FJ Sailing

• The boat is a little like an airplane. If it’s not moving forward, it’s dying. Lift is everything. Make sure you have some way on, and recognize the fact that starts and stops are very different in this boat.
• When faced with a header, don’t hesitate to tack, or not. The boat stalls very quickly, and your indecision is a killer. Give up a close cover to keep your speed on the same, or new, tack. Too many times today boats started a tack, then held back, then tried to tack. This leaves you dead.
• Always tack a little farther away from someone when tacking on someone. Unless your boathandling is flawless or your opponent is very downspeed, tacking too close in these boats can lead to you losing your advantage.
• Downwind keep your weight in the middle, and keep the boat flat. When you heel downwind, the boat wants to, and will roll out. Not fast, and not fun.
• Your combined weight is heavier than the boat. Man handle it. Take control, be decisive, and tell the boat where to go with your weight trim, aggressively, in breeze.
• Crews must ease jibs constantly and trim in breeze. Over-trimming an FJ jib is the most common speed/height robbing factor. Unless you are totally flat and totally up to speed, the jib should never be trimmed to max.