Setting up the transmitter for enhanced upwind sailing

I have watched various top skippers using their transmitter to uncover their secrets, but most keep covers on so you cannot see what they are doing.

As far as I can see, there are four ways you can use a transmitter to improve performance upwind.  Of course, you can just sheet in and leave the boat to sail itself, but you will miss out on the subtleties of enhanced upwind performance.  Before you advance below you need to understand the benefits of high mode and low fast mode which you can search for in the blog or on the web site where I also talk in more detail about option 1 below.

There are a number of transmitter setups you can use:

1      Use a mix.  I have written about this in a blog.  You set the rig up for fast mode and then use the mix to move into pointing mode.  This is the thing I currently use.

2      You can use a 3 way switch to set max pointing mode, ease 5 mm, ease 10 mm.  You will have to work that one out yourself depending on the transmitter your use.

3      Just control the sail using the sheet stick.  All the way down for pointing mode, ease 1 click for 5mm ease, 2 clicks 10mm etc.  The simplest and probably the best option.

4      If your transmitter is not hiding under a cover, you can use the micro adjustment to ease by known amounts.  There should be a number on the transmitter screen that tells you how far out you have eased the sheet.  I was against this originally but am coming round to using it if I permanently want to ease the sheets out for say sailing in a chop or at the top end for a rig.  This is a great option for 2 boat tuning.

Once you decide what you will use, then practice integrating the use of these settings into your sailing.  E.g, aiming for a header, foot off at max speed (VMG) to get into it first.  Want to climb off a start line, use the max pointing setting but be sure you have speed before going into this mode. Maybe you want to sail with max VMG and then go into point mode, then max VMG and then point again to climb away from boats to leeward. The top boys employ transmitter magic. Hopefully with the above, you can sprinkle some stardust over your transmitter to do the same

You can use these settings on any boat. Give them a try and see what suits you best

Whatever you use or elect to try, always remember the objective is to maximise the fun and enjoyment from your sailing as well as gain an edge over your fellow competitors .