Over the last year racing the Oz Goose sailboat fleet there has been a big change in how we sail the boats upwind – a big performance improvement that applies to sailing all types of boats and it makes it easier to teach new sailors to sail well. This is part of our Free Online Sailing Lessons
All Free Online Sailing Lessons – Index
- Sailing Upwind with less effort
- Increase confidence in Stronger Winds
- Downwind with less distress
- Gusts, Gybes and tacks easily
- Not hitting other boats and more
How often do you see some boats doing this below? While boats next to them stay flat (even with lighter crews as in this photo!)
A lot of these performance developments have been well known at the top levels of sailing for well over a decade. They have been sailing their boats very differently to how most of us were taught to sail and how many of us continue to teach people to sail now.
This article assumes that a lone sailor knows how to hold the tiller across their body so they can use both hands for the sheet. (right)
It also assumes that the sailor is able to trim sails accurately for maximum power.
The Old Slow Wrong way of Sailing Upwind
When we learned to sail 10, 20, 30 years ago we were told that when a gust hits the boat – we ease sails and then point up a lot higher, allowing the sails to luff.
Every time a gust hits, point up higher to let the sail luff. Experienced sailors have turned this process into an artform. A flawed artform.
- Gust hits or is about to hit so ease sheet to keep the boat flat.
- After the first blast of the gust start winding in the sheet (sheet hand) and point higher into the gust (tiller) – often 7 to 10 degrees can be gained in pointing angle
- As gust ends keep pointing high until the boatspeed comes down to what we expect for the new wind.
- Bear away (tiller) and fill the sails (sheet) again for the lower windspeed.
We felt that every time we pointed up higher we would gain distance to windward.
We were wrong.
And we taught this quite complex method to new sailors and it would take them a season or three to get the hang of co-ordinating the tiller and sheet movements to regulate the boat speed and heel correctly.
What if we could reduce the complexity of this procedure AND help beginners sail more quickly and make strong wind sailing easier?
The Science of Upwind Sailing Changed over a decade ago
(And nobody told us!)
Australian Sailing scientist Frank Bethwaite built a sailing simulator to give users the feeling of a real racecourse in real conditions
It was part of a dinghy cockpit with a computer screen in front of the boat.
It was set up to heel in response to the loads from the virtual wind direction and velocity as well as the crew’s actions. Mainsheet, tiller and hiking out were all measured. At the same time it presented a typical racecourse with gusts and wind direction changes on a screen. The boat’s location, speed and direction on the course would be calculated from the inputs from wind hiking, tiller angle and sheet tension
And importantly it would record the speed and track of the sailor as well as their inputs.
A lot of this article is drawn from Frank Bethwaite’s book “Fast Handling Technique. Highly recommended – because it works.
The Results – World level Sailors compared to Average Club Sailors.
Top track (A) from the simulator is a international/olympic level sailor using the newer method for sailing fast upwind spending a lot of time in the upper 5knot range with quick accelerations to target speed.
Two lower tracks (B and C) are average club sailors who can get where they need to go. But they are still pointing up in the gusts with speed range of 2 to 4 knots and very slow accelerations only reaching maximum speed just before their next tack. Then after the tack a long slow acceleration again.
The same errors are made again and again and again by the average sailors. The world class sailor is around 20 percent faster.
I’ve rescaled the figure from the book to make the time and speed scales match for sailors A B and C. It looks like the virtual racecourse is set up so that conditions on the racecourse are static – that the gusts and lulls and wind shifts all happen in the same places. This would explain how all three tracks have similar features at different times. The slower sailors are getting to the same gust more slowly so their time frame is stretched.
So how are good sailors gaining and maintaining those higher speeds upwind?
Ok, here is the relevatory moment just after the start of the club race when I am using the newer upwind sailing techniques. I’ve explained to a relatively new and strong sailor, Paul, what I am doing and how he is to follow me and do the same thing in the gusty conditions – go straight and ease sail in the gusts to keep the boat very level.
Look how loosely sheeted our sails look compared to the other Oz Goose sailboats. Look how we have worked out to windward and ahead.
Instead of pointing up in the gusts we are simply sailing straight and easing the sheet. Aim is to keep the boats very very flat.
We allow ourselves to point just a tiny bit higher in the gusts as the apparent wind changes. The suggestion is around the same angle as two finger widths at an arms length – a tiny amount only.
It takes some work to reprogram your responses going upwind. It was for me.
The other boats are luffing in the gusts and simply slipping sideways. This is because reduced speed reduces the efficiency of the centreboard.
What Happens when a Sailing dinghy heels excessively
The 17% and 37% figures are minimums as there are other effects that make the situation much worse.
