Just a quick one on a small point that has come up recently in my sailing and coaching.
The hand swap after tacking or gybing with a centre main. It seems inevitable that during any hand swap you will loose the ability to sail the boat at its best for a few seconds if this is at a critical point it may lead to places being lost. Practising and being comfortable sailing the boat at near 100% with the hands reversed can mean places gained and greater confidence tacking and gybing in tight places. Only swap when you won't compromise boat speed in doing so.
As an example, at a recent Laser open as I came round the gybe mark there was a slight gust, instead of swapping hands I managed to work the boat on to the plane then swapped hands later when all was settled. The sailors just behind were too slow to make the most of the gust as they changed hands on the tiller extension. The result was that I managed to get far enough ahead that they weren't able to challenge me on the following reach and I managed to turn a small lead into a much larger one, one that I was then able to control for the rest of the race.
There have been a number of other incidents that have got me thinking recently, but overall the message I have taken from all is get comfortable sailing with the tiller behind your back and with a good way of swapping hands, then don't do it untill you can without loosing any performance.
If you are not sure of the best way to swap hands, as long as you are hiking then under the arm pit gives the fastest way. Have a look at this short video of 2 well know laser sailors.
Laser Sailing: http://youtu.be/nbwJv2n7sFw
