Dmitry Shteyn — Eyes Out: Balancing Telltales and Instruments for Better Boat Speed

The Trap of the Digital Display

I see it happen all the time during my coaching sessions on Lake Michigan. A skipper gets a shiny new set of wind instruments, and suddenly their head is buried in the cockpit. They are chasing a target boat speed or a precise wind angle displayed on a screen, and in the process, they lose the feel of the boat entirely.

Instruments are fantastic tools, but they have a lag. By the time your speedo tells you that you’ve dropped half a knot, the puff has already passed or you’ve been pinching for thirty seconds. To sail fast, especially in the shifty conditions we get here in Wisconsin, you have to prioritize the immediate feedback of your telltales while using your instruments as a long-term reference.

Trusting the Yarn Over the Screen

Your jib telltales are the most honest sensors on the boat. They react instantly to the airflow over the sail. When I’m helming, my eyes are almost always on the windward telltales. If the top one starts to flutter, I know I’m starting to pinch. If the leeward one stalls, I’m sailing too deep and the boat is about to lose its punch.

I remember a regatta on Lake Winnebago last summer. The chop was short and nasty, the kind that stops a boat dead if you don't keep the power up. One of my students was so focused on hitting his target speed of 6.2 knots that he kept bearing away to find it, eventually over-sailing the boat and losing all his height. He was looking at the 'result' (speed) instead of the 'cause' (sail trim and angle). We had to get his eyes back on the ribbons to find that narrow groove where the boat felt alive again.

Using Instruments as a Reality Check

So, if we shouldn't stare at the screens, why have them? Instruments are your 'sanity check.' On a long tack out into Lake Michigan, I’ll glance at the instruments every minute or so. I’m looking for trends, not instant numbers.

• Target Speed: Am I consistently under-performing compared to my polar charts? If I’m at 90% of targets but my telltales look perfect, maybe I have weeds on the keel or my rig tension is wrong for the sea state.
• Heading: This is crucial for identifying shifts. I don't look at the compass to steer; I look at it to know if I'm being headed or lifted.
• True Wind Direction: This helps you decide on your next tactical move, like whether it's time to tack toward the layline.

The 'Scan' Technique

Good boat handling requires a rhythmic visual scan. Think of it like driving a car; you don't stare at the speedometer, you look at the road, but you glance down occasionally. My scan goes like this:

1. Telltales: 70% of the time. Keep the ribbons streaming.
2. The Horizon/Waves: 20% of the time. What is the next wave doing? Is there a puff coming?
3. The Instruments: 10% of the time. Quick glance at the speed and heading to verify the trend.

Avoiding the Over-Steer

Over-sailing often happens when a sailor tries to 'fix' a slow instrument reading with a big rudder movement. If the speed drops on a swell off Milwaukee, don't just shove the tiller down. Check your telltales. If they are streaming, the boat is doing what it can. If you over-steer to chase a number, you create drag and make the problem worse.

Under the Racing Rules of Sailing, specifically Rule 42 (Propulsion), we know we must move the boat through the water using the wind and water. While that rule focuses on kinetic movements, the principle of efficiency is the same. Smooth, minimal rudder movements guided by your telltales will always beat jerky movements guided by a lagging digital display.

A Real-World Lesson

During a Wednesday night race in Kenosha, we were neck-and-neck with a rival J/105. The wind was light and variable. The other boat’s helm was clearly focused on his mast-mounted displays. Every time a small puff hit, he’d react too late because he waited for the numbers to jump. We ignored our displays and sailed purely by the telltales and the feel of the tiller. By staying in the groove and reacting to the wind the second it hit the sails—not the second it registered on the transducer—we pulled away by three boat lengths in a single leg.

Instruments provide data, but telltales provide the truth. Keep your head up, watch the ribbons, and use the electronics to confirm what your hands and eyes are already telling you.