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    Yacht Racing - How to Sail Downwind

    The trick in sailing downwind is not speed. It is not about how fast you are or how sleek in the wind your yacht is. Often, it is not even about the wind.

    Rather, it is about having a “feel” for the yacht. If you know what makes your yacht go, you already have the edge that you need to do good at a yachting race. Because no matter how fierce the competition is or how weak the wind is in the first run, all those factors only minimally affect how you do in the race if you know your yacht and how to make it work to its limits.

    This is a skill that you don’t learn from any sailing classroom. This is the one thing that you can only learn from experience and something you can develop by practicing your skills in reaching and running.

    Body Position

    Less experienced sailors don’t know this but body position is very important. Every boat is built to travel the most efficiently when they are properly trimmed.

    This means that the yacht’s efficiency may vary depending on the increase or decrease in the wind. Thus, if the bow drops, your boat won’t drive at its full speed. The same thing happens if the stern drags.

    So how do you counteract these downsides? Through body position. Your goal is to keep the boat on a plane and as level as possible fore and aft. This means moving backwards and forwards, depending on the wind.

    Centerboard Height

    There is only thing to remember about centerboard height and that is to pull it up off the wind the minute you notice a drag in the stern.

    Vang Tension

    The importance in vang tension comes in when you encounter death rolls particularly on the run. When that happens, be sure to get your vang tension off the wind. Otherwise, be prepared for a swim when the boat death rolls.

    The reason is that the leech of the sail gets in the way of the mast, a common occurrence when not enough tension is applied. This, coupled with death rolls, makes swimming a very likely possibility.


    Master all these skills in downwind sailing as well as the important things to remember during preparation and starting on the run and you have the necessary edge to get ahead of your game.

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