Even the best specs can't save a ship from poor sailing. Good captains must understand both the intricacies of their ship and various techniques for getting the most out of the wind. This guide describes a few techniques that can help you out when you're in a tight spot.
Expert Sailing (Understanding Sailing) is part of the guide: Understanding Sailing. This guide contains the following topics:
Novice Sailing
Ship Types and Specifications
Expert Sailing
This diagram describes Tacking. Instead of sailing straight Upwind sail in a zigzag pattern mainly at 45° to the wind. In this diagram the wind is represented by the red arrow and the Wind Indicator. The five steps show the first half of the zigzag pattern.
Sailing directly into the wind (Upwind) is bad, so don't do it. There are cases were it seems like sailing Upwind is the only option. In those cases we recommend Tacking.
Tacking is changing your sailing position back and forth and sailing towards the wind, but not directly Upwind. Sailing this way creates a zigzag movement pattern, and this pattern is faster than a straight line Upwind.
The Close Haul wind angle is the most important to understand. You sail much faster if you move into a Close Haul instead of Luffing or Upwind angle.
Also, keep in mind that Tacking is not a particularly effective technique for ships with high Turning Decel and low Acceleration values, such as many Warships have.
This is the Ship Display with the Ship Speed Slider circled. The sails of this ship are set for Battle Sails (75% or below).
The Battle Sails technique is less of a sailing technique and more of defensive technique.
Battle Sails is a technique that increases your Sail Defense by 15; therefore, any opponent aiming at a ship using this technique will lose Accuracy by 15%. Meaning, Battle Sails is only an effective technique if your opponent is using a Dismantling Shot (i.e., any shot that does damage primarily to an opponent's rigging: Star Shot Star Shot, Chain Shot Chain Shot, or Bar Shot Bar Shot).
To set Battle Sails, simply adjust your ship's sails to 75% using the Ship Speed Slider (which is located on the Ship Display) or simply type B. Obviously, this technique will lower the overall speed of your ship, and so it may be the wrong technique to use if speed is important.
The Battle Sails technique also increases Accuracy for the ship applying it. This increase in Accuracy is really a side effect. Higher speeds will negatively affect a ship's Accuracy, so by lowering the speed (adjusting your sails to 75%), you are increasing the ship's Accuracy.
Battle Sails are not as important a technique for Warships. This technique is not as important because the speed of a Warship will usually be low enough that the slower speed caused by Battle Sails won't improve Accuracy too drastically. However if you are sailing a Warship, you should enable Battle Sails if you expect Dismantling Shot—the Battle Sails technique will help protect your sails.
A ship's sails are the most important part of a sailing ship, so don't neglect them. You can raise and lower your sails with the click of a button, so take advantage of this feature.
The Acceleration of Scout Ships allows them to make frequent changes to their sails. If you're sailing a Scout Ship, consider lowering the sails for a shot (Accuracy goes up at slower speeds), then raise the sails right afterwards. Try adjusting your Scout Ship's speed, bring it to a stop, turn around, and go a different direction. Because of their high Acceleration value, Scout Ships suffer little from slowing.
If you are sailing a Warship, you should monitor the speed closely. Keep the average speed around 50% of Max Speed or higher. Do not adjust the sails too often as the Acceleration of a Warship is much lower.
Turning a ship is pretty basic, but it is still often done wrong.
In order to successfully turn, a ship must be sailing at a decent speed. Basically, without speed, turning will be pretty terrible. Here is the proper way to turn:
Note: if you try to turn and accelerate from a stop at the same time, you will get a slow turn and you will not accelerate.
Also, depending on your ship, you may want to avoid turning through the wind (the red area on the Wind Indicator). Instead turn your ship the around the complete opposite way. This is counterintuitive, but often more effective.
Scout Ships are forgiving when it comes to turning, but Warships will punish every mistake. As we described in the Warship section, Warships are hard to sail. Hopefully, if you apply the techniques described in this guide, you will be successful with whichever ship you choose.