position. Here, the sail flaps with the boom well clear over the side and the boat will

almost stop. To get to this situation, first position the boat somewhere between a beam

reach and a close reach point of sailing, then release the mainsheet so that the sail

flaps and half raise the centreboard. The boat should almost stop. Maintain a good look

out and adjust the tiller to maintain a steady position relative to the wind. To slow you

even further you can also release the kicking strap. To get out of the lying to position

simply lower the centreboard, pull in the mainsheet and off you go.

Whilst tacking across the wind you may straighten the rudder too soon. Here you will be stuck

in the no go zone with the bow of the boat pointing head to wind. This is called being

stuck in irons. If this happens don’t worry. You need to force the bow of the boat to one

side of the no go zone or the other. To achieve this, push the mainsail out by hand as far

as you can with the boom, this will force the wind to hit the back of the sail which

will introduce drive and start to push you backwards. To turn the bow away from the wind

you then need to push the tiller towards the boom.

Once the boat has travelled about 90 degrees you can then release the boom, straighten

the tiller and then quickly pull in the mainsheet and sail away. In short it is a push on the

boom and a push on the tiller and then pull a on the mainsheet and a pull on the tiller.

If you sail in windier conditions everything is the same but events happen considerably

faster. You will notice that the boat will turn faster, the sail flaps louder, and the

boom travels across the boat faster. You should consider reefing the mainsail on windy days,

this reduces the amount of sail area and takes some of the power away. Watch our Rigging

and Reefing video to see how reefing

is done.