The sea is flat calm with not a breath of wind in sight. The sort of day that makes you wish you had taken up golf or fishing or anything but sailing. We are going to windward on a close reach with the sails well eased. The ram is off and the pre-bend on to flatten the mainsail. The kicker is off, cunningham off and no tension in the luff of the mainsail. The crew is sitting down to leeward holding the genoa sheet to ease the leech. The telltales are of little use and the helmsman is constantly referring to the burgee. In these conditions flat sails are fast and concentration is everything.
As a zephyr of wind fills the sails, the boat is gently luffed closer to the wind. The genoa is sheeted normally but both sails are still well eased. The wind increases so that ripples can be seen on the water. Now is the time to think about pulling on the mast ram and powering up the rig. The boom should be sheeted closer to the centreline and the genoa sheeted to a position just before it back- winds the mainsail. Sailing in light wind requires a delicate touch. Keep movement down to a minimum and hold the tiller lightly in the hand. The boat should be sailed upright with slight weather helm so adjust the centreboard accordingly. The boat will point high in flat water so haul in the mainsheet to pull in the upper leech until the leech ribbon occasionally stalls.

    The wind increases another notch, the genoa is squeezed in, the mast ram is full on and the boom is central. The rig must now create maximum power. If the sea is flat, then point. If there are waves, ease the mainsheet slightly to twist the upper leech and provide the acceleration needed to work the boat through the waves. The genoa fairleads may be moved forward to create a more powerful sail, and the sheet eased to compensate.
   The wind increases, the crew is flat out on the trapeze and the boat is humming. We are starting to be overpowered in the gusts so get the kicker ready to take over when we dump power. The waves are building, the spray is flying, the crew has moved back close to the helm, we are constantly overpowered. Now we need the upper leech of the mainsail to twist off and depower the rig so ease off a little on the genoa halyard, hard down on the kicker and cunningham, move the genoa fairleads back to allow the sail to twist, balance the helm by raking the centreplate, balance the boat by playing the mainsheet, keep the boat planing , keep the boat flat, and go for it !
Good boat handling is fundamental to success but it is only half the story. Boat speed should be pursued relentlessly from the moment you start racing. The way to achieve good boat speed is through constant experimentation. Try something new in every race. It all adds to the interest and slowly improves your performance.     Top of Page

Setting up the genoa

The genoa is a highly efficient sail due to its interaction with the mainsail.
The most common way of setting the genoa is to adjust the fairlead so that the telltales all lift at the same time as the boat is luffed into wind. An alternative method is shown below :-
1. set the fairlead to a position so that when the sail is pulled in an imaginary extension of the sheet would cut the genoa half way up the luff.
2. take the boat sailing in a light breeze and sit to leeward and look at the genoa.
3. adjust the genoa fairlead and sheet tension so that the following conditions are met :-
a) the genoa leech exhausts parallel to the centreline of the boat.
b) there is a smooth curve along the foot.
c) the genoa almost backwinds the mainsail.
d) there is a parallel slot.
note that fullness can be put into the sail by moving the fairlead forward and easing the sheet to compensate for a tighter leech. To flatten the sail, do the reverse.
When you have finished, mark the sheets so they can be trimmed correctly after each tack.
Top of Page

Powering up the mainsail

The trouble with sailing is that you can't see the wind. However with the aid of telltales we can see when the mainsail stalls. Mainsails are usually supplied with 3 or 4 telltales down the leech. The most important is the top one which should be positioned about 6 inches below the top batten and large enough to be easily seen (telltales should stand out against a blue sky so avoid blue). When sailing to windward in light winds and flat water, adjust the mainsheet so that it stalls occasionally. When the wind increases and waves slow the boat, allow it to fly freely all the time. In light winds the mainsail should develop maximum power so avoid using the cunningham or kicker upwind as they both "soften" the mast.
If you thread a rope through the cunningham eye, attach one side to the mast and pull down on the other with a force of say 20 pounds, the compression force on the mast will be approaching 80 pounds (2:1 on the cunningham and 2:1 formed by the mainsail luff and the halyard). The 80 pounds will be acting from the top of the mast and will cause the unsupported top section to bend easily and reduce its ability to recover. This explains why a boat feels lifeless when too much cunningham is applied. The kicker suffers from a similar problem as it induces mast bend. If you use the mainsheet instead, the mainsail leech will be firmer and the sail will develop more power. Top of Page

