Such a
simple maneuver one would think! Turn the boat through the wind and
sheet the Genoa in on the other side!
Not quite!
Tacking is the ultimate test of
a teams ability to shift gears. Top teams devote a lot of there practice
time to it as they realize how important it its to the teams
performance. It has to be executed in a variety of wind and sea
conditions and very often in the presence of a wall of on coming boats
and at crowded marks! For a team to tack smoothly and with minimal loss
of distance and speed requires a lot of practice and Coordination.
Lets look at the key elements:
Helm: The helmsperson, (we
shall assume they are the Skipper) must work on a personal routine that
enables them to steer smoothly and be able to reproduce the same
maneuver time and time again.
- When steering it is very
important that the Skipper does not develop the habit of looking aft on
the tack ! This common error is akin to having a fundamentally bad Golf
swing that can take years to fix unless a practice regimen is developed!
Instead, concentrate on looking forwards and critiquing the turn the
whole time.
- Another common error that is
made time and time again is the Skipper being too eager to get to the
other side of the boat during the turn, this usually ends up in poor
steering and a bad tack. It also counteracts the roll tack effort of the
crew! In light air in particular there is no need for the skipper to
move immediately -- it is best for them to stay put and help roll the
boat.
The Skipper should prioritize
steering first and foremost and bodily movement a distance second. Top
skippers always remember that there first priority is to steer the boat
well and not be distracted or rushed. Practice at the dock:
A good idea is to sit in your
boat at the dock and go through a tack. Pay attention to gently moving
the helm, facing forwards and placing your feet in good spots. Also
practice sitting down smoothly and moving forward without moving the
helm.
Try adjusting the mainsheet,
traveler and backstay without moving the helm. The whole team can go
through this exercise and try to figure out the best places to put there
feet and how to choreograph there body movements. My teammate - Chris
Winnard, the skipper of "Disaster Area," is able to reproduce
his movements on a tack to just about perfection and thus is able to
reproduce a very good tack with remarkable consistency. What he has done
is worked on his routine so that it is done almost completely by feel.
He knows where his feet have to be and how he has to move in order to be
smooth and deliberate. Whether you are doing a routine tack in open
water or Lee Bowing somebody on the lay line -- it is critical that the
skipper has a proven routine to utilize.
- In the ideal world the
mainsheet is slightly eased once the tack is almost complete. This opens
the leech for speed and then the sheet is squeezed gently in as the boat
gets up to speed. The term I some times use for this when I am coaching
teams is the "ease and squeeze"- it applies to the Genoa
trimmer as well and helps get the boat up to speed. When it is windy the
skipper should make sure the boat is as flat as possible prior to the
tack-very often this will mean easing the traveler to leeward or easing
the mainsheet out a little. If the boat is tacked with a lot of heel it
will heel a LOT once the tack is completed and go sideways! ! The crew
will be rushing to the high side and the skipper will have a tendency to
overseer and to overcompensate. This is basically a disaster and a loss
of two to three boatlengths if not more !
- It is key for the Skipper to
understand that the windier it is the less rudder you need as the heel
of the boat will generate enough weather helm to basically turn the boat
without the rudder. When there is a decent breeze the skipper is
basically encouraging the boat to turn by gently letting the tiller move
to leeward.
- It is also imperative that
the skipper understands that the more you move the tiller the more the
rudder acts as a brake and slows you down. This appreciation can help
cure chronic oversteering.
Watch the bow and the Genoa :
- A helpful way for the skipper to critique his or her turn is to watch
the progression of the Genoa transferring itself through the fore
triangle.
- If the Genoa is tending to get caught on standing rigging - then steer
a little faster to blow it through.
- If the Genoa is blowing across very quickly and the middle is grinding
non stop to get it in then slow your turn down.
- Your goal is to have the Genoa snap across and fill with wind fast
enough so it does not get caught but slow enough so that the Genoa can
be trimmed in easily and efficiently.
How much heel do we have ?
- Another good way for the skipper to critique there tack is to note how
much heel the boat has once the tack is completed. If the boat has a lot
of heel that indicates oversteering. Understeering shows up as a big
loss of speed. When practicing tacking -- take a look back at the wake
of the boat-is it smooth and gently curved? As Chris Winnard says:
"You don't want to draw your initials in your wake !!"
- Middle:
- Like the skipper -- you want to develop a good routine and be able to
reproduce it consistently.
- Light air:
- It is very important to practice roll tacking. Try delaying the
release of the Genoa slightly to help the boat turn. As the Genoa goes
across go across the middle and stand over the Genoa block and pull the
sail in using the great leverage that this technique affords. This will
help you roll the boat and get the sail in. Once the tack is completed
be sure to keep the Genoa well eased so the boat can gain speed.
Important notice! Practice this
many times before racing to avoid falling off the boat at a critical
time! Over the years on "Disaster Area" we have had a couple
of middles who have fallen off on a tack, (not the author!) luckily they
have stayed with the boat!
Medium air:
In medium air the priority is to get the Genoa smoothly transferred
across. When the front third of the Genoa breaks, unwrap the Genoa winch
and hold onto the sheet, then release the sheet and stand crouched in
the middle facing the new Genoa ratchet block and take long pulls with
palms down, elbows going across your body. Once you have the majority of
the sail in then take it up to the windward winch and wrap it twice
around. A good technique is to have the foredeck put the winch handle in
to the winch and give a couple of grinds as they sit down on the
windward rail.
Heavy Air: The same technique
will work well - you may consider having the foredeck do the Genoa
release to distribute the workload.
Extra for the middle:
- Make sure the spinnaker sheets are sheeted in and cleated and the
twings are trimmed in and cleated . This will help prevent the Spinnaker
sheets getting tangled in the genoa ratchet block