Reply To: Upwind Sailing
Hi Andy and welcome to the OK fleet.
It is difficult to understand your issue without actually seeing what you are doing. However, some tips which may help below:-
Normal traveller setting is approximately half way between centerline and side deck. When you start to feel yourself getting overpowered let it of an inch at a time until you feel happier.
You do need some inhaul on. Generally when starting off you should aim to set the foot of your sail not to tight but not to loose i.e. with a little fullness. The flatter the foot of your sail the more you should point which is handy inland.
I personally rarely use kicker upwind, but use mainsheet to get the desired tension. Mainsheet tension is all important in an OK and I suspect from what you say that you may have been using to much. As the wind drops you need to ease your mainsheet tension a little, if not it will stall. You may not realise you are stalling apart from loosing ground on others. then if you get a little more breeze and feel your speed increasing just tweak a little more mainsheet on. These are small margins but try it and see if it makes a difference. It does take a little time to get used to an OK but once you have the knack you will find it more rewarding than many other classes.
Only if it is desperately light do you need to venture onto the foredeck. I think young Richard finds it more comfortable for his sizeable rear.
Also, not sure of the handicaps for Grads and Wayfarers, but I think that Wayfarers are quicker than OKs. We also shared an open meeting with the Grads a while back and in the light stuff they were slightly quicker than us.
Where do you sail Andy? Let us know how you get on?
Good luck
Mike
