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A Good Article by Wally Cross

Administrator — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:23:57 +0000

Sailing System 2008

 The older I get the more I appreciate sailing on boats that have a working sailing system. I was sailing in Scarlino Italy a few weeks ago sailing on a Swan 45 named Blue Nights. The boat has a mixed crew of Americans and Finish sailors. It became more than obvious we had to establish a system soon or it was going to be a disaster.

A good system has to start early in the day and end at the conclusion of the sailing day. Every segment of the day will have a system for the crew based on the timing of the race.

Example:

Swan 45 Blue Nights, Crew of 11
Location, Scarlino Italy

Boat Call 9 am , Dock out at 9:45
The dock out time has to be tested before the first day of racing so that your boat is at the race course one hour prior to the warning single. In Scarlino it is only 15 minutes.

Prior to boat call the entire team should plan on a morning that will allow them to be ready to sail at 9am. I will get up usually three hours earlier than the boat call and do some light exercise to clear my head and then I will have a good breakfast. Based on the type of internet access this is also a great time to download weather and start thinking about the day’s condition.

At 9 am the system starts.  (Group A) Bow-Mast-Pit

· check all halyards, blocks
· McLube spin. Pole, mast track
· Rig all spin and after guy sheets
· Look over forward hatch for spin hoist
· Check all marks for reference
o Pole lift
o After guy, pole at headstay
o Jib halyard
o Main Halyard
o Spin halyard (3,2,1)*

 (Group B) Floaters, could be one or two crew

· Set up interior for the days condition
o Liquid in cooler behind mast
o Remove liquid under floor boards
o Sails for the days racing
o Position weight for or aft based on wind conditions
· Store all food for the day
· Make sure VHF/Deckman are charged for the day
· Read all sailing instructions
· Understand the mark changing rules
· Set up computer for the starting function
· Make sure all spinnakers are packed for the day
· Set up computer for starting and download all necessary charts
· Print and post weather for the day below
· Remove and drain de-humidifier
· Dry off deck and place winch handles in pockets
· Put water in each sheet bag

   (Group C) Main, Jib and Spinnaker Trimmers

· Check all moving systems in your area and Mclube
o Jib tracks, and traveler systems
o Turning blocks
o Backstay blocks
· Check over batten tension in your sails based on weather
· Check over luff tape particularly at the head of the sail
· Look at weather and anticipate the sail choice
· Talk with all trimmers about anticipated sail settings for wind and wave conditions
· Make the gross rig adjustments at the dock and then after sailing for 20 minutes, make the fine adjustments
· Trimmers should rig all spinnaker and jib sheets
· Review targets for the day
   (Group D) Helmsperson, Tactician, Navigator

· Review the race instructions and amendments
· Look over weather report
· Review yesterdays race on the computer
· Discuss starting process and strategy
· Talk with Helmsperson using toy boats
· Review race board for any changes
· Make sure the boat leaves at the agreed time
· Agree on:
o Starting goals
o Mark rounding
o Leeward tacks
o Ducking a boat
o Fast targets/slow targets up and down wind
o Language used or hand singles  

  The System on the water

· Dock out
o Same jobs leaving the dock and entering the dock
o Short meeting about weather and goals
o Time to drink water and apply sun screen
o Pit person check pole lift marks for gibing
o Guy trimmer check mark on guys for gibing
o Floater sets up sails below for sailing condition
o Trimmers check all sheets and place tails in windows

· At the course
o Mainsail up while boat is motoring in reverse
§ (less wear on the sail and release any weed)
o Trimmers pick the jib for pre-race sailing
o Sail for 5 min per tack:
§ Note wind direction patterns
§ Note speed relative to a competitor
§ Agree on the best target speed
§ Discuss proper heel per water
· Flat water, less heel
· Chop, more heel
§ Decide on rig settings
o Round a mark if possible and set the spinnaker
§ Note the wind direction patterns
§ Find the proper TWA to sail for the wind
§ Agree on the gibe angle
§ Drop spinnaker careful for a clean set

Write it all down on your wet notes and have another short meeting on lessons learned while sailing

