Sails are your engine, accelerator and brake all in one, so having them incorrectly set

is a bit like driving a car with an engine that’s badly tuned. Your main control ropes

are called sheets, and adjusting these control sheets in or out adjusts the sail setting.

You must constantly check and adjust your sails to keep them at the best angle relative

to the wind. This is when the sail is not flapping at any point.

In the case of a two hander, you should release both sails until they start to flap. When

you see this, pull them both back in a little until they stop flapping. This is the optimum

position for the sails on that particular course.

In the case of the single hander, simply look for the front part of the mainsail to stop

flapping.

As you alter your course you must repeat this exercise constantly to maintain a good and

even airflow across the sail. When you want to sail towards the wind, turn your boat onto

the close hauled position and find the edge of the no go zone. Pull the control sheet

so the boom is close to the centreline of the boat, and pull the jib in hard if you

are sailing a two hander.

When close hauled you steer the boat to find the point where the sail starts to flap. Push

the tiller slowly and gently towards the boom until the sail flaps, and then pull it away

from the boom until it stops flapping. So keep the tiller movements small, and keep

probing the edge of the no go zone in small amounts until you are confident that you are

on the edge of the no go zone.

If sailing a single hander, steer the boat to find the point where the front part of

the mainsail just stops flapping.

To help you here you might have tell tales. These are small strips normally made of wool,

and stuck to both sides of the sail, normally about six inches inside the front edge. You

should aim to keep the tell tales streaming evenly on both sides of the sail like this.

As you enter the no go zone the tell tale on your side of the sail will lift like this,

and as you turn away from the wind too far the outside tell tale will flap.

When you are close hauled or beating, this is the most likely sailing angle where you

might become overpowered. With the sails pulled in closer to the centreline of the boat there

is a large sideways force which will try to tip the boat over. To counter this, when the

gust hits ease the mainsheet a little. This will reduce the amount of power in the sail

which will reduce the tipping effect of the breeze.