The
Standard Tack
is a functional maneuver for turning your rig around and
sailing in the other direction by heading upwind.
This allows the sailor to make a directional change without
moving downwind which is especially important in waves because you
are often fighting to stay upwind.
In addition, the tack is a move for safe and responsible sailing
because when all the
Jibe-Only sailors are downwind,
you can avoid possible collision by Tacking upwind and
away from the congestion.
In my humble opinion, responsible sailors commit to learning the short-board
Tack shortly after learning to jibe. The more options the better!
After learning the Standard Tack most sailors want to learn a trick and
the
Standard Heli-Tack
seems to be a favorite which involves backwinding and flipping the sail.
This is actually a fairly difficult maneuver to learn.
There are variants of the Heli Tack which include the
Stiffy,
Clew First,
and the
Jizz Style,
to name a few.
