can be lots of fun, but pounding upwind in a 5 foot chop can be miserable.

So check the forecast before heading out, and review the likely conditions with your crew. If just out for a daysail, you can always turn around if the weather deteriorates, but if you are on a multi day cruise, have a bail out location in mind if things get nasty.

In the summer on the East coast, late afternoon pop-up thunderstorms are always a possibility. Keep an eye out over the western shore for thunderheads so you can make it back to shore before a squall hits, or at least be prepared to shorten sail quickly if ducking in is not an option.

There are several free weather apps for forecasts and viewing radar displays. Use them throughout the day, but don’t forget to make use of your own senses: scan the clouds for potential trouble, listen for thunder, recognize the ozone smell associated with lightning, and feel the rapid change of temperature that accompanies an approaching storm front.

Learning how to handle changing weather conditions takes experience, but good preparation and situational awareness goes a long way to staying safe and having fun on the water.

Captain Dan

Preparation

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 22:10:36 GMT

Preparation

Preparation is not necessarily fun or sexy, but it is key to minimizing the risks inherent in sailing. A mental pre-sail checklist works pretty well for me, but if you are new to sailing, I would write it down.

It begins with whether this is just a daysail or an overnight, and who is on board.

At least the night before, I assess the forecast and ask whether my guests can enjoy the conditions. If they are novices and the forecast calls for rough weather (20 knots or more and big seas), I’m probably going to reschedule. The same is true for no wind and high temperatures.

Assuming that conditions are favorable on the morning of a daysail, I’ll prepare simple snacks and/or lunch and plan on being back at the dock before sundown. If it’s an overnight or longer, I consult my guests on any special dietary restrictions, medical conditions, including seasickness, and whether they are agreeable to anchoring or mooring versus the comforts of a slip.

It’s a go, and your guests are coming aboard. Make sure they have the appropriate footwear, sunscreen, and clothing, and ask if they need to use the onshore head one more time.

Perform the customary crew checkout on your boat, even though it might scare them off a bit. If you don’t know the drill, check out the USCG captain requirements, and make sure they know how to use the head correctly, or the day might end early.

Now it’s all about the boat.

Check your fuel, water, and battery levels.

Open the appropriate seacocks, especially the seawater intake for cooling the engine.

Ensure your VHF is tuned to channel 16, and your chart plotter and other instruments are working.

Verify your float plan with your guests and adjust as necessary if it causes anxiety.

Check the weather one more time, visually and with the forecast, and know the time of low and high tide. Confirm PFD requirements. I usually leave wearing life jackets up to my guests unless young children are on board or we run into heavy weather.

Give each guest a specific task, especially while docking, tacking, raising, and lowering sails, and once underway, go through your man overboard drill.

I like to put each guest behind the wheel or tiller in turn. I’m amazed at how fast people can catch on if properly coached.

Finally, I have a strict rule for myself of no alcohol until back on anchor, at a mooring, or in the slip. Make sure your guests stay hydrated, and If you serve them adult beverages, don’t overdo it, or you could become liable for an accident.

Statistics show that most boating accidents occur due to poor preparation, alcohol consumption, or a combination of both. Don’t be one of those guys.

If you need help in preparing a pre-sail checklist, particularly for longer voyages including float plans and charting, I’m available.

Captain Dan

Heaving to

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 22:38:29 GMT

Heaving to

What’s the purpose of “heaving to” and how do you do it?

Sounds like a line from an old sea chanty, but it is a useful skill to have under your belt. The purpose of the maneuver is to stay as stationary as possible while under sail. It is usually used in very heavy weather when it is too dangerous or impractical to make headway. I know solo sailors who use it for a quick nap while offshore. Some use it to handle an emergency that precludes quickly lowering your sails. I have used it to untangle a snagged crab trap in Delaware Bay. In any case, it is a good idea to practice heaving to in a moderate breeze to see how your boat responds.

Start with a first reef in the main and the genoa reefed to 120% or less. To begin the maneuver, tack without releasing the leeward genoa sheet. On the new tack, let your main traveller stay to leeward and keep the rudder hard over to drive the bow to windward. You may have to adjust the main sheet to keep the bow from falling off the wind. If done properly, the backed genoa drives the bow to leeward and offsets the force of the mainsail and rudder driving the bow to windward. Your boat should stay balanced with little forward headway and minimal drift to leeward.

Heaving to requires practice, and every boat responds differently depending on wind and sea conditions and sail trim. It may sound scary, but it could be a lifer saver some day. Let me know if you need a hand.

Captain Dan

Spinnakers

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 19:12:27 GMT

Spinnakers

To spin or not to spin. With the development of asymmetrical spinnakers (asym), the decision whether to add a spinnaker to your sail inventory got a lot easier. If you are sailing a long downwind leg (anywhere from a beam reach to a run) a spinnaker can add several knots to your boat speed, and a lot of fun and excitement to your trip. Nothing quite captures the beauty of sail like a colorful spinnaker on a sunny, breezy day.

