Sailing Techniques and Tuning for the Oz Goose and Lug Rigs

This is a summary of tuning and setup tips for the Oz Goose sailing dinghy and lug rigs that we have found so far. Setup and Tuning is how to configure your sail and foils. Sailing Technique is about how and where you move and interact physically with the boat.

This is a summary of the techniques in practice from racing our 100 Oz Goose sailing dinghies over the last 5 years. We are still well down on the learning curve with lots still to be learned.

Photo Below: If this happens upwind then you need to read the tiller handling and upwind segment of the lessons above. The crew in the orange boat is actually much lighter than the crew in the yellow boat.

Most recent breakthrough of upwind sailing speed for the lug rigged Oz Goose

This is an example of how quickly a new technique adds significant speed.

When the wind got strong we used to do a combination of sail easing and luffing (pointing the boat higher by pushing the tiller away in gusts). This limited our speed upwind to a bit over 4 knots even when hiking

By changing our method to no steering to luff, but only to ease the sail to keep the boat flat we now sail at around 5.2 to 5.4 knots upwind when wind is strong enough to hike out.

There are two additional results to the speed.

• The boat makes much less leeway
• The bow comes up higher of its own accord keeping it away from the waves. Photo below is heeling a bit much, but the height of the bow above the water is obvious.

Two other benefits are:

• It makes sailing upwind in strong winds much, much easier to teach – hike out and keep the boat flat with the sheet. No complicated and counterproductive steering techniques need to be learned.
• Almost no chance of capsizing to windward when the gust ends .. there is always mainsheet to be pulled in.

How do we learn this?

The best way is by practicing with a GPS. GPSs are not allowed during racing, but they can teach you the way the boat feels and sounds at different speeds. Sound changes in the goose from “bang bang” to “cush cush”. I put my phone in a waterproof bag shockcorded to the mast under the deck. I use an app called boatspeed which has large digits.

If the wind has the crew just sitting on the side of the boat then quickly get the boat to just over 4 knots and try to point as high as possible without losing that speed. If you tack or lose speed see how quickly you can get up to the target.

If the wind has the crew hiking out then the target becomes 5.2 to 5.2 knots. See how quickly you can get there after a tack or losing speed and then sail as high as you can but keep in that speed range. If not enough wind to hike out … then back to the 4+ knot range.

This is how we learn and improve our sailing.

1/ Where to sit, keeping the bow and stern from digging in

Method 1 – Start from the Standard Sitting Position

The starting point for crew position is close together and centred around the butt strap join in the bottom of the main cockpit area.

Here is a diagram, followed by a photo.

This may seem counterintuitive as most dinghies the crew sits in the middle area of the boat. But this point in the Goose is quite close to the deepest part of the hull, so most of the buoyancy is in this area.

Sitting in the right position means

• The ends won’t drag excessively through the wind range
• The boat will surf downwind. It is hard to surf waves if crew is behind the butt strap.

I must admit that in light and medium winds a couple of the European sailors of the Goose are sitting slightly forward of this position (maybe 1ft/300mm) when sailing solo.and sailing the boat very very flat. And they are not going slow – so we see what happens over time.

Method 2 – Keeping the speed up

When the goose goes faster, the stern sucks down. This is because of the high curvatures in the back of the boat and the bow comes up. This is part of the reason that the large flat bow is less of an encumberance than most expect. Hits less waves.

Sail fast and the bow doesn’t hit the waves. Particularly in stronger winds when sailing with boatspeed in the 5+ knot band.

The Final Option when the above two are achieved – move back a little

When racing my goose there is sometime a little bit of spray from the leeward side of the bow as it clips a wave.

This image from a video taken in a big squall shows the bow quite high, the crew is still fairly well forward (note the knee visible near the centrecase) and the spray at the leeward side of the bow is circled.

If speed is right and crew is over the butt strap and I get a little bit of spray like this two or three times a minute … then I think that is OK.

