At the weekend we had a great couple of windward/leeward races with the wind in the upper teens. Each time round however we gybed for the leeward mark at what looked about the right time (from a fairly long way out mind) and each time we would get headed and struggle to reach the mark invoking an early drop and a beam reach.

Now I appreciate it's probably the apparent wind kicking in and heading us down but what's the best way to maximise the apparent wind?  Put multiple gybes in to let the apparent knock you down as much as it likes at the expense of our slow gybes or carry on banging the downwind corner, attempting to compensate for wind/boat speed, picking that gybe time just right so you don't end up wasting the apparent wind header by constantly trying to get up to the mark?

Good work! Generally we're not too bad on the gybes but I tend to come in early from the wire, check the lay lines then Gybe. At some point I'm going to have to man up and face the wire to wire gybe square on - which should make choosing the gybe point even harder, trying spot the mark through the main!

As to how you gauge it, same as upwind, tacking&gybing transits either pre determined with a practice beat/reach, or rough rule of buoy along boom if you have see through sails (although the danger of this is it varies according to apparent wind and windspeed), allowing room for manoeuvre, of course it always helps if you have a swinging pole if you've got it slightly wrong and have to soak a bit more.

We're lucky in that when it's breezy there's usually a friendly wave to help the gybe momentum so we don't lose to much speed and therefore angle, but it's always something you need to practise until you have the same sense as you do for laylines upwind...

We are on headers. That's the trouble. We gybe for the mark, get a massive speed/apparent header and up having to 'fetch' the mark when I was expecting a good angle in. 

This is one of the downhill runs  http://youtu.be/PN8uuL5o6vc - http://youtu.be/PN8uuL5o6vc .

Yep. That's about it.

Rule of thumb, under stand especially if its breezy, gives you room to bear off more, same as it often pays to under stand upwind, lots of people over stand the mark, better to understand and short hitch than over lay, both directions..

One thing I've noticed, not many dinghy sailors know their lay lines 

+1

 

 

Easily done in the 800, is to single wire if you're under the lay for leeward mark. A lot of the fleet do it having sailed the boat for a long time (little while back), and just seen it done at the Nats at HISC, you will not lose a lot pace. I never normally roll the kite (in opposition to the post above), to try and make a mark/buoy. Sounds very counter intuitive, but oversheeting the kite and flogging the main, helps considerably I found and dropping to your knots (if you're not already there!).

Having looked at a few of your videos on YouTube, you could possibly benefit from trapezing slightly higher, on the transition out; then lowering yourself once you're out. Of the downwind footage I saw, you would probably benefit from locking both crew and helm into your footstraps for stability of steering for helm and sheeting (confidence) for crew, even though it looked fairly flat.

I recommend a copy of Higher and Faster too if you can get your hands on a copy!

Luckily I have it on DVD as had it been on VHS I would probably have worn it out by now! The 'Cockarocking' on the boat  is a bit of H&F homage. 

Interesting about going out on a higher trapeze setting. At the moment I'm finding the need to sit down and get the boat going again out of tacks before clipping on. The higher trapeze is then a bit awkward. I suppose the aim is not to sit down in the first place but just clip on and get out.

We came across  this affect when sailing the 5000. We noticed boats in same wind heading lower with the sails tighter and going faster, despite both boats twin trapezing. When we spoke to the richards brothers about it, the mention of downwind gears came up. Once you have born away on the gust, you head up sheet in looking for more apparent wind, as you sheet in you immediately have to bear away again, sails tighter and sailing lower and faster. In a heavy 5000 you had to do this 2 or three times to get max speed, but the difference was massive.