Why Small Adjustments Often Beat Big Ones
The fastest sail adjustment may be only two centimetres
One of the easiest habits to develop when learning to sail is to think of sail trim as a series of fairly large decisions.
Pull the mainsheet in.
Ease it out.
Pull the jib tighter.
Let it off.
Then leave everything alone until something obviously changes.
But watch an experienced sailor closely and you may notice something quite different.
Their hands are rarely completely inactive.
The mainsheet may move only a few centimetres. The jib sheet may be eased almost imperceptibly. The helm moves through tiny angles rather than sweeping dramatically from side to side. Body weight shifts slightly before the boat heels rather than significantly afterwards.
Nothing looks spectacular.
Yet all those tiny corrections add up.
Good sailors do not simply trim the sails. They trim them continuously.
And sometimes the adjustment that makes the boat faster really is only two centimetres.
Sailing Is Happening in a Constantly Changing Environment
It is tempting to imagine that if the wind is blowing at 10 knots from the west, we can set the sails correctly and then forget about them.
Unfortunately, the wind does not cooperate.
Even on what appears to be a steady day, the boat is continually experiencing small changes in:
wind speed;
wind direction;
waves;
boat speed;
apparent wind;
heel;
crew position;
course.
On an inland river such as the Thames, those changes can be particularly noticeable.
Trees, buildings, bends in the river and surrounding terrain disturb the airflow. One moment the boat may be sailing in reasonable pressure; a few seconds later it reaches a softer patch. Then a gust arrives from a slightly different direction.
The theoretically perfect sail position from ten seconds ago may no longer be the perfect position now.
That does not necessarily mean moving the sheet half a metre.
Often it means moving it just enough.
The Problem with the "Set It and Forget It" Approach
Imagine sailing close-hauled with the jib apparently set correctly.
The tell-tales are streaming nicely.
You therefore decide that the sail is "right".
Thirty seconds later the wind increases slightly.
The boat accelerates.
Its apparent wind changes.
Perhaps the boat also heels a little more.
The jib that was correctly trimmed may now need a tiny adjustment.
If you do nothing, the difference may not be dramatic enough to make the sail flap.
That is precisely why the problem is easy to miss.
A badly trimmed sail tells you immediately.
It flaps.
A slightly badly trimmed sail can remain beautifully full while quietly costing you speed.
That is much more dangerous from a performance point of view.
Two Centimetres Can Matter
Consider the sheet running through a block.
Moving your hand only two centimetres may alter the leech tension slightly.
That changes the twist in the sail.
That changes the angle at which different parts of the sail meet the airflow.
The effect may be subtle, but sailing quickly is often about accumulating subtle advantages.
Two centimetres here.
A tiny steering correction there.
A slight shift of body weight.
Another small ease of the sheet as the gust arrives.
None individually transforms the boat.
Together they can make the boat feel completely different.
This is one reason experienced sailors sometimes appear to be doing remarkably little.
They are not inactive.
They are simply making their corrections early enough and small enough that you hardly notice them.
Think of Trim as Continuous Rather Than Fixed
A useful change in thinking is to stop asking:
"Is my sail trimmed correctly?"
Instead ask:
"Is my sail trimmed correctly now?"
That final word changes everything.
Sail trim is not a setting.
It is a process.
The same applies to steering and balance.
You should not necessarily be making frantic adjustments every second. Over-control is almost as bad as no control.
The objective is to develop a continuous feedback loop:
Look - feel - adjust - observe.
Then repeat it.
Look
Look at the clues around you.
For example:
What are the tell-tales doing?
Is the leeward tell-tale beginning to lift?
Has the windward tell-tale started to flicker?
Is the leech opening too far?
Is a gust approaching?
Has the boat started to heel?
Has another boat nearby suddenly accelerated?
Has the water ahead become darker?
Are you entering a sheltered patch near the bank?
The clues often appear before the boat noticeably slows.
Feel
The boat also communicates through feel.
You may notice:
increasing pressure in the tiller;
reduced pressure in the sheet;
increasing heel;
the boat accelerating;
the boat beginning to feel sluggish;
the rudder needing more effort;
the crew suddenly needing to hike harder.
These are not isolated sensations.
They are information.
As I discussed in my article about feeling the helm, the tiller itself can act almost like a diagnostic instrument.
The sheets do something similar.
The load on the sheet tells you a great deal about what the sails are experiencing.
Adjust
Now make the smallest useful correction.
That might mean:
easing 2 cm of mainsheet;
trimming 3 cm of jib;
moving your weight slightly;
bearing away by a degree or two;
heading up very slightly;
allowing the boat to accelerate before trimming again.
Then observe what happened.
Did the boat accelerate?
Did the heel reduce?
Did the tell-tales stabilise?
Did the helm become lighter?
If so, you have learned something.
The Sheet Is Not an On-Off Control
Beginners often treat sheets rather like switches.