If the spray is happening more than that or with every wave then do move back. Move about 100mm back (4″) then get speed back and see if the spray goes down to two or three times a minute.

Be aware that one tack might have more spray than the other, which means different sitting positions each tack.

I will cover the two different ways of steering through waves in the strong wind sailing section below.

Upwind Sailing – Sail Tuning and Setup for lugsail

In general we have some basic Oz Goose setup for almost all wind strengths. They also apply if the sail is reefed or not.

Halyard position on the yard

The halyard loops around the yard go about halfway up the yard. They are red in the middle of the yard in this photo. If they are unfamiliar please refer to the rigging guide here.

The only real variation I use is if the wind is extremely light (glassy patches on the water). I may slide the halyard loops down the yard. So when the sail is hoisted it goes up a bit higher to the stronger wind stream 5 metres (15ft) above the water surface. But in all other conditions, or when more wind is expected – I keep it close to the middle of the yard.

Downhaul position on boom

The downhaul has crept forward a bit in recent years. Now we set up the downhaul 220mm 8.5″ or conveniently close to my hand span) behind the tack (front bottom corner of the sail).

The downhaul acts as both a downhaul and a vang/kicker. It works as a vang/kicker because it IS NOT AT THE FRONT OF THE SAIL. Because it is behind the front of the sail the high tension of the downhaul is split between the luff and the leach of the sail. Move the downhaul to the front and you lose all the vanging power.

If the downhaul slides around, check the knots and setup in the rigging guide. For additional security add some gaffer tape in the downhaul area on the boom which the downhaul can bed into.

The preventer, or joke name is the bleater, (blue line below – rigging guide again) is used to stop the boom from moving backwards and forwards. It only needs a light tension to prevent this. As opposed to the downhaul which often needs quite vicious tension.

The “BAD Crease”

if you have this diagonal crease in a lugsail then the downhaul needs to be tighter. Sometimes it will appear when the mainsheet tension goes up.

See this article – “What is that crease in my lugsail – diagnosis and fix“

Outhaul setting for Lugsail sail depth

The sail is not set flat along the bottom for the Oz Goose. It is set with a reasonable depth.

Without sufficient depth the boat may have some lee helm.

The sail depth in the bottom gives you power when the top of the sail is twisted and fully luffing/depowered in a gust. The power low down helps push the boat upwind through the waves without making the boat heel too much.

It is Ok to set it with a bit less depth in extremely light winds (some glassy water visible) and for extremely strong winds if the boat feels out of control (assuming the correct sailing techniques are being used to keep the boat flat).

In two boat testing (thanks Ashley) we found that boats being sailed solo benefit from flattening the foot earlier that two person boats. Don’t flatten it completely if the waves are big – leave a small curve.

Tuning and Technique for

Sailing the Oz Goose in light winds

By light winds I mean when the water is partially glassy and it is difficult to gain speed.

Boat Setup and Tuning

Only special Oz Goose setup is that the halyard loops mentioned above could be slid down the yard so the sail goes higher up the mast. When some of the water is glassy there is a very light wind at about 15 or 16ft (5metres) above the water surface. So moving the sail up might help.

Outhaul can be flattened out a bit to about half the normal curvature. The wind doesn’t have enough energy to go round deep curves. This setting changes dramatically as soon as speed becomes reliable and it is back to the standard curve in the bottom of the sail. So have to be sure the wind is not going to increase if flattening the foot.

Boat Heel to give the sail some stability

Standard dingy racing trick when the water is glassy is to heel the boat. However, when speed becomes reliable the boat should be sailed pretty flat.

• Heel allows gravity to pull the sail over to one side so it doesn’t flap around and is ready to catch any wind
• Heel reduces the amount of the hull in the water
• Sail very eased, but can be gradually pulled in as speed increases.

