When I get near the end of this column I’m going to tell you how it was that I gybed all-standing on a night of steady wind 200 miles off the mouth of the Amazon. But first, a little history…
Before the windvane made its appearance, self-steering was managed by means of sail balance and, often, a large elastic band. Motorcycle inner tubes were favoured when they could be sourced. Rather like the arrangement on my boyhood model yacht, a critical sheet was led to the tiller, its pull being counteracted by the elastic. The sail was sheeted
