Top 100 Tips - Part 5 - Boat Speed

Judge speed against other boats.

57. In sailboat racing, speed is relative. It doesn't really matter what your knotmeter says or how fast your boat feels - the only true measure of per­formance is how well you are going compared to the boats around you. Your boat's perlormance is a subtle combination of speed and height lhat you can only see when sailing alongside another boat. Therefore, keep close tabs on how you're going relative to nearby boats.

Look for a few 'speed wrinkles.'

58. On many boats, it's fast to leave the mainsail and genoa luff tension loose enough to have at least a hint of horizontal wrinkles in the lower half of the luff. This keeps your sail powerful and helps pointing. Two exceptions are heavy air and an older sail when you need more luff tension to flatten the sail and move draft forward.

Go fast first, then point.

59. The ability to point high is great for tactics, strategy and speed, but you can't just aim your boat closer to the wind. Pointing ability is closely tied to speed, so in order to point higher you must start by going faster. This gets the water flowing faster over your foils, which increases their efficiency and produces lift. When pointing is a problem, the natural response is simply to turn the boat toward the wind, but this is the opposite of what's needed. Instead, you should aim lower and go faster first - then slowly try pointing higher. (Of course, you may also need to make other changes to improve pointing.)

If you're slow, make a change.

60. When you are going fast, keep things roughly the same. When you have a case of the "slows." change something. Start by adjusting things that will have (lie biggest impact on your boatspeed. My first change is almost always to ease (or tighten) the maln-sheei. If this doesn't help, try changing other variables. You'll learn more if you change only one thing at a time and wait long enough to see its effect, but it's hard to be lllis patient while racing.

Use legal kinetics more often.

61. 'Kinetics' is the use of body motion and weight to help steer and balance the boat while racing. Though there are some sailors who abuse this tech­nique, most sailors do not use legal kinetics nearly as much as they could. For an in-depth explanation of what's legal and illegal under the current rules, check out the rule 42 interpretations un ihe 1SAF website. http://www.sailing.org/2004.php.

Copy the fast boats.
 
62. Your competitors are a great source of go-fast ideas, so keep an eye on them. Pay particular attention to boats that are going faster than you, and don't be afraid to copy their set-up. For example, how are they trimming their sails and positioning their weight in different conditions? You can leam a lot just by watching them on the race course; many of these sailors will also be willing to share ideas if you talk with them ashore.

Be ready to change gears constantly.

63. Sailing is a challenge because conditions are always changing. You can't just trim in your sails, cleat them and expect to win races. You must be ready to "shift gears," or adjust the trim of your boat and sails, constantly to match changes in the wind and water. As Buddy Melges often says, you must "present your boat for Mother Nature." In other words, you have to anticipate the puffs, lulls, shifts and waves that are coming. And when these reach your boat. you should have already made adjustments for them (rather than reacting after they hit).

David Dellenbaugh, former starting helmsman for America3, publishes Speed&Smarts, a monthly newsletter of how-to information for racing sailors. For subscription information call: 800-356-2200. To order a new subscription, click