Building Better Sailors: Races With a Twist

When you’re coaching, running races is always part of the agenda at some point during your program.  Unfortunately, unless you consistently have at least ten or fifteen boats at your practices, it is hard to keep races interesting and tactical.  Races with small groups of boats tend to get spread out, and the final result is almost completely determined by boat speed.  Starts, tactics, and boat handling are all still part of the deal, but none are pronounced in ways that will challenge sailors enough to take these skills to the next level.  Young sailors in particular are more reticent to do things that are comfortable in traditional races, as the outcome of a race is not determined by a bad tack, a poor mark rounding, or starting at the favored end.  To make races more exciting, interesting, and effective, present simple and unique twists in races that force sailors to utilize more diverse skills in order to win the race.  Speed will still play a large role in races, but you will have started on the road to building a stronger and more technically diverse group of sailors.

There are many fun scenarios that will make races more fun, interesting, and effective in your race program.  For example, the most common twist coaches add to races is putting a small gate in the middle of the upwind leg.  This gets sailors, who will typically sail hard and fast to a corner, to engage other boats in a way that they typically would not.  It also gets sailors to make tactical decisions much more early, making them more comfortable sailing near other boats, as opposed to separating from the group before making any real tactical decisions.  While this is one way to add an interesting twist to a race, there are an unlimited range of setups you can use to get the desired skill set across to your sailors.

Boat vs. Boat

Set up a mark that is upwind, and relatively close to the line.  Force sailors to leave it to port before sailing upwind.  This will get port end starters to pinch off others early to tack, and will force starboard end starters to hold their lane, using starboard tack to their advantage.  You can further twist this setup by using the short mark as a first windward mark, and sail a short windward leeward before doing a long windward leeward.

Quick Hitch:

Set up a mark that sailors must leave to port before going to the upwind mark.  Set it up so that sailors must tack off to port within a boat length or two of the start line, if not immediately.  Sailors will learn to use starboard advantage, and will compete to win the boat end of the line.  This will also teach sailors strong boat handling skills in tough, competitive situations.

Early Lanes:

Set up a mark much further off the line, and have it set up so that a sailor starting at the boat end is laying it right off the line.  Sailors must leave this mark to starboard before sailing to the windward mark. This way, sailors will not have the ability to tack out early, and are forced to hold their lane, or eat the bad air early on in a race.  This will put an emphasis on holding lanes, winning the pin end, etc.

Winning Sides:

As opposed to the traditional gate, where sailors sail through a small line in the middle of the course before proceeding upwind, make a much larger gate that sailors are not allowed to sail through on the upwind leg.  This forces sailors to choose a side early, win it, and approach the windward mark from a side of the course.  This will keep sailors from sailing across the middle of the course, and to think a few steps ahead of their competitors.

Risky Business (Editor's Choice): 

Set up two marks in carefully selected places upwind.  Make sure they are separate, and that one mark is considerably more favored than the other.  When you start a race, have your sailors round one of these marks to port, and then round the pin end of the line to port, before sailing around the regular windward leeward.  To make this interesting, you put a rounding cap around each of the two short marks.  For example, with four boats on the course, I will usually say that only one boat is allowed to round the favored mark, and three boats have to round the other mark.  This is done on a first come, first serve basis, and any boat that fouls to get around first must go to the other mark.

This is really interesting because it forces sailors to choose between sailing aggressively or consistently.  It puts a lot of pressure on great starts, and will teach others to cut their losses early if they realize they won’t be the first to round the favored mark.  I will typically only allow ONE boat to round the favored mark, in order to implement a more extreme risk/reward structure to the drill.

There are an infinite amount of ways that you can modify and tweak this drill.  As long as you are creative, you can set it up to stress whatever skill set you want your sailors to get a better understanding of.  Either way, this drill is guaranteed to pique the curiosity and creativity of your sailors.  Get out on the water and start practicing!

See you on the water,

Zim Coach

Play 2 vs. Play 45

One of the most challenging and complicated matchups in team racing occurs when Play 2 faces off against Play 45 (also known as Play 4, etc.).  Play 2 is any combination, where your team’s top boat has the 2nd and 3rd spots, and any other position behind that, with the end goal being to finish in a 2-3-4, even though a 2-3-5 will still win a race.  Play 45 is any situation where your team has the 1 spot, and the remaining boats are in 4th and/or worse positions.  The end goal is to finish in a 1-4-5.  In other words, your team has a 1st place, and is not in a play 1.

