Laser Sailing Like Olympians || Downwind in Choppy Conditions

[@sammyhagger12]

Such a valuable video! I need to watch this prior to sailing as my downwind needs some major help (usually just pull the centerboard, heel to windward, and go straight the whole way).

[@danselfsailing]

Heeling the boat to windward will usually help only in the lightest of winds (when you use it to keep the boom out). There's definitely a lot of art when it comes to mastering downwind technqiues...

[@adalil2]

Hi Dan, really nice video, thanks for that. I'm looking forward to the next one. Superb work! :)

[@danselfsailing]

Thanks David :)

[@pammadge6986]

Really nice job thanks

[@danselfsailing]

Thanks for watching :)

[@keithandheatherdriver8240]

Hi Dan, really helpful video. Many thanks!

[@danselfsailing]

Glad you liked it!

[@errikoskaratzis4564]

good job dan please keep making videos you help us more than you think

[@danselfsailing]

Thank you, will do :)

[@schmiddy1473]

Came here from outside your zone! Nice content, subscribed

[@danselfsailing]

Glad you enjoy it, thanks for the sub!

[@Arcticpengiun]

Hey Coach Dan! Hopefully you’ll see this it’s been a while since you uploaded this video but I’ve been transitioning from a 4.7 to a radial recently and I always get overtaken on the downwind probably because Im letting the sail luff by sheeting out too quick. You were talking about how Pavlos Kontides takes the mainsheet from the boom and aligns the rate of his sheeting in/out with the rate of the boat turning. I was wondering if that rate was 1:1 sail sheet to boat turn or is that ratio something I’ll have to develop through practice?

[@danselfsailing]

Hey! Thanks for the comment and sorry in the long delay in getting back to you. To answer your question - it's essentially 1:1 but it is also something you'll have to develop feel for. The best rule of thumb is - as you're turning up, the sail should never luff at any point. If your sail is luffing, you're just wasting potential speed. Hope that helps!

[@connorgodfrey]

Thanks Dan. I notice that no one really ooches. i personally have a tendency as i bear down by the lee to exit the turn by pressing my aft/tiller hand pretty far forward on the leeward rail, putting my weight into a powerful combined ooch and leeward flatten. no one else moves that aggressively though. does the effect of the roll outweigh any potential benefit to ooching and forward/aft kinetics?

[@danselfsailing]

Hey Connor, thanks for the comment. I don't think the effect of the roll would outweigh the benefit to forward/aft kinetics. All of the top sailors will also be using a lot of forward/aft movement, but tend to be more subtle about it for Rule 42 reasons, and it becomes more necessary in bigger waves when it's really crucial to keep the bow out of the water/planing. In conditions like the ones in this video, you're rarely fully surfing, so the fore/aft movement will be more about maximising waterline length to kep the boat 'surging' in each wave for longer.

[@peterheywood1699]

Dan, you mentioned a 40degree change to downwind direction in the "S" curves, its easy to sail too much distance chasing speed. Is there any "rule of thumb" for the amount of direction change?

[@danselfsailing]

Hi Peter, thanks for watching! It's definitely easy to sail too much distance 'chasing speed'. The thing about this technique is that every time you turn, you should be generating significant extra speed if done well, so it's less 'chasing' and more 'creating' - this minimises any lost VMG. In contrast, in big swell conditions, you do a lot more 'chasing' because the speed gain from surfing a large wave is so big. I don't have a great rule of thumb (and 40 degrees was a rough estimate), but the best indicator is definitely going to be your tell tales. Here's a link to a great section of the original video kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaSsmIeCqbCqqNk You can see Pavlos' tell tales going from nearly completely horizontal flowing towards the mast, to flowing slightly in the 'normal direction'. In hindsight, his angle changes here are probably closer to going from hard BTL, to nearly dead downwind/slightly positive flow once he's 'surging' on the wave.

[@gianmariobroccia7844]

I see there is enough wond for them to put the weight on the gunwhale. How would the donwind technique would change with even less wind like 5-6 knots? I've seen your video with very light wond but I would like to have some key points to work on.

[@danselfsailing]

In 5-6 knots, you're mostly going to be focussing on sailing by the lee and staying in pressure. There's not going to be enough acceleration to surf, or to justify large up turns. When you do get to a nice gust, you can start doing small up turns to capitalise on the extra speed and head more towards the mark. Wind this light is also going to require more focus on angle, and plotting your course towards the mark. As you will be sailing by the lee most of the time, timing your gybes is going to be crucial to sail the optimal VMG course.

[@gianmariobroccia7844]

Do you think the same technique applies 100% to the radial rig?

[@danselfsailing]

Yes, definitely! In the radial rig, you might need a little bit more wind (maybe 8 knots to start using these techniques), but definitely still apply. I've sailed a radial rig at 83kgs in these conditions, and the techniques worked just as well. The main difference I noticed is needing to be much more 'gentle' when flattening the boat after a turn. Since the radial rig has less power (and less power at the top of the rig), it feels like you can 'over flatten' the boat much easier, and kill all the momentum built during turns.

[@levsurkov]

Hi Dan, could you please review my footage of the queen mary light wind sailing day? Thanks

[@danselfsailing]

Are you talking about this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZLadIVjn5iEe7c ? Which boat are you?

[@levsurkov]

@Dan Self Sailing yes, it is that video,I am the one filming, my father is the one with the Ukrainian flag

[@danselfsailing]

@@levsurkov Great, I'll put that on the schedule for next week!