Tacking in the lower range of light air can be a mess but like everything there is an easy way to do it but it involves a little work, especially if you have a crappy traveler. A good traveler like the ones made by my friends at Garhauer Marine make the job effortless. In the lower range of light air, I adjust the traveler BEFORE THE TACK, DURING THE TACK AND AFTER THE TACK. A lot of traveler trimmers will merely move the traveler to the new position. That will work but if you want to get the most efficiency out of your traveler you have to work at it a bit more. Because I've sailed so many times with the Catalina National skipper (Max Munger) I know what he is going to do. Just before the tack, he'll foot off just a bit for a few seconds to make sure he is at full speed - however fast that is and it sure ain't the land speed record. What I'm doing at this point is easing down the traveler a couple of inches. Why? The answer is I'm sacrificing pointing for speed because speed is everything in this situation. Once the boat is at full speed, the boat is turned into the tack and I start pulling the traveler to windward. What I'm trying to do is keep the mainsail as full as I can to maintain its drive. I'm trying to maintain the same angle of attack as the boat turns and I don't have a lot of time to play with because the sail is shortly going to luff. Why this important is that that the jib is going to luff first and lose its drive but by controlling the mainsail I can continue to drive the boat by keeping the sail as full as possable for as long as I can. Eventually, the mainsail luffs and the boat goes through the tack. I know where the traveler car was on the old tack so I merely move it to ALMOST that position on the other side of the track. Actually, I want the boom about 6" off the centerline of the boat. Why? Coming out of the tack I want to match the curve of the jib and if the car is too high i can't make the match. Hopefully, the jib trimmer is not madly cranking away on the jib sheet. He should crank gradually, so I can match what he is doing. Slow trimming is better for building boat speed. While the jib trimmer is setting the jib I'm matching him and soon I'll have the traveler car a bit above centerline with the boom centered. If you were following me in another boat, what would the sails look like? The jib would be just off the spreader and the leech of the jib and main would match. There would be a bit of twist but not a lot to help with air flow. The traveler car would be above the center line and the boom would be on about the centerline. Can't you just picture that beautiful setup!! More importantly, it is very functional. Any questions?