Play 2:

2-3-4, 2-3-5, 2-3-6

Play 45:

1-4-5, 1-4-6, 1-5-6

Play 2 Overview:

As mentioned previously, the goal of Play 2 is to finish in a 2-3-4.  2-3-5 will still win, but mostly occurs as a fluke in high level team racing.  The reason for this, is that if the other team is in a 1-4-6, the 4th place boat in a will never finish before trying to boost the 6th place boat past the 5th place boat.  In other words, a 2-3-5 is a very unstable combination.  Thus, in a Play 2, you should never stop executing pass backs until you are in a 2-3-4.

A 2-3-4 is one of the strongest combinations in team racing, assuming that your team can stay balanced with the 5th and 6th place boats on the other team.  Play 2 is vulnerable, both upwind and downwind, when the other team is able to move towards two sides of the course, and the pairs are not able to come back together while remaining balanced.

Generally speaking, in a 2-3-4, two boats will gain control of the 5th and 6th place boats on the opposing team, with the third member of the team helping to maintain balance between the pairs, or rescuing a teammate if they lose control of an opposing boat.

Play 45 Overview

Play 45 is less stable than Play 2, but is much less intricate in terms of balance.  The biggest mistake made by most teams in Play 45 is the 1st boat running away with the 1, leaving 3 boats vs. 2 boats behind them.  It is important that boat 1 retains 1st place.  However, they should remain close enough to keep one boat occupied, and should also remain poised to spring a Play 1, if the opportunity arises.

There exception to this is initially around the first offset leg, and early in the downwind leg.  If the 1st place boat lingers too close to the competition on those legs, that leaves the opportunity for the 2-3 to swallow him or her up downwind, and lose the 1 spot in the process.  Instead, on off wind legs, boat 1 should stay in a spot where she is just far enough to protect the 1, relying on her teammates to do their jobs.  She should set a mark trap at the leeward mark to bring the race together or to prevent 3 boats from ganging up on 2 boats behind her.  Her job moves back to normal following the leeward mark trap.

While the 1st place boat’s role is crucial, the most important dynamic of Play 45 occurs between the other two boats.  While the exact roles will change slightly depending on the precise combination, the ultimate goal is to put one boat on the other team in last.  Once this happens, have one boat (Boat 5) gap this boat separating her as far as possible from the rest of the race, while the other boat (Boat 4) pushes boats 2 and 3 up the course.

1-4-5 vs. 2-3-6

These are far and away the most interesting combinations to pair against each other in team racing.  In each of these combinations, each boat has a specific role, and the winner of the race is determined by which team executes their roles most efficiently.

Boat 1:

Hold onto the 1 spot, but stay close and connected, keeping boat 2 as uninvolved as possible from the play behind them.  Wait to spring a Play 1 if the situation presents itself.  On upwind legs, look for opportunities to pin boat 2, to keep them from helping the team balancing.

Boat 4:

Push boats 2 and 3 up the course.  Your job is to get as far ahead of boats 5 and 6 as possible, making it more difficult for boats 2 and 3 to boost boat 6 without leaving open a Play 1 opportunity.  If you are far enough separated, and boats 2 and 3 split to free up boat 6, move immediately to Play 1.

Boat 5: Your job is simple.  Gap boat 6, taking them as far away from the rest of the fleet as possible.  There are several reasons to do this.  The biggest reason is to keep boats 2 and 3 from having the ability to rescue boat 6.  If one of them goes back to help, they will leave a 1-3 in the front of the fleet, which is easy to convert to a 1-2.  Another reason you do this, is to act as an insurance policy if your team loses the 1 spot.  If this happens, you will automatically have an opportunity to move into a Play 2.

4-5 Wins:

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Boat 2: 

You need to work with boat 3 to significantly slow boat 4 moving her as close to boats 5 and 6 as possible.  If the boats are all about even with each other, boat 2 and boat 3 will each be able to gain control of boats 4 and 5 without giving up their respective positions.  From here you will run the necessary pass backs to move into a 2-3-4.  Typically, you will want to move boat 6 into 2nd place.

As boat 5 will typically attempt to gap boat 6, boats 2 and 3 will need to double team boat 4, making her go much slower than boat 5 is capable of slowing boat 6.  Upwind, this will consist mostly of one boat ragging, while the other is pinning.  Downwind, this will consist of a lot of teamwork, hooking boat 4 whenever possible.  If she breaks overlap with one of the boats and forces her downwind, the other boat should take over while the other reestablishes overlap with a couple of jibes, etc.

Boat 3: 

See Boat 2; the jobs are identical, as the two boats work as a unit.

