On almost any given day down at the pond it is possible to see boats caught in irons. Being caught in irons. Being 'caught in irons' refers to a boat sitting at, or very nearly, head to wind with sails luffing and no forward motion. Left alone any boat will eventually drift out of irons with a 50-50 chance of coming out on a desired tack.
Unfortunately it is common to see a skipper inadvertently holding a boat in an in-irons condition through attempts to get out of irons. The scenario is as follows: (1) The boat starts to tack and gets caught in irons. (2) The skipper holds the rudder over trying to force the boat through the eye of the wind. (3) The boat starts to back down falling off of the wind onto the original tack. (4) When the boat has turned sufficiently for the sails to fill, the boat starts moving forward. (5) The skipper continues to hold the rudder over to tack as originally planned. (6) The boat starts to round up and goes back into irons. (7) This sequence repeats ad-infinitum until the skipper stops trying to complete the maneuver and releases the rudder allowing the boat to sail forward and gain sufficient speed to successfully complete the tack. However, with a bit of common sense and application of basic sailing theory it is possible for a skipper to bring a boat out of irons on the first attempt and on the desired tack.
There are a number of situations which can cause a boat to go into irons, the most common of these is a failure tocomplete a tacking maneuver. (Other potential situations are pinching too hard, attempting to luff another boat, responding to a luff by another boat, broaching, etc.) As a boat nears head to wind it's sail starts to luff and the boat slows. The slower the boat speed, the less effective it's rudder becomes and the less directional control the skipper has.
When in irons, full luffing sails play a 'Jekyll and Hyde' role since although fully luffing, sails generate a tremendous amount of aerodynamic drag which rapidly slows and stops the boat. This same drag causes the boat to drift downwind and eventually out of irons. To bring a boat out of irons under control it is necessary to examine the effect of the rudder.
A rudder generates steering forces by virtue of the flow of water along it's surfaces in the same manner that lift forces are generated by the airflow across the sail surfaces. (Yes, it is possible for a rudder to stall if deflected too far and/or too suddenly.) To have any directional control of a boat, water must be flowing past the rudder surfaces. The direction of this flow is immaterial. When a boat is moving forward the water flow is from the bow. A counterclockwise rotation of the rudder will cause the stern to swing to port, the hull pivots around it's center of lateral resistance moving the bow to starboard. Now consider what would happen if the flow direction is from the stern (the boat is moving aft). This same counterclockwise rotation of the rudder will cause the stern to swing to starboard, the bow to swing to port and the boat backs into a turn to starboard. Thus, irrespective of whether the boat is moving forward or aft, a counterclockwise rudder movement will cause the boat to enter a turn to starboard in it's direction of travel.
Similarly, a clockwise rotation of the rudder cause a turn to port. In practice, if you are caught in irons and want to recover on a starboard tack simply hold the rudder control for a normal turn to starboard, wait until the boat starts moving aft, and the boat will back onto a starboard tack. To come out on a port tack, hold the rudder control for a normal turn to port and wait. This action must be coordinated with the action of the sails. Once direction with respect to the wind changes sufficiently for the sails to fill the boat will begin moving forward. If no further rudder action is taken at this time the forward moving boat will turn into the wind and back into irons. Therefore, when coming out of irons, it is vital that the rudder by returned to neutral (or turned in the opposite direction to bear off) as soon as the sails fill and the boat starts to move forward.
Go to the pond and practice this technique by intentionally going into irons and getting out, first on one tack and then on the other. COntinue practicing until this maneuver becomes a reflex action and you will spend much less of your time in irons. It is virtually impossible to avoid getting caught in irons so when it happens, don't feel as though someone has it in for you, just grit your teeth, set your rudder, wait for the boat to start moving aft and do it your way!