Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

Basics of sailing Micronesian way

Prepared by Janusz Ostrowski for proa Pjoa Laguna and Puch Pjoa in July’18
Pictures and drawings by Paweł Kowalski.
Consulted with Wade Tarzia, Reto Brehm
All rights reserved.

I. General rules - don’t panic, there is no reason ............................................................................... 2

II. How to leave the beach ................................................................................................................... 4
Be prepared: ............................................................................................................................... 4
Standing safe on the strand – prepare easy start - hoist the sail up and de-power: ................. 5
Push the canoe into shallow water up to your knees. ............................................................... 6
Sail away: .................................................................................................................................... 6
III. How to change and keep direction .................................................................................................. 7
The crew changes position across the platform to help steer the canoe: ................................. 7
Crew moves along – forward and backward: ............................................................................. 7
Pull the sail in or ease it out to adjust the course when sailing against the wind: .................... 8
To control sailing with the wind aside: make a belly and “brake it” over the brailing line ........ 8
When sailing downwind ............................................................................................................. 9
Make the sail into “carrot” shape, to move Centre of Effort forward: ............................................... 9
Set the mast to more vertical position, by making the shroud shorter: .............................................. 9
Use paddle for steering: ............................................................................................................. 9
IV. How to turn back ........................................................................................................................... 10
V. What can go wrong and how to react ........................................................................................... 11

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 Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

I. General rules - don’t panic, there is no reason

The safety of you and your crew and passengers is most important.

Don’t hurry - you can hardly be late with any action on this canoe.

In case you don’t know what to do:

- Let the sail hang freely (the sheets are let go) and sit where you feel safe
- Observe and think
- Before further actions:
- Guess what will be the result
- Tell your crew about your goal and how it will be achieved

The canoe needs time to react and nothing happens immediately

The outrigger should be kept to windward, especially when sailing.

Always take a wool or fleece coat and rain jacket even in warm weather.

Use your brain  because rules and advice further presented are
simplified for clarity and are generally correct in pleasant conditions.

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Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

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Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

II. How to leave the beach

Be prepared:
Provide safety equipment for everyone on board + one spare.

- The sheet runs below tack line

(both runs) and should be unobstructed

- Be sure that lines close to mast-top will not jam:

halyard and brailing lines do not twist one around
another, shroud or stays.

- The tack line is fixed in aft cockpit only and

than noone left the tack line fixed in fore
cocpit by mistake.

- Ensure that provided two paddles and two bailers, are placed one per cockpit so you
always has one easy to reach, secured with lines attached to the canoe.

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Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

Standing safe on the strand – prepare easy start - hoist the sail up and de-power:

- Turn the canoe with the outrigger to windward

- Ensure there is empty space to the lee (side without platform) so that boom cannot
hit anything when it swings to leeward
- Loose the tack line until it has a foot of slack otherwise hoisting sail can be hard.

- Hoist the sail up by pulling halyard until yard is in

highest possible position. Any slack there will turn
canoe to windward when sailing.

- Sail should fly freely to leeward, with no tension on the sheet, so sheet do not
counteract when hoisting the boom

Tighten the yard at the bow, by pulling tack line, which

then fixed in rear cockpit.

- Hoist the boom to the top by pulling both brailing lines

together, and fix them on the mast

- Let tell-tales on the shroud or stays fly and ensure the position of canoe against the
wind didn’t change.
You are ready for sailing.

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Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

Push the canoe into shallow water up to your knees.

- The skipper and crew should climb on board one

by one; if the canoe touches bottom, push it into
deeper water.
- The last person in the water pushes the canoe out
gently to gain little speed before climbing aboard
- Check to see if everyone is comfortable and
positioned to not interfere in next manoeuvre

Sail away:
- Release the brailing lines from the cleats to carefully lower the boom; the sail will open.
- If the boom does not lower, pull it down slightly with the sheet

- Once the sail is open, you can adjust the sheet to create the proper curve (belly) in the
sail.
- Set a straight course and adjust crew positions as required
- You normally shouldn’t need to use the paddle, but keep it ready either to paddle out of a
crowd before opening the sail, or rapidly change direction.

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Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

III. How to change and keep direction

(please consciously apply the methods presented below)
The crew changes position across the platform to help steer the canoe:
- If crew moves toward outrigger, the canoe turns to windward (toward outrigger side)
because the ama sinks (creates drag) and rotates the canoe around

- If crew moves to the sail, then canoe turns to leeward (away from the outrigger) as
the ama rises slightly and reduces rotational force

Crew moves along – forward and backward:

- If crew moves forward, then canoe turns toward direction of the wind as then pivoting
point becomes in front of the force from sail and the canoe turns like a wind-vane.

- If crew moves backward, then canoe will attempt to turn downwind.

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Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

Pull the sail in or ease it out to adjust the course when sailing against the wind:
This method is effective only if the whole sail is equally filled with the wind.

