Why "Full n By"?

I've been asked by more than a couple of folks now. "What's up with the blog name "Full n By?"

Most sailors already get this...but for anyone not familiar, here is the explanation.

Sailing is much much different than "boating"...specifically "power boating". It's not bragging....it's just a fact.

Powerboating - Fun....but a Different Experience Entirely

There is a lot more cerebral and physical effort involved in getting a sailboat to go....and go at only a fraction of the speed a powerboat will go with far less effort. For many of us...this is not a reason to avoid sailing, ...in fact.....it's a reason to embrace it. Why? Because in general...if you find sailing satisfying at any level, you are someone gratified by hard work and the resulting rewards. Sailing is shunned by those of the "I gotta have it now..I'm not willing to work for it...and oh, by the way...look at me while I do this!" crowd. It's too much effort for most them, for too little reward, over too much time. We've had powerboats and they are fun, but driving a powerboat is a mechanical set of skills.....while sailing is an art-form that is never truly mastered.

A huge difference between sail and power is that you can point a power boat where you want to go, shove the throttles forward...an go direct. It matters not the the wind's direction (within reason of course).  If you sail, you know that is not the case with a sailboat. "No-Man's Land" lives within a 40-50 degree arc either side of heading
directly to windward. Mother nature attempts to keep this zone her private domain from where she generates the winds that we crave so much and she claims it as her own.  Should you attempt to sail your vessel directly into this region, all matter of chaos will befall your vessel as sails luff, then slat. Sheets attached to flogging clews fly around like demons attempting to foul on any appendage within their reach, threatening to pummel any mere human who would arrogantly attempt to tame them. All forward progress of the vessel is halted by her incredibly powerful hand against the bow of the boat. "No Man's Land"....You can't go there in a sailboat.

Or can you?

Since the days of the tall ships and before, 'till this day....no-one has been able to devise a vessel that can penetrate Mother Natures wind factory, within the No-Man's Land, 45 degrees (give or take) either side of the true wind direction.

Square Riggers were happy downwind and reaching,
but not so much upwind

We humans though....we don't like to take "No" for an answer. That trait has been our Savior throughout the history of man....and at times it's been our downfall. We are a stubborn bunch and if we can't get what we want one way...we figure out another approach, again and again, and again until we find a way. Such is the Art of Sailing. Initially just having the wind power your vessel the way the wind wanted to take you was a glorious achievement. It meant that half of the time, more if you planned it right, you could suspend the effort necessary to travel and simply harness Mother Nature to do it for you.


Eventually though...as always...we became dis-satisfied with only going "with" the wind. Soon, vessels were developed with rigs that could sail "across" the wind.

Modern Rigs Opened Up Upwind Sailing
Dauntless "gettin' her groove on" 

Even with this revelation we were not satisfied. Alas, vessels with sail plans that mimic vertical airfoils and can generate lift were developed....and we could sail "into" the wind.....BUT still only up the limits of "No-Man's Land" (within 40-50 degrees of the apparent wind direction). However...take any chart and layout two courses at approx 45 degrees angle to either side of directly upwind. Next, if you choose a point directly upwind of your current position, you can lay out a plan zigging and zagging back and forth on those two available course to get to your objective. No matter where it is. We refer to it as tacking upwind or "beating".

Good sailors know about two things that affect the wind direction the boat feels (which we call the "apparent wind"). The Apparent wind is the combination of the True wind and the wind actually created by the boat moving forward through the air. When the True wind shifts direction slightly, OR if the True wind changes its velocity...the "apparent wind angle" that the boat and sails sense will change direction accordingly.

If we are trying to move the boat directly upwind we want to sail the boat as close to that magical 45 degree  line to the Apparent wind as we can before entering No Man's Land. That way for every mile of distance traveled straight ahead (45 degrees off of our target) we get the most travel upwind (towards our target) . Part of our speed is taking us towards our objective closing the gap...but since we cannot go direct to the objective...part of our  speed is just moving us forward in a direction we don't really need to go. We want to minimize the latter and maximize the part going towards our objective. That part of the speed is called Velocity Made Good.