However, because the side of the Oz Goose doesn’t have much of a curve the bow and stern transoms dig in. Can see the erduction of wetted surface and that the corner dig in. As soon as the boat is moving reliably it should be sailed flatter than this. Yellow boat crew is sitting a bit far back. Sometimes the helmsperson can look along the leeward side of the boat at the low side of the bow. Then move backwards and forwards to make sure it does not dig in.

There is a difference of opinion in the fleet. In very very light wind Commodore Peter Capotosto heels the boat around 20 degrees and goes very well. This is when the boat only has enough wind to move very slowly. When he has reliable speed he starts sailing pretty flat. The corners digging in don’t seem to slow him up much when there is only enough speed to make tiny ripples at the bow.

Most of the rest of us won’t heel as much as he does but more like the boats in the photo above. But

Downwind Technique Settings for the Oz Goose in Light Wind

Trimming the sails continuously is highly important. Watch out for any gusts and get over to them if you can. Downwind the centreboard can come up about half way. Keep heel until you get speed then bring the boat upright.

UPWIND Medium and Strong winds in the Oz Goose

Boat Setup and Tuning – Downhaul

We have already talked about the “bad crease” that shows there is not enough downhaul. The bad crease goes from throat (bottom of yard) to the clew (back bottom sail corner. Experts will understand that it is the same as an overbend crease in a bermudan rigged boat.

Sometimes to prevent the bad crease from appearing the opposite crease has to be set up on the beach before going out. This is the good crease on the boat closer to the camera. When the mainsheet is tensioned it disappears.

The bad crease is related to maximum mainsheet tension and downhaul. If at max mainsheet you get that crease then the downhaul needs to be tighter. Remember that the class rules do not allow adjustment of the downhaul or outhaul during races shorter than an hour to keep the Oz Goose cheap for sailors around the world. You can adjust before or between races.

I usually go out 15 minutes before the race and sail upwind a bit. If the “bad crease” appears when I have maximum mainsheet tension. I mean the maximum mainsheet tension for the conditions – too much mainsheet tension will stall the boat. So don’t overdo it – the boat should feel good. If the bad crease appears then I push the tiller to leeward, sit on the foredeck. Udo the knots and tighten the downhaul. Then I sail a bit and see if it looks right

Boat Setup and Tuning – Outhaul

This assumes enough wind for reliable speed. We don’t want the shallow curve in the foot of the light wind setting.

After the downhaul is set it is time to get the outhaul right. The downhaul and mainsheet set the sail shape in the top half of the sail.

If your downhaul is not adjustable check photos of Oz Geese going fast to set the normal sail depth when rigging. Don’t fret too much – as long as you have some depth in the bottom of the sail it will go fine. Or you can copy someone who has an adjustable downhaul – see what their sail looks like in the morning races.

To finess…

I have telltales at the deepest point of my sail about 1/4 of the way up from the boom and halfway between luff and leach. If the top of the sail is working nicely (correct mainsheet tension for the wind velocity)

but the leeward telltale near the foot is stalling then the bottom of the sail needs more depth. I ease the outhaul until that telltale flies most of the time. Don’t overdo it – stop easing when it blows backwards smoothly 80% or more of the time.

Technique – The Myth of the Lug Sail having a “good side” and a “bad side”. And how to make good on either tack

I suspect the myth about the “crease from the mast” having a bad effect is from people who have never sailed a variety of lug rigged boats.

On the Goose it is the complete opposite. And it is not a speed or pointing difference – but a very different “feel” when the boat is sailed upwind.

With the sail to windward of the mast, there is a crease, but boatspeed is really easy to find. The boat has a wide “groove” – you can sail high or low and the boatspeed will still be good – very tolerant sail. Acceleration after a tack is instant.

With the sail to leeward of the mast the feeling is vague. It is harder to get speed and the boat might have to be sailed quite low to reach target speed before pointing.

This is actually the secret of going fast on the “bad tack”. Make sure you get the same feeling of good speed before trying to point high. Then once the speed is found start increasing the mainsheet tension and point higher WITHOUT LOSING THE SPEED. If you lose speed then the sail has to be eased a surprising amount to get it back and then be wound in again when the speed is back.

