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Tacking is initiated by sheeting in the main to get more leeward heel and turn the bow into the wind. The boat will rarely make it to the beam reach required to get the boat up to speed on the opposite tack. To complete the tack, the main is backed in the desired direction of turn. Only when the boom is backed firmly against the stay (as far away as possible from the boat centerline) will the boat turn in the direction of the boom. In high winds it may not be possible to back the main all the way to the stay without capsizing the boat (see high wind technique). In this case a partial backing will result in the boat sailing backward, the boat heeling to leeward and the stern heading upwind. Pushing the boom to effect a jibe with the stern in the vicinity of the eye of the wind will point the boat in a downwind, by the lee, position on the opposite tack (backward to forward jibe) and the tack is maintained by applying weight to windward. It is essential to release the boom to travel firmly against the lee stay to prevent the boat from capsizing in the resulting jibe.
notes:
The boat heel controls the rate of turn, so the more heel the more of the forward energy is converted to turn the boat.
In light winds: both leeward weight and sheeting in the main are required to achieve as much leeward heel as possible. With light wind, the main can be backed against the stay and weight applied in the direction of turn to complete the tack to a beam reach heading. If the wind is too strong, the boat will not heel in the direction of turn but the opposite heel will result, causing the stern to round up to a backward to forward jibe which achieves the same effect as a tack but is more exciting (it is effectively a 3 point turn). If the wind is still stronger, the boat will capsize before completing the backward to forward jibe.
Better video of rudderless tacking: |
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