· Make the necessary rig adjustments
· Put the jib or genoa in the bag/turtle
· Back up one more time

   Pre-Start System

· If you have starting software
o Ping boat and pin end
o Note the line bias
o Locate both lay lines, boat and pin
· Determine line bias
o Luffing in mid line and noting which end is forward
o Sail down line with main sheet cleated and tack
§ If on port tack you ease more, boat favored
§ If on port tack you trim more, pin favored
o Understand your boat end lay line and pin lay line
o Range pin with object on shore if possible
· Agree on the section of the line
o Boat end, pick the top third
o Square line, near the middle
o Pin end, lower third
· Approach the line on port tack
o Early if upper third
o Normal if middle
o Late if lower third

· Last tack
o Protect hole by:
§ Tacking fast and bow down is being tailed
§ Tacking slow and back up if set up to leeward
§ Tacking fast and back up hard for space
§ Tacking to force trailer to tack and back to port if room to windward.

o Pull the trigger
§ Time necessary to be up to target speed
§ When boats close by go
§ When more distance than time

The Race

Each race is different, yet having a system prior to the race will give you the confidence that the homework has been done to get the best result. The goal of every start is to hold your lane up to the point you want to tack. Often early in the race a high angle, slower target speed is necessary to protect the lane. Once your boat can sail at target the quicker you will be with the top group.

After the race, have another short meeting and discussed what worked well first and then the other things that need more work. Make a work list and divide up jobs on the water so the boat work is all complete that same day.

Work on your system and you will quickly see more consistent results that will keep your team in regattas longer.

Wally Cross

A good article on trimming the staysail a must read!

