YM

VHF sends AIS to chart plotter, chart plotter sends fix to VHF/

Speed in water +/- tide = speed over ground

wind tends to back when it hits the land

Shouldn’t ever really need to winch kicker, mainsheet should do most of the job.
Kicker can usually be hand pulled.

CATEGORY VESSEL
A - Over F8 & 4m waves
B - Up to F8 & 4m waves
C - Up to F6 & 2m waves

METEOROLOGY
HEAT & PRESSURE ON AIR IS KING
⁃ Sun heats land/ water (at different rates), creating movements of air -
wind. Warm air expands, lowering pressure, until it moves far away enough to
cool making it dense enough to fall again, raising pressure.
⁃ This creates a cyclic flow of air, and because the cold dense high pressure
air falls, it diverges, and flows to the emptier areas of warm expanding and low
pressure air, which converges.

WATER VAPOUR AND DEW POINT

⁃ Air contains water, normally you can't see it - because it's held as vapour.
⁃ The temperature of the air dictates how much water it can hold, roughly
10g per cubic meter per 10 degrees celcius. When the air has maxed the water
possible for its given temperature, it has reached its dew point.
⁃ When the dew point breaks, and the air cools, it sheds the water which
creates cloud, fog, rain, dew, snow or frost, (this is why colder climates tend to be
wetter, as they can't retain their moisture).

WINDY BERTH PREP

⁃ have men standing by on quarters with fenders and one on roving/
skippers line
POLE SETUP
⁃ pull string to auto clip off harp clips
⁃ attach one end of pole (with auto clips facing upwards) to the mast d-ring
⁃ attach uphaul and downhaul to the ring in the middle of pole
⁃ feed jenny sheet through outer auto clip on pole, and make sure it feeds
THROUGH the guard rails before it reaches the car
⁃ headsail can be furled with it still on

MOB
⁃ shout MOB, crew A closest to the aft fixes the point, crash tack
⁃ start engine
⁃ crew B closest to saloon “dsc distress button, mayday, stand by on chart
plotter for mob button’
⁃ crew C in the middle readies the dan buoy
⁃ comfort MOB “we’re coming back, slow breaths, tuck knees into chest”
⁃ when passing, deploy dan buoy and press mob button on chart plotter

POWER:
⁃ crew B pins main
⁃ crew C spills jenny sheet and furls it away solo
⁃ beamy broad away
⁃ tack for close reach
⁃ crew B spills main
⁃ you have eyes on the mob, crew A readies boat hook and clips on leeward
jackstay, stays in cockpit
⁃ come alongside mob in cockpit several metres away, drift onto them
powerboat style
⁃ lock helm and turn hardover into wind in neutral

SAIL:
⁃ crew B trims main for beamy broad
⁃ crew C passes headsail solo for same trim
⁃ beamy broad away
⁃ tack for close reach (crew C furls jenny solo on tack or on approach
depending on conditions)
⁃ you have eyes on the mob, crew A readies boat hook and clips on leeward
jackstay, stays in cockpit
⁃ crew B stands by to fill and spill
⁃ fill and spill as necessary, keeping mob in shrouds
⁃ turn hardover at last second to kick stern towards mob
⁃ lock helm and turn hardover into wind
⁃ TACK TACK JIBE
⁃ Tacks go away on a beamy broad just like mob, to tack into a close reach
⁃ Jibes go away on a beam, to jibe into a close reach

SAILING ON MYSTERY-X
⁃ Sailing on a beam reach is much easier, more speed on a beam than
pinching on a close with just main - essential if you need the headsail furled for
an anchoring (check TWD and plot it on chart to pick favourable bearings)
⁃ Just take a FB/BB, wait to arrive onto a contour (INC. TIDE) confirmed
with an arrival bearing.
⁃ Make another backup in case the wind changes and the original bearings
aren’t favourable.
⁃ Ready the anchor as you approach, and turn the boat into the wind and
standby to drop the anchor when you arrive.

GHOST HEAVE-TO
CAN heave to with spilled main after MOB pickup... on depowered main turn
hardover into wind, lock wheel.. sit in neutral... boat will bounce between close
reach and beam reach by itself... if running out of space, tack under engine with
the flappy sail and repeat. Tea time.

