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| Little thrills: happy and excited to get to use a brand new, larger sail |
Byte Sailing
Brief Overview:
Gusty wind conditions today.
Pointers acquired:
- Look out into distance/distant aiming point.
- Hike out with thighs on boat gunwale.
- Improve hand over hand sheeting in with improved rope positioning. Also tidy up ropes before doing a tack/gybe (make sure you are ready for tack/gybe before performing one)
- Make sure to adjust the dagger board the next time.
- Have been under-turning on tack. Might need better wind sense and envelope sense to know new heading to tack to.
- Tacking technique to be improved - changing hands and moving the tiller extension around forward. Keeping hands on main sheet instead of letting go.
- Tugging at main sheet to initiate swing over too early sometimes during the gybe. Turn more and watch for sail flap/depowering, then tug to initiate swingover.
- Rudder control still not steady, especially when I'm sheeting in with both hands (including tiller hand). Boat still sometimes veers from side to side and sometimes I unknowingly give some slight rudder input. How to improve this?
For next session: practise 5 tacks per upwind leg and 5 gybes per downwind leg (assuming course is laid upwind-downwind). Just keep tacking and gybing to get muscle memory developed. Forget about the race strategy and minimising of tacks for now. That can come later and when sailing on the SB20. Focus on developing the technical skills.
Moreover, focus on keeping movements calm and smooth (both rudder movements and main sheet movements). Act, don't react.
Additionally, when there's wind, try to sit out with the bum outside the gunwale edge.
SB20 Match Racing Classroom Briefing
Key Principles of Match Racing (prior to start) :
- Right side of start line = Safe
- In between start line and opponent boat = good
- Manoeuvrability is key
- Lead vs Push (when do you want to lead to the start line and when do you want to push to the start: rule of thumb is to lead to the start line in lighter winds and push in stronger winds. If you are too far away from the start line then of course you'd prefer to lead to start on time.)
When circling, build speed on a beam reach or broad reach and gybe and tack to maintain the circle. When circling, the circles will usually drift to the right of the start line, so after circling a few times, will decide the time to start line and make a break for the start line. Objective of circling: get right behind the transom of the other boat to control it. Whatever you do, pre-start is to get control of the other boat. Circling is one method to do so.
SB20 Boat Handling Sequence
Tacking
If boat is already moving at speed, might not need to induce more heel. Remember that heel results in slight sideslipping.
Helm
Would want to tack the boat at the best spot and timing, avoiding any choppy waters etc. Rudder to move smoothly and as small angle as possible.
2 main parts in pointing up. When passing through no-go zone, add more rudder to increase the turn rate to the new tack.
If you are in light wind eg 5 Knots, you straighten the rudder somewhere slightly lower than close-haul to have more power for better acceleration. Straighten rudder then crew moves to flatten the boat for maximum acceleration.
Main Trimmer
Uncleat the traveller right when you are transitioning into the no-go zone, and then pull in the new traveller side and trim. For now just don't care about the main sheet and lock it in first. One continuous motion: hold the new side traveller sheet and the current side traveller sheet in each hand, fire off/Uncleat and pull in on the new side in a single motion. Time this for when entering the no-go zone. By right don't need to use much strength if your timing is right. No need strong hands, but need fast hands. Also ensure that your movements are continuous and smooth. Then flatten the boat.
Jib Trimmer
Uncleat when boat is in irons, pull in on the new side and then lock it + flatten the boat when helm calls for it.
Possible option to back the sail to enhance turning. Ie keep it on the same side even after going through the tack after going through the no-go zone. Let the sail fill backwards up till 1/3 of the sail (it happens very fast), then pop it and sheet in on the new side. Useful for trying to manoeuvre into position, but not so much for when we are heading upwind and trying to be as efficient as possible.
Gybing
Helm
Helm will pick the best moment to gybe - when you are surfing down a wave (and not after, because after surfing, your boat will slow down). Gybe when you are at max speed because that's when the wind has least load on the sail.
Main Trimmer
For the gybe, the main will takeover the spinnaker temporarily while the spin trimmer gets ready to trim on the new side. When Gybing, first helm will bear away, the main trimmer will take over the spin sheet, then slowly ease the sheet while bearing away. Spin trimmer will straighten and slightly tension the new sheet. When spin loses pressure completely, spin trimmer will start to sheet in on his/her new side. Main trimmer then loosens and slacken his current spin sheet to make it easier for spin trimmer to sheet in on the new side.
Kite/Spinnaker/Genmaker Trimmer
Hand old spin sheet to main trimmer, and take the slack out of the new spin sheet to prepare for gybe.
Stand up, turn around with proper stance and pull in new sheet.
Stance in boat: one knee braced against side of boat, and other leg wide stanced across the boat to maintain large stable base.
Hoisting Spinnaker
1. Spin pole extended to appropriate position (marking on the spin pole line)
2. Hoist spinnaker to 2/3 (spin halyard person)
3. Tack of Spinnaker to be pulled to marking (spin tack person) + Hoist spinnaker completely up to marking (spin halyard person continues hoisting)
* Always mark out your sheets to know where to set the sheets without needing to look up.
Helmsman will usually turn the boat straight downwind so that main sail will blanket the spinnaker to allow easy hoisting. Once hoisted, helm will then turn boat back onto more of a reach.
By right, some people drop the jib when going downwind because it blocks the spinnaker and is practically useless.
Dropping Spinnaker
Helm will steer boat to downwind. Spin trimmer will trim the spin, before bowman pulls the windward spin sheet. Bowman has pulled the slack out of the windward sheet. On the go, trimmer will let go of sheet, the bowman will pull in his windward spinnaker sheet (the lazy sheet) and then the tack line is released/fired off. Bowman gathers the foot of the sail (while leaving out some part of the tack of the spin to prevent twisting of the spinnaker). Then someone releases/fire off the spin halyard and lower the spinnaker.
When erring on the side of caution: you prefer to drop the spin one boat length early rather than one boat length too late.
Sail Trim
Jib sail
Optimum trim: windward telltale slightly inclined upwards, leeward telltale straight horizontal, especially the top telltale as the top part of the sail is most sensitive to sail trim/movement.
If you are sailing too high into the wind, windward telltale will stream straight up. Anymore and the luff flaps. If you're sailing low, windward telltale will droop also. If you continue and bear away even more, your leeward telltale will droop (airflow is not attached to leeward side, need to ease)
How much to sheet in: (notice every inch you trim at the bottom of the sail, it will move 3 times more at the top) top part of sail most sensitive to movement.
Sometimes the top part will be turbulent, but main priority is the middle section of the sail. Make sure the telltales are in the optimum position as described earlier.
Main trim
Top telltale flying 50% of the time in light wind, 70% of the time in strong wind.
Prioritise the middle portion of the sail. Ease mainsheet out till sail backwinds slightly, then sheet in till the backwinding stops.
*For circling, traveller is in the middle, lock both sides.
Additional race rules:
You are considered a tacking boat if you turn past head-to-wind. You are considered to complete your tack when you are on a close haul position (even if the sails are flapping, as long as you are in a close haul POSITION).
Additional Info:
Sometimes boats will head to wind and park slightly windward of the start line.
Jib trimmer on standby to pull the jib sheet on either side to control the bow to put it in the middle of the wind (via backing the jib sail). Helm will indicate which side to pull and to cut. To maintain the boat's position.
For match racing, the boat at a disadvantage is trying to create a difference in speed to neutralise it. The boat at an advantage will try to keep the boats at a similar speed to maintain its advantageous position and maintain control.
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