Winning with Markers
By Gordy Bowers
[This article first appreared in the October 1990 issue of the MC Newsletter]
Boat speed. With it, winning sailboat races is easy. Without it, winning is almost impossible.
One of the best kept secrets of sailing fast is the felt-tip marking pen. With it you can mark the main sheet, traveler, outhaul, board positions, and boom vang, in short anything that moves on your boat.
Many sailors do not use marks and numbers and are still successful because, as they are quick to point out, of their ability to see and feel the correct sail settings as the wind changes. But most of them are fast one day and not so fast the next.
One of the biggest gains any sailor can make is consistency of sail trim. Marks and numbers enable you to reproduce fast sail settings at every wind speed. They are also a great help to your confidence in close situations.
I use a three-band system to mark the main sheet. These marks should approximate the light, medium and heavy air trim positions. These bands are located anywhere from two to six inches apart, depending on the number of blocks on the sheet; more mechanical advantage results in longer distances between marks.
These marks can also be used to speed acceleration while starting or tacking. Most sailors are nervous starting or tacking to cover an opponent. Marks on the sheets and controls discipline you to use the settings you know are fast, based on successful practice sessions and races. Your traveler should be marked and numbered similarly.
Other movable lines and systems should be marked or numbered. The main outhaul, for example, can be marked with a simple series of lines on the boom one inch apart for easy reference. The boom vang can easily be marked using the three band system for light, medium and heavy tension. However, if they are double ended, i.e., you can cleat from both sides, you will have to rely on boom or mast bend to judge relative tension. You can however, use a pre-cleat system on the boat's port side to accurately set up for the most critical part of every race - the start. To do this, mark the port side of your double-ended vang, then use the three-mark system for the starboard side. This set-up will be wrong for port tack but at least you can go out of the starting blocks with confidence in your vang position.
(Ed. Note: You can also mark your leeboard lines for heavy air upwind, close reach, broad reach, and several downwind settings.)
Furthermore, if you need to change gears due to changes in wind strength or turbulence from other boats, your trim can be faster and more accurate.
Marks and numbers are the foundation of fast sailing. They are the first step in learning to feel a fast trim.
From these marks and numbers, you learn to "see" your sail shape better and estimate wind strength more accurately. For example, you can start in a 8-12 mph wind with the settings you know and be fast. If you discover, after the race starts, you are not fast, then the marks help you to modify your trim before the competition around you does.
The lesson is clear. Mark everything. Write down settings. Then slowly add visual images of sail shape and boat position to your sense of sound and feel and you will sail consistently fast on the race course.
Long identified with inland lake sailing, Gordy Bowers of Bowers Sails, Inc. has enjoyed a long and very successful sailing career. His many championships include five C-Scow, two E-Scow, MORC and DN titles. Also recognized for his teaching abilities, Bowers was selected as the Head Coach for the 1988 U.S. Olympic Yachting Team.