Bull Sails. Sailmakers

Add caption Last edition we spoke about the need to have a default program to dropping our spinnaker. Develop this and practise it.  As the competence level increases so does our ability to incorporate more complicated manoeuvres into our spinnaker dropping techniques. The first variation is the Port side windward drop discoursed last time which enhances the boats tactical options and reduces the need for a lot of the spinnaker packing/ tidying up around the boat. It is really refreshing as part of an afterguard to have a crew that can respond quickly to a simple call from the back when approaching the mark. If they can respond to a change of mind at the last minute it is even better. Regular enthusiastic crew and practise is needed to reach this level. So let’s have a look at a few more variations The Kiwi Drop Mostly used on asymmetric spinnaker boats. Called a Mexican drop in the northern hemisphere, it is a procedure where the spinnaker is dropped as the boat is gy...

Losing the kite A lot can go wrong on the race track and retrieving the spinnaker is one area that is fraught with danger and too often goes wrong. A successful drop relies on a few key points. It is a drill that involves multiple crewmembers all working in synchronisation. They must all be able to do their roles in the right sequence. So allow a lot of time for each to do their job. One of the bigger issues these days is to find regular crew and this can be a real problem for a lot of racing boats. If you have a chopping and changing of the guard on a regular basis then it is important to have a default setting for your spinnaker work. This would entail a tried and true retrieval system that is fairly safe. A familiar dousing technique enables you to incorporate a few newbies into their roles with a minimum of fuss. Be precise with your instructions of when and where they need to be and what they need to do and look out for them. You can work all this out doing very conservativ...

The rise and fall of the sea is one of those phenomena that occur as a constant. The waxing and waning of the moon have always had a bearing on our lives. This pattern repeats itself at incredibly regular intervals and as we know it waits for no man. King Canute once famously tried to order the tide to stay back to prove his supremacy which was a spectacular failure. But in fairness to old Canute it must be said it was probably to prove the folly of human self-significance to others. Tide has always played a role in waterborne transport harking back to the birth of civilization in the Nile delta.  One thing we know is that seafarers who used the tide to their advantage in war or commerce have always had a healthy edge over their rivals. This is also the case with yacht racing; there are those who embrace it and succeed and those who are intimidated by it and fail. Knowledge- We needs to understand how the tide works on a certain area in order to be able to utilise it. The a...

“A man’s got to know his limitations” Harry Callahan- Magnum Force circa 1973. A large number of the new yachts that grace our waterways are production cruisers racers, this type of yacht that has become very popular and for good reason. Whilst some ranges are orientated a little more toward racing the bulk of these boats are the characteristic cruisers with excellent interiors and significant extras all designed to make the sailing experience much more convivial? The boats are an attractive proposition to the potential buyer and represent a platform that can provide a great deal of sailing scope. A lot of these boats would typically feature a fairly full hull shape, medium to heavy displacement and a modest sail plan. Most of them sail and race with the original OEM sails; these sails usually range from medium to extremely poor in quality depending on the supplier. Some companies offer an upgrade to a more racing set but for the most part the sails are merely designed to get ...

Wake up and Go Racing Go for a walk around any marina on a Saturday afternoon and you will be struck by the numbers of boats sitting idle in their pens or swinging on their moorings. It always surprises me that these craft sit indolent weekend after weekend. In my line of work I come across all the spectrum of boat owners. From hard-core racing sailors to long distance cruisers, but easily the biggest group would be the recreational sailor. This individual or couple that own the boat see themselves as fun sailors who wants to have a bit of a jaunt with friends on a leisurely afternoon sail or even partake in the odd twilight race. Mention weekend racing and they recoil in horror, no way they can deal with all that angst and screaming with boats crashing and bashing. Let alone the cost of keeping up with the true racers and their arms race mentality as they turn up with their paid hands and the latest genetically engineered tungsten fibred 6 th dimensional mainsail. Not for me the...