If the crew was right down on the wire you’d be going a lot faster but higher and having to sail more distance to the mark.ĥ – When conditions do get extreme on spinnaker hoists stay as far back in the boat as possible to prevent nose-diving. If it’s really windy then you would have the main pretty much flat to stop drag and lose power on the sail.Ĥ – Downwind, over 15 knots my crew goes as high as they can on the wire and we sail an asymmetric-type course to get good VMG. If it’s short chop then you’d go for more power but then it depends how windy it is. It’s really down to just picking the gaps through the waves, using the trim of the boat to steer through the waves rather than the rudder.ģ – Sail upwind and downwind before racing and consider the rig set-up, primarily related to wind strength. Also move forward to get the bow down a wave, sailing at an angle to avoid ploughing into the next one, moving body weight back to get up the next one. Use body movements to get over the waves upwind and the crew can maybe bounce on the wire like they do in 470s. Using the rudder to steer will cause drag so if you want to be fast it’s essential to use it as little as possible by steering with sail trim and body weight. Pumping the sails when it is windy rewards hard work with undoubted gains. Make sure you understand Rule 42 (pumping) and also your class rules (for example, the Fireball class has a flag which goes up after 12 knots at European and world championships which allows unlimited pumping).Ģ – Fitness is essential for steering over and around waves too. Equally important is being fit enough to cope with maintaining this level of effort over a whole race. Photo: Tom Gruitt Dinghy – Tom Gillard double Fireball world champion.ġ – Timely and efficient pumping of sails in waves is a key technique. Remember in very big waves there could be a lot more wind on the top of the wave than there is in the trough.ĥ – For spinnaker hoists on Espada, we delay the hoist until the boat has turned downwind for a smoother, easier hoist and in heavy airs, keeping the crew on the weather rail is more beneficial than an earlier hoist. Steering around the waves the telltales will generally be unstable, so whilst they must not be dismissed in my view they play a secondary role to heel angle. A call for a big hike to maintain stability is also pretty important.Ĥ – There is a general belief that you sail up the face of a wave and slightly down the backside to maintain boat speed, but again heel angle is king. If you have been brought to a standstill or slowed down by a big wave, the worst thing to do is to bear away with excessive heel, so coordination with the sail trimmers is vital, who should look for twist. It may well be that the jib trimmer has control of the jib car rather than the sheet.ģ – After a nasty wave, again the big thing is heel angle. One thing to remember is that on the more modern shortfooted jibs, dropping the car back in the gusts can be more effective than easing the sheet, as that will simply make the headsail deeper. Communication in gusts is vital – somebody sitting out should be constantly calling the gusts so that the trimmer can ease or be prepared to ease the sails and the helmsman can prepare for a small luff upwind or a small bear away downwind.Ģ – You will probably set up with a little more twist in the main and jib and move the jib car back a little bit, so the head of the sail opens quickly. Photo: Paul Wyeth Keelboat – Louise Morton and her crew aboard Espada sailed to victory in the 2013 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup with a race to spare.ġ – Steering a boat in heavier airs – the object is to always have control. To see the full article buy June’s Yachts & Yachting. These tips have been selected from a longer Yachts & Yachting wave-sailing feature. We spoke to three champions to get their tips on wave sailing. As with many sailing techniques practice makes perfect, but a little knowledge can go a long way. Sailing in big waves can be one of the hardest things to get right in almost every class of boat.
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