Many top sailors complain about either their downwind speed or state that they don’t know how to sail downwind. In reality this is usually based on an emotion and mental challenges rather than what an observer may see, but there is can be a hint of truth in such statement as they might be slow in certain conditions. In this article we look at the real deal with both top sailors and amateurs falling into the same errors quite often.
The Centre of effort of a rig can be best described by stating that the entire force of wind power generated by a sail can be considered to act through one point - in the same way that the center of gravity of a body is the point around which that body balances. In this blog, we explain the dynamics of the Centre of effort, how you can change it and WHY it needs changing, which is because if the center of effort of the rig isn’t directly over the pivot point of the boat, you need corrective rudder which will slow the boat down through drag in the water.
Lift is the force keeping an airplane up in the air or in our case moving our boat forward. Generally lift is created when there is a pressure difference between two sides of an object, this difference in pressure can occur naturally or artificially generated like on the wing of an airplane.
Successful Sailing Club Coaching Whether or not we are engaged in sailing clubs, we all need to recognize the amazing value a sailing club brings to our sport, and the diversity which often exists within their activities. Clubs are thought of as places where people who sail congregate to share their mutual enjoyment of our... Continue Reading →
Wind We have all encountered this question in the past “What is wind?”. As coaches we have also encountered many different answers to this, but usually the initial response is far from the very simple answer that wind is air movement from high pressure to low pressure. That would lead to a further question; how... Continue Reading →
Speed and DRAG Boats are designed to go through the water, and over the past 70 years have been designed to ride ON the water. Over the past 10 years plus they’ve also been designed to fly over the water. These hull designs are termed as displacement (through the water), planing (riding on the water)... Continue Reading →
Gybing a Laser Most sailors will gybe an average of 3-4 times per race, so the toll a bad gybe might take on your overall result is usually minor to an overall performance, however there are gains to be made by performing a good gybe. What are the reasons for gybing? In a laser heading... Continue Reading →
Tacking a Laser Many sailors struggle with the concept of a good tack, in this blog we will try to shed some light as to the right and wrongs when tacking. Firstly, let us discuss the reasons for tacking. The legend Paul Elvstrom once said, "don't tack without a great reason to tack". By that... Continue Reading →
De-powering a Sail Boat The question arises many times; how do we keep the boat flat when it gets windy? First, we need to discuss how to move the center of effort on the sails down to a manageable area and how to flatten the sail. The obvious answer to both is by bending the... Continue Reading →
Ideal Weight and Dynamic Sailing Sailing crew weight is seemingly best dealt with by most major sailing federations by making it clear that if the sailor is outside the ideal weight, they must get as close as possible to ideal before even being considered for National Sailing Teams. What we find inconsistent about this attitude... Continue Reading →
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