There are a lot of theories of why we need sail twist. They are mainly disputable, but the fact is that boats go better with twist. That’s all we need to know to understand the importance of this factor of sail trim. For us its simple to prove - when the tell tales are flying, and most importantly at the head the leech tell tales,
Sails, Tuning, Masts, Logic
The mysteries of sails are often best unravelled by thinking of them as simple and logical tools. We can go into details of flow, turbulence and aspect ratio, but it doesn’t really make the boat that we are trying to tune any faster. This blog is about understanding the goals of tuning masts and sails, and hopefully will give you some ideas on how to go faster.
Mast Rake
For most sailing boats the ability to control the power is made by bending or straightening the mast, as the mast bends it flattens the fabric of the sail, moving the center of effort down and opening the leech, the opposite happens when straightening the mast.
21st Century Tactics
As boat speeds increase, the wisdom of conventional tactics become far less relevant that they have ever been. For example, in a fast boat, covering one of the opposition can create an opening for 10 boats to get past you. Not what is needed…..
Training Camp Methods, Goals and Philosophies
Operating a Coaching Business such as ours is a widespread business. Our operational services include Coaching, Coach Training, Consultancy, Design input, and running training camps. In everything that we do, our goals are to be the best that we can, and certainly the best in the business. Essentially we are competitive people, but we are also fun loving people. Combining the two facets is essential to gain success - as soon as we can get positive people hungry to succeed, anything is possible!
Downwind – Flat or Kite?
An important skill in downwind sailing is prioritizing weather to sail the boat flat or healed to windward by the lee referred to as kiting, Sailing by the lee means that the air is flowing into the sail from the leech towards the mast as opposed to normal sailing when the air is flowing from the mast towards the leech of the sail
Trim For Speed and Height
There is a considered observation that we either have high mode or low mode sailors at the top of any fleet. Sailing high or low mode has individual advantages in different conditions, so we have to look carefully at what we mean by high or low mode. The purpose of this blog is to discuss sailing styles and blow some setup myths apart.
Federation Role in Development
Any national team will benefit if the federation takes an active role in supporting development sailors. The jump from development to senior is always large and a trial for the sailors, so that to be in the system with a continuity of coaching methods and systems is a big advantage for the younger sailor.
Spinnakers
The spinnaker is a sail which many misunderstand, and few master. In this blog we show that it isn’t a black magic sail and you don’t need a doctorate to appreciate what it can do. The blog is written at what seems like a basic level. All we can say is that speed is basic, whether its advanced or beginning - the same rules apply.
The Diamond
A major source of beginning to understand tactics is dealt with by Toplevel sailing as tactics for the first half of the beat (when the boats are diverging into a wider area, as against tactics when the boats are converging into the tiny area around the mark.
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