IN
or
OUT
But a sheet is really a continuously variable control.
Think about the accelerator pedal in a car.
We do not normally drive by pressing the accelerator to the floor, then taking our foot completely off, then pressing it fully again.
We make tiny adjustments.
A sailor should begin to develop the same relationship with the sheets.
You may pull the jib in slightly as the boat accelerates.
Then ease it a fraction as the pressure increases.
Then trim again as the gust passes.
The movement might be hardly visible.
But the sail is being continually matched to the conditions.
A Practical Example: Sailing Into a Gust
Imagine we are sailing close-hauled.
Ahead of us is a darker patch on the water.
We have already recognised it as a gust.
A less experienced crew may wait until the gust hits.
The boat suddenly heels.
The helm becomes heavy.
Someone then releases a large amount of mainsheet.
The boat rolls upright.
The sheet is hauled back in.
There has been a lot of activity.
But much of it happened too late.
A more experienced sailor may handle exactly the same gust differently.
Before the gust reaches the boat:
the crew prepares to move slightly further out;
the helm anticipates the extra pressure;
the mainsheet is ready to be eased;
everyone is watching the water.
The gust arrives.
Perhaps only a small amount of sheet is eased.
The boat remains flatter.
It accelerates.
As the gust passes, the sheet is trimmed back in.
The entire event may involve only a few centimetres of sheet movement.
That is continuous trim rather than emergency trim.
Large Corrections Often Mean We Reacted Too Late
This is an interesting principle that applies far beyond sail trim.
If you regularly have to make very large corrections, ask yourself why.
The answer may be that you are reacting to what has already happened rather than anticipating what is about to happen.
If the boat has already heeled dramatically, you need a large correction.
If you recognise the approaching gust beforehand, the required correction may be tiny.
If the jib has already started flogging violently, you need a large trim.
If you notice the first movement of the tell-tale, you may need only a few centimetres.
It is rather like steering.
A boat allowed to wander well away from its intended course needs a substantial rudder movement.
A boat being continually monitored usually needs only tiny tiller movements.
Large corrections often cure mistakes. Small corrections often prevent them.
The Jib Is Particularly Interesting
When I crew, I often think of the jib as one of the boat's most important speed controls.
It is far more than simply a smaller sail at the front.
The airflow around the jib interacts with the mainsail, and changes in jib trim can alter the behaviour of the whole sail plan.
It is therefore worth developing the habit of keeping the sheet in your hand rather than treating the job as finished once the sail has been pulled in.
Watch the tell-tales.
Feel the load.
Look ahead at the water.
Make a tiny adjustment.
Then see what happens.
On some occasions you might ease several centimetres and feel the boat immediately accelerate.
That is one of the most satisfying pieces of feedback a sailor can receive.
You have not changed the wind.
You have simply made better use of it.
Champagne Makes This Especially Interesting
Our A-Rater Champagne is an excellent boat on which to observe this principle.
A long, narrow, powerful boat can make changes in trim surprisingly obvious.
There are substantial loads in the sheets, blocks and rig, yet the difference between a good setting and a very good setting may still involve remarkably little movement.
It also makes wonderful material for photography and video.
A wide photograph of a sailing boat does not necessarily reveal what the crew are actually doing.
A close-up might.
Film the sheet passing through the block.
Watch a hand ease perhaps three centimetres.
Watch the boat's response.
Look at the tell-tales immediately afterwards.
That tiny sequence can explain more about good sail trim than a photograph of somebody hauling dramatically on a sheet.
Try a Simple Exercise
The next time you are sailing in moderate conditions, try deliberately experimenting.
Get the boat settled on a steady course.
Look carefully at:
boat speed;
heel;
tell-tales;
helm pressure;
sheet load.
Now ease the sheet just 2 or 3 cm.
Not 30 cm.
Watch.
What changed?
Perhaps nothing obvious happened.
Try another tiny amount.
Does the boat feel freer?
Did it accelerate?
Did the leech open slightly?
Then trim it back.
Compare the result.
Do the same thing with the jib.
The objective is not merely to find the "correct" position.
It is to train yourself to recognise how sensitive the boat is to surprisingly small changes.
Use Your Fingers as a Measuring Tool
There is another very simple practical technique.
Rather than thinking in metres of rope, start thinking in hand-sized increments.
One finger width.
Two fingers.
A palm width.
You quickly develop a physical feel for adjustment.
For example:
"Ease two fingers."
"Trim one hand."
That can be much more useful aboard a boat than vague instructions such as:
"Let it out a bit."
It also encourages smaller, controlled changes.
Watch the Tell-Tales While Someone Else Adjusts
This makes an excellent coaching exercise.
One person concentrates on steering.
Another controls the jib.
Make very small sheet adjustments while somebody else watches the tell-tales continuously.
Try moving the sheet only a few centimetres at a time.
You begin to see how surprisingly sensitive airflow can be.
