The streamer works as a critical navigation indicator showing your movement direction through the water, with a visual trail that updates in real-time. When you're drifting, watch closely for the marker's position since it precisely reveals your true heading, which is essential for sail adjustments. The key timing here is to check the streamer's position before making any sail changes, letting you track exactly how your adjustments affect movement patterns. Position yourself where you can clearly see the trail markers extending behind your vessel, especially when attempting course corrections since the visual feedback is immediate. During periods of slower drift the markers become particularly important as subtle direction changes might not be obvious from other visual cues.

You'll want to establish a rhythm of checking the streamer's position, adjusting your sail angle, then confirming the new direction before making additional tweaks. The trail indicators persist long enough to give you a precise read on your movement arc, which becomes crucial when plotting courses to distant objectives or maintaining specific heading patterns. Maybe interesting - watching how the trail markers curve can reveal if you're actually moving in a circle rather than the straight line you intended.