Now let’s look at sail setting.
Sails are your engine, accelerator and brake all in one, so having them incorrectly set
is a bit like driving a car with an engine that’s badly tuned.
Your main control ropes are called sheets, and adjusting these control sheets in or out
adjusts the sail setting.
You must constantly check and adjust your sails to keep them at the best angle relative
to the wind.
This is when the sail is not flapping at any point.
In the case of a two hander, you should release both sails until they start to flap.
When you see this, pull them both back in a little until they stop flapping.
This is the optimum position for the sails on that particular course.
In the case of the single hander, simply look for the front part of the mainsail to stop
flapping.
As you alter your course you must repeat this exercise constantly to maintain a good and
even airflow across the sail.
When you want to sail towards the wind, turn your boat onto the close hauled position and
find the edge of the no go zone.
Pull the control sheet so the boom is close to the centreline of the boat, and pull the
jib in hard if you are sailing a two hander.
When close hauled you steer the boat to find the point where the sail starts to flap.
Push the tiller slowly and gently towards the boom until the sail flaps, and then pull
it away from the boom until it stops flapping.
So keep the tiller movements small, and keep probing the edge of the no go zone in small
amounts until you are confident that you are on the edge of the no go zone.
If sailing a single hander, steer the boat to find the point where the front part of
the mainsail just stops flapping.
To help you here you might have tell tales.
These are small strips normally made of wool, and stuck to both sides of the sail, normally
about six inches inside the front edge.
You should aim to keep the tell tales streaming evenly on both sides of the sail like this.
As you enter the no go zone the tell tale on your side of the sail will lift like this,
and as you turn away from the wind too far the outside tell tale will flap.
When you are close hauled or beating, this is the most likely sailing angle where you
might become overpowered.
With the sails pulled in closer to the centreline of the boat there is a large sideways force
which will try to tip the boat over.
To counter this, when the gust hits ease the mainsheet a little.
This will reduce the amount of power in the sail which will reduce the tipping effect
of the breeze.