Boat 6: 

You need to get to your help.  Boat 5 will try to gap you, and your job is to make this as difficult as possible.  Break overlap quickly downwind and force the gapping boat to sail forward.  Do not get hooked if you can help it, and do not let them take you out as a starboard boat.  When sailing upwind, avoid getting pinned, unless you are sailing toward your help.  Avoid a significant amount of tacking.  In desperate situations, you may have to jibe out of a pin to keep moving the race forward, but you should avoid this as much as possible.  Rely on your teammates to do their jobs, and they will spring you if you are able to keep pushing up the course.

2-3 Wins:

2-3-4 vs. 1-5-6

When these two combinations square off, there is a constant struggle between 2-3-4 remaining balanced, and boats 5 and 6 unbalancing the 2-3-4, gaining control of one opposing boat, and putting them in last.

Boat 2: 

For the majority of the race, you are in a position where you are helping maintain balance between the pairs behind you, breaking ties whenever your teammates lose control of a boat, etc.

If you are in the 2 spot immediately around the mark, your role will change slightly.  In order to keep the race moving forward, you are in charge of protecting boat 4 from the trailing boats.

Boat 3: 

For the majority of the race, your job is to gain control of and balance boat 5.  Bring boat 5 towards boat 6 as often as possible by ragging on boat 5 whenever they sail away from boat 6, and pinning her at full speed when you sail towards boat 6.

If you are in the 3 spot immediately around the mark, your role will change slightly.  In order to keep the race moving forward, you are in charge of protecting boat 4 from the trailing boats.

Boat 4:

For the majority of the race, your job is to gain control of and balance boat 6.  Bring boat 6 towards boat 5 as often as possible by ragging on boat 6 whenever they sail away from boat 5, and pinning her at full speed when you sail towards boat 5.

If you are in the 4 spot immediately around the mark, your role will change slightly.  You will sail dead downwind, pushing the race forward much more quickly, forcing boats 5 and 6 into the control of your teammates.  When you eventually move into the 2 spot, you will assume that role.

2-3-4 Sailing Downwind

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Boat 1:

You mostly have to remain patient, staying relatively close on upwind legs, preventing boat 2 from helping her teammates whenever possible. Set leeward mark traps to bring the group together, and possibly break up the 2-3-4.  If you try to do too much, particularly downwind, you will risk losing the 1st, and will leave an opportunity for the other team to move to an easy Play 1.

Ultimately, your largest priority is holding onto the 1st, while staying close enough to occupy boat 2, and keep them from doing their job whenever possible.

Boat 5:

You are working with boat 6 to catch one boat from the other team, quickly putting them in last.  Look for any and all opportunities to get the other team unbalanced.  Split with your teammate whenever possible, forcing them to work to stay in a 2-3-4.  On downwind legs, you will sail high to force an opponent to sail a lot of distance to control you.  This will give your teammate an opportunity to go low and pass one of the boats on the other team.

Boat 6:

Your job is similar to boat 5’s.  You will be the low boat in a high/low downwind.  Upwind, when you split up, force the boat that covers you to do a bunch of tacks, or anything else you can do to slow them down.  This will give your teammate an opportunity to pass the boat covering you, and you will have a chance to run a pass back from there.

See you on the water,

Zim Coach

Comparing Roll Tacks in the FJ and 420

In the last Zim Coach article, we looked at the basic do’s and don’ts of roll tacking FJ’s and 420’s.  While all the basic principles of great roll tacks remain the same, there are subtle adjustments that the best sailors make, when switching between the two boats, which make a substantial difference.  In both high school and college sailing, you will switch back and forth often between each boat, and it is important to know what adjustments you need to make, as you will not always have time to prepare in each boat before an event.

To understand why the tacks in each boat will differ, it is important to note the differences in the two boats.  The 420 is built relatively wide, and is flat toward the stern.  Both the rudder and centerboard are large and powerful blades that exert a significant amount of force when moving in the water during a roll or flatten.  These factors all lend to greater stability, and demand a great amount of force to effectively roll the boat over.  Tacks take longer in 420’s because there is more boat and blade to roll through the water.  Combining the width of the boat with the size of the blades also gives you a much wider margin of error for rolling and flattening the boat.  In other words, it is much more difficult to over roll, or over flatten.

In contrast, the FJ is relatively narrow, and has a completely rounded on the bottom.  The centerboard is much less relevant, as is the rudder, making the boat much less stable, and much more prone to sliding.  Rolls take much less effort, and occur much faster than rolls in a 420.

What this means for the two boats, is that FJ’s need more finesse during tacks, while 420’s require more force.  This is not to say that timing is not important in the 420, but that you should put more force into it your rolls, as you have a much larger margin of error, and much more to get to the other side and nail your flatten.  Furthermore, it takes more effort, working against the centerboard of the 420, to roll the boat over.  Thus, both timing and force are critical in the roll.

