1. Your boat came equipped to rig a mainsheet bridle. If you want to get to the windward mark on time, use a mainsheet bridle.2. Bring your rig settings (mast step position, rake, rig tension) and a tape measure and tension gauge so you can duplicate these settings in a charter boat. Newer sails need about 1 inch more mast rake (mast tip back 1 inch) than old sails.3. Use jibing stops in your spinnaker sheets¿they make jibing much easier.4. Watch your spinnaker pole trim. The clews of the spinnaker should be at the same height on a run. Keep your pole off the forestay on a reach; the only thing that’s fast about a pole on the forestay is how quickly it will break. If everyone is planing on the reach with the crew on the wire and you aren’t, your centerboard is too high or your vang is too loose. Or both.5. Check the knots in your hiking strap and trap adjuster lines. It’s a bummer when one of these knots lets go.6. Don’t yell at your crew. You may have a stick in your hand, but your crew has a pole!
