Take the Long Tack to the Side
Buried at mid-line? Clear your air, get onto the long tack, and head for the favoured side with conviction instead of fighting boat-to-boat around the middle.
When you come off the line buried in the middle of the fleet, scrapping boat-to-boat with everyone around you is a slow way to lose. The better plan is to clear your air, settle onto the long tack — the one that makes the most ground toward the windward mark on a skewed line — and commit to the favoured side. The long tack keeps your options open and points you where you actually want to go, while the pack burns itself out short-tacking around the middle. In a slow Optimist, progress in clean air on a clear plan beats grinding it out in traffic every time.
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
- Get onto the long tack quickly, because it makes the most ground toward the mark and keeps your options open.
- Head for the favoured side with conviction, because a clear plan beats fighting boat-to-boat from behind.
- Find clean air first, because progress made in dirty air is wasted in a slow opti.
- Don't chase the fleet around the middle, because milling with the pack just trades places without gaining on the leaders.