The simplicity of the asym design makes it easy to set up and fly. All you need, if your boat is not already equipped, is a block on both sides of the transom, spinnaker sheets, and a tack line at the bow. To make launching and dowsing the asym even simpler, I advise adding a sock when ordering from your sailmaker. Learning to use the sock is easy and means less time on the foredeck for launching and take down.

Jibing the asym takes some practice, but as an alternative, you can dowse, jibe and reset on the new tack. I’m available to help you through the purchase, set up and flying of your new favorite sail.

If you have a traditional spinnaker, but are anxious about jibing the pole, no problem, I can walk you through that too. Let me help you have more fun sailing down wind.

Captain Dan

Running Rigging

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 21:15:54 GMT

Some cruising sailors don’t take advantage of all the tools available to them to sail their boats most effectively. Two of these tools are the traveller and the boom vang. To get your boat to point well (sail closest to the wind) generally you want your boom on the center line of your boat. This usually requires bringing the traveller to windward. If you feel overpowered as the wind increases, drop the traveller down until you feel under control. The difference of 5 to 10 degrees of pointing ability on a long course can shave hours off your ETA. This is true for your mizzen as well if you are sailing a yawl or ketch.

Likewise, the boom vang is often an underutilized tool going downwind. Without some boom vang tension, especially in a stronger breeze, the end of your boom tends to pivot upwards, reducing sail efficiency and increases a side by side (yawing) effect. Without boom vang tension, it is also more difficult to perform a smooth and controlled jibe.

In light air with leftover swells, some boom vang tension helps eliminate that annoying sound of your mainsheet snapping on the roll. Just remember to ease your boom vang before trying to lower your main halyard.

Get to know the purpose of all of your running rigging, and if you need help, give me a shout.

Anchoring

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 20:55:52 GMT

Anchoring

Next to docking, anchoring is the most stressful event for many sailors, but it doesn’t have to be. Similar to docking, it is all about situational awareness:

How deep is your anchorage?

What is the bottom like; sand, mud, rock, weed?

Are you anchoring overnight?

Are other boats anchored nearby, do you have enough swing room?

What is the forecast for wind and tide strength and direction?

Factoring in these conditions determines where to anchor, how deep and how much anchor rode is required. After setting your anchor properly, take shore bearings to determine whether you are dragging your anchor. During a windy or swell-filled night, post a watch, or get up periodically to check your bearings.

I can teach the specific techniques to anchor securely, but when in doubt, grab a mooring or a slip.

Captain Dan

Docking

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 14:53:35 GMT

Docking

I was watching the Chesapeake Cowboys extreme boat docking competition recently in Havre de Grace, Maryland, where watermen compete to dock their boats against the clock, and concluded that it had at least one thing in common with properly docking a sailboat; the worst you can probably do is hit a piling.

For some reason, many otherwise confident sailors and their crew, dread leaving and returning to a slip or a bulkhead. Although proper instruction and practice are necessary to build your skills, drama-free docking comes down to one simple concept; situational awareness.

Before entering a new slip, call ahead and find out if you should go bow in or stern in, port or starboard tie, and ask if dock hands are available to assist you. In addition, note the following conditions:

Wind and current strength and direction

Length and width of the fairway

Any boat traffic in your approach

Have dock lines, fenders, and boathook ready. Ensure your crew and dock hands know which dock lines you want secured first (usually to windward). Use all of the space available to make your approach. Use as little throttle as possible to maintain momentum and direction. If at first you don’t succeed, back out and try again; don’t force it.

Due to ever-changing conditions on the water, not every docking will be perfect; that’s why they sell wet or dry sandpaper and polishing compound at your local ship’s store.

Finally, practice good seamanship; please don’t leave your fenders hanging along your top sides after you leave the slip.

I hope to see you on the water.

Captain Dan

Welcome to Firefly Blog

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 21:56:52 GMT

Jibing

I have started this blog to share useful information about handling sailboats based on my 60+ years of racing and cruising a wide variety of craft in many different locales and conditions. My goal is to provide helpful insights here, while piquing your interest to pursue further instruction with me or other qualified instructors.

Today’s topic is jibing, or gybing if you are of British persuasion.

My perspective on jibing was formed as a young child in a racing-oriented sailing program. We mastered jibing skills early on to sail competitively downwind on a racecourse. Unfortunately, too many non-racing sailing instructors, and even some instruction manuals, treat jibing as a dangerous maneuver to be avoided at all costs. This bias can undermine confidence in your sailing skills and put you in a dangerous situation that otherwise would be routine. I suppose fear of jibing comes from the accidental “flying jibe” phobia passed down by generations of sailors lacking proper instruction in basic boat handling.

To be sure, a “flying jibe” (especially in heavy air) is not desirable, but competent instruction and practice can help you avoid that mishap. Knowing how to jibe effectively enhances your sailing skills and gives you safer options to avoid other boats, obstructions, or running aground.

I welcome constructive comments and informed differences of opinion.

I hope to see you on the water.

Captain Dan