In the FJ, everything is much more subtle.  Putting a significant amount of power behind a roll will roll the boat over too quickly, ending in a lot of poorly executed flattens.  Remember, the flatten is what makes a roll tack fast.  No matter how big the roll is, if the flatten is not executed well, a flat tack would be more effective.  Thus, rolling hard in FJ’s leads to a lot of slow tacks. 

This is not to say that the goal in an FJ tack is not to roll the boat way over.  In fact, it is quite the opposite.  The best sailors will typically get the rudder to just pop out of the water for an instant during the peak roll.  However, reaching that point is more about timing than effort.  Except in light air conditions, FJ tacks are typically executed with the skipper and crew both sitting on the rail with shoulders slightly outboard, waiting for the right time to cross.  In the 420, usually skippers in crews get off of their butts, and slam their hips hard into the rail to initiate the roll.  The FJ is so narrow and round, that by using the right technique during your turn (see previous article), the boat and wind will actually do all of the rolling for you.  Remember, if you do not nail your flatten in the FJ, it will actually slow your boat down.  Neither the boards, nor the boat are particularly wide.  Thus, at the peak of the roll, when the boat stalls, the boat will quickly slide sideways if the flatten is not properly executed.  By using less effort to roll the boat, and focusing on timing, you get the same amount of roll out of the boat, but have a much easier time to properly execute a perfect flatten.

Lastly, how the crew crosses the boat differs in the 420 and FJ.  In the 420, the crew crosses facing forward, and the skipper will look to them to coordinate the timing of the roll.  In the FJ, the crew actually sits backwards, watching the skipper to coordinate the roll.  This is done because of the way the crew’s feet cross in the different boats.  In the FJ, by tacking backwards, the crew’s feet fall in the perfect place to lock right into the strap and hike or flatten without hesitation.  This is not true if they tack facing forwards in the FJ. 

This transition is often mental, and hard to figure out at first.  To make the switch, crews should hold the primary jib sheet in their forward hand in FJ’s, and in their aft hand in 420’s.  All rolling and flattening movements are identical once this adjustment is made.  You are just doing it while facing in another direction.

See you on the water,

Zim Coach

Do's and Don'ts for Roll Tacking 420's and FJ's

This time of year, in both college and high school sailing, there is a lot of racing going on.  Sailors will often go through three straight weeks of team racing, only to sail an important fleet race regatta right at the end of it.  There are a lot of things that you won’t have control over, and you will have to make many adjustments on the fly.  You may also do a lot of switching between multiple kinds of boats, such as 420’s and FJ’s, and there is not usually a lot of time to prepare in both types before each event.  Throughout all of the chaos, there is no excuse not to have your basic boat handling skills up to snuff prior to each event.  Having this under control will give you a lot of confidence, one less thing to worry about, and the ability to get out of tough situations that occur on the water.  Today, we will focus on the most basic and important piece of your boat handling: roll tacking.

General:

Perfecting a roll tack is not easy, and has many parts to it.  It requires an understanding of the boat you are sailing, advanced sailing principles, quick footwork/handwork, and precise coordination between the skipper and crew.  However, when perfected, your advantage over other boats is significant.

Rolling at the Right Time:

One of the biggest differences between a good roll tack and a great roll tack is the timing of the roll.  The vast majority of sailors tend to roll a 420 or FJ too early.  Unless it is very windy, rolling the second the jib backwinds is not ideal for effective tacks.  Many sailors get in a crunch, or get really excited, and roll before the boat is ready.  It’s natural to think that the faster you start your roll, the faster the tack is.  However, by rolling too early, you will get less help from the sails to turn the boat, and will actually steer the boat down with your weight while turning up with the tiller.  This creates a lot of friction with the rudder and the water, and you will have to steer much more to turn through the wind, slowing your boat down.  Additionally, backwinding the jib helps the boat turn during a tack significantly.  Thus, the longer you allow the jib to backwind, the less rudder you will have to use to steer through a tack.

As a general rule of thumb, you want to wait till the boat is at or just past head to wind before rolling the boat.  Waiting until this point will allow you to use less rudder, and will also allow you to use the wind to help roll over the boat.  If you go earlier, you will roll the boat against the face of the wind, forcing you to use much more effort to roll the boat over.

There is no exact time to wait before rolling the boat over, and it will change depending on the wind.  For example, in light air, you want to wait a relatively long time before rolling over the boat, as it will take longer for the sails to help you steer through the wind.  If it is really windy, you may want to cross sides quickly, as soon as the jib backwinds.  As soon as both sailors are hiking, you should not roll at all, especially in the FJ.  Instead, you should still use the sails to keep power in the boat the entire time, and simply switch sides and start hiking, when the jib backwinds.