We have found between sailors of equal ability in boats with mainsails on opposite sides of the mast that speed and pointing is identical when they sail alongside each other for extended distances. Whoever hikes harder and trims sail the best will end up ahead.

Below two of the top sailors in our large Oz Goose fleet at the Nationals. Both have won the National Championships – one is left rigged and one is right rigged with no difference in speed. Because both sailors are hitting targets before trying to point high. The boat with the mast to windward ended up ahead at the end of this leg despite being on the more tricky tack to get speed on.

Sailing Technique – Upwind Target Speeds and practice with a GPS

These are conditions when there is enough wind

It is important to hit the right target speeds for the Oz Goose. I recommend practicing with a GPS. Not allowed during racing, but can quickly identify the sounds and feel for the correct speed range with a few 20 minute practice sessions.

I use a phone app which gives a large display and bungie the phone and case to the mast under the deck.

El Cheapo heads up display!

This one is free for Android. There are iPhone apps that are similar.

Not legal for racing, but excellent for practice

If you luff in gusts you will definitely average very poor angles in stronger winds. The advice to luff in gusts is old and bad advice. These days we sail straight and purely control the sail sheet to keep the boat flat. For the modern correct advice for most dinghies read this article.

When just sitting on the side without any hard hiking out you should be hitting around 4.1 to 4.4 knots upwind before trying to point high … and then retain that speed while pointing as high as possible. It is a balancing act.

When the wind is strong enough to hike out the number you should see before pointing high should be low 5 knot range. 5.2 5.3 5.4

Remember that if looking at tracks of actual course from a GPS that leeway is included. Pointing angle is likely to be 5 degrees better as pointing angle and course made good are different. Leeway is typically around the 4 to 6 degree range depending on waves. But can be up to 10 in gusts if sailing below the upwind target speeds above.

Or if you haven’t worked out where the boom should be on average or are not easing the sail to keep flat in gusts the leeway will also be considerably more.

Technique sailing in Waves Upwind – when sailing singlehanded (one person in boat)

Now you are sitting in the right place and can hit the target speeds the biggest upwind speed limitation is hitting waves. Sitting in the right place and hitting target speeds means the bow will only clip a wave and make spray two or three times a minute. You can move back 100mm (4″) if the splashing happens more often. But moving too far back drags the stern and reduces speed. Read the section above on “where to sit”.

Even in crazy wind I have never ever found it necessary to sit behind the traveller. If you have to do this then you are not sailing at target speeds.

Be aware that one tack might not be directly into the waves so much. So move forward toward the normal sailing position on that tack.

Single handed in stronger winds you need to be sensitive to waves. Scan ahead of the boat as if you are driving on a rough road. If you can steer a little bit to avoid the worst waves then do so.

The Oz Goose is very balanced with neither weather helm or lee helm so it only takes small steering effort to steer around a bad set of waves. Look ahead 15 to 20 ft (5 metres) ahead of the boat if you can. It is not worth slowing the boat to go above them. But sometimes in strong wind you can sail a bit higher and pull in a little bit extra mainsheet for a few seconds. Remember to go back to normal mode after.

If you can’t avoid a wave then ease the sail slightly and hike hard in advance. As the boat goes off the top do a small but sharp bearaway – pull the tiller towards you for a tiny fraction of a second so the boat doesn’t launch into the air and crash down. It will follow the surface of the water. It takes practice to get this right – look at Laser world championships on youtube as they have cameras on the bows of the boats. Makes it easier to see that the bearaway angle is really small).

If you see a smooth patch ahead you can really take advantage. Hike really hard, point as high as you can without losing the target speed. Then when the smooth is over go back to your normal strong wind upwind mode.

