Boats with only a mainsail (no jib), sometimes called cat-rigged boats, sail upwind with their boom further out than boats with jibs. Most of these main-only boats use “boom over the corner” as an initial trim reference. (The corner refers…

We’ve had several newer sailors ask us about sailing by the lee. This is not a well-understood topic, especially for those that haven’t raced seriously in cat-rigged (single sail) boats. For this post, we collected the available wisdom on sailing…

A well-sailed boat can develop a great speed advantage; … so it is not unusual to see the largest race-winning leads developed in the lightest of conditions. Greg Fisher in When the Going Gets Light. . . Sitting on the low…

In our final Roble/Shea episode, legendary sailor and coach Dave Ullman joins with Olympic qualifiers Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea to discuss boat speed. Lots of great tips here, including: the nuances of mast rake and sail efficiency, the real…

Welcome to our series on upwind mainsail trim. This article covers Controlling Twist, which is Part 4 of a four-part unit on shaping your sails. In this series, we’re presenting a comprehensive review of basic and advanced mainsail trim concepts.…

Sailing downwind fast and controlled in all conditions is easier with a few simple techniques to manage the mainsail’s twist, especially in the upper leech. In this article, we’ll discuss downwind trimming strategies for different conditions using the mainsheet and…