LASER --- STOP, STAY, AND GO.

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THE DINGHY START OR THE STOP , STAY AND GO.

To stop the boat, head up to "near head to wind", back the sail by pushing the boom out with the sheet hand and probably push hard.

Then ease up before the backed sail pushes you over to the other tack. Vang off (some disagreement about that - suit yourself), close hauled course and sail at full luff.

You may want to head off a little to close reach course still at full luff. Then the hole to leeward looks smaller.

If you start to backup, trim sail a little to hold position.

With five or six seconds left before the start, if you have space to leeward.
1) pull on some vang,
2) pump the tiller to get the bow down,
3) lean in to heel the boat,
4) trim in the sail
5) and pump the boat flat to get things started
6) with close reach
7) and then close hauled at speed.
8) Now sail fast till the start thing shakes out.

Do you think that thing takes practice. Maybe why the good guys seem to be the ones that sail the most.

While still before the start, you may be able to work to windward by backing the sail to port and sculling to leeward to keep the boat from tacking. (Not easy to do.)

Another way to work to windward before the start is a big back of the sail to tack to port and then hard with the tiller to tack back onto starboard.

If you are too close to the line, maybe to back the sail gently and go backwards, but everyone has the right of way over a boat backing up and it will be hard to get going forward again.

Come out and practice this stuff with us.
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