Basically, the horizontal measurement from the centre of buoyancy of the hull to the centre of mass of the sailor is the power that makes the boat move. The smaller this distance the slower the boat will go. There is another effect that is much worse on any boat but a scow with curved sides. And that is the distortion of the underwater shape. As it moves away from symmetrical the boat no longer wants to go straight. So rudder input is needed to keep the boat going straight which slows the boat further.
The centreboard also becomes less effective. I’ve just calculated the loss of area. The boat has to make more leeway (increase angle of attack) when the foil area is reduced. There are other worse effects when the top end lifts from the water and the chance of the centreboard partially or completely stalling resulting in a rapid slide to leeward.
Lesson is … easing the sail to get rid of excessing power means less leeway and more power to add to the speed of the boat.
Video Evidence from World and Olympic Championships
On reading Bethwaite’s book I was impressed, but not totally convinced. So I started looking for other evidence of how top level sailors and handling gusts in upwind sailing.
There are lots of videos of world and olympic championships in the Laser and Laser Radial classes. Fantastic as all the competitors in the finals have a camera on the bow of the boat.
This enables us to see the gusts – by the mainsheet going in and out.
And to see the angle of the background behind the boat. If the background doesn’t rotate to the left or right then the boats is going straight.
Have a look at these times to see that when the boom goes out in a gust, the sailors do not point up higher. There are countless videos on youtube with on board cameras.
Follow the link as the video will not display here.
Times:
11:08
11.48
13:40
Video image can take a moment to load.
Upwind technique from one of the lead coaching schools for Laser dinghies
Video image can take a moment to load.
How much does the wrong upwind technique reduce the efficiency of the centreboard or keel?
We have done some speed measuring of the two methods of sailing on our humble Oz Goose Sailboats. The old and slow and the new and fast. All during real races and practice of experienced racers who can replicate their efficient speeds.
Moving from our old method to the new method brought typical fully powered up upwind speeds from 4.2 knot averages up to around 5.3 average. With less leeway making the boat seem like it is pointing higher.
Not far from the figures in the graph above in Lasers.
The side force of the centreboard is proportional to the square of the speed.
In fully powered up conditions and a good sailor sailing the outmoded way, typical upwind boatspeeds top out a little above 4knots.
This gives a sideforce of around 16 “units”.
With the new method, typical upwind speeds are around 5.3knots.
This gives a sideforce of around 28 “units”. An increase of 75%.
Given that easing sails to keep the boat very flat will reduce the sideforce from the sails compared to pulling the sails tight in the old method, we can see that leeway is significantly reduced.
The feeling was strange. I was resisting the tendency to point up in the gusts – so it felt I was sailing lower.
But not only was I pulling ahead of the fleet but I was also lifting up to windward.
Actually all the fleet, apart from Paul, who was doing the same as me were sliding more to leeward with each gust.
The feeling of control was much greater – bring on the gusts!
Similar to the reaching and downwind “sail for balance method (link just below).
Control of the Boat Upwind in Gusts
Using the pointing up method has a bunch of other problems.
When you steer the boat in an arc to depower in a gust it is really really slow to react compared to easing the sheet – which is virtually instantaneous.
If on a bicycle and heave the handlebars into a curve suddenly, the bike will fall towards the outside of the curve. Cars driven too fast around corners also roll away from the centre of the curve. So steering to point up a sailboat in a gust also heels the boat MORE.
Pointing up in a gust and getting it a bit wrong or getting a windshift that makes the boat luff more than expected is one of the prime reasons for a capsize to windward. If just using the sheet the effect of a wind direction change is much less.
Now Teaching Beginner Sailors Efficient Upwind Sailing is much, much Easier
OK, so instead of having to teach a whole set of co-ordinated easing and pulling on the sheet in combination with large steering deviations at the beginning of gusts we can:
- First, teach them to keep the boat very very flat by easing the sheet. Then as the gust eases keep the boat flat by pulling the sheet on again. This gives 95% of the advantage of the modern upwind technique
- Second, the very small amount of pointing up – the width of two fingers at arms length can be added later. As an improvement of efficiency. And then go back to the original angle when the wind drops down.
All in all it means that stronger winds are much less scary for beginners and they will progress in the new, simpler technique much faster.
Hi Mr Storer,
I still owns a Tasar dinghy (hull 880), frequently named “Taser”; probably because of the famed Laser built at the time (mid 1970’s) by Performance Sailboats (located in Montreal).
The boat was sold with a great deal of documentation at the time, apart of the rigging parts, mainly consisting in “australian” ways of handling lightweight moderately canvassed sailboat: 175 lbs and 125 sqft for the fully rigged fiberglass built Tasar !
One of the main thing I had to do was to dislearn was the luff-in-the-gust technique.
It is easier than we might think because it is pretty much more confortable in a high wind situation (I guess also more secure). At the time, I said that my Tasar was the first dinghy sailboat that I owned that acted as theory predicted… But having such a good feeling for the Tasar dis not confirm any of the Frank Bethwaite theory.