Administrator — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:17:16 +0000

More and more on the race course we are seeing staysails becoming increasingly prevalent again. Once upon a time the staysail was a very popular sail. In the days of the RORC rule in the late 60’s it was commonplace for every serious racer to have a reaching rig of overlapping staysail and a series of yankee’s for different wind conditions. In the IOR days that followed there spawned a whole range of “under the spinnaker” style staysails, mostly sporting ridiculous names; Tall Boys, Lazy Boy’s, Golden Dazy Staysails and even the ubiquitous Blooper and numerous others as all sorts of combinations and rigs were tried.
As the IMS and later the IRC rules came along, the staysails narrowed down to two main groups, sensibly called the Spinnaker Staysail for off wind work and the Genoa Staysail as the name implies for closer to the wind.
The use of these sails requires a lot of thought and attention, if not used correctly they can slow a boat down drastically, but when used acceptably they provide a real turbo effect. They do however require constant monitoring and attention. Far too many times people assume they are simply a sail you just hoist and think the extra area will do the job, like any sail they need to be trimmed and if left alone can be extremely detrimental.
Spinnaker Staysail
The design of the spinnaker staysail is critical, most staysail are usually high aspect sails and as such need to be sheeted further forward than most lower aspect sails. Another factor in the profile of your staysail is the length of the spinaker pole or bowsprit as this will have a direct effect as to the desired location of your tack point, the longer the pole or sprit the further away the spinnaker will fly from the mainsail so the proposed staysail tack attachment point can go further forward, without the staysail blanketing the spinnaker. Conversely the position should be located closer to the mast on a boat with a shorter sprit or pole.
Setting up
On a lot of older boats where there is a toerail running the full length of the deck and it is quite easy to find the most beneficial spot to sheet home a spin staysail. On most racing boats however the luxury of numerous sheeting positions is not an option so the configuration or profile of the sail must be tailored to meet an existing structural point. This sheeting position should be as far outboard as possible and ideally close to the point of maximum beam; the spinnaker brace block location is often ideal. This outboard sheeting gives us better control over the twist in the staysail and more control over our leech proile.
Trimming
The main issue in a slow spin staysail is over trimming, you never want to over trim any sail but with the spin staysail it is a big no. When you over trim you stall the sail and this creates a vacuum between the spinnaker and the staysail which disrupts the airflow over the spinnaker and slows it down. Remember spinnakers do have air flowing over them and are not just catching wind.
To this extent it is fine to sail with a little more twist than usual, a little spillage up high is ok, a little under trimmed is much better than over trimmed. I always ask for the sail to be set just on the edge of luffing and no more; keep easing it all the time to ensure it is not choking. The staysail plays an important role in that it helps accelerate the flow over the back of the mainsail, this allows you to sheet the main on slightly harder and helps open the slot between the spinnaker and the main, particularly with assymetric spinnakers where the apparent wind is always being pulled forward. This in turn allows more projection of the spinnaker and more power. On the other hand a heavily under trimmed or flapping staysail will cause drag since it is not driving or pulling that and that is slow also. Wind sheer (twisted wind) will also be a major factor in the slot between main and spinnaker; so you may want to consider setting up a barber hauler so you can trim the sail more to the wind angle of the moment. The staysail is a very under rated sail to trim and although small is probably the sail that can cause the biggest problems on the boat trim-wise as it needs to be set between two other sails and not disrupt either. Therefore it is necessary to trim with as much aggression as the spinnaker itself, it is not a sail to be left alone, and the general trimming should work in concert with the spinnaker.
Whenever a spinnaker luffs and collapses, release the staysail sheet, it can retard the recovery by sucking the collapsed spinnaker in behind it. This will make life a lot easier for your spinnaker trimmers.
The spinnaker staysail is best kept on a furler; it can be set up and unrolled at leisure. It needs to be rolled up for a gybe and in the case of a symmetric dip pole gybe brought back to the mast and then taken forward again. When gybing an assymetric spinnaker we have to collapse the spinnaker and reset it, so as mentioned earlier we don’t want it setting under a collapsed spinnaker so don’t unroll it until the spinnaker is full and drawing. Use your boat speed and target boat speed for an indication of when to redeploy the staysail after a gybe. The faster the rate of acceleration, the earlier you can set, the slower the rate the later, as a general rule always hold until you are up near target speed.
When using a spinnaker staysail under a symmetric spinnaker as the wind goes further aft and the pole is brought back to accommodate it, it is an advantage to move the staysail off the centreline and onto the windward rail out from behind the encroaching wind shadow of the mainsail.
When and why
There are general rules of thumb when staysails begin to work and in lighter winds that swirl around the rig and sails they can clog up the area between the mainsail and the spinnaker. They usually begin to function positively at around 11 knots true wind speed. However it varies enormously from boat to boat, so the easiest way to find out where it kicks in is to simply fly it and look at the boat speed, or set up and sail with the spinnaker as per normal and then deploy the staysail, remember it should be hoisted on a furler and ready to go. Then watch your angles and if you have trouble with a slightly unstable spinnaker then refurl it. You will always need to sheet the spinnaker on a touch harder when the spin staysail is deployed; it’s just a matter of how much harder you have to sheet it on before the performance starts to suffer. High performance boats sometimes get away with using staysails successfully in down around 7kts, but that is something that the team and trimmer need to monitor and decide if it is worth a try, sea state will also come into play in the lighter conditions, bouncy conditions make it harder to trim and control.
Remember when monitoring the speed the spinnaker staysail will not really make the boat go faster, it will however help with keeping a better average speed and and a result really help with vmg.

The word of the Day (what does Celeritas Mean??)

Administrator — Thu, 10 May 2007 21:58:47 +0000

celerity \suh-LAIR-uh-tee\, noun:
Rapidity of motion or action; quickness; swiftness.

Though not in the best of physical form, he was capable of moving with celerity.
– Malachy McCourt, A Monk Swimming: A Memoir

Furthermore, as is well known, computer technology grows obsolete with amazing celerity.
– Alan S. Blinder and Richard E. Quandt, “The Computer and the Economy”, The Atlantic, December 1997

The lightning celerity of his thought processes took you on a kind of helter-skelter ride of surreal non-sequiturs, sudden accesses of emotion and ribald asides, made all the more bizarre for being uttered in those honeyed tones by the impeccably elegant gent before you.
– “A life full of frolics”, The Guardian, May 19, 2001

Celerity is from Latin celeritas, from celer, “swift.” It is related to accelerate.