Sailing across tide.

The situation is this, it is a day with wind against tide and I want to reach across them. Most people I see bear away and crab across the tide, I think there is a different approach. In my Laser I have had some success with pointing at the mark and pulling up the daggerboard.  As I understand it this helps because my boat has a much smaller wetted surface area than the crabbing boat.

I haven't heard this mentioned anywhere else, is it just me? Is this genius or madness?

Madness then, good, just so I know.

There is of course a tradeoff between the skin friction of the daggerboard and the induced drag of hull and foils. By pulling up the daggerboard you induce more lee-helm and so have to reduce the angle of attack of the rudder to a similar angle to that on a crabbing boat. So I guess the question is whether a Laser goes quicker sideways with the board up or forwards with the board down.

Since I have only sailed in these conditions against other Lasers on a few occasions I guess that the difference could also be that  (a) I'm a lot lighter than the people I was sailing against or (b) they were sailing too low anyway.

Your question has been answered in part, but it's never a judgement call
that can be stated, there are to many variables. I'm no laser sailor, but
would guess it depends on the wind strength.

If the wind is that light that the tide speeds cumulative effect is more
important then we'd leave the plate down.. (By cumulative effect I mean a
4knot tide gives a 4 knot wind 8knots cumulative if they are diametrically
opposed, but the escalator effect is obviously still present)

If on the other hand you're near planing, then you have room to
manouvre and your ploy would be common practise in a sailboard fleet,
or a half measure applied.

It all depends.. There are other issues, wind against tide equals waves,
does you laser surf better without the plate, then the surf effect will give
you more apparent wind as a trade off against the lessened resistance
from having it down.

So for a genuine solution to a tactical problem, you kindof need to give
all the details, wind speed, tide speed, wave height, is the wind steady or
gusty (makes a difference as to sailing high or low on a reach) how many
others in the fleet and what position you're in when it occurs, different
positions call for different measures.

Edited by G.R.F