You sail downwind differently depending on the wind, and the boat will feels completely different depending on the mode you are in.

For me there are basically 3 modes, low and slow, high and hot, and one in between.

Low and slow, you are running deep, for me this is the toughest mode to sail down wind. I have a masthead fly that keeps me where I need to be (apparent wind directly off the beam) most put tell tails on the spin bridles and sail it just like a sloop. You can sneak it up a little higher to the get hooked up on a wave, but get back in form when things settle. It takes a lot of patients and discipline because it feels like [censored]. Trim the main until the backside of the tell tails are flying perfectly. Keep the main in trim, it will KILL you if it’s not right. Keep in mind in light air you don’t need a lot of mainsheet tension (backstay).

High and hot – this one is easy. Put the skipper and crew on the same side and wildthing it. You need a fair amount of breeze for this mode. Depending on your team weight, you may want to have the crew trap off the back of the boat. On the F18 this is critical at times because the F18 tends to dig for the bottom in some conditions. I don’t know if you’ll have the same issue on the F16. If you find yourself digging for the bottom down wind, stick the crew or the skipper on the trap and see how it feels. Again you don’t want to ignore the main, keep tension but don’t stall the sail!

The third mode is a combination of the two above. You are in a wildthing mode but the crew is still low. The trick is knowing when to switch gears. Typically for me, I’ll pull the crew to the high side if I’m having to drive off sharply when hit by a puff to keep the boats attitude correct. If you find yourself pulling down hard, think about getting the crew on the high side or on the trap. Don’t ignore the main keep it in trim, I may have mentioned that before.

In ALL modes the crew NEVER looks away from the spinnaker. The crew is constantly trimming the spin. If you ask your crew for anything other than to bring it in or let it out then your only hurting yourself. Bottom line is; if the crew looks away for one second and the spin doesn't colapse then it's over trimmed and you're going slow.

The crew is king downwind!

That’s how I do it.

Dave