Frank Bethwaite

Shiny streaks, or “wind lanes” appear between the darker areas. These  indicate the direction of the approaching wind with absolute accuracy. Frank Bethwaite in High Performance Sailing, Section 5.4 This statement in Bethwaite’s authoritative book peaked my interest. What sailor wouldn’t…

Here’s Part 2 of our list of capsize causes and solutions for small boat sailors. In Part 1, we covered upwind situations related to too much heeling force and not enough righting moment. In this part, we’ll talk about off-wind…

For a useful understanding of the inner workings of the wind, check out Frank Bethwaite’s Higher Performance Sailing. In Chapter 4, “The Spectrum of the Wind,” he names and describes four distinct types of wind changes we see on the…

You need a huge range of mainsheet tension to be fast in all conditions, especially in boats with bendy masts. – anonymous fast scow sailor Want to go faster upwind? Your biggest opportunity may be to pay more attention to…

The result was electrifying. The catamaran’s performance improved immeasurably, and from only one pound of weight reduction.  Steve Colgate, in Steve Colgate on Sailing. If we’re pitching too quickly, and frequency is the problem, we start spreading the crew, slowing…

I think our biggest gains were made downwind. … The boats really like to be sailed with some twist at the top of the sail, sailing by the lee, and heeled to weather … This, combined with zig-zagging downwind to…