Photo by: John Shillabeer via Wikipedia – License
Sailing: How to tack
Tacking is when you perform a turn and flip the sails to the other side (tack) of the boat after approaching the wind head on. Tacking a sailboat requires the same approach whether the boat is small or large. Obviously, a small boat is usually easier to handle but the process is more or less the same regardless of the size of the boat. A rule to remember is: You tack when you are going upwind and you jibe when you are going downwind. Slight exceptions might occur in certain reaching angles where you could either tack or jibe depending on the situation. But no matter what, you’ll have to point the boat upwind to tack.
A rule to remember is: You tack when you are going upwind and you jibe when you are going downwind.
When approaching a tack, since you are sailing into the wind, your sails are sheeted in. This makes it so that when tacking, the sail movement is not as long and abrupt as it is when jibing. The sail’s clew will be close to the center line of the boat, just a little bit to either side. The sail’s boom will be on port side if the boat is on starboard tack and the sail’s boom will be on the starboard side if the boat is on port tack. In other words, the sail’s clew and boom are always on the opposite side of the boat’s actual tack. As you approach the point of tacking you will be approaching the point where the boat will be head-on into the wind. At this point you will continue to follow through into the turn until you pass that direct wind angle and point to the other side. The sails will then flip to the other tack. The trick is to maintain momentum so that the boat does not stall mid-way through the tacking procedure. You want a smooth continuous flow from one tack to the other. This is where the motions will vary from boat to boat. Some boats might require a more aggressive approach into the wind, while others can handle a smoother motion. Practicing in your current vessel will teach you which method works best for your boat based on the conditions.
When tacking a boat with a headsail (jib), tension on the jib is released to allow the sail to flip to the other tack. Then the jib is sheeted in again after the tack is performed. Right after tacking, small sails adjustment are usually necessary if you are aiming for maximum speed. Sheeting out marginally can help the boat pick up a little speed before sheeting back in and pointing higher into the wind can sometimes help. When going upwind most of the crew moves from the old windward side of the boat to the new windward side as the tack is performed. Those are the basics on how to perform a tack.
