Sailing in Current could be costing you 50 seconds/mile Sailing in current can be a blessing or a curse. Current can approach 10% of boatspeed. If it’s going the same way you are, great. If it’s going the other way, bad news. If you don’t know where
Learn more →
Knowing where the sailing laylines are prevents overstanding Overstanding the mark is bad, but not as bad as having to short tack amongst your enemies. Sailing laylines are the final courses to the mark at the current wind speed and direction. They are calculated from the position
Learn more →
Tack analysis provides a useful metric for crew training Tacking is a complicated process involving the whole crew. The difference between a good one and a bad one is hundreds of feet loss to weather, not including possible personnel or gear damage. Tacking is an important part
Learn more →
Sailing Polars define how fast your boat should go Performance sailing implies making the boat perform as well as it can. For sailboats this does not necessarily mean going fast, particularly upwind. There is no magic indicator that you are going upwind at the right angle –
Learn more →
Lateral separation pumping leverages wind shifts into big gains when sailing When sailing lateral separation is crucial. Being “On the wrong side of the shift” means that if you are to the right of your competition and the wind shifts left (or vice-versa), you lose distance to
Learn more →
Break-even tacking Everybody knows you should tack on a header. The problem is that tacking includes a penalty – distance lost to weather (DLw – see Tack Analysis). Your DLw first needs to be paid back before your tack is a gainer. And that depends on the
Learn more →
Gain from wind shifts without tacking The Wally is a technique for gaining advantage of wind shifts when you can’t or shouldn’t tack. When should you not tack? See Break-even Tacking. The Wally was invented in Fremantle where the wind shifts were regular, but too short to
Learn more →
Sailing Instruments are more valuable than new sails Sailing instruments that provide true wind and current are an important advantage for racing; more valuable than new sails. Not having true wind and current means you race with your hands tied behind your back. For example; Detecting and
Learn more →Improve your tacking skills by knowing your tack score Tacking is a complicated process involving the whole crew. The difference between a good one and a bad one is hundreds of feet loss to weather, not including possible personnel or gear damage. The bottom line is the
Learn more →
Wind instruments improve your chances to gain by tacking Tacking is complicated to do correctly, and there is a chance to gain from it. Wind instruments can improve your chance of success by helping you decide how likely you will gain. There are two kinds of tacks;
Learn more →