The exercise becomes even more effective if somebody films a close-up of the tell-tales.
Later, slow the video down.
You may see changes that were difficult to recognise in real time.
Continuous Trim Does Not Mean Constant Fiddling
There is an important distinction here.
Continuous awareness does not mean constantly yanking ropes backwards and forwards.
That can be slower.
Every unnecessary movement disturbs the sail.
Every large steering movement increases rudder drag.
Every unnecessary weight movement can upset the balance of the boat.
The aim is not constant movement.
The aim is constant attention.
Sometimes the best adjustment is no adjustment at all.
But it should be a conscious decision.
You have looked.
You have felt.
Everything is working.
Leave it alone.
Small Helm Movements Matter Too
The same principle applies to the tiller.
A rudder produces drag.
Large rudder angles produce considerably more drag.
If the boat is continually wandering left and right and being corrected with large tiller movements, energy is being wasted.
A well-balanced boat often needs surprisingly small steering inputs.
That connects sail trim, boat balance and steering.
If the boat develops excessive weather helm, the solution may not simply be to pull harder on the tiller.
Perhaps the boat is heeling too much.
Perhaps the mainsail is too tight.
Perhaps the crew weight needs adjusting.
Correct the cause and the steering correction becomes smaller.
Again, small adjustments are usually telling us that the whole boat is working together.
Small Weight Movements Can Be Just as Important
Imagine the wind increases slightly.
The boat begins to heel.
You could wait.
Eventually the heel becomes obvious and somebody moves dramatically across the boat.
But moving a little earlier may mean moving much less.
A small shift of upper-body weight can sometimes be enough.
Likewise, in very light winds, moving only a few centimetres may improve fore-and-aft trim or help the boat remain balanced.
Experienced sailors become extremely sensitive to this.
They rarely wait until the boat is obviously wrong.
They keep it close to right.
The Boat Should Look Surprisingly Calm
This leads to something I increasingly notice when watching very good sailors.
A fast boat does not necessarily look busy.
Often it looks calm.
The crew are moving.
The sheets are moving.
The helm is steering.
But nothing is frantic.
Corrections happen early.
The boat remains balanced.
The sails remain attached to the airflow.
The rudder stays close to the centreline.
The hull keeps moving forwards.
Compare that with a boat where everything happens dramatically:
sheet in;
sheet out;
huge rudder movement;
crew scrambling across the boat;
boat heeling;
boat rolling upright;
sheet hauled back again.
There may be much more visible activity but considerably less useful forward motion.
Anticipation Changes Everything
This is where several of the ideas in this series begin to join together.
Read the water.
If you can see the gust coming, you do not need such a large reaction.
Recognise headers and lifts.
If you notice the wind direction changing early, your response can be smaller.
Feel the helm.
If you detect increasing weather helm before it becomes excessive, you can rebalance the boat.
Keep the boat flat.
If you respond to pressure before the heel becomes dramatic, less energy is wasted.
Trim continuously.
If you notice changes early, two centimetres may really be enough.
These are not separate skills.
They form one larger skill:
awareness.
A Useful Challenge: Sail for Five Minutes Without a Big Correction
Here is an exercise worth trying.
Choose a relatively clear stretch of water and sail normally for five minutes.
Challenge yourself to avoid any unnecessarily large correction.
No sudden half-metre mainsheet movements unless genuinely required.
No huge tiller sweeps.
No dramatic crew movements.
Instead:
look further ahead;
anticipate gusts;
monitor tell-tales;
feel sheet pressure;
notice heel early;
make small adjustments.
You may be surprised by how much calmer the boat becomes.
You may also discover something more interesting.
It may become faster.
The Difference Between Reacting and Sailing
At first, sailing can feel like a sequence of events happening to us.
The wind increases.
We react.
The boat heels.
We react.
The sail flaps.
We react.
The boat turns.
We react.
As experience develops, that relationship begins to change.
We start looking ahead.
We see the gust.
We recognise the wind shift.
We feel the loading change.
We notice the first degree of heel.
Then we make a small correction before the large one becomes necessary.
That is an important transition.
We stop merely reacting to the boat.
We start sailing it.
The Fastest Adjustment May Be the One Nobody Notices
There is something wonderfully counter-intuitive about sailing.
Speed does not always come from dramatic action.
Sometimes it comes from doing almost nothing.
Ease two centimetres.
Move your shoulders.
Turn the tiller a fraction.
Trim again.
Then leave everything alone.
The difference between two boats may not be that one crew is working vastly harder.
It may simply be that one crew is noticing changes sooner.
And because they notice sooner, their corrections can remain smaller.
That is why the next time you find yourself hauling a metre of sheet, it is worth asking:
Could I have recognised the change earlier and moved only ten centimetres?
And eventually:
Could I have moved only two?
Because in sailing, the biggest improvement may sometimes come from making a much smaller adjustment.
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