What are the keys to Etchells sail trim? Driven by the North Sails Design Suite, the North U Sail Trim Simulator lets you explore proper upwind trim with the full range of sail controls. Write these three easy-to-follow rules on your deck before your next race. When you are watching Laser sailing during the Olympic Games or a World Championship it looks really easy to sail the boat very fast. Every Laser that is sold is exactly the same. According to the data provided on p. 406 of the cited book High Performance Sailing, a fast keelboat such as a Soling can sail at 30° off the apparent wind, an 18ft Skiff at 20°, and an iceboat at 7°. Trying to sail upwind is a little like driving up a mountain. You’re going upwind shortly after the start in a tight lane, and you need to sail a little higher to hold that lane. Sailing directly upwind (exactly anti-parallel to the wind, like the boat at right) is also easy to understand: it's impossible (impossible with sails: a boat with a wind turbine driving a propellor could go directly upwind. Sailing Upwind. One Design expert Tim Healy describes the rewards and the risks. When sailing upwind, we recommend focusing on helm balance as much as the actual sectional shape of the sails. Racing Upwind Sails. When the wind direction is steady, the fastest way to reach the windward mark is simply to get your boat in the “groove” and sail for maximum upwind VMG. via SportVid. Rely on your instincts, utilize your chart plotter, and mimic nearby boats. If the helm is balanced, the boat will respond. That's why the really fast boats have quite a wide angle. Upwind topics include jib trim, mainsail trim and helming. If it’s windy and you are overpowered, you can generally just sheet a … The hull should be clean and if possible have a fine sanded finish. There is a limit to how fast sailboats can move forward, of course. I don't try to sail particularly high but concentrate on VMG (velocity made good) towards the windward mark. Accept that you will go a little slower by sailing higher. It is a hard grove to get into but practice and the continual adjustment of sail trim will benefit the overall upwind performance. Downwind sections will cover symmetric and asymmetric spinnakers as well as tips for those who sail under jib and main only. Picture a boat (F) that is ailing on a lift. On a Beat, Sail Fast in the Lifts by David Dellenbaugh. You can't go straight up, so you have to follow a winding road, zig-zagging back and forth. Make sure jib cars are positioned for optimal performance. In most conditions you should aim for your upwind target all the time. Backstay, or some combination of backstay and runners and checkstays (if you have them), provides a one-pull opportunity to do many things at once. When you have a moderate breeze it's relatively easy to get your boat "in the groove" because you have sufficient wind strength to keep the boat moving and you aren't overpowered. Sheet and jib cars. The North U Sail Trim & Boat Speed Seminar covers sail trim on all points of sail. If you trim as you would in medium wind conditions, the boat will just roll over and play dead. For example, a boat can sail a course that is perpendicular to the true wind (that is, at 90° with respect to the true wind). He gives a numerical example of the difference in this excerpt from Higher Performance Sailing. Sailing on a lift in an oscillating breeze is one of these.