One of the toughest parts of sailboat racing, especially for newbies, is keeping track of windshifts and visualizing how they affect your strategy and tactics—issues that can be especially critical on today’s demanding windward-leeward race tracks. Enter the TackingMaster, an easy-to-use, mechanical instrument (no batteries required!) that not only helps you determine the favored end of the starting line and keeps track of shifts upwind, but also indicates the favored gybe when it comes time to round the windward mark. To operate, simply dial in the wind direction at the start along with the heading for the first leg. After the horn, adjust the TackingMaster to reflect your current heading as you make your way up the beat, and the TackingMaster’s integral gauges will show you how you’re doing with respect to your marks and whether you are headed or lifted. Clever!
$75. TackingMaster, tackingmaster.com
