water, have the crew hold jib clew out as farforward as necessary to fill jib with air andkeep boat moving backwards. Keeping thetransoms out of the water will keep the boatmoving straight out. When you are far outenough (usually about 100 feet) let the jibgo, move to the proper navigational positions,drop rudders down, sheet in both sails andgo. TACKING Before starting your tack, be sure you aresailing to weather with good speed (sheetedin and traveler centered). Do not attempt totack while sailing on a reach. Make a smooth turn to windward using aboutone half the amount of sailboat rudder throw.Turning the rudders too sharply will stall theboat and bring it to an abrupt stop. When the bows are pointing into the wind,release the main sheet 1 or 2 feet. Leavethe jib cleated. The skipper should now move aft, into thecenter, and swing the hiking stick to the newside. Do not straighten the rudders out. Ifyou do, you will find yourself into “irons”(boat pointing directly into wind making noheadway). Leave the jib cleated until the boat is on itsnew heading. When the main “pops” to thenew side, release the jib, bring it acrossquickly and sheet in. Keeping the jib on thewindward side is called “backwinding”. Ithelps pull the bows around until your tack iscompleted. While the crew is sheeting in the jib, theskipper should be sheeting in the main andmoving to the proper position on the wind- 27