ADVANCED CONTROL
Don’t need to be moving to hoist/ lower main sail. You can keep the boat in bare
minimum tick over, when the wind takes the bow add a touch ahead and steer
into it. You never needed speed, it was always about steerage.

SAILING ON ANCHOR
⁃ Sailing on a beam will help you get the speed to turn the boat into the
wind, also means the headsail can be furled sooner for anchor prep
⁃ Drop the anchor 10m before the wind takes the bow... ONLY look at the
bow.. when the bow bounces back after the initial snag, another 10m.. rinse and
repeat as necessary. All you do is wait for bites and slack.
⁃ Pin the main for lowering main sail on anchor, let the wind take it, head
into wind with them helm, wait to be dead into wind and then spill... same with
hoisting, take the helm, ready the men, wait for a good bounce, when dead into
wind hoist main sail.
ADVANCED JIBING
When jibing, helmsman waits for sail to begin backing and the boom beginning to
move - on "jibe ho" main sheet gets pulled across to lessen the jibe effect and
eased out afterwards with one turn on the winch throughout for smooth transfer.

ENGINE FAILURE & SAILING ONTO BERTH

⁃ Leave fenders on until out of the channel
⁃ If coming alongside, get fenders and lasso lines set up safely, slowly and
appropriately considering headsail will be live
⁃ Just as approaching anything, spill the jenny with good speed so you can
come alongside smoothly.
⁃ Stern line is the first line to lasso, and it must be ‘surged’ before the
midships/ bow line are also lassoed. Otherwise boat will be irrecoverably altered
off course.

STABILITY
3 factors that affect stability:
⁃ Centre of gravity
⁃ Centre of buoyancy
⁃ Mass of the boat
When the boat heels, the cb moves away from the cg, creating the righting lever.
The bigger the righting lever, the bigger the righting action/ bounce.
When the boat heels so much that the cg catches up to the cb, the boat has
reached its AVS - and will tip.
2 factors that affect cg:
⁃ Weight above (e.g. radar, in-mast furling etc)
⁃ Weight below (e.g. being swamped, 1 cubic metre of water = 1 tonne)
cb:
⁃ The centre of the mass of water displacement = the centre of buoyancy

BLIND NAV
⁃ Have blind nav sheet ready
⁃ WATCH OFF: deviation
⁃ 3 POINT FIX: plot bearings, with time, depth and log, (clearing bearings) -
ONE OF THE BEARINGS IS YOUR HEADING, give it to your helmsman
straightaway to prevent drift and get the boat moving
⁃ AIMING: aim for marks strictly to port or starboard to verify position
⁃ TIDE: account for tide on contours and tidal stream for legs

DISMASTING
⁃ Component failure; bottle screws, pins and split pins
⁃ Cable failure; shrouds split

FLC
⁃ FUCKING LAZY CUNTS
⁃ Fenders Lines Crew (brief)

SPRINGS & LINES

⁃ Setting up a spring on an occupied cleat, take one end of the stern/
bowline off, stick it on the other cleat/ winch. Set up the spring on the occupied
cleat - done.
⁃ There’s a perfect order to slipping lines, find the useless lazy ones and
ditch those first.
⁃ There’s a perfect order to securing lines, find the useful working one (your
first line under tension, e.g. tide coming from the stern - sternline). Then apply the
lines in order like a tube of toothpaste. Sternline, sternspring, bowspring, bowline
- tightening as you go. Now they will all be under tension and the boat will be
secure.

REEFING
⁃ If boat bears away from wind heading down wind, reef jenny (lee helm)
⁃ If boat bears towards wind when heading up wind, reef main (weather
helm)

METEOROLOGY
⁃ Mackerel skies (cirrus clouds form scaly shapes) and mers tails (cirrus
clouds stretched by winds) makes large ships carry small sails (strong wind
coming as warm front approaches)
DIMENSION:
⁃ Stratus - long/ layer/ horizontal
⁃ Cumulus - heap/ pile/ vertical
POSITION:
⁃ Alto - high/ altitude/ height
QUALITY:
⁃ Cirrus - fringe/ tuft
⁃ Nimbus - rain

STORM GIB (35 knots of wind)

UP:
⁃ Prepare some sail ties/ loose lines
⁃ Don't take sail out bag, attach tack (only one with white lines coming off)
straightaway on ring above anchor making it taught to forestay
⁃ Rig/ pre rig sheets to clue (fat obtuse corner with ring) feed sheets inside
shrouds - not outside
⁃ Attach spinnaker halyard to head (pointy acute corner), hoist slowly
attaching sail ties/ small lines from luff to forestay
⁃ Tighten sheets after fully taught and hoisted

DOWN:
⁃ Lowering sail, keep the sheets taught otherwise it will flap. Lower using
halyard - flaking on the way down. Fold it so all corners can be found at the top of
the bag.

