Have you used a mainsail wind shadow to protect your crew when they have to work on a heeling, wet, pitching foredeck? If your headsail furling unit jams or you need to get your marine anchor ready, you will want to know how to use this secret technique.
When you are on a close hauled or close reaching course, your small cruising sailboat is heeled over. In any kind of heavy weather, many boats will take spray all the way back to the cockpit.
If you fall well off the wind onto a broad reach or run, the main becomes a giant wind block. The foredeck instantly becomes level and quieter. Spray becomes a distant memory.
The bow becomes more stable and this provides a dryer, safer platform for the crew working on the foredeck. There are five tasks where a wind shadow course will serve you well…