The Hi-Low Passback
Although it may seem as though a sailboat cannot slow another which is behind and upwind, there are some Team Racing tricks which can be employed to do just that. Passbacks can be performed passing marks with a Mark Trap as well as on the race course leg itself. Most effective would be to have an opponent leading while two teammates are in second and third, as in figure 11. The ideal case would be to have second (George) trailing just behind first (Randy) with third (Alex) not too far behind George. George and Alex should be thinking passback. To do this, George initiates going high over Randy. Obviously, Randy’s wind is threatened so he must go high as well to protect it. Geometrically, any deviation from rhumb line course that George causes Randy to travel means that Alex may be gaining on both of them if he maintains a straight line course to the next mark. Hopefully, George can draw Randy high enough and far enough away from his shortest course to bring Alex into the first place position. Randy’s only defense against this tactic is to sail only half as high as George threatening from second place. Hopefully, he will not get passed by George and still remain ahead of Alex. This type of move converting from a 2/3 to a 1/3 on an offwind leg is called the Hi Lo Move. Initially, second and third should understand that second, the closer of the two to first, threatens high while third goes low with straight line speed.
