To take a boat upwind is the most demanding task for the sailor. In a race, this is the leg where the good sailors will most easily move past the beginners. We already know we cannot sail closer than 45° to the wind direction, so if our destination is somewhere upwind, we must sail close hauled on one tack then come about and continue close hauled on the new tack. Sailing close hauled is different from all other points of sailing because the sail is set at a particular place over the boat and the whole boat is moved toward or away from the wind to keep the sail on the verge of luffing. For the Tech, the end of the boom should be kept over the stern corner, perhaps where one end of the traveler line comes through the stern deck. If the wind is very light, it will be better to keep the boom further outboard of this point, and if the wind is stronger, the boom can be trimmed inboard of this point if you can hike the boat down and keep it from heeling excessively to leeward. For any given wind strength, it is while close-hauled that you will tip the most. Learn how to hook a toe under the thwart seat so you can HIKE (lean out) and apply some leverage to hold the boat down. Perhaps now is the time to start using the tiller extension so you can get your weight over the side and still keep the tiller near the centerline of the boat. The tiller extension is not recommended for your early sails because it can get caught in various places and interfere with your steering.However, once mastered, the tiller extension is a valuable tool. In a puff it may be necessary to spill some wind by easing out the sail to avoid excessive heel or weather helm. Once the puff has passed, or you have moved your weight to windward to offset the force of the wind, the sail must come back in if you expect to sail your highest possible course at maximum speed. Furthermore, the luff of the sail must be watched about 90 percent of the time and the tiller kept in constant but gentle movement as you seek the optimal course. You will soon learn that minute changes of course as well as minute changes in sail trim (even as little as 1 inch) can be major factors in performance.     Diagrams and Text courtesy of Sailing and the Tech Dinghy Permission granted by: Harold "Hatch" Brown, MIT. Black and white clipart were provided by arttoday.com Created by: Nondini Naqui '02 Maintained by: Bonnie Dix Date Created: 7/27/00 Last Modified: 8/9/00