MOB DRILLS
⁃ If you’re not on the helm, tell the helmsman to put in a crash tack/ stop the
boat
⁃ Pass headsail after crash tack when MOB under sail, you need speed and
steerage
⁃ See where the true wind is when you pass the tacks
⁃ Point the bow straight at the MOB after the final crash tack to see what
wind you're working with
⁃ MOB under power is just like sail, except you come further towards the
weather on the close reach so you can drift onto him PB style
⁃ MOB button only when you pass him on the heave to
⁃ Take into account wind and tide, keep money in your pocket if need be
⁃ Spill main sooner and get strong guy to fill the whole way, more speed
control (you can scandalise the main further if necessary)
⁃ Pulpit window to transit MOB and slam over when he’s on the bow to get
him on the side

ENGINE FAILURE
⁃ With just the jenny out, spill the working sheet at the beginning of the tack,
and back it for extra momentum before passing it over

FERRY GLIDING
⁃ Need tide otherwise it won't work
⁃ Always head into the tide, even if the wind is more dominant - you need
water over the rudder
⁃ Find the perfect speed to stay ideal in the water, if there is wind over tide
you'll need less speed. If it matches the tide you can stay in neutral, and if it is
stronger you will need idle astern or more.
⁃ Manoeuvre into the tide to move up/ ahead on your transit and away from
the tide to move down/ behind your transit... if you're in the ideal speed steerage
is all you technically need
⁃ Touch ahead/ astern for smaller adjustments, no need to commit to a gear
for too long

BERTHING
⁃ Power off one line, every time
⁃ Have a back up line to power off, every time
⁃ When coming astern, theres a window to turn. When the edge of the berth
comes into view, and the centre of the berth is just about to come into view, turn
handover=
⁃ Eyes on the bow, it will show you how fast you are turning
⁃ Reference the turks head to see how much turn you have left
⁃ Touch ahead/ astern for smaller adjustments, no need to commit to a gear
for too long
⁃ Gluing the quarter to the pontoon, the only part of the boat/ line to consider
⁃ FINISH the hard-over and turn before straightening up - discipline
⁃ Wind on the beam will be countered by more speed.. the door stays the
same, you just need to adjust speed to the wind slowing the bow coming round
for the turn
⁃ LEAVING THE BERTH - 3/4 seconds of raw power to get out and achieve
steerage

TIDAL COEFFICIENT
⁃ Today's tidal range/ mean spring range = %
⁃ % x spring knottage on tidal arrow = today's tidal stream knottage

SPROG
If you need to stern spring to leave and you want to turn as much as possible, set
up a spring line on the opposite stern clear ready to take the powered tension
when the stern spring is disengaged, then you can power off it to turn the boat to
desired exit angle

ADVANCED TIPS
⁃ Do not steer under sail until you have steerage, it only acts as a brake...
keep the helm neutral, get the point of sail, let the wind fill the sail until you have
speed
⁃ Furling line ALWAYS ready when on motor
⁃ Punch the sun when it’s on the wind meter

SAIL TRIM
⁃ With main and no jenny idol close reach is over jib winch
⁃ With jenny the main is closer to pinned, as jenny spills wind on back of
main to make it luff
⁃ (Compare cog vs compass and sog between different points of sale to
check trim efficiency)
⁃ Into the wind tighter the better, away looser the better (including kicker -
less jibing potential)

SAILING ON ANCHOR
DOWN:
⁃ Comfy close reach
⁃ Kill speed (furl headsail/ fill & spill main) to preempt drifting onto your
desired depth
⁃ When the boat has stopped (bow is beginning to take the wind) drop 10m
anchor chain
⁃ Dump the main (FAST) if still on a close reach, if sails are powered on a
beam then leave it until the next opportunity
⁃ If you have a bite, or the chain is at a bad stay, dump 10/20m more for
desired depth
⁃ If you need a bite, back the main sail to drive the boat backwards
UP:
⁃ Crew at anchor and mast
⁃ Hoist the main
⁃ Trim to close reach
⁃ Keep helm centred, let the anchor and wind take the boat both sides of the
swing
⁃ Anchorman will hoist when the chain offers slack
⁃ When anchors on board trim sails to keep moving
⁃ Other option is to wait for it to be 90 degrees off bow, then turn hard over
to go into it, take up slack - rinse & repeat.

