On a single hander if you want to stop and have a rest you should adopt the lying to
position.
Here, the sail flaps with the boom well clear over the side and the boat will almost stop.
To get to this situation, first position the boat somewhere between a beam reach and a
close reach point of sailing, then release the mainsheet so that the sail flaps and half
raise the centreboard.
The boat should almost stop.
Maintain a good look out and adjust the tiller to maintain a steady position relative to
the wind.
To slow you even further you can also release the kicking strap.
To get out of the lying to position simply lower the centreboard, pull in the mainsheet
and off you go.
Whilst tacking across the wind you may straighten the rudder too soon.
Here you will be stuck in the no go zone with the bow of the boat pointing head to wind.
This is called being stuck in irons.
If this happens don’t worry.
You need to force the bow of the boat to one side of the no go zone or the other.
To achieve this, push the mainsail out by hand as far as you can with the boom, this
will force the wind to hit the back of the sail which will introduce drive and start
to push you backwards.
To turn the bow away from the wind you then need to push the tiller towards the boom.
Once the boat has travelled about 90 degrees you can then release the boom, straighten
the tiller and then quickly pull in the mainsheet and sail away.
In short it is a push on the boom and a push on the tiller and then pull a on the mainsheet
and a pull on the tiller.
If you sail in windier conditions everything is the same but events happen considerably
faster.
You will notice that the boat will turn faster, the sail flaps louder, and the boom travels
across the boat faster.
You should consider reefing the mainsail on windy days, this reduces the amount of sail
area and takes some of the power away.
Watch our Rigging and Reefing video to see how reefing
is done.