This is thread with the aim of teasing out advice on how to avoid pitch-poling when bearing away at the top mark.

Having once been thrown through a new Tiger Pentex mainsail when bearing away at a top mark, I have become careful when bearing away in strong wind. Boards were up, and we never found out what went wrong. But we obviously did not play it right. I would like to challenge you all to present your best and/or secret advice and tips for strong-wind bear aways.

In strong wind:
1. Do you bear away really quick with an abrupt rudder movement
or do you slowly tease the boat down in strong wind?
2. Do you ease the mainsheet and traveler to dump power
or do you keep mainsail hard sheeted to stall it when changing direction?
3. Does letting the jibsheet out to "open the slot" do anything at all?
4. Do you wait for the crew (to finnish hoisting the spinnaker and) to get to the back of the boat?
5. What do you do in 30 knots wind?

Please, let this be a thread on technique and not on repairing the boat (or how builders make hulls).

Stein