Last month I
described the difference between thumbs
down and thumbs up hand positions for
beginning and intermediate sailors.
These techniques are most used when
sailing in a straight line in light and
medium winds. However, there are times
when you will want to sail thumbs up on
the hiking stick and mainsheet with your
hands chest high.
When the winds are
gusty you need to quickly trim or ease
three to four feet of mainsheet to keep
your boat at a constant angle of heel.
For example, if you are sailing in 10
miles per hour wind and it goes to 16mph
you will need to hike and ease as much
mainsheet as necessary to prevent excess
heel to leeward and resulting too much
weather helm. As the wind drops, you
must quickly trim sheet and pinch it
with your hiking stick hand so you can
trim again with your sheet hand to keep
the boat from heeling to windward. It
might require several trim and pinch
sequences all done while not over
steering with your hiking stick hand.
Holding your hands chest high is much
faster to trim and pinch.
Other times when
you need fast hands is when tacking,
jibing and rounding windward and leeward
marks. The Laser sailor Addy Ferguson in
the photo is getting ready to round a
weather mark. Notice that both her hands
are held chest high and out in front so
she can ease quickly, hike and steer
around the weather mark. Perfect weather
mark turns require a big mainsheet ease
to take weather helm pressure off the
rudder. A neutral or even leeward helm
and an over eased mainsheet will get you
around the mark faster.
When rounding a
leeward mark you have to be even faster
to trim and pinch. You have to learn to
steer up around the mark and pinch at
the same time – not an easy job. But,
like any skill once you learn the
correct movements then a lot of perfect
practice at high tempo will get you to
where you can execute the move in race
conditions.
Tacking and jibing
should also be practiced using the
thumbs up hand positions. In light air
it will be necessary to transition from
thumbs down to thumbs up before you go
into you tack or jibe. With enough
practice it will become automatic.
Remember, to become
good at sailboat racing you must first
know the correct technique. Next, work
hard in practice to develop the winning
habits and eliminate the loosing habits.
What is the best way to hold the hiking
stick and mainsheet? The answer depends
on the skipper’s experience, wind speed,
waves and course heading. Inexperienced
skippers should start with the thumbs
down (handshake) grip on the hiking
stick. This grip feels more natural when
combined with a slightly bent arm next
to the side – see photo #1. If the boat
tips in either direction – to leeward or
to windward it becomes easier to steer
straight rather than letting the boat
round up or down. The beginner will not
tense up because he or she will have a
greater sense of control. This is
because the hiking stick is at a ninety
degree angle to the tiller and your
steering hand is at your side.
The skipper in photo #1 is also using
the thumbs down grip on the main sheet.(Fig.1)
You have more feel of sheet pressure in
light air using this grip with the sheet
in front of your forward leg. Note also
that this skipper is using the correct
form with her feet, knees and arms
tight.(Fig.2)
She is centered and her body is at
ninety degrees to the centerline of the
boat.(Fig.3)
The skipper in photo #2 is more
experienced, using the thumbs up
(microphone) grip on the hiking stick
with her hand low on her lap and a
relaxed ninety degree bent arm.(Fig.4
& 5) With more time in the
boat the skipper understands that the
helm needs to be balanced with just a
little windward helm most of the time.
Balance is achieved by sailing the boat
almost flat using skipper and crew
weight together with main and jib trim.
The wind is light and the waves are very
small. If the waves are bigger due to
motorboat slop or waves are built up far
from shore it is faster to helm with a
thumbs down grip to avoid over steering.
This more experienced skipper is using
the thumbs down grip with the main sheet
between her knees.
(Fig.6)
This position together with her weight
forward in the boat keeps the sheet more
centered to the body which enhances
tight form for better feel of the helm
and mainsail as the boat moves through
the water.
There are times when you want your
hiking stick and mainsail grip at chest
height in front of you using the thumbs
up position, but that is a story for
next time.