Technique Sailing in Waves UPWIND – when sailing two handed (two people in the boat

Waves are less of a concern when the wind is strong and two people are hiking. The boat will smash the waves out of the way and the boatspeed will be consistently in the 5.2 to 5.5 knot range so the bow will be well up even with the crew over the butt strap.

Still stay aware of bigger sets of waves. And if you see them it is just the same as sailing singlehanded, bear away a little and hike hard not letting the boat heel much. Do the same little bearaway as in the above section and hike hard after to get speed up again quickly

Very experienced crews may be able to plane the boat upwind by sailing really flat and hiking super hard. Make sure you don’t drift too low in the groove as your distance sailed will increase too much. I would be guessing, but I think speed would be in the 6.5 to 7.5 knot range with little or no loss in pointing.

Technique – WAVES UPWIND looking for smoother water

Sometimes a race course will have one side where the water is a bit flatter. The Taal Lake course during Amihan (NE monsoon) is like that as the wind is aligned with the edge of the lake, but usually just slightly offshore, giving smoother water on the left side of the course. The wind is equal with the rest of the course if you don’t go too close to shore.

All things being equal keep more towards the smoother side of the course. A hint about the “rule of averages” – you don’t have to be in the perfect place all the time, just more towards the perfect place than your competitors. So there is no need to do short tacks just to stay in the smooth water. Being there a bit more on average than other boats near you is worthwhile.

Technique and Tuning the Oz Goose sailboat – Reefing the lug sail in strong winds

This is a bit new for the Taal fleet of Oz Geese. So we are early on the learning curve. The below is what we have observed.

VERY IMPORTANT – don’t pull the bottom of the sail tight when it is reefed. You need decent depth low down to give you power when the top of the sail is eased and flapping.

Reefing UPDATE – 2022 Nationals

Sailed in Albay with big waves and a lot of wind the crossover windspeed for me seemed to be around 17 or 18 knots when sailing solo.

Close to that limit and under I could hold reasonably close to the leaders upwind but had sufficient extra speed downwind to challenge them if sailing hard downwind rather than just sitting down and pointing at the mark.

Over that limit I was too slow upwind to make up the difference – so it was worthwhile reefing.

I set up a method of reefing that allowed me to reef or unreef between races. Made with what I had.

It was a rope loop on the front of the reef that would just slip over the end of the boom without being loose.

At the back was a loop with two tails. The loop was put throught the original clew eye and pulled tight and tied off with two half hitches. The two tails were tied below the boom to keep the new corner of the sail close to the boom.

As I said, I used what I had. Using a caribiner or a snap hook to attach the clew would probably be better.

I don’t bother tying in the intermediate reef points. If you do they need to be tied under the sail. Not under the boom on loose footed sails.

The point where an experienced singlehanded sailor tops out with full sail and starts being really slow is around 22 knots of breeze.

The point where a two handed crew (one crewperson experienced) top out is probably above 22 to 25kn of wind with full sail.

Putting in a reef is an effective way of extending the wind range the sailor’s can handle.

We have found that in 18knots of wind a singlehanded sailor with a reef in that the Oz Goose becomes much faster upwind – pointing higher and footing slightly faster than an unreefed single handed boat.

Downwind in those breezes the full sail singlehanded boat with a very experienced sailor will probably be able to just catch up on a windward/leeward course.

With two less experienced sailors aboard I would probably make the call for a reef at over 18 knots to make the boat easier to handle and more fun for those aboard.

DOWNWIND in medium and strong winds in the Oz Goose

Boat setup and tuning – Downhaul and outhaul

Downhaul and outhaul are not allowed to be adjusted during races intended to be less than an hour long. This is to ensure that sailors with less money to equip their boats are on an equal playing field.

If you spent time getting downhaul right relative to the maximum mainsheet tension that is normal for the wind strength then the sail should look OK downwind. If too much downhaul was dialed in the “good crease” may appear and flatten the sail excessively. Bad luck, adjust it after the finish before the next race starts.

