Firstly DON'T PANIC! The Contender was designed as a trapezing boat and so may feel quite strange to sail when not on the wire due to the high floor (double bottom). You must hook on quickly and break the psychological barrier by trapezing as soon as possible.

To windward: Centreboard full down, sit on the side, hook on, start to sheet in whilst getting your feet to the gunwhale. Push out, sheeting in further as you go, and away you go...! It is most important to maintain directional control during this manoeuvre!! Lower or raise yourself on the trapeze as required. In lighter winds you should stand near to the shrouds (about 30 cm back) and move back towards the mainsheet tower as the wind gets stronger. The outhaul should be at or nearly at its maximum, cunningham on enough to remove most wrinkles and kicker enough to align the back end of the top batten so that it is parallel with the end of the boom. As the breeze increases, you will need to apply a lot more kicker to keep the leech tight.