Initiating the Turn:

Another common error by sailors is heeling the boat to leeward to initiate the turn before a roll tack.  This is more effective in a hard chine boat (e.g. Optimist), because the corner will dig into the water, and keep the boat from sliding.  In a soft chine boat (rounded bottom), like a 420 or FJ, the centerboard kicks to windward as the mast heels to leeward, causing the boat to slide sideways and slow down.  Thus, steering the boat by smoothly trimming in the main, as you turn into the wind, is a more effective way to initiate the turn.

Coordinating the Role/Hitting the Rail at the Same Time:

A simple thing you can do to improve your roll tacks is having both the skipper and crew roll and flatten at the same time.  Anyone would agree that the more weight you apply to the windward rail, the easier it is to roll the boat over.  As an example, let’s say both the skipper and crew each weigh 130 lbs.  If the skipper stands on a scale alone, that’s the weight it will read.  Likewise, if the crew gets on the scale after the skipper, it will also say 130 lbs.  However, when both are on the scale at the same time, the scale will read 260 lbs.  The same principles in this example are directly applicable to rolling and flattening a boat.  If you roll or flatten at different times, the rail will feel 130 lbs. on it twice, instead of 260 lbs. at once.

Furthermore, you will increase the weight the rail experiences by getting your butt off the rail, and landing hard on the rail during the roll (both skipper and crew).  If you weigh 130 lbs. on a scale, and you jump up and down on it, the scale will say that you weigh quite a bit more than you do in actuality.  Thus, by having both the skipper and crew roll using this method, AND at the same time, that 260 lb. number can increase exponentially for two 130 lb. sailors.

The Jib:

Keeping the jib full the entire way through the tack is imperative for maintaining speed and power through a tack.  So often you see a crew release the jib sheet too early, leaving a gap between the backwind and the fill on the other side, where the jib luffs.  This disrupts the flow over the sail, and it will take a few additional moments to refill.  This will cause the boat to slow down and slide sideways.

To correct this, at the last moment prior to the jib starting to luff, pull hard on the primary sheet.  This will cause the jib to backwind much faster, and help start turning the boat earlier.  Hold the jib in a backwinded position until you start moving to the other side of the boat.  As you cross, snap the jib in on the other side with the new primary sheet.  If you execute this with a quick motion and correct timing, the jib will pop full without luffing for even the slightest instant.  The trick to this is waiting longer, and maintaining pressure on the clew of the jib with the jib sheets the entire way through the tack.  Thus, when you let go of the primary sheet, all of the slack needs to be out of the new sheet to continue to place tension on the clew.

The Main and the Flatten:

The final piece of a great roll tack (and the most difficult), is the movement of the mainsail following the roll, and through the flatten.  At the moment of the roll, you should have the mainsheet trimmed in as hard as possible.  As you cross sides (at the peak of the roll), you should have your main eased to a beam reach.  You do this to more effectively control the flatten of your boat, and because your apparent wind has shifted back, facing the side of the boat.  If you try to flatten the boat with the sail all the way in, it is extremely difficult and ineffective, as you are flattening against a sail that is full of wind.  By dumping the main, you can generate a much faster and more powerful flatten of the boat.  Also, at the peak of a roll, your boat actually comes to a complete stop for an instant before accelerating.  At this point, your apparent wind moves back, pointing directly at the side of your boat.  If your sail is in all the way at this point, your boat will slide sideways instead of moving forward.

Now, it is not enough to simply ease the sail.  If that is all you do, the boat would flatten really fast, but would not generate much power from the sails movement from a heeled to vertical angle.  A roll tack is fast because of power generated from both the centerboard’s and mainsail’s movement against one another through the water and wind respectively.  Thus, once the boat starts to transition back downward from a peak roll, the mainsail needs to start coming in.  The main should come back to its normal upwind trim at the exact point where the boat is flat again.  This part takes a lot of practice, but is worth it in the end!

Quick reference guide of the Do’s and Don’ts of great roll tacks:

Do:

- Steer with your sails (trim main/backwind jib)
- Keep the boat flat during the turn before the roll
- Roll later (after the jib starts to turn the boat)
- Roll at the same time
- Keep the jib full the entire time
- Ease the sails during the peak of the tack
- Trim the main in again as you flatten
- Straighten the rudder before you flatten

Don’t:

- Steer by healing the boat to leeward before the tack
- Roll too early
- Have the skipper and crew roll at different times
- Let the jib luff at all
- Keep the sails (especially the main) trimmed in while you flatten.
- Flatten with the rudder at an angle

See you on the water,

Zim Coach

Effective Ragging Technique

One of the important technical skills in team racing is the ability to slow down and control an opponent’s speed via your own sails.  The most effective technique used to do this is known as “Ragging”.  For those who do not know what ragging is, it is not the same as pinning another boat, though ragging can play a role in effective pinning techniques.  More precisely, ragging is the act of blocking an opponent’s wind as you sail upwind, by letting the jib luff fully and keeping the main trimmed in.  While most team racers know what ragging is, there are a few techniques to ragging that separate the most effective team racers from everyone else.

