LASERS SAIL IN LIGHT WIND.

This is a redo of the March 24, 2008 light wind.  Sailing is a little harder at the high wind side and the low wind side.  You need to work on both. So let us review the light air end.

There is some list monkey business that the blog guys put in.  Try to ignore it because I can't figure out how to edit it out.

 Get some good polarized sunglasses that help you see the ripples on the water.  
Stand up now and look around.  You can see the ripples better from standing.  Practice standing up and still sailing the boat fast and in good control.

Be careful in the middle of the course as the wind may be coming in from the sides.

Going upwind when it is really light reduce wetted surface (you are not making waves anymore) so move up on the centerboard or just behind the mast and heel the boat to leeward.  How far forward?  The rules day you can’t sail from in front of the mast, so someone was making it work from there.  You need to keep the boat moving, so maybe a little vang to keep the boom 10 or 12 inches from block to block and let the boom out past the transom and bear off to close reach and see if you can’t keep the boat moving.

Going downwind sail the hot angles by the lee or broad reach, not straight down wind.  Do your transitions from with plenty of heel to help you steer.  It may speed you up, but you  do it to steer.

On the run, when in doubt, heat it up by sailing higher.

Smooth turns.  Use less rudder.

Going downwind sit forward with lots of heel to windward to get the sail up higher where there is more wind...  If there is not enough wind to hold the sail out maybe you can sit further forward and hold the boom out.   When it is that light you can push the boom out past 90 degrees so when you heel gravity will hold it out.

So now when they say there is not enough wind to sail, go out and see if YOU can.

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