Mast rake

We all know there is some advantage to be gained by raking the mast when going upwind in a breeze. What we are less sure about is why it works. The first point to make is there is no aerodynamic advantage in raking the mast aft. It will not cause the rig to develop more drive. If raked heavily, there will be a reduction in drive. So what are the other benefits ?
When the mast is raked its effect will be the same as :-
a) moving the genoa fairlead aft.
b) lowering the sail plan.
c) altering the spreader angle to increase mast bend fore and aft (not if the mast is deck stepped).
d) using a mast with a lower centre of gravity.
These would all help in strong winds and waves when a reduction in drive would be beneficial and pointing would not be a problem. The relative movement of the genoa fairlead and the lowering of the sail plan are easy to understand but I was surprised to find the spreader angle changing when I fitted a variable rig to my boat. The easiest way to see this is to draw it out to scale on paper. A rough estimate on my rig is that if the tip of the mast moves aft by 2 feet (measured with a plumb line), the spreaders are angled back an inch. So by raking the mast fore and aft you can flatten the mainsail in strong winds and put fullness back into the sail in lighter winds. Reducing the pitching moment of the mast is important. When a mast is raked, its centre of gravity is moved closer to the point of rotation of the boat which allows it to move more easily through the waves. In most dinghies sailing in a chop this is about a third of the way forward from the stern. If you doubt this is significant, try raking the mast forward and all will be revealed!
I would not expect rake to be used on keel boats as the point of rotation is further forward so there would be little benefit upwind and they would lose out downwind, particularly on a run, where a vertical mast is fast. De-powering is achieved by changing sails and reefing. Top of Page

Understanding side bend

Before high rig tension became fashionable, it was assumed that if the leeward shroud was slack while going to windward, it didn’t matter how much rig tension was applied because the mast would still be supported by the genoa luff and the windward shroud. So why worry about rig tension? It took me a while to work this one out. Imagine you are sailing a boat to windward with a deck stepped mast with no trapeze. The crew are leaning out and the leeward shroud is almost slack. Now the tension in the windward shroud is mainly dependent on the weight of the crew. the mast will be leaning sideways slightly but otherwise nothing much has changed. Now imagine the same situation in a boat with a hog stepped mast. The crucial difference is the mast is now held at deck level so instead of leaning sideways, the mast will bend sideways. This may seem like splitting hairs but when a mast bends sideways it twists open the upper mainsail leech.
To make use of this, the spreaders can be adjusted so that small changes in rig tension control the amount of side bend. In light winds we want to develop maximum power so keep the rig tight to produce a straight mast, but as the wind increases above force 4, a small amount of side bend will open up the slot and twist off the upper leech. The boat will then become more manageable and have better acceleration. The best way to see how side bend affects a sail is to make up a simple model with a wire coat hanger and a piece of paper.
Make the coat hanger into an "L" shape representing the mast and boom, cut out a sail from the piece of paper and selotape it to the coat hanger. Now press your finger on the leech to see how firm it is. The next step is to copy the side bend in your mast. Gradually increase the bend as you go up the mast and see how the leech tension has changed. You will very quickly understand how it all works. If you turn it round, you will see what happens if a mast bends to windward.
To summarise: a pre-bent mast is fast in light winds, a straight mast is fast in medium winds and side bend is useful in strong winds. Top of Page

The hull

   Sailors talk about fast and slow boats, and while stiff hulls that are light in the ends are quick, the most important variable is weight. We all know that a boat should be close to minimum weight but many of us believe that a few extra pounds are unimportant. I have worked out a formula so you can calculate how much those extra pounds are costing you. It is based on the anticipated loss on a planing off wind leg. It is a "best guess" only. Perhaps a “wild guess” would be more accurate but it gives an idea of the problem. The formula for a 17 foot racing dinghy is :-

                 for every 10 pounds your boat is above minimum
                 weight you lose 1% boat speed.

Smaller boats will lose more.
Remember : a heavy boat is slow on all points of sailing in all conditions. It is just a matter of degree. If you have a heavy boat, then providing it was built down to weight the increase is due to any of the following :-
    a) water absorption
    b) excessive layers of paint
    c) heavy fittings.
The good news is they can all be improved or reversed. Top of Page

Boat care (protecting your investment)

a) to keep your boat dry and light, use a boom-up breathable cover.
b) to avoid hull distortion, always rest the boat on its keel, not on the floor of the boat.
c) use a trailer with good suspension. To judge this for yourself, stand on the trailer next to the wheel and bounce up and down. If there is no movement in the trailing arm on the suspension unit, then its not going to do much for your boat.
d) a cradle for the launching trolley is a necessity not a luxury particularly if you have poor suspension.
e) on wooden boats all screw holes should be filled with ‘life calk’ or similar before inserting the screw. This will stop water getting into the wood. If the varnish is scratched down to the wood, stick plastic tape over it until you have time to
re-varnish.
f) in the presence of sea water stainless steel eats aluminium. So when attaching stainless fittings to the mast or boom,
isolate them, preferably with zinc chromate. If this is not available, silicone, plastic tape or evostik will do.
g) The bottom pintle on your rudder stock will wear first. When it becomes slack, make an
epoxy bush. It's a lot cheaper than buying a new stock. Top of Page

