Tacking revelation

After reading Thierry's blog again I had this revelation: while I focus a lot on spi manoeuvres, it is the tacking that accounts for most of the gains and losses. Funny, because everybody knows how to tack, right? Well, not quite.

While tacking is indeed the basic manoeuvre, it is a subtle one. You lose a lot of ground if you overshoot. You lose a lot of speed if you under-shoot. You slow down if you use too much rudder. And yet technically speaking, you could accelerate by tacking - this is why RRS 42.2(e) prohibits repeated tacks and you could actually be penalised for gaining speed even in a single well executed tack (RRS 42 interpretation BASIC 7).

If you look at your GPS track from an upwind leg, what is the shape? Is it nice and regular, with headings on consequtive tacks less than 80 degrees apart? Or is it a ragged with angles occasionally well over 100? I looked at mine from today's practice with Helen and Gianluigi and there is clearly room for improvement in this department.

For good measure, here is also a gybing video from an earlier practice with Paola and Philip.

I am hoping more wind tomorrow (and I will get the big spi).