OPTIMIST STRATEGYShifts & Pressure
Sail the Lifted Tack
Always be on the tack that points closest to the mark; the instant a shift takes that lift away, tack onto the new lifted tack.
On any beat one tack always points closer to the mark than the other — that's the lifted tack, and it's the shortest road upwind. Sail it until a shift flips the lift, then tack onto whichever tack now points higher. The red ghost shows the cost of staying on a header: angled away from the mark, it climbs sideways and makes almost no upwind ground. In flat junior conditions your eyes lie, so trust your compass numbers rather than the feel of the boat.
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
- Always ask 'which tack points closer to the mark?' and be on it, because that tack is the shortest route up the beat.
- Tack the moment your tack stops being lifted, because a gone lift is now a header that costs you distance.
- Use your numbers rather than your eyes, because in flat junior conditions eyeballs lie about which tack is lifted.
- Don't sail a header just to follow the fleet, because copying boats on the wrong tack only multiplies the loss.
shiftslifted tackheadedvmgshortest coursecompass