SAILING ONTO BERTH

⁃ If upwind, main only towards the dock
⁃ If downwind, jib only towards the dock
⁃ The only way to stop the boat is the stern line on an abaft bollard/ cleat
⁃ Step off will be ropier than motor
⁃ Bow and stern lines step off at same time, bow only secures after stern
has stopped the boat
SINGLE HAND MOB DRILL
⁃ Crash tack
⁃ Engine on, lock helm
⁃ Furl headsail and centre main
⁃ Tack (centre main even more if possible)
⁃ Shelter MOB from wind like powerboat drill
⁃ Move boat ahead and astern to keep MOB on beam, letting wind drift you
onto them
⁃ Keep transit on stanchions the whole time

ENGINE CHECK
Isolate - kill engine electrical circuit
Fuel - check diesel and gas levels
Water - check coolant and water tanks
Oil - check oil quantity and gear box oil quality
Belts - push up to 1/4 inch/ rotate 90 degrees
Bilges - check bilges and both bilge pumps
Batteries - check connections and electricity
Look around - check if engine looks good
Exhaust - unisolate engine, check the exhaust has water coming out, idle ahead
and astern to check engine works

FOG PROCEDURES
⁃ Skipper on Radar and AIS predictive lines
⁃ Helmsman looking at compass and only compass, course to steer and
speed MUST be accurate to avoid collisions
⁃ All spare hands on deck for lookout
⁃ Silence in cockpit to listen for sound signals
⁃ Sound fog horn when nearing vessels/ to respond to other sound signals

BLIND NAVIGATION (QUICK FALLING FOG)

⁃ Single bearing with contour (physically the most accurate bearing you can
take offshore with sufficient contours, don’t fuck around with running/ 3 point
fixes)
⁃ Your only goal is to get to safe water and follow contours (10 - 20 meters
will help you avoid big and dangerous vessels) to safe harbour/ anchorage
⁃ Provide courses to steer, distances and contours to aim for
⁃ Cross contour lines as much as possible to localise position, using the
curvature of the lines to reinforce positioning as frequently as available - this is
your only real reference
⁃ Avoid long empty legs with no references, you can drift and lost your
positioning altogether

HOISTING MAIN SAIL

⁃ Prep: Main Halyard on winch, make sure reefs can run
⁃ Head to wind/ close reach
⁃ Kill - Kicker off
Maggie - Mainsheet off
Thatcher - Topping lift on
⁃ Hoist
⁃ Topping lift off, Mainsheet in, Kicker in

PHYSICS
Difference between sailing into wind and away from wind is the transference of
wind power.

Into wind = lateral force turned into forward propulsion is when the keel pushes
against the water

Away from wind = boat just being blown along by filling the sails

This is why fastest point of sail for boat is close/ beam because downwind the
keel simply drags in the water… the opposite to kite surfing where the dagger
board is raised downwind so the board can skim the surface of the water.

WIND/ TIDE PRINCIPLES

Wind = forward thrust of boat (throttle)

Tide = lateral drift of boat (tilt)

