What is sailing?

Sailing is the occupation of sailing a ship. Sailing can be both commercial and recreational. Common to all sailing is that knowledge of Naval Rules, Meteorology, Navigation, Maritime Safety, First Aid and seamanship is required.

A sailboat uses the wind as propulsion utilizing sails, and such boats are now only used for sports and leisure sailing. There are sailboats of all sizes, from the optimist dinghy to large sea cruisers, and the sport can be practised by everyone and competitive sports as well as on an exercise or family level.

Whether you are sailing a dinghy, keelboat or windsurfer, the same principles apply: The sail must be adapted to where you want to go in relation to the wind.

If the wind is weak, it is essential, especially when sailing dinghies, to keep the boat calm so that the wind is utilized as well as possible. If the wind is very powerful, it can be an advantage to reduce the sail area by rope one or more sails, using smaller sails, twisting the sail at the top and flattening the sail.