In vacation in an outdoor leisure centre in Quebec, I was able to test this sailing theory of Bethwaite on a 5,3 km long lake.
I and one of the sailing instructor were to go from one end of the lake to the other end and back because we were the only ones having fun to do it in the gusty inland lake conditions (others were sailing closer to the base).
He was a 6 foot guy at 175 pounds and I was a 5 foot 7 inches at 145 pounds at the time (the weight has changed after 35 years ;-)).
So we started on two Lasers and came back with me a good 3 minutes ahead !. Why ? I just applied some principles from the Betwaithe-Tasar book. There is three that I remind for STRONG CHANGING WINDS.
WARNING: Maritime language being so different between English and French, this part is in french my native language (or partly)
PREMIÈREMENT, quelque soit votre cap, il faut maintenir votre embarcation À PLAT.
DEUXIÈMEMENT, pour toutes les allures plus pointues que le largue, en cas de forte risée, relâcher les écoutes pour ne pas gîter ET pointer plus bas pour prendre de la vitesse. Ce que vous perdez en cap vous le gagnerez en vitesse vers votre but.
TROISIÈMEMENT, pour toutes les allures dépassant le largue, évitez l’allure vents-de-dos et optez plutôt pour un grand large plus controlable et beaucoupt plus rapide: comme pour la vitesse au près, ce que vous perdez en cap vous le gagnez en vitesse vers votre but.
That is the theory, but what about the feeling: it is exhilating ! Most of the time you feel going fast and very confortable (in mildly extreme conditons for an inland lake).
That said, at my age (70), I prefer the “secure” part of the theory: even when I go out with my grown grandson or granddaughter…
Cordially,
Martin G
Thanks Martin,
The Tasar Dinghy is derived from the Australian NS14 which I spent most of my early sailing career in. I’ve also spent time with Frank Bethwaite on boatshow stands. Great man and great boat.
He gave me a copy of the Tasar Sailing Manual which was a revelation on fast sailing techniques compared to other texts at the time. Very advanced. Readers can click that link to download the most important parts of the manual.
Google is actually pretty good at translating the French. I was quite surprised how readable it was! Here is the translation of your quote;
The method I am explaining is slightly different. It is also drawn from Frank Bethwaite’s research in the last decade. Covered very nicely in his book “Fast Handling Techniques”. There are more complicated books with very similar titles.
For going upwind Bethwaite’s more current advice doesn’t suggest bearing away in gusts – at least for boats that won’t start planing easily upwind. Catamarans, trapeze dinghies, Tasars and NS14s definitely can make use of a small bear away techique to hit much higher speeds to cover the extra distance.
The bearaway in gusts method is still the best method for crosswind and downwind sailing and has remained unchanged in Bethwaite’s recent writing. I cover that method exactly in a following section – Sailing for Balance.
Thanks Mik. I’m an inexperienced sailor, and currently I’m learning to sail a Beth canoe. For now, I’d just like to be more confident of keep the boat right side up during a gust. Going faster would be a bonus. If I understand right, the new technique is simply to handle a gust by letting out the sheet, and only point up into the wind a tiny bit, later if needed. That seems easy to grasp conceptually, although actually doing it might be harder. I’d never heard of holding the tiller across the body, which looks essential to be able to let out the sheet quickly, instead of fumbling it through one hand as I do at present.
Hi Tim,
If you are already good at sailing upwind in moderate winds – when not getting rid of power – and can keep the boat at the correct angle to the wind consistently – then this is how to extend it into stronger winds.
We used to think you had to luff to reduce the power of the sails and point higher.
But in our size boats it means you just go sideways because of the slower speed from pointing up and the high side forces on the centreboard because the sheet is pulled in tight (and the sail force is more sideways).
It turns out that it is much better to keep your nice pointing angle from the lull.
Then when the gust comes, ease the mainsheet to keep the boat flat. This was my first stage of implementing the method when racing.
I delayed doing the very small angle change because it is a very small additional efficiency and it was hard enough to retrain myself in the beginning.
Plus the feeling that I was “going low” (no steering to luff) but ending up higher than the other boats in the class who were pointing up in the gusts was just so cool.
Experiencing being in the middle of a paradox. But only a paradox because of four decades of assuming a different (wrong) way was better.
As your BETH sailing canoe has a mizzen – I would set the sheet up to be extremely balanced in the lulls between gusts.
Not weather helm, not lee helm and lots of downhaul. Otherwise it may make the boat point up every gust.
If the mizzen doesn’t have a strong effect on direction – no problem. If it makes the boat point up a small amount and you don’t have to fight it with the rudder – then you get that additional small efficiency dividend, but if its effect is too much and you have to fight the weather helm with the rudder … then you will have to experiment as to what is the best way.
Hope this helps.
MIK