ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tony
Bull runs Bull Sails in Geelong.
His racing experience ranges
from sports boats to serious
offshore competitors and
he regularly works as
coach and advisor to owners looking for
improvement in their sailing.83
PERSISTENT SHIFTSETTINGS
classes like MC 38s, Farr 40s and Sydney
38s, these will have been refined to
include all the necessary changes to rig
and sail setting to enable the crew to set
up the boat on the dock and only require a
small amount of on water tweaking. One
Design boats like Etchells and Melges 24s
right down to the smallest dinghy like the
Optimist have had vast amounts of energy
from sailmakers and coaches put into
refining the setup and cataloguing gear
changes to the finest degree.
YOU AND YOUR BOAT
Well, we might say that is fine for the
latest and greatest, but where do I start?
Well the old adage about a simple footstep
to begin is very applicable. Start off with
a simple chart of what sails you should
use in what winds. When should you reef
and when should you change down. A lot
of modern production boats do well to
reduce sail early to a manageable level as
they can have a tendency to round
up when overpowered.
This can be based on you own personal
experience so far. Then add a few trim ideas,
for example if you have a set genoa car
position then in light airs you may do well to
take it forward a couple of holes and ease a
touch of sheet to try and generate some more
power. Conversely taking it aft as the breeze
increases to open up the leech and shed some
power may ease a bit of helm pressure and
enable the boat to be easier to sail. Similar
with traveller and twist. It is so much easier if
this kind of data is catalogued and the crew
are aware of the required changes.
The helm can simply say “getting a bit
overpowered, help me out.” Rather than
“ease the genoa car aft, sheet on, take up on
halyard tension, take up backstay, bit more
outhaul, a touch of cunningham, down
traveller and crew hike harder.” Phew!
See how easy it can be to overlook
something? A lot of this will happen
automatically with an experienced crew.
But it can be helpful for even the best sailor
to have a logical process.
As mentioned earlier, a lot of classes
have a detailed tuning guide which will
give them all sorts of fine adjustments
to make to the rig to optimise it for all
conditions. You will often see crews
hard at work with shifters and spanners
between heats frantically making last
minute changes to shrouds and rake.
While most club racers do not necessarily
need or want to go to this level, it can make
a huge difference to just do a few simple
variations like taking a few turns off the
forestay for light airs. The vast majority will
sail around with the same setting through
zephyrs and gales. A simple 10 turns off
the forestay can make a big difference if
knowing you are facing a light day. Just a
quick note, in most sailing it is illegal to
adjust your standing rigging whilst racing,
so do it before or between races.HOW DO I BEGIN?
If you are unsure of how to get the process
started. I would highly recommend getting
an expert out for a day. You may hire
someone to come out and go through all the
sails and sheeting angles and depowering/
powering up techniques. Plus an initialrig setup and a few suggested changes to
make. There are many fine sailors at all the
clubs, ask around and see who others would
recommend, sometimes the chap who offers
their services at the bar may not be the best
choice. A lot of sailmakers will come for a sail
not only to set up the new sail but are happy
to spend some time with you going over the
crew work and how to sail the boat more
efficiently. Or if not purchasing a sail they
can be hired for a day.KEEP WORKING ON IT
It is so important to have nothing set in
stone, things are always developing and
changing. New sails may need different
settings and diverse conditions can be
encountered which require an altered
approach. For example a lot of production
boats will sail well in flat water and fresh
breeze with a full main flattened out and a
number 3 jib. In similar winds but choppy
water a reefed mainsail and number 2 are the
optimum choice. Worth remembering and
much easier if it is on your tuning sheet!YOUR JOB IS
THE ONE YOU DO.
One final thing, I have noticed that a lot
of the overlooking aspect we have talked
about is due to people directing others at
the expense of their own role. Concentrate
on doing your particular task, there will
be times when others will need priority
help, but for the most part ignore all the
white noise and work with the other crew
members that are relevant.
So when you do something well,
remember it and talk to others, catalogue
it and add it to the tuning guide, that
single sheet of laminated paper may well
help you win races. ✵“A simple 10 turns off the forestAy
cAn mAke A big difference....”
ANDREA FRANCOLINI