Many skippers are turning too fast, which leads to a loss of speed, turning the boat past close reach, and creating an unnecessary workload for the crew.
As many learned in the ASA 101 class, turning the boat sharply and sticking it into the wind will stop the boat (just like we want to when docking), however, doing this while tacking will scrub most of the speed. Most cruising boats, including the ones at the club, have low aspect foils (short and wide keels and rudders) so turning these sideways to the water is like deploying a parachute. Think about the drag you feel on your hand when you stick it out of the window of a moving car, this is similar to the drag created when turning a boat sharply.
Secondly, turning too fast while tacking makes it very difficult to come out on the proper heading and will almost always result in turning too far. A fast turn will simply not allow the helmsman enough time to straighten out to the proper course coming out of the tack. You will often see yourself exiting on a beam reach and you’ve now lost 100+ yards of upwind gains.
The first two examples relate to achieving good performance while tacking, but if you’re not in the camp of “two sailboats going the same direction equals a race” and just want to relax, the final example is for you.
Turning the boat too fast while tacking makes the job of the crew much more difficult and potentially dangerous. As the bow of the boat passes through the no sail zone while tacking, the stress and power on the sails relaxes. This allows the crew to break off the old working sheet and pull on the new one before the boat gets to close hauled and powers up. We’ve all been on a boat where the helmsman turns too fast and doesn’t allow the crew to work the sheets efficiently and safely – resulting in the crew having a loaded jib sheet in their hand, fumbling to get it on the winch, and then having to crank it to proper trim, all while the sail is violently luffing. You’ll rarely see a winch handle being used to tack on a well-organized boat!
Slow is pro when tacking. Start your turn slowing into the wind and once the jib starts to collapse naturally, the crew can release the sheet and bring on the new one. At that same time, the helmsman can speed up their rate of turn slightly to get past head to wind and then start to level out onto a close reach. Next time you tack, take a look off the stern – if you see bubbles, you’re turning too fast. Give it a shot!