LESSON 3: TACKING

WHAT IS TACKING?

Tacking, coming about, and changing tacks all refer to the same maneuver - steering from one side of the clock to the other with the bow of the boat heading into the wind. In terms of the clock diagram it means that the boat heads up past the 12 to the close hauled course on the other tack. Sailors use the skill of sailing close hauled to make progress against the direction of the wind. The process is called "beating to windward" or "tacking upwind". To do it, you sail close hauled toward either 10:30 or 1:30 for a certain distance, then turn toward the 12 and past it until you are sailing close hauled toward the other side of the clock. The boat has a new windward side and the sails are on the new leeward side.

The boat's pathway over the water will zig zag. First it will go straight for (say) the 10:30 point on the clock. Then it will zig toward the 1:30 and sail straight on that course for a while. Then it will zag back for the 10:30 again, and so forth. The picture shows a boat 'beating to the windward', alternating between port and starboard tacks to progress toward the direction of the wind source. When 'beating to the windward', the boat sails the close hauled course at 45° angles to the wind. Note how the sails shift to the leeward side of the boat from tack to tack.

HOW DO YOU TACK?

To tack (come about) you have to steer the boat and tend the sails. The person steering warns the rest of the crew by calling "ready about". This really means "get ready to come about". "Ready" answers the crew (when they really are ready). "Hard-a-lee" calls the helmsperson (which means, "I am turning the boat now") and he or she steers the boat into the wind and around to the opposite tack.

The mainsail on a large boat usually takes care of itself during a tack - the sheet (line that holds the sail) is secured in a cleat. But the jib must be released and allowed to change sides and secured on the new leeward side. This is the crew's job, and the timing of this release, crossover, and trimming on the new leeward side is important to the efficiency of the tack. To make this job even more challenging, a strong wind will give the crew a great "tug-of-war" when trying to pull in the jib sheet. Winches are provided on each side of the boat to give the crew an advantage in this tug-of-war. Wrap the jib sheet around the winch (always clockwise) before pulling it in. When you have it trimmed right, cleat it - using a special variation of the cleating knot that omits the half-hitch and simply makes several crisscrosses over the cleat. The winch and the knot will keep the sheet secure and it can always be released in a hurry.

TACKING IS A SKILL THAT REQUIRES WORKING AS A TEAM !

If tacking takes too long, the boat will stop moving when it gets "head to wind" (pointed toward the 12) and we won't be able to steer. This is called being "in irons". If the boat tacks too fast, it is in danger of over-tacking - heading below the close hauled course on the new tack - heading for the 3 or the 9 instead of the 1:30 or 10:30. So tacking is a skill that should be understood in advance and practiced on the water. It takes teamwork.

TELLTALE SIGNS FOR CLOSE HAULED SAILING

The jib (front sail) of Easy Wind and most modern boats has some short pieces of yarn attached near the leading edge. These yarns are called "telltales" and they help you keep the boat in the close hauled groove. Here is how they work. Although a full sail looks as if the wind is pushing only on one side of it, the wind should really be flowing across both surfaces, the concave and the convex.

The telltales show you this when the boat is in the groove. This is important at all points of sail, but it is especially important when sailing close hauled because the telltales will show you wind shifts that you could not normally see.

Telltales on both sides of the sail stream back into a horizontal position. However, if the boat is pointing too close to the source of the wind (12 o'clock) the telltale on the inside of the sail (the windward telltale) will stop streaming just before the sail luffs. When you see the telltale do this, turn back (away from 12) slightly until the telltale streams again.

The pictures on the right illustrate the position of the telltales on the jib. You can see that in Figure 2, the boat is sailing close hauled and positioned properly at a 45° angle to the wind, because the telltales are streaming straight back. In Figure 1, the inside (in this case, windward) telltale is not streaming because the boat is sailing at an angle less than 45°. In Figure 3, the outside (in this case, leeward) telltale is not streaming because the boat is sailing at an angle greater than 45°. Question: Is the boat sailing on a port or starboard tack in these pictures?

The telltale on the outside of the sail (the leeward telltale) is harder to see. You really just see its shadow through the sailcloth. When the boat is pointed away from the wind too much, this outside telltale will stop streaming. We say the sail is "stalled". The sail looks full, but the telltale reveals that wind is not passing over that convex surface. When sailing close hauled, if the outside telltale stalls, steer the boat slightly toward the wind (toward 12 o'clock). You will see the telltale start to stream. You keep the boat in the groove by keeping telltales on both sides of the sail streaming back. When you learn to do this, you will be steering the boat at a constant angle to the wind. You will be keeping the boat in a close hauled groove and adjusting your course for slight shifts in the wind's direction. Your boat will look great and you will look like a real sailor!



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