The skipper winning the most races inevitably is going to be the one with the best touch. I call touch the simultaneous coordination of steering and sail trim with wind and sea conditions. Sailing upwind is really a never-ending series…
Boat Handling & Performance
This category focuses on developing good boat handling & performance skills. These skills will help you develop stellar boat speed, solid tacks and gybes, and smooth mark roundings.
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Many beginning and intermediate racing sailors could improve their sailing by focusing on the body mechanics of tacking. Good body mechanics will help you tack quickly and smoothly, keep control of the tiller extension, and be ready to hike and…
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Optimist Tacking Check out this video on Optimist Tacking, narrated by Shirley Robertson, double Olympic gold medalist. The key steps and additional tips are listed below. The related content links provide videos from other sources with additional tips. We’ve updated…
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Many new sailors ask us what “vang sheeting” means. More experienced sailors understand the term, but may not execute it well. We found a video from the International Sailing Academy (ISA) that illustrates the technique on the water. We highly…
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[Lull response]: I fought my instinct to bear off, and instead, allowed the jib tales to stall while the boat decelerated over the next few boat lengths. We did ease both the main and jib sheets just a little to…
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If Olympic sailors, coaches, and America’s Cup teams take the time to mark control settings, why shouldn’t the rest of us do the same? We don’t need to overdo it – just a few key marks will help us get…