Technique – Reaching Legs

Do not move back for the reach. Go around the top mark without slacking off your hiking and hook into the first wave going your way. Staying out hiking will give you a speed boost. Don’t let the bow stick into the wave in front. But go across the wave like a surfboard rider to keep the bow just behind the wave in front.

Reaching legs are a matter of sailing for balance. Steer to keep the boat under the mast under the mast while hiking as much as possible. For a fuller explanation see this article on sailing reaches in gusts.

If there are planing or surfing conditions leave the centreboard almost all the way down. If it is down already I don’t bother moving forward which can lose me speed.

If planing or surfing conditions stay near the buttstrap unless the bow is digging in at speed. If you go too far back the boat will not catch waves and will be slow to plane. When planing the bow comes up so I lean my upper body forward. Dropping off the plane I lean my upper body back if needed.

Crew is usually best crouching just in front of the buttstrap keeping the boat flat ready to put their weight on the gunwale in gusts or hiking flat out as needed.

Technique – Crew Position downwind

This is aimed more at newer sailors.

If the crew crouches in the middle of the cockpit when the wind gets strong the boat will roll and feel more unstable.

To make the boat stable one crew, usually the person steering, should sit on the sidedeck on the opposite side to the boom. Then the other crew member sit or crouch wherever needed to keep the boat flat or heeling a little to windward.

Technique – Downwind sailing by the lee

Many books talk about “sailing by the lee” as being in the danger zone. No … it is a practice zone. Learn about it by practicing in lighter winds so you come proficient sailing by the lee.

Being comfortable sailing by the lee

• Allows you to steer left or right to get to wind gusts coming up from behind – you should scan behind every 20 seconds to see if there is gust you can move over to catch.
• Allows you to steer left or right when you are about to start surfing a wave to go to the steepest portion of the wave to initiate the surf
• Allows you to steer left or right after catching the wave to stop the bow of the boat sticking into the wave in front and slowing down – which it will if you catch the wave and go straight – think like a surfer and find the right angle across the wave
• Allows you to steer left or right to avoid following boats blocking the wind with their sails so you slow down.
• D/ All of the above at once
• Bonus/ Sailing confidently by the lee allows you to decide if you want the boat to gybe gently or gybe fast – more by the lee before the gybe means the mainsail is depowered after the gybe.

In addition sailing by the lee allows you to actively control the heel of the boat using the mainsheet. Move the “figure of 8 stopper knot” on the mainsail to allow the boom to go forward beyond 90 degrees to open up this option (Experienced sailors only or intermediate in moderate winds). Ignore the smaller mizzen sail – it’s got little to say in this example!

There is also the fun racing experience of sailing strongly by the lee and seeing a less experienced crew behind you try to follow just to go into a panicky unexpected gybe.

If you observe the sail carefully when steering progressively towards a by the lee angle there are three telltale signs that you are getting close to the gybe. This is the place you want to be comfortable if you really want to master downwind sailing

• The sail starts developing more power – instead of the wind being simply blocked by the sail. Now the wind is moving smoothly over the sail in the reverse of the normal direction. The leach becomes the leading edge and the wind blows towards the luff. A nice place to get more power.
• This reversal means if you steer to far towards the gybe the leach starts curling inwards. If you dont’ want to gybe steer back the other way
• Sometimes you can feel this reversal as the wind on your face suddenly comes from the opposite direction … or a different direction. Just before the boom becomes unstable.

Click to see our notes on “Safe Gybe” vs “Fast Gybe” and how sailing by the lee gives you the choice.

It contains a clear version of the diagram right

Technique – Staying in Gusts Downwind

Many sailors get around the top mark and then point the boat at the leeward mark or finish and relax.

Of course it is Ok to do that.

But if you want to dance downwind like Fred Astaire then this is the chance. Practice working on your wave techique is a huge benefit, but before that you have to be able to get into the best wind.

