Yachts & Yachting — March 2018

DROPS

‘time to waypoint’ function. If the

position of the bottom is entered as

a waypoint, the most basic of GPS

sets will tell you time to the mark.

Then all you need to know is how

long it takes you to do the manoeuvre.

A decade ago, when I raced Farr 45s

with Nick Hutton