Tack on the Headers
In an oscillating breeze, tack the moment a header settles in so you're always sailing the lifted tack — the zig-zag stays glued to the rhumb line and you walk away from boats that hold one tack.
When the wind oscillates, every header is a free gain: tack onto the other tack and you instantly point closer to the mark on a lift. Sailing on through a header is the opposite — every second you stay headed is ground lost while the lifted boats climb past you. The trick is telling a real header from a momentary wiggle, which means knowing your average heading on each tack so you only tack when the shift actually sticks. Keep tacking on the headers all the way up the beat and the small gains stack into a big lead over a boat that holds one tack to a corner.
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
- Tack the moment a header settles in, because every second sailed headed is distance lost to the lifted boats.
- Know your average heading on each tack, because that's how you tell a real header from a passing wiggle.
- Stay patient on a lift, because tacking before it actually heads throws away the gain you just made.
- Keep doing it all the way up the beat, because the small per-shift gains stack into a big lead.