Our target is fixed.... a marina...an island....a buoy...a point of land ...etc. It does not move or change it's position. However...the direction of the wind is NOT constant. As we said...ANY change in velocity or True wind's direction will be seen by the sailor on the moving boat as a shift in the "Apparent Wind's" direction. If the Apparent wind direction moves more in front of the the boat we call that a "header" and the boat must be accordingly be steered away from the ultimate target to keep the angle of the sails constant to the angle of the wind, otherwise the sails enter "No Man's Land" as the angle of the sails to the Apparent wind becomes critical and the sails luff. Likewise, if the Apparent wind's direction moves aft,  around more to the side of the boat...we call that a "lift" and the boat can be turned more towards our objective that is directly upwind without luffing the sails.

Obviously if the desire or objective it to reach that target directly upwind from where you started, a header is a bummer. It causes the proportion of the distance you traveled that actually takes you toward that object to diminish as you turn away to keep the sails out of No Man's Land. A Lift however is awesome! It will allow you to turn the boat's direction even closer to your ultimate goal while still not putting the sails in the thrashing luffing limbo of No Man's Land.

working the lifts to gain ground to windward

One thing that really is cool is that a wind shift that causes a header when you sailing a starboard tack, becomes a lift on a port tack. So when headed by the wind, you can gain an advantage by simply tacking over to the other windward course and you will automatically be "lifted" by an equal amount, gaining an advantage toward your objective.

Often, especially when the wind is gusty the boat is receiving "lifts"  and "headers" pretty regularly every time the wind speed increases or decreases. Remember, an increase in True wind velocity always results in the apparent wind direction moving aft or around the side of the boat. When that happens you can steer a course higher up into what would have been No Man's Land just before the increase in velocity. You can hold this course until the gust subsides...at which time the apparent wind will rotate back forward again forcing you to bear away or turn away from your objective in order to keep the sails from entering No Man's Land.  THIS is sailing FULL n By. You are sailing with the sails trimmed for upwind work (sheeted in tight) and left there. You do not adjust the sails further once you have them set to drive the boat as close to the wind as you can (somewhere around that magical 45 degree rage). Rather than adjust the sails with their sheets when a header or lift comes, you effectively adjust the sails by steering the whole boat (which in turn turns the entire rig and thus the sails, in relation to the wind). You are trimming your sails effectively with the tiller...and you take EVERY advantage of every Lift to drive the boat higher towards your objective upwind. If you get a header...and you suspect that the header that is making you turn away from your objective upwind is going to last a while, you tack the boat over..why?  Yes! because you just turned that header that was making you turn away from your objective...into a lift that will allow you to turn to a heading closer to it on the opposite tack!...thereby making a shorter distance to the objective, increasing your Velocity Made Good,  and you get there faster.

So...Full n By  =  Keeping the sails sheeted-in for upwind work and steering the boat to Keep the SAILS FULL AND steering the boat BY the sail's relation to the wind in order to achieve your objective. It matters not what you compass course is...what matters is you sail the boat at an angle as close to "No Man's Land" as you can, recognize the headers and lifts, and shift course accordingly. You know where you want to get...and you will get there. It is rarely a constant direction, though, on either tack when sailing Full n By.  It is one that requires constant evaluation of conditions and options, and reactions appropriate to gain the best advantage and achieve your goal. Constant attention to detail and adjustment of the course yields the fastest path to the objective

Sailor or not....that concept should be familiar to us all.  Know it or not....Full n By is how most of us live our lives. We have a goal in mind. When we choose that goal...we layout a course to achieve it. Except for the simplest of goals....seldom are we able to achieve it without some course modifications. External forces always come into play. I guess the trick is to keep your eyes upwind and adjust course accordingly. Ride the lifts and tack on the headers.  I know I've been adjusting course a lot lately....fortunately for me ..Upwind, rail down, seems to be where I do my best work...and  is my favorite point of sail.