Eyes-closed sailing is a standard drill in all our seminars. Rick thinks it is extremely important for getting a true feel of the boat. He does it himself on the way out the race course at every regatta.

An interesting thing about the eyes-closed drill is that it shows each helmsperson what their natural inclination is -- to pinch or to foot. Once you know what your natural inclination is, you can work to correct it and find the groove when your eyes are open.

When you cannot see where you are going, you have to go by the feel and angle of the wind on your cheek, the sound of the telltales fluttering against the sails, the sound and feel of the waves. If you are on the trapeze, you feel more pressure on the bottoms of your feet as the hull rises.

My only problem with sailing in the eyes-closed drill this week was that it was so relaxing I was afraid I was going to fall asleep.