Why is Ragging Effective?

The main and the jib play two separate roles when you are ragging.  The main, as it is the larger sail, does the most in terms of blocking or disrupting an opponent’s sail flow.  This is important to keep in mind, as the main’s importance is often overlooked while ragging.  The jib’s role is twofold.  By luffing the jib, you are able to create much more distortion to the wind going to your opponent’s sails.  This distortion will prevent the wind that reaches the boat you are ragging on from coming in at a steady flow or angle.  Luffing your jib in this manner is also important for slowing your boat down.  This is important because, if you are ragging effectively, the person you are ragging on will slow down as much as you do.  Thus, the slower you are able to go, the slower the other boat will go, and the more effective you are at balancing and controlling any upwind situation in a race.

Now that you have an idea of why ragging is effective as a team racing technique, here are a few things to keep in mind for effective execution:

Position:

Position is a very simple adjustment that you can make to go from moderately slowing another boat, to stopping them dead in the water.  Unless you need to pin someone, the biggest mistake you can make while ragging is not getting forward enough on your target.  As a general rule, the further forward you are on an opposing boat, the more effective you are when ragging.  For example, many sailors will start ragging as soon as their bow or jib is fully ahead of the boat they are attempting to rag on.  This will mostly just slow your boat down, and won’t slow the other boat enough to keep them from sailing out from beneath you.  That may help in pinning a boat, but not ragging on them to slow them down.  To correct this, it is important get to the point where both of your sails are in a position to affect your opponent’s sails.  As a general rule of thumb, you should get the boat AT LEAST to where your stern lines up with the other boat’s windward side stay before releasing the jib.  This an effective position if you want to slow them down, and do not want them to tack.  If the goal is just to slow them down or force them to tack, getting to the point where your stern is just forward of their bow is even more effective.

The Main:

As mentioned earlier, the main serves as the largest barrier between the wind and the boat you are ragging on.  Remember, the wind does not get to the other boat until it flows over your leech, where it will start to bend back toward its natural direction.  Thus, your leech shape and tension will have a dramatic impact on the wind that your opponent’s boat sees.  So, if you ease the main out, the wind will flow more quickly and with less disruption over your sail before reaching your opponent’s sails.  As you would like to cause more disruption and slower wind flow to that boat’s sails, pulling in the main harder will close off the leech, shutting off that wind flow and causing significant disruption to your opponent’s sails.  Therefore, while ragging, it is important to pull on the main hard in order to increase your effectiveness in slowing another boat.



The Void Technique:

Sometimes you will see a sailor forgo pulling hard on the mainsheet, and simply pull the boom far to windward.  This is an extremely effective way to get another boat to stop dead in the water.  Pulling the boom to windward in this manner can create a large void where there is little to no wind getting to another boat’s sails.

This technique is not without its shortcomings.  First of all, in heavy air, you will struggle to do this without heeling to leeward.  When you heel to leeward, not only will you slide sideways, but you will spill most of that wind you are attempting to disrupt, and it won’t affect your opponent as much as you could by hiking hard and trimming in on the mainsheet.

Furthermore, when executing this technique, you do risk completely stopping your own boat, and will at least lose the ability to tack or accelerate quickly.  Thus, if you anticipate your opponent tacking away, do not hold the boom to windward for too long at one time.  You may have to do a series of shorter holds instead.

If you are in a pinning position, you have less to worry about in terms of keeping up with a boat that tacks away, but, unless it is very light air, you do have to remain cautious of sliding down into that boat.  Thus, only use this technique in a pinning position when it is light air, and when your opponent cannot legally take you head to wind.

The ideal time to use the void technique is on lay lines, where it does not make sense for the other boat to tack away (If they do you can simply tack and pin them), and where you do not have to sail overlapped and risk fouling.

Heel and Angle:

By heeling the boat to windward, you will create an even larger hole or void for your opponent while ragging.  Heeling to leeward will spill more breeze to your opponent, decreasing the size of the hole they have to sail through.  Thus, in heavy air, it is important to hike very hard while ragging, or you will struggle to effectively slow your opponent down.  Furthermore, it is important to remain at a close hauled angle while ragging.  Pointing your boat further into the wind allows more wind to pass around your sails and reach the boat in your shadow.

