Donal wrote:


In fact, leeway is *always* directly downwind. I learned this on my recent
dinghy sailing holiday. There was an area known as "the Graveyard". It
was a lee shore that had very gentle winds. Once you entered the Graveyard,
you were bound to end up on the rocks. The reason was that after a tack,
you would make leeway before you got forward motion. Furthermore, the wind
was so light that it was impossible to get forward movement without bearing
away --- which meant going even closer to the shore..... The first time
that it happened to me was very disspiriting. I thought that I had
forgotten everything that I knew about dinghy sailing.


Was there a current to drive you onto the rock or are you saying you
can't sail to windward in light winds???

Cheers