Tacking without rudder - maneuver

Hello everyone!

This post is about maneuvers and the synchronized movement of the boat and skipper. The video linked here shows 12-year-old Balázs Gyapjas in 2007 during a season-opening training camp, practicing a maneuver we learned from the Italians a few years earlier. In the video, Balázs completes only seven tacks—and if it’s a game, the minimum challenge is to do one more than he did!

Video link: Watch here

Every time I show this as an example, there’s always a mix of amazement and dismissal— “Looks easy!”... but it’s not always that simple! :) So give it a go!

This exercise is excellent for testing the coordination of eye-hand-foot movements, body motion, boat balance, and mainsheet control. In other words, it evaluates how well the sailor can control the boat and how automatic their movements have become.

When discussing advanced maneuvers and boat-handling techniques, I always start by asking competitors what they think is the primary control mechanism on an Optimist. Nine out of ten respond with "the rudder." The remaining one often leads the race, replying, “The skipper’s body weight,” with the rudder just assisting.

And indeed, as a sailor’s body weight approaches that of a fully rigged Optimist, they can exert more influence over the boat, allowing them to tilt and lead it sharply, among other things. This creates an interesting challenge for coaches. Early on, we teach beginners (sometimes for years) to push or pull the rudder. But gradually, that movement must become more refined, requiring smaller rudder adjustments—until, in the end, the sailor has to “unlearn” this now-automated technique to advance to the next level of boat handling.

Thinking about it, the entire process of teaching sailing is about continuously improving the basic, partly automated boat-handling skills learned initially. This is inevitable, as we can’t expect the same level of physical and mental capability from an 8-9-year-old as from a 14-15-year-old. The challenge is recognizing when it’s time to transition.

Back to the rudder… as sailors get older, the more they rely on the rudder for steering rather than using their body weight, the more they slow down and lose speed.

The key to the exercise in the video is feeling the balance point—pulling the boat toward you without falling into the water, while keeping the boat at an angle to make a tilted tack. When you switch to the other side, you need to “scoop” with the sail to gain momentum. Of course, this needs to be paired with proper hiking and sheet-handling techniques.

If these components are well-practiced:

• Sheeting
• Hiking
• Body movement; all automatic and in place, then the exercise becomes a piece of cake, and the following maneuvers can be developed from these basics:
• rolltack
• Gybing
• 360° penalty turn
• 720° penalty turn

Summary: During training camps, especially when other clubs or even international competitors are around, it’s worth looking around to observe what others are practicing and consider why they’re doing it. This can be a valuable learning experience!