The race last night was one of those light air races that was so bad, you remember it for years. It was so light, in spots, I started thinking about rigging new controls with a bungee and the strap off my life jacket or anything that will give me at least foot/min more speed.

On a downwind leg with some Sunfish near that I could use as a reference, I decided to stand up and pretend I was a jib. I have tried it in the past but, without a tiller extension, it is hard to stand by the mast and pretend you are a big powerful jib going wing on wing while steering with one foot. In 3-5 it made a positive difference. Not much but it was repeatable. In less than 3 it was better to sit and control the mast with your feet.

It is something to try. If nothing else, it let's you standup and stretch out a little and you can torture the Sunfish. "just standing up, stretching my legs. Oh, in this wind you are crouched over in the that little ****. That must really suck."