BOAT HANDLING - DOWNWIND SPINNAKER DRIVING

Primary Objectives
 

Minimum drag through the water, maximum use of wind and waves, control.
Keep the boat under the masthead by anticipating puffs and waves.
In ocean waves, attune yourself to the rhythm of the surfing dance.
Make yourself comfortable at the helm, insuring good visibility of wind and waves.  Be aware of all aspects of boat trim, mainsail set, pole height, spinnaker shape.
Use all available driving aids
 

Telltales on main leech, jib luff, spinnaker, shrouds, backstay.
Masthead wind indicator (shows wind shear between water and mast head).
Speedo, waves, horizon, and angle of heel all provide valuable input.
Use steering tools interactively: rudder (minimize drag), sail trim for maximum efficiency (power-to-drag ratio), angle of heel (steers boat).
Consider the significance of apparent wind, especially when changing course.

Downwind Spinnaker Driving
  Trim so the spinnaker luff rises vertically off the pole end, not to weather or to leeward.
Speed and tactics for buoy racing - anticipate puffs, drive up in lulls, down in puffs.
Apparent wind decreases as you bear away, increases as you head up.
Keep the boat under the masthead:
        Rolling to leeward invites a round up
        Rolling to weather invites a round down (worse)
Be aware of your particular boat’s target speeds and the speed/distance trade-off:
Come up for speed in light air although the distance is farther to the leeward mark.
Bear away to burn off too much speed in puffs to decrease the distance to the mark.
Be aware of the important Numbers for your boat:
        optimum apparent wind angles for given wind speed
        optimum boat speed for true wind speed
Tack downwind in shifts, know your jibe angles.
Jibes
  Choose your jibing technique between:  Simple short-handed set-up,  standard crewed (lazy sheets and guys), or two-pole jibes.
Look around before you turn, find other boats, find a target or magnetic course to end your jibe.
Be kind to your crew; give the foredeck and trimmers time to do their jobs well.  The jibe will be faster in the long run.
Bare off and square back the pole, jibe the main, set up on the new tack, and then come to the new course.
Heavy Weather
 

Trim the spinnaker for stability to reduce oscillations:
        pole forward and down,
        sheet lead forward and out board,
        out-grabber to trim sheet outboard and flatten spinnaker foot.
        Vang the main just enough to reduce tendency to roll to weather (not too tight).
        Sail conservative angles, not too low.
        Steer the boat under the masthead.
        Anticipate the rolls; steer into the next roll. 

Rounding up – if you have a choice of which way to crash, choose this way.
        Ease the vang and spinnaker sheet all the way. 
        Do NOT ease the after guy.

If the boat will not come up, grind the foreguy down hard to tighten the spinnaker luff, ease the sheet completely. Make sure the main sheet and vang are slack. Position all crew on the high side. Wait to bear away until the boat is moving and begin to trim in the spinnaker sheet very carefully. 


Rounding down – wish you had gone the other way.
        Save the spin pole and mast by easing the afterguy and foreguy.
              Ease the foreguy to get the pole tip away from water.
              Ease the after guy if the pole is not under water.
        Let the main jibe (duck!), making sure you have released the  runners.
Spinnaker Wraps
  Wraps are caused by eddies from the mainsail leech reversing the flow over the spinnaker when you sail too low.  Unwrap the spinnaker by jibing and sailing by the lee, thus reversing flow.       
 
 

Consider a Spinnaker Shop spinnaker net on long passages.

Please call or email Synthia Petroka for pricing and delivery.