Wide-Then-Tight Rounding
Round the leeward mark wide on entry and tight on exit, so you finish hugging the mark on the upwind rhumb line at speed — not swung out to leeward like the boat that cut in early.
The leeward rounding sets up your whole next beat, and how you carve the turn decides which lane you exit in. Enter wide — stay off the mark on the way in — then finish tight, hugging the mark as you straighten up onto the wind. That puts you right on the upwind rhumb line at full speed, with clear air and control of the lane above. The boat that cuts in tight early feels fast for a moment, but it has to swing wide on the exit and ends up out to leeward and behind, gassed by the boats that rounded properly. Start the turn early and keep it smooth: a last-second jerk of the tiller scrubs the speed an Optimist can only rebuild slowly.
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
- Enter wide and exit tight, because that leaves you on the rhumb line at speed instead of swung out to leeward.
- Start the turn early and smooth, because a last-second jerk scrubs speed that's hard to rebuild in an opti.
- Round close to the mark on the way out, because the boat that exits tight controls the lane above.
- Carry speed through the turn, because a botched rounding is slow to recover and lets boats roll over you.
Related guide
- What is mark-room? Rule 18 explained simply
Mark-room is the room an inside boat is owed to sail to and round a mark under rule 18. Learn the zone, who owes it, and the common reversals.