B. Kotcher wrote:
I started sailing by taking lessons in a dinghy in a local lake. Then I regularly rented dinghys there. One time I was out with a girl and she said, "sailing is hard work, huh," and I realized that it was--I was having to release the sail every few seconds to keep us from going over with each gust, then pull the sail back in a few seconds later. It was getting to be more work than fun.
Then, from reading in this forum, I learned how people "pinch" in such situations...that is, steer the boat slightly into the wind when this happens. From a physics standpoint, this seems counterintuitive, since it will make it easier for your boat's momentum to carry it all the way over. But this is more than made up for by the reduction in force on the sail, caused by it having a shallower angle to the wind. I tried doing this and it was magical...I sort of became one with the boat, easing the boat smoothly into a mild turn whenever it listed heavily, then easing it back as the boat began leveling out, in synchronization. If I did it right, I could keep the boat's list pretty constant this way. In a little while, it became instinctive. I then needed to release the sail in severe gusts only, meaning once every hour or two instead of three times a minute. Now that I've gotten my Bravo, I do the same thing with that...fun!
--Bob
thanks man1
that's exactly what I learned yesterday
I could control most of the leaning by hiking in and out but when I got really overpowered I just turned slightly into the wind then back out
I was over correcting in a big way but after a while I could anticipate it and just a little would keep me balanced
thanks again!