Sailing Tip of the Week- Slow tack or fast tack - which is faster?
by Grant Headifen on 6 Jul 2010
Slowly round, nice and easy - gives your crew time, and keeps up the boatspeed SW
Here Grant Headifen discusses the theory of changing course by tacking in the fastest, neatest possible way - relevant for every sailor, whether cruising or racing, and no matter how many crew you have:
I once sailed with an ex-submarine captain who would always turn the boat through a tack extremely slowly. When a crew mate asked why, he had three good reasons.
(1) Look behind you as you come about. If you are leaving swirling water eddies behind the rudder, these are a sum of kinetic energy that was previously in your sailboat but has now been released to the water.
What does that mean? If you jam the tiller over during a tack you will loose momentum – slowing down your sailboat more than you need to. If you execute an easy steady turn leaving the kinetic energy in the boat, you’ll maintain kinetic energy in the boat. Thus when you come out on the other side your boat still has speed.
(2) A slower turn also allows your crew (whether one or many, and especially if they are inexperienced) a few extra seconds to get the jib sheet in tight before the real heel and tension comes on.
This is really important because once you’re heeling over on the new tack it is more difficult and slower for the crew to tension up the jib sheet to its appropriate trim.
It’s pretty frustrating as helmsperson when you’re perfectly on the new tack and you’re watching the crew floundering around cranking slowly on the winch and the jib is still only half in. You’re probably yelling 'get it in get it in' and watching others pull past. What I’m doing here is putting a little responsibility back on you. With a slower turn, the crew can get the jib sheet almost all the way in by hand before the tension comes on.
This all made sense, but what was the third reason?
(3) The swirling water eddies left a signature in the water that could be picked up by submarine hunting satellites.
Unless you're on a VERY unusual sailing boat, or being chased by VERY sophisticated pirates, this third reason can probably be ignored.
The point is – when you’re the helms person, maintaining speed through the tacking maneuver is a balance between your boat’s momentum profile and your crew’s efficiency in getting that sheet in. It’s never about jamming the wheel over to the other side as fast as possible.
Just goes to show you that slow is faster. Ask the tortoise!
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