Lots of Little Things

There are lots of things that have been happening lately that really don't fall into any particular category or post. Here we go:

1. Sit forward - a lot of you are still too far back in the boat (skippers and crews), particularly when it gets light


2. Press - yesterday, I saw a lot of skippers with their bums on the rails while the crews were to leeward. Get your weight together and press the boat flat.


3. Talk - crews need to talk to skippers and vice versa. However, crews may need a little prompting. Skippers remember to ask: where's the wind, how's my height and speed, where's the mark, what combo are we in, etc.


4. Jib Trim - on reaches, crews are over-trimmed. Make sure you are playing the tell tales the entire time. If you are on a deep reach, and both tell tales are hanging straight down, then you need to talk about pressure. If there is no pressure in the jib and it's stalled, then the skipper needs to either head up or go to a wing.


5. Up-Wind Trim - most of you are not playing the main enough up wind. I see the rudders making adjustments that could be more effectively handled with weight and sails. Think about it before you move the tiller. Skippers, also don't forget to tell your crew what you're doing with the sails. They have to play the jib too.


6. Flat is Fast - boats are not flat. This is up and down wind. Crews and skippers aren't smooth enough with the press, and skippers need to talk to crews more on the reaches about keeping the boats flat. Remember, on a reach, even a little weather heel is good. This means that the boat goes to flat when the puff hits.


7. Break it Down and Make it Plane - we used to talk about this in college. You are all missing key planing opportunities down wind. If you could time a pump and shift your weight correctly on the waves, you would be planing. Remember, too, that the board needs to be up and you have to be trimmed as well.


8. Don't Get Caught on the Quarter Wake - this happened yesterday. When boats are reaching, you cannot pass the boat ahead if you are on their wake. You have to find a way to punch through it.

Is Your Boat Set-Up Properly?

I'm noticing that most of you are not adjusting your rig tension on the water. My question is this: do you know what you're looking for?

With a 420, to know if the boat is set-up properly, you have to get the boat sailing up-wind and then let go of the tiller. The goal is to have a little bit of weather-helm. If the boat crash tacks, then you have too little jib halyard tension. If it falls off, then you have too much. The boat should just slightly edge up-wind when the boat has the correct rig tension.

There are a zillion myths about rig set up. People talk about twisting, pulling, whatever the fore stay. Others say that it has to do with the amount of sag in the leeward shroud. Basically, just get the boat upwind and check it.

Zen and the Art of Roll Tacking

I know. It's plagiarism. Unless, that is, you haven't read the original. (You should all read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance).

Anyways, this is mostly for skippers. You should all try the Zen Tack. If your boat is set up properly, then it should tack itself. If you don't know how to know if your boat is set up properly, read the next post.

Here's how it works, just hold the tiller loosely cradled in your hand. Let the boat naturally move through the tack, while you just focus on trimming your main. One good hard roll, and you have a perfectly neutral-helmed tack. If you never move the tiller, then you can't over-steer. See what I mean?

To make this work, it takes patience. The boat moves up through the tack slowly (obviously, this is not a move to throw in a critical situation). Once you feel how the boat naturally wants to tack, you can start to add a little tiller to speed it up.