Modes

First off, I don't want to jinx it but the latest Bermuda Race sked has the High Noon still absolutely wrecking it. Super psyched for those guys, tremendous accomplishment for them.

So what do we mean when we talk about modes? Well, thanks to last week's discussion of VMG, we know that there is an optimal way to sail the boat to get into the magical source of the wind the fastest. But thanks to VMC, we know that there's also a fastest way to sail up the course, and it's not too big a step to realize that though VMC and VMG are sometimes aligned, it doesn't happen that often. What those two also leave out is that there are a lot of times when we want to position ourselves in a certain way relative to our competition, or to hammer down and get to a shift, or some other consideration. Different modes are just shorthand ways of talking about ways to accomplish these goals. Without further ado...

Off the start line, your lane and your strategic aims will determine what mode you're in. If you have a nice fat lane and you're in no particular hurry to tack, you'll want to just go into standard "upwind mode" or "VMG mode." This is just you sailing your boat optimally upwind for the conditions - just like you were out on your own were trying to sail as fast upwind as you could.

It might be that you're bow out on a group of boats to leeward of you and you want to trade some of your height advantage to go more bow forward on them. If you're in this situation, first of all congratulations on what must have been a really good start. But if the left side is favored, or if you are really lifted and expect it to shift back before long, consolidating down in front of boats to leeward would be a good move. In this case, you'd go into "foot mode." Depending on breeze conditions and available controls, there are a bunch of different things you can do. In a Z420 in moderate/both people hiking conditions, you could ease weather jib sheet, pull on a taste more vang, move body weight aft a little bit, hike REALLY hard and just fly the leeward jib telltales a tiny little bit. Your VMG maybe won't be as good as it would be in upwind mode, but you'd be sailing the course and your competition better.

On the other hand, maybe you're in a thin lane but for any of a million different reasons, you can't or don't want to tack. Chuck it into "point mode." Point mode can be tough because it's usually kind of a knife edge - it's working best just before it totally stops working completely. You can tighten sheeting angle (pull mainsheet a little harder, use a bit more windward sheeting), and you can also use a bit more leech tension (mainsheet works for this too, as we discussed - so don't pull it twice! - and maybe a little jib sheet also). Weight forward and a tiny bit of leeward heel, depending on conditions (modes are ALWAYS conditions dependent).

"Build mode" is an important one - when you need to build speed quickly, you're in build mode. The object of build mode is to gain boat speed as quickly as possible while sacrificing the minimal amount of height (or gauge). Accelerating out of a tack or other maneuver is probably the number one time you're in build mode. I find sheet trim (which we'll eventually start calling "big ropes") to be the main deal on build mode: you have to be trimmed enough, but overtrimming is a speed build killer. And the rate of trim has to match the rate of acceleration.

"Park" is also super important. There are a zillion times in a team race when you might need to park, and pre-start always offers some chance to show off your parking skills.

The big takeaway from this particular post is not to go into the minutia of how you execute any particular mode in any particular boat or conditions, simply because they vary too much along those variables. The important thing is to recognize that boats have these different modes, and the sailors and teams that really smash it are the ones who recognize when a particular mode is needed, and quickly communicate and begin executing the appropriate adjustments to move into that mode. Start by talking about it in the boat - "I think we need to be in foot mode here," for example. Practice different techniques and adjustments for executing the different modes. Don't be shy about making mistakes, and don't get hung up on them when you do. Simply learn and move on. Then, start integrating the recognition and execution pieces and you will have some nasty weapons to start using.