by willyhays » Thu May 28, 2015 9:34 am
Lots of good info in these posts. It seems that we are all in agreement that telltales are very helpful, particularly as one advances in skill (more on that later), and that learning to feather the boat into the wind while playing the main, that is, easing and trimming, in and out, over and over, is an effective practice.
As for the jib, if you are close-hauled, you can trim the jib, cleat it, then steer to the jib. In other words, head the boat up toward the wind, just until the jib barely begins to luff (it's more like a "bubble" develops on the luff of the jib), then head down slightly until the bubble disappears. Then repeat this over and over. If you are using telltales on the jib instead of looking for the slight luff of the jib (the bubble) you watch the telltale on the windward side of the sail. As Greenlake said, as soon as the telltale starts to lift you know that you are "on the wind," that is, pointing approximately as close to the wind as you (usually) want. Whereas watching for the bubble works well in a gross sort of way, watching the telltales works in a far more nuanced way.
A few more thoughts on telltales: I agree completely that telltales are great. I always use them. I don’t know anyone who races without them. The reason I like teaching people to sail without using them is because it helps them to develop their ability to feel/sense the wind, its direction, speed, and moods and changes, as well as their ability to sense the interaction of the boat itself with the wind and waves. I like to have students steer with their eyes closed (for brief periods of time) to enhance this experience. (I keep my hand very close to the tiller and mainsheet while doing this exercise.) Later, as what I would call their "whole sensory" skills develop, I teach them to use telltales.
As an analogy I like to think of tuning a guitar. A beginner player could learn to tune with an electronic tuner, but that is not the same as learning to tune without it. A more apt example is learning to navigate on the water. One could learn to navigate using a GPS, but that is different from learning to navigate without it. I believe that one who learns to navigate without a GPS can develop a comprehensive and nuanced ability that is unlikely to be matched by one who starts out using a GPS. The same could be said for outboard motors. You can learn to dock the Day Sailer using an outboard. And by doing so you would learn valuable maneuvering skills. But you are unlikely to develop the level of sailing skill that you would develop by docking under sail.
Both GPS and outboard motors are wonderful, useful tools, and I use those and others, including telltales, depth sounder, compass, and knot meter. But the first seven years of sailing I did not use any of those.
The ears, skin, nose, eyes, body, and brain are also wonderful, useful tools. I believe that using them to learn in an intuitive, sensory (somatic) way can lay a foundation of comprehensive and nuanced ability, which can then be built upon, honed, and expanded throughout one's entire sailing life.