| Tacking is the act of turning the boat through the wind | | | | tensioned (or working cleat) but hold it from slipping any |
| and heading on a different course without severely | | | | on the winch and thus loosening the sail. |
| impacting speed and momentum. This seems easy but | | | | 2. The crew should then return the "ready" call to let |
| for novice sailors this simple maneuver takes | | | | the helmsman know they are ready. The helmsman |
| unnecessary time to learn without knowing the basics. | | | | then calls "helms over" and puts the helm to leeward. |
| The obvious scenario of tacking back and forth to get | | | | As the boat turns into the wind and the sail starts to |
| to a destination directly upwind is one of the first things | | | | luff, the crew on the working winch should ease then |
| all people need to understand when learning to sail. | | | | release the sheet but take care to not let the line foul. |
| Sometimes tacking from reach tacks to reach tacks | | | | 3. The opposite crew then pulls in the new sheet and |
| are done but mostly tacking involves going from a | | | | before a full load gets on the sail, should get another |
| close-hauled course to the opposite close-hauled | | | | wrap on the winch. The sheet should then be finished |
| course. This is especially true in racing. | | | | off with the winch handle inserted and the proper |
| Here are the steps: | | | | tension applied to trim the sail appropriately. |
| 1. The helmsman lets the crew know he's ready by | | | | By following a few simple steps and consistently using |
| declaring "prepare to tack". Different skippers use | | | | them, tacking will become second nature to you and |
| different tack calling but you get the picture. The crew | | | | your crew. When racing, make sure everyone's on the |
| on the unloaded winch (winch that presently has no | | | | same page BEFORE the race as to what the |
| tension) prepares the winch by wrapping a couple of | | | | helmsman will expect. All sailing maneuvers done |
| wraps of the sheet and pulling out all the slack. A good | | | | properly mitigate accidents and equipment damage so |
| practice is to have this winch ready way before but | | | | practice good and consistent tacking and jibing and |
| regardless, the first step is to make sure the winch is | | | | your time on the water will be much more enjoyable |
| ready. The other crew should then uncleat the | | | | and rewarding. |