I get rolled

Glen

Glen

New Member
I am a pretty good junior sailor.
Last regatta i was doing really good upwind.
First 3 races i rounded the weather mark 5th, 2nd, 2nd.
My finishes for those races were 9th, 10th, 11th.
I just get rolled down wind.
I NEED HELP!! :eek:
anyone got any tips on sailing downwind?
Is wind strength on the course more important than current?
If anyone has any tips on sailing downwind, perferably on how not to get rolled, i would love to hear about it.
Thanks a lot.
Glen
I NEED HELP!!
 
Downwind laser sailing is all about getting a feel for the boat. The main things that make you go faster than the other guys are 1) Surfing as many waves for as long as possible 2) Steering with your body weight 3) Staying in more breeze.

1) You need to sail angles downwind. This means going from a broad reach to sailing by the lee. Doing this allows you to keep powered up and also alows you to head up or down to speed up to get onto a wave. Once you are on a wave you need to sail along the face to stay on it longer.

2) When stearing downwind you should be using your body weight as much as possible. Lean in to head up and heel the boat over to bear off. You need to be aggressive with the boat. Plan on spending a lot of time when practicing flipping over until you get the feel for the boat. You need to get to a point where you can steer comfortably with your body weight and are comfortable with the boat rolling around under you.

3) While sailing downwind you must remember to look behind you for the puffs. You sometimes need to sail more extreme angles to get to the breeze. Once in a puff make sure you stay in it for as long as possible. This will help keep the speed up and will also help you catch more waves and stay on them longer.

As far as boat set up goes. Loosen the outhaul so that you have a nice full sail. Release the cunningham completely. The vang should be set so that the leech of the sail is "bouncing" slightly. Until you are planning or surfing you should be very far forward. I sit with my forward knee about halfway up the centerboard and have my back leg hooked around the hiking strap to keep me locked into the boat. When you catch a wave get your weight back to help keep you planning.

Hope some of this helps. The best advice I can give you is to spend as much time as possible sailing downwind. Be aggressive and dont be affraid to flip when you are practicing. It only makes you better. My friend and I who have been training together for about 4 years now spent a lot of time practicing downwind sailing (the advice of our "coach" Dave Loring, 1995 North American Champ and a Sunfish World Champ). We both now have a huge speed advantage on the downwind legs. We sail in District 12 and usually have good fleets. It is not uncommon for us to round in the middle of the fleet and pass10-15 boats on a fairly short downwind leg to get up to the top. Even at National regattas I have a speed advantage on most, but not all of the other boats. It just takes years of practice.
 
go sailing with some of the sailors at UW, half of them went to high school on Bainbridge.

Watch 'em and try to imitate! Seriously, I still do that when I sail with them, lots of those guys just crush.
 
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