Wind over tide mooring = sailing with jenny only

HEAVE TO
⁃ You can use this manoeuvre for anything.
⁃ You can hoist/ lower/ reef the mainsail while heaving to.
⁃ You can even spill the main sheet, the essence of the heave-to is the
headsail.
⁃ Lock the helm hard-over and you can leave it.
MOB
⁃ [If not on the helm, order helmsman to stop the boat/ kill speed]
⁃ Shout MOB
⁃ Fix the point
⁃ Heave to
POWER
⁃ engage engine
⁃ command for Mayday, DSC distress, MOB button on chart plotter,
readying the Dan Buoy
⁃ furl headsail
⁃ centre main sheet/ keep it
⁃ head downwind on a broady run away from MOB
⁃ upwind on a close reach towards MOB keeping a few feet adjacent to the
bow
⁃ power towards MOB and slow down the boat so you drift onto him
powerboat style
⁃ pick him up on the leeward side (cos you want to get fucking cosy with
him)
⁃ if you miss, repeat
SAIL
⁃ go away from MOB on a beamy broad (pref to beam) about 6 boat lengths
⁃ tack (and furl the headsail if needed)
⁃ approach him on a close reach on the bow, keeping him in the pulpit
window
⁃ if you're too far on the beam, bear away on a strong broad for a boat
length and hard to a close reach to get back on course
⁃ spill the main sail earlier than you need, with the options to manipulate the
sheets by hand for extra control
⁃ pick him up on the leeward side (cos you want to get fucking cosy with
him)
⁃ handover when he is on the bow to get him on the stern
⁃ if you miss, power the sails and repeat

MOORING BUOY
⁃ pass the buoy on a beam reach
⁃ tack (furling the headsail if needed)
⁃ keep it in the shrouds on your windward side
⁃ spill the main sail earlier than you think, with the options to manipulate the
sheets by hand for extra control
⁃ turn the bow into the wind when you’re losing power as it wants to push
you away, this is the real control
⁃ pick up on windward side (cos you want to get the fuck away from him)
⁃ if you miss, power the sails and repeat
TACK, TACK, JIBE EXERCISE
⁃ if prepping for a tack, get on a beamy broad reach - then tack to get on a
close reach towards your marker
⁃ if prepping for a jibe, get on a beamy close reach - then jibe to get on a
broach reach towards your marker
⁃ furl headsail on final pass to kill speed, spill main as appropriate

RADAR
VRM = variable range marker (ring)
EBL = electronic bearing marker (line)

BLIND NAV
3 knots = 1 cable every two minutes
6 knots = 1 cable per minute

MOORING AND MANOEUVRING

Midship-springs better for securing yourself onto a dock/ pontoon (less
manoeuvrability) and stern/ bow-springs better for getting yourself off a dock/
pontoon (more manoeuvrability).

180 degree turns should aim for going INTO the wind asap to help it turn the bow
asap.

SPLICING
Whipping should be as thick as the line
Three strand eye splice
Crown knot with a back splice

DROPPING MAIN SAIL

Jam main sheet (LEAVE boat at current point of sail)
Winch main halyard to ease tension, take off winch, ready the lines
Send crew to mast
Head to wind
Spill halyard, stuff sail in lazybag at the mast
Put mainsheet on winch and centre boom

Channel 12 - Vessel Traffic System (VTS), great for commercial bays/ harbours
so you can listen in to whats happening and whether it affects you. Switch 16
back on when you leave.

You can unfurl headsail at any point of sail to get power - great for engine cut out.

The more you look the less you see, feel the wind direction by oscillating your
face... and LISTEN to when the wind is loudest (windward) and quietest
(leeward), visualise its position, then you can bear towards or away anytime with
great wind awareness.

HEAVE TO
Any time you tack (bear into the wind) without adjusting head sail you simply lock
the boat and stop movement, great for avoiding collisions, or generally stopping
the boat for any emergency. After you stop you can readjust headsail to power,
motor to power, or jibe all the way around

ENGINE PROBLEMS
BATTERY (if you can't hear startup motor)
⁃ Check battery levels, if starter motor battery is dead, shunt power from
service batteries
(amps = power of electricity)
(volts = how far it's pushed through)
⁃ If not an option then use jump cables between batteries
⁃ If no jump cables, swap batteries
⁃ If you have enough voltage but battery isn't working, then check starter
motor positive lead and engineer earth negative leads are completely clean and
secure
⁃ Tap starter motor with screwdriver/ small hammer to jog any cogs that
might be stuck while some tries to start it
⁃ Bridge gap between positive bolt of starter motor and negative earth bolt
connecting it to engine using a screwdriver to bypass the whole thing (if ignition
on)

FUEL
⁃ If starter motor works, likely a fuel problem
⁃ Check fuel connections are clean and tight to make sure fuel system isn't
drawing in air anywhere
⁃ Replace coarse/ pre-filter
⁃ Bleed system out to remove all air from system by using pump and easing
vent screw
⁃ If doesn't work, bleed injectors beyond vent screw by removing injector
connection to see if any fuels come up
⁃ If none of this works and you're SURE no air is drawing... remove fuel pipe
before pre-filter, let small amount of fuel dribble out and blow into it, if you can't
blow then it's blocked in the fuel tank, get a pump through the pipe to try and
release it
⁃ Could set up a spare fuel can and gravity pipe it to the fuel-in-feed at fine
filter, and the outlet from the fine filter back into the fuel can

