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21 August 2006

Reasons not to use your Traveler Track as a Thumb Rest

Colin has thoughtfully illustrated a number of reasons to avoid resting your thumb on the traveller track whilst in that idle period during a gybe - you know, when you've pulled the rudders over but you're still waiting for the main to go across. It's totally natural to rest your leeward hand on the track while you grab the falls with your windward hand and yank the sail across... not always a good idea to leave it there though:

You should be grabbing the tiller with your leeward hand,
It is always slow to rest at any point during a race,
Thumbs can be useful when wetted and held aloft to maintain awareness of the apparent wind direction during the maneouvre,
If you have time for a thumb rest during the gybe, you're clearly carrying a stack of speed in a gentle gybe, so you should be digging out the malt loaf and fuelling yourself for the next frantic ride downwind,
A resting thumb indicates a tired mind, and it's never good practice to give away your mental weakness to fellow competitors, mid-gybe or otherwise,

Oh, and it hurts like hell when the traveller runs over it as the gybe finaly happens:

Thanks for the reminder Colin!

Simon

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