See you on the water,

Zim Coach

Two Golden Rules of Team Racing

As many high school and collegiate programs hit the water to start the Spring Sailing Season, the focus turns to team racing.  Practices this time of year are often precluded and concluded by long chalk talks on executing plays, such as a 1-4-5 versus a 2-3-6, and sailors will spend plenty of time outside practice getting to know all of the proper calls, lingo, and the role of each boat in a given play.  All of this is essential to better understanding team racing, and why each boat does what they do during a specific play.  However, studying all of these plays off the water usually does not immediately translate to proper execution.  This will take hours of repetition in every possible scenario to engrain a situation into a sailor’s team racing knowledge.  At this time of year, sailors’ heads are filled to the brim with having to know each boat’s role in every play, brushing up on the team racing rules, and learning their specific role on their team racing team.  This is often a lot to chew on in a very brief period of time.  When situations and positions change frequently on the water, most of the time, AT LEAST one boat loses track of their position and role in a play.  When this happens, the race can go from tightly contested to completely over in a matter of seconds.  When looking back in retrospect the race is won or lost because one or two of the two most important team racing rules are violated.

Rule #1: The Play is Always Behind You*

This is probably the biggest mistake in team racing.  Unlike fleet racing, which is about how fast you can go, team racing is about how good you are at controlling that speed.  Team racing is not won by going past other boats, but about slowing down to get control of the boat behind you before the boat in front of you takes control of you.  For example, in a 1-3 versus a 2-4, the 2 boat needs to get control of the 3 boat before the 1 boat gains control of the 2 boat.  Whoever does that first will have control of the race.

Often times you see sailors get away with sailing right past boats instead of taking control of the boats behind them.  This is only possible with a massive disparity in talent, or because someone wasn’t paying attention.  This will never work at the top levels of high school or college team racing.  Even if you don’t know the play, abiding by this rule will keep you from making a serious mistake almost 100% of the time.  When in doubt, the play is behind you!

*Exceptions to the Rule

The only times that you actively chase a boat in team racing are when you are losing to a 1-2, a 1-2-3, you are in the 6, or you and a teammate are both 5-6.  Essentially, whenever you are in last, or need to break up a 1-2 or 1-2-3, you are supposed to chase boats.  The last quasi-exception is in a 1-4-5, where the 5 boat is gapping the 6.  In this situation, the 4 is not looking to make a play behind them, and should push the opposing team forward.  However, the goal here is not necessarily to pass boats, but to help push the race forward to the finish line with the help of the 1 boat.  Furthermore, if the 5 loses control of the 6, the 4 needs the ability to get to the new 5 as quickly as possible.

The common retort to this rule is that you should actively pass a boat when your teammate is boosting you in a play.  While this is correct, the important thing to take away is that you should not actively try to pass that boat until your teammate has control of them, and is executing a pass back.  If you are trying to sail by this boat before your teammate has control, this boat will gain control of you first, and prevent your teammate from boosting you forward, making it easier for the other team to gain control of the race.

Rule #2: The Sailor Ahead does the Work*

This rule is often confusing to new team racers, but is important for execution and maintaining control of a race.  The basic rule is that the boat that is further ahead in a situation is supposed to take control of the closest trailing opposing boat.  For example, in a 1-2-6 versus a 3-4-5, the 1 boat is in charge of controlling the 3 boat, and the 2 boat is in charge of controlling the 4 boat.  The reason for this is that a boat further ahead will have an easier time maintaining control and of a trailing boat, it makes it easier for a team to stay balanced, and this will prevent the trailing boats from slowing down or gaining control of the race.  This is easiest to understand if you consider four boats going downwind in a 1-2 vs. a 3-4.  In this situation, the 3 boat will attempt to slow down the 2 boat and make 2 sail far out of the way to keep its air clear, and the 2 will have expend as much effort protecting itself as it will gaining control of that boat.  During this time, the 1 boat is doing nothing, and the 4 will have little to no trouble moving into the 2 spot.  Now, the team that was in a 1-2 is susceptible to moving into a 1-4, and losing control of the race.