Gybing in 30 Knots

Many years ago I was sailing a transom-sheeted 505 in a well-attended open meeting in Christchurch Bay. The wind was howling and the course was littered with upturned boats. To gybe you had to pull in the mainsail as far as you dare, run by the lee until the the boom started to lift and then slam in reverse helm as the boom crashed across the boat. And this was all done facing aft! If your timing was good and you had judged the wave correctly, you would survive. In those days

Paul Elvstrom had a great influence on sailing and had described in his book how to do a perfect gybe. He said the centreboard should be only a third down as otherwise you would trip over it. This was accepted without question and for years the gybe mark was a disaster area. There were only two boats that didn’t capsize at Christchurch and both used two-thirds plate. The problem with using a third plate is not the gybe itself but the likely roll to windward immediately after the gybe.
So how do you gybe an Osprey in 30 knots? First of all you need to reduce the force on the mainsail as much as possible. There are three ways to do this. Firstly fly your spinnaker; it is much easier to gybe with the spinnaker up. Secondly you need to gybe the boat at maximum speed surfing down a wave. Thirdly you can release the kicker a little to allow the top to twist off. If you let off too much, the boat will become unstable. Releasing the kicker also keeps the boom end away from the water if things get a little out of hand! Set the centreboard to half down (the boat is more stable than a 505 so needs less plate) and put on both twinners to stabilise the kite. Now the helmsman steers the boat dead downwind. The crew is sat in the middle of the boat muttering his “Hail Marys” and as the boat surfs down a wave the helmsman pulls as hard as he can on the mainsheet and executes the gybe while steering straight. As the boom slams across the boat, the rudder is used to control any roll and this is where you find out just how good your rudder/stock/tiller are. Any slop in the rudder pintles, bend in the tiller or cavitation in the rudder will make the difference between success and failure. If the boom will not move, your timing is wrong and the boat is not moving fast enough. Wait for the next wave and try again. I will never ask the crew to help with the gybe as if I can’t pull the boom over, I know my timing is wrong. If the spinnaker is up, you will always be able to gybe but be aware that the spinnaker can collapse on a dead run due to turbulence from the mainsail. This means you should approach the gybe at an angle sufficient to keep the spinnaker pulling properly and only go on to a dead run at the last minute.
If it is really blowing, the helmsman will not be able to safely steer the boat and drop the spinnaker at the same time so the crew should come back and drop the kite to the shute then go forward and remove the pole while the helmsman pulls in the rest of the spinnaker with one hand on the tiller.
The worst scenario is a gybe without a spinnaker in flat water. The force on the mainsail is very high and the trick is to go into the gybe at full speed. This means luffing up to gain speed and rapidly bearing away and throwing the boom across. It is not easy and might justify a tack around if you are not confident of the outcome.
Gybing in 40 knots is not recommended. I tried it once and broke the boom! Top of Page

Knackered Knees

Sailing is a wonderful sport and dinghy racing is a great source of fun and excitement but the design of the side decks has not kept pace with the hull and rig design. Many of the dinghies we sail are uncomfortable to sit out and can lead to permanent injury. One of the few designers to consider this is Frank Bethwaite in the Tasar. It would be good to see UK designers following his lead. I am sure there are many sailors who have to retire early from the sport due to knee injury. It took just 8 years of competitive racing in a popular dinghy class to damage both my knees. The medical advice was to sail a trapeze dinghy so I wouldn’t have to sit out so hard. I bought a Fireball and was surprised to discover that I could still hike, but without the usual pain. The reason was the width of the side decks. Wide side decks reduce the strain on the knee and I have been happily sailing trapeze boats with foam pads on the inside of the decks for over 20 years. It seems a pity that a great sport can inflict permanent injury when it could so easily be avoided.

This is from the Tasar manual. I like the handle! Top of Page

Books

Winning in one-designs by Dave Perry is an excellent book dealing with preparation, boat speed, psychology and a large section on tactics. He has lectured throughout America and many other countries. His experience as a communicator shows in his book which is always interesting and easy to understand.

RYA Tactics is a comprehensive and detailed manual on racing tactics written by Mark Rushall. The book is richly illustrated and covers all aspects of the race. Mark is one of the countries top tacticians and coaches. Thoroughly recommended.

Without good health you are not going to enjoy racing round the cans. I have included this book as it shows you how to avoid the chronic diseases that affect us in later life. The China Study is written by Colin Campbell a Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University. It is the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted. The study was the culmination of a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. He argues that it is not how much you eat that matters, it is what you eat. He demonstrates the relationship between diet and disease throughout the world. A bestseller in the USA, it is a book that could change your life.

Top of Page

Contact

Sailboat racing