Our recent post, Learn to Change Gears, focused on three upwind “gears:” footing, pointing, and max VMG. These gears rely on changing the angle of attack. In this post we address another form of gears: using sail controls, rig tuning…

“Get your head out of the boat” and “Sail by Feel” are both great pieces of advice for racing sailors, especially in small boats with limited (or zero) crew resources. This comes harder for sailors that didn’t grow up with…

[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…

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…

Struggling with boat speed? Want to sail more by feel? Understanding and managing helm balance will help. In this post we’ll discuss the factors affecting upwind helm balance and give examples of how to apply them. We’ll cover downwind helm…

You will always be behind the curve if you’re reacting to changes in the wind, rather than anticipating them. Seeing wind on the water will help you keep your boat moving in puffs and lulls, anticipate lifts and headers, and…