Port Tacker’s Guide to the weather mark

Here’s how, and how not, to play port-tack weather mark roulette to come out a winner, or least with better odds. Report by Steve Hunt for Sailing World:

Many sailors believe that it’s best to avoid the port-tack layline whenever possible, simply because the rules are tricky. More often than not, the port-tacker leaves the protest room disappointed. But that doesn’t mean the port-tack approach is off the table. Top tacticians use it as a way to get a quick jump at the top of the beat. It’s either gain or pain; what’s your preference?

When I think back to all of my riskier weather-mark port-tack approaches, I usually think of gaining nicely on the fleet (happy times), but I recently made a mistake, and the ­penalty was painful. – Full report