Silly terminology but, the lazy sheet is the jib sheet not in use. It's usually the windward jib sheet but it becomes the leeward sheet when winging the jib to windward.
New crews need to know the two times that the lazy sheet needs to have the slack taken out. The first is right after the start and other is right after the leeward mark rounding. Otherwise the boat is not ready to tack. Just prior to the start or the leeward mark the boat has been reaching. As such the sheets are much further out but only one gets trimmed in for the start or rounding.
When running and winging the lazy sheet needs to have just the right amount of slack or else it inhibits the jib from winging our far enough or it drags in the water. Crews need to take care of this or else the skipper is greatly distracted by the annoyance of a tight or dragging lazy sheet while trying to wing and steer at the same time.
Upwind in 420s you can "windward sheet" the jib to help the boat point. This windward sheeting also pulls downward on the jib leech which can help trim the upper jib when the mast is raked too far back. Windward sheeting in conjunction with varying leeward sheet tension can induce different shaped curves in the jib. For medium air and chop when you need to "power up," slightly less leeward sheet with windward sheet will curve the jib for more power. If the water is flat, such as in light air, too much curve and leech tension is a bad thing. Instead, the leech might need to "breathe" a bit for speed, thus less windward sheeting. For heavy air, crunch the leeward sheet in really hard before applying any windward sheet tension to ensure the jib is flat.
Finally, a trick from Chris Hufstader, Tufts'83, and 1981 "bailer-of-the-year." When heavy air reaching the crew might have to switch from trimming the sheet outboard to leeward to moving weight up for big puffs. In order to make this transition without luffing the jib for an instant, you can use the windward sheet to lead the jib well outboard, while having the leeward sheet ready for instant trimming in the event you must suddenly move your weight (body) to windward.
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