Running means sailing with the wind directly behind the boat, with the sails let right out. It feels calm, but it needs care, because if you steer a little too far the wind can get behind the mainsail and swing the boom across in an accidental gybe.
A boat is running when the wind is coming from directly behind her. The sails are let right out, the mainsail as far as the shrouds allow, and the boat is pushed along by the wind rather than pulled by lift as she is on other points of sail.
Running feels calm and quiet. You are travelling with the wind, so the apparent wind is light, the boat is upright, and there is little spray. That calm can be misleading: the true wind may be much stronger than it feels, which you discover when you turn round to sail back upwind.
The main risk on a run is an accidental gybe. If you steer a little too far, the wind gets round behind the mainsail, onto what was its leeward side. This is called sailing by the lee. The boom can then swing across the boat at head height, very fast, hard enough to hurt someone or damage the rig. Signs that it is close include:
- The boat rolling and feeling unsettled.
- The leech of the mainsail lifting and fluttering, and the boom starting to rise.
- The jib falling limp and then trying to cross to the other side.
If you notice these, turn back towards the wind a little, away from the side the boom is on, until she settles. Many crews also rig a preventer on a long run, a line from the end of the boom forward and back to the cockpit that stops it crossing, and which can be released quickly from the cockpit.
On a dead run the jib is often blanketed by the mainsail and collapses. It can be set on the opposite side to the main, called goosewinging or sailing wing and wing, often held out with a pole.
A run is usually slower than a broad reach, and less steady. If your destination is directly downwind, it is often quicker and safer to sail broad reaches and gybe between them.
More in the book: Chapter 7, Gybing and sailing downwind