Now consider the same situation, where the 1 boat takes the 3 boat and the 2 boat takes the 4 boat.  In this situation, each boat will have control of a boat, and it is simply a matter of balancing to maintain the 1-2 before the upwind leg.  Thus, there is never a time where the two opposing boats are going up against just one of the leading boats.  It is important to remember that you do not have to overlap a boat to have control of them.  You must simply put yourself in a position where you are able to dictate that boat’s speed or direction.  Thus, the trick for the 1 boat is to slow down just enough so that the 2 boat can sail away from the 3 boat without the 3 chasing after the 2.  If the 3 decides to continue to cover, the 1 is able to jibe to starboard, and 3 forfeits control and is taken completely out of the downwind leg.  Ultimately, boat 1 forces boat 3 to chase after a boat that is further away, or is taken completely out of the race.

*Exceptions to the Rule

In a 1-4-5, the 5 boat’s job is to gap the 6.  Initially, depending on how “in control” the 5 boat is of the 6 boat, the 4 boat may have to step in early, take control of the 5 spot, and then gap from this point forward.
The other exception is in a 1-2-3, where the 3 boat is in charge of taking the rest of next trailing boat(s), either slowing them down at marks, or sailing one of them (preferably boat 4) into last place.

While these two rules are not substitutes for knowing the plays, adhering to both will keep you from making the two biggest mistakes made by teams on the water.  At the very least, using these rules will buy you some time in a tough situation, until you can determine exactly what your boat’s role is in a given play.

See you on the water,

Zim Coach

The Vang as a Throttle - Shifting Gears Downwind

If you plan to sail 420’s or FJ’s for your high school or college, you will be exposed to a type of sailboat racing unlike any other in the world.  The courses are short, the boats are as even as they’ll ever get, you sail a ton of races, and you have more opportunities to pass boats downwind than you ever have.  Due to the nature and location of these types of races, there are fewer ways to make the boat go faster on its own.  However, there are more opportunities to catch bands of pressure that will slingshot you to the front of the pack.  In order to take full advantage of the puffs, it takes a lot of communication with the person you sail with, and a proper understanding of how to use the vang.

First, it is important to understand the best angle to sail a 420 or FJ at on a wing downwind.  For example, as you let the main sail out on these boats, you will notice that where the boom makes contact with the side stay is far aft of reaching 90 degrees from the centerline of the boat.  Thus, the boat is more effective sailed on a low broad reach angle than it is when it is sailed by the lee.  Additionally, off wind it is important to get the top most batten to the point where it is 90 degrees, or perpendicular, to the centerline of the boat.  This typically will require a looser vang, enabling the leech to spill forward of the boom and allow some flow across the sail when you are going downwind.

While you sail the main at a low broad reach angle, you will naturally have to sail the jib by the lee with the wind entering the jib’s leech and exiting the luff.  When you do this, you can use the jib sheet similarly to the vang.  Pulling down hard on it will close the jib’s leech, while lifting your arm higher will open it.  Steering at your general downwind angle, where the jib is by the lee, you will want to lift up the jib’s clew a little bit with your arm to open up the leech and facilitate flow over the sail.  How high or low you lift the jib’s clew will depend on the depth of your angle and the amount of pressure you are sailing in.  Now, let’s take a closer look at your actual vang.  

It is best to think of your vang as a throttle downwind when you are sailing a 420 or FJ wing on wing.  Imagine that you are sailing on a wing at your typical downwind angle.  As a big puff hits your sails, what happens?  If you haven’t put more vang on as the puff hits, the boat will heel hard to windward for a few instants and will feel out of control.  In really windy conditions, the boat may even flip over.  Whenever this happens to your boat, it is a signal that you are spilling breeze out of your sail.  The end result is lost power and speed.  This is much more obvious when you are sailing next to someone who is adjusting their vang correctly, as they jump further and further ahead of you through each and every puff and lull.

Communication between the crew and skipper is essential for proper execution.  As you sail together downwind, the crew should face aft, looking for new puffs and, directing the skipper toward them.  As a new puff is about to enter the sails, the crew should pull vang on so that the batten remains perpendicular through the duration of the puff, and ease it off again as the breeze rushes past the boat.  If executed correctly, the boat will remain stable with no alteration in its heel when the new breeze hits the sails, and it will surge forward with new power and speed.

Quick Tip 1: If the main is not sailed by the lee, the tell tale on the upper batten will want to move forward and out of sight about 50% of the time, floating backward 50% of the time.

Quick Tip 2: In the rare circumstance that you sail the main by the lee and the jib at a traditional angle to the wind, it is best to ease the vang more than you normally would.  Remember, the leech of the main in this scenario is now the luff of the sail, and the luff and mast are the new leech.  If you are sailing in light air, or need to delve particularly far down by the lee, have the crew lift the boom upward to open the leech of the sail further and create more flow across the sail.  Furthermore, at this angle you can also pull down a little bit on the jibs clew in puffs to avoid spilling the breeze from the jib’s leech.

See you on the water,

Zim Coach