OPTIMIST STRATEGYDownwind Strategy
Gybe on the Shifts
Downwind, gybe every time the wind lifts you — the headed (deeper) gybe points most directly at the leeward mark, so you zig-zag tight on the rhumb line.
Running downwind reverses the upwind rule for the shifts. The gybe that feels headed is actually the deeper one, and it aims most directly at the leeward mark, so that is the gybe you want to be on. When the wind shifts and lifts you, the other gybe becomes the deep one — so you gybe to chase it. Played well, your track is a tight zig-zag straddling the rhumb line, while a boat that sails one long gybe sails extra distance and ends up wide and behind.
Opens the animation on the boat-length grid — run it well, then brief it from the same picture. Free, no account needed.
What to call out
- Sail the headed (deeper) gybe downwind — it's the opposite of upwind, and it points most directly at the mark.
- Gybe when the wind lifts you, because the other gybe has just become the deeper, faster one toward the mark.
- Use your telltales and wind indicator — the shifts are harder to feel downwind than they are upwind.
- Don't wait to gybe — every second on the wrong gybe sails extra distance away from the rhumb line.
downwindgybe on shiftsheaded gyberhumb linevmglifts reversed