When sailing downwind … the wind is always coming from behind. So you have to look there. Now you have practiced sailing by the lee you can move over to the left or right to make sure you are in the core of the gust. Sometimes the gust is to the left or right of where you are now. Go there particularly if the gust is looking dark and strong on the water.

Boat Setup and Tuning – Surfing downwind in the Oz Goose

Not all surfing is as dramatic as the image below. But every two seconds you can stay on a wave when your competitors can’t means you pull a boatlength further ahead.

If the waves are too small to surf or there is not enough wind to catch them after trying a bit then pull up the centreboard so the boom will clear it during a manouevre.

If there is any chance of catching waves then definitely have the centreboard almost all the way down.

If there is any chance of catching waves you must be no further back than the butt strap on the bottom.

Technique – Surfing downwind in the Oz Goose

As above, centreboard almost all the way down or all the way down. Crew no further back than the butt strap.

Less experienced sailors should have the “figure 8 stopper knot in the mainsheet limiting the angle of the boom to around 80 degrees to the centreline. Experienced crews can increase this to 110 degrees.

Generally I like to sit on the windward side with a bit of windward heel. That way I can look along the side of the boat at the bottom corner/edge of the bow and see how close it is to the wave tops. If I can see this I can steer to stop that from hitting the water by a combination of speed and steering.

If the boat heels too windward in a gust pull in a metre of mainsheet quickly. Ease it again when possible.

The balancing act for downwind surfing is the same as any other sailing dinghy.

1. Want to go in the same direction as the wave on the steepest part of the wave to catch the wave and initiate the surf. Boat will not surf with the crew much behind the butt strap – so standard crew position.
2. Then when surfing steer across the wave (left or right to steepest part – now you are comfortable sailing by the lee) and to prevent the bow from sticking into the back of the wave in front. This is often called turning up or down.

Examples

And after the explanation … seeing what it looks like on something blunt. Also the results if the down or up turn is not made when going faster than the waves.

The biggest mistake is to keep moving back without moving forward again … or forgetting to steer so the bow doesn’t hit the wave in front.

Pushing harder …

Sailing the Oz Goose sailing dinghy fast, a summary and an example.

The original marketing for the International (Laser) ILCA dinghy was as a fun boat for worry free sailing.

It has turned into a boat that sails well above its expected performance. As a 50 year old boat is still competitive with the best modern production dinghies despite their cooler sails, lighter hulls and carbon spars.

If I look at how the Laser was being sailed when it first appeared it is completely differently to how it is sailed now.

What has made Laser sailing great (and a great guide) is the intense development of sailing techniques. Many of the techniques for tacking, gybing, going faster in waves upwind and down have been developed in this simple and, originally, pretty humble boat.

We are really just at the beginning of working out how to sail an Oz Goose the best way. We can all work like the Laser sailors and improve and share information so we all improve together.

Three years ago we were pretty satisified sailing upwind in strong winds at 4 knots. And sitting way back in the boat. Now we are 25% faster. And more when we take into account the large reduction in leeway with the changes in steering technique covered above.

That is the purpose of this document. To share what seems to work now, but to assume we will find better ways. If you do find better ways then please share. But remember that they aren’t worth much unless tested in racing against other geese … and the real proof is if someone else starts using the same idea and ends up ahead as well.

I’ll leave you with this photo.

It is just after the start of the race where I changed my technique – taken from the start boat. I stopped luffing the boat in gusts and started sailing straight keeping the boat flat with the sheet only. That is me on the right of the photo. The second boat is Paul, a new sailor at that time, who I explained what I was going to do and he copied me. We have both ended up well ahead and to windward of the other Geese. The Green boat is normally pretty close in speed to me and normally much faster than Paul

Of course the others have copied us since, just as our change in technique was to copy others – in this case Laser sailors. Progress for one is progress for all.

And the great thing is this makes teaching beginners to sail upwind in gusty conditions a much simpler process. Fast and much safer than luffing in gusts.

Everyone wins!