- Pulling the sheet forces the bow to delicately turn off the wind as the sail’s centre of
effort moves forward
- Letting the sail out slightly (easing the sheet) forces the bow to move closer to
windward as the sail’s centre of effort moves outward (the boom is then like a lever
that turns the canoe),

To control sailing with the wind aside: make a belly and “brake it” over the brailing line
When all everyone is moved back far but we need to bear off the wind more:

a) Pull the boom up slightly with brailing line, so that the sail gets a
lot of belly
Bring the boom closer by pulling the sheet, so that big belly is not
distracted by the wind from other side.
These are preparations only, so don’t expect course changing, yet.

b) Pull this brailing line, which hides behind the sail,

unless it deform the sailcloth and continue to make
rear part of the sail, breaking over to lee.

More you let the wind to spill over rear part of sail,
more the bow shall turn off the wind.

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Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

When sailing downwind

Make the sail into “carrot” shape, to move

Centre of Effort forward:
- Let the boom move up by pulling the brailing line, on
windward, which creates a deep belly in the sail
- Ease the sheet accordingly or
the boom cannot move up.

And / or

Set the mast to more vertical position, by making the shroud

shorter:
- release the back stay a little (c.a. a feet)
- Make shroud shorter by pulling a special line it is connected
with, from the cockpit. Do it as strong as possible – this
should make mast more vertical.
Do not forget: one need to let mast to heel to the lee side again,
when you finish downwind course.

Use paddle for steering:

The paddle is always effective in steering, and it becomes more effective as canoe speed
increases

- Place paddle blade into the water from this side of the canoe, which you want to push
on
- The blade should be set parallel to the flow to minimize its drag.
- The shaft should touch the side of the canoe
- Use your upper hand on the grip to delicately set blade at small angle against the flow
- Forces can be significant so don’t let the paddle to pull you out of the canoe.

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Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

IV. How to turn back

When we want to change direction completely
The Micronesian outrigger canoe can NOT be turned around like a car or ordinary
sailing canoe; instead the bow and stern exchange their roles when we change the
tack
- The Sail shall travel from one end, along the canoe to the other end, to the new bow
as the mast acts like a crane to lift the rig from one end to the other:
- Let the sail swing freely to leeward (away from the outrigger) by easing the sheet and bracing-line
completely
- Release the tack line from the cleat,
- !!! All sit roughly in the middle of canoe, at the mast-step !!!
- Force the yard along the canoe, by pulling the tack line,
- Set the heel (bottom) of the yard into the nest at the “new” bow
- Tie tack line with the cleat in (now) rear cockpit
The crew changes positions (mirror to previous ones) or just exchange roles

- Check if everyone is fine 

- Pull the sail in with the sheet to adjust it for the new course (as before, adjust the
sheet until the sail has the proper “belly” as it engages the air)
Notes:
a) Manoeuvre should be done slowly so you can observe (use your eyes ) how the boat is turning,
b) Keep canoe evenly balanced with crew that neither end (bow or stern) dives, or boat can rotate too far. Some
can sit on the platform at the mast.
c) The sheet must be allowed to run freely; if it becomes a pile of spaghetti in the cockpit, it might stop the sail
from moving.
d) Sometimes the yard can hook around one of stays, e.g. lines connecting mast- top with bow/stern, although
this is rare. Then stop shunting, unless one of crew will go to the bow and free the yard. In the same time the
rest of the crew should counter ballast so the bow don’t dive.

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Copyright by Janusz Ostrowski, Paweł Kowalski All rights reserved

V. What can go wrong and how to react

If these methods are not enough
If the canoe consistently turns toward upwind (weatherhelm),
- Usually this happens when there is too much distance between the yard and mast-top because the
sail is not hauled up completely; tighten the halyard.
- Mast heels too much to leeward (away from the outrigger); you need to “straighten it up” by
shortening the shroud (the line connecting mast-top with outrigger)

Canoe cannot be made to sail downwind,

- Shape the sail like a carrot by pulling boom close to the mast-top with brailing lines
- All crew goes as back as possible to push stern deeper into the water (this will let the canoe
“weathervane” downwind)
- Steer with a paddle

Sail receives the wind from the opposite side then normally (“backwinding”):
- Avoid backwinding at all cost because the sail and mast may fall back onto the platform and
outrigger,
- Turn the canoe back to position with the wind clearly from outrigger side, by any means,
unless no reaction observed, then
- Use the paddle with a lot of energy
- If above didn’t fix the problem, do not release the tack line from clam, but
- Pull boom down and out with your weight, or
Alternatively: quickly pull the sail up completely with brailing lines, which you tie with cleat
and then stretch the sheet. The sheet plays the role of (now) windward shroud.
- The crew change positions so that neither mast nor boom or yard could fall on anyone
- Paddle strongly to turn boat around
- Observe the canoe turning to the right position with outrigger to windward

A storm is coming, conditions get worse,

- Run away to closes shelter, even it is only coastal scrub

A storm has caught us or we cannot handle the wind,

- Drop the sail down and lash it to the canoe to prevent the sail from flying around
- You can easily lay the mast down and fix it to the platform.
- Crew hides from elements in the cockpits to get out of the wind and reduce the chance
hypothermia, which can happen quickly and is dangerous (safety equipment should include a wool
or fleece coat and rain jacket even in warm weather)
- We steer with paddle or paddle towards closes shelter available
- Call for help

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