COOLING v.01 (White smoke/ steam is FRESH WATER problem, because

saltwater still flowing = overheating in heat exchanger of coolant system)
⁃ Check coolant isn't leaking
⁃ Check belt is on properly
⁃ Take thermostat out and see if engine will now cool
⁃ If not fresh water problem, could be restricted flow of sea water
⁃ Try slowing down going into neutral (either too many RPMs or something
is blocking seawater inlet)
COOLING v.02 (Deep different sounding engine with no water is SEAWATER
problem = engine sound not being muffled by enough of seawater flow)
⁃ Try slowing down going into neutral (either too many RPMs or something
is blocking seawater inlet)
⁃ Could be sea strainer blocked/ not airtight, or block from sea cock to
strainer (same protocol try and blow down, if blocked pump it out)
⁃ When diagnosed the problem, make sure you change impeller because
lack of water flow meant it could have overheated and burned out. LUBRICATE
the new one before putting it back, fill seawater pipes with fresh water to save the
system drawing air and then turn back on.

BE CAREFUL
If you keep trying to start engine and nothing happens, don't do it to death.
Because the coolant system is running, and your seawater is collecting in the
exhaust, and without engine engaged exhaust is not pushing seawater out of the
pipe, so you'll flood it and then flood the engine.

WIND DIRECTION
Westerly = coming from the west

Grappler dingy hook good for lobster pots

Rudder failure - buckets as droves to pull the boat to one side, jury wedge
(makeshift rudder)

TWO REASONS SAILS ARE FLAPPING

⁃ you're too far into the wind
⁃ your sail needs trim

Engine on in gear (with red button pressed in) to get the alternator to turn and
charge the batteries. Turn the prop (with red button out) will do the same.
SAFETY:
⁃ backwards down companionway
⁃ close hatches at sea
⁃ location of lifejackets, torches, first aid kits, fire extinguishers, fire blankets
⁃ oven/ job safety, with latch and valve cut off
⁃ bilge pump
⁃ WOBBLE check

MOB
⁃ fix the point
⁃ deploy dan buoy
⁃ kill engine
⁃ furl headsail and ease working sheet
⁃ take the main in
⁃ send boathook windward side
⁃ approach into the wind with mob on leeward side

A moment in neutral switching ahead to astern and vice versa

TACKING & JIBING

When tacking on broach reach, main sail doesn't need to come in
When jibing sheeting in head sail is secondary to taking in the main, if you're
close to an accidental jibe then steer AWAY from the boom

STORMS
Wave breaks on the beam are the only things you need to look out for

Coolwind down rock = catabatic wind amplifies all wind

More wind = less sail out, 30+ knots just headsail is fine

MOORING

⁃ STOP, dead still neutral. Look at waves and wind, assess the conditions
⁃ 3 point turn steering, turn helm only when the boat has stopped during
tight manoeuvring (steer before gear)
⁃ Watch prop walk, turn bow slightly to starboard before reversing, as stern
will kick to starboard and nullify it
⁃ Approach a berth windward and stern-to in difficult conditions
⁃ Only steer astern when you have water over the rudder, otherwise it does
fuck all
⁃ Switch to neutral when you have enough momentum
⁃ Make hardover 90 degree turn on the stern to berth. Break down the
process, hardover 90 degree first, go into neutral, then adjust trajectory with
momentum
⁃ Always turn/ manoeuvre into the wind for tighter circles to utilise the wind
⁃ First mooring line would be the spring to power the boat against.
⁃ ONE LINE. There is one line that is the most important, all other are
incidental until the boat is secure on ONE LINE. This is your skill and control to
demonstrate.
⁃ It's fine to rest fenders on neighbouring boats when you're already in, just
not as you're coming alongside
⁃ Bowlines and sternlines for windward departure (wind pushing you away
from berth), springs better for leeward departure (wind pushing you towards
berth)

A wave is just a broken swell! White breaks = waves, anything else = swell