How To: Improve your roll tack technique when sailing

To some, sailing is more than just relaxing, it's a sport. When sailing at high speeds is races, you may find yourself in need of a way to get through a tack quickly. Being able to tack in sailing is good, but you need to perfect this into a roll tack. This allows you to turn more efficiently and with more speed. The ingredients of a good roll tack are a little hard to find. In this video, you'll learn the more straight forward things you can do to improve your roll tack.

One of the most important factors of a good roll tack is being smooth with your steering. The tiller in the tack should never be turned more than 30 degrees. Any more than that, and the turn will be too much and very inefficient.

One way to coach yourself in making sure you're turning properly is to look back at the wake of your turn. You want your wake to make an "L" shape, as opposed to an "S" shape. If it's an "S" shape, this means you've turned too much and came out too low from your tack.

The timing of the roll should be based on the trim of the forward most sail. To get more information on helping your roll tack out, watch the video.