Sail Toward More Pressure
Look up the course for dark, ruffled water and sail to it — more pressure means more speed in a slow Optimist, and a little distance traded for better breeze pays itself back.
Wind isn't even across the course: darker, ruffled patches of water carry more breeze, and in a slow boat like an Optimist more breeze is straight-up more boatspeed. The smart sailor keeps looking up the beat for that dark water and angles toward it, even if it costs a little distance now — the speed gain inside the gust more than pays the distance back. You can read pressure off other boats too: the ones heeling harder have found the wind. Pressure patches drift, so keep re-checking and keep steering toward the breeze all the way up the leg.
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
- Look up the course for dark, ruffled water and head to it, because more pressure means more speed in a slow opti.
- Watch how other boats heel to find the wind, because the ones leaning hardest are sitting in the breeze.
- Trade a little distance to reach better breeze, because the speed gain inside the gust pays the distance back.
- Re-check pressure constantly, because the windy patches drift and the best lane keeps moving.