ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the navigational and sailing skills that come into play in yachting. These involve the mastery and application of formalisms. The chapter also considers yachting under sail. While the principles of navigation that are considered here are common to motor yachting, the principles of sail management are, obviously, not applicable to motor sailing. The chapter presents the formalisms of navigation as they might encounter in written texts and courses. The philosophy of the RYA is to keep yachting as free of legislation as possible by promoting safe and responsible yachting. To this end it has developed an extensive training program designed to instruct yachtsmen and women in the main principles of sailing, known as shore-based theory courses. However, the RYA understands the point we made in the introduction that the sailing formalisms are practical constructions that are to be put to use in live-action circumstances, requiring an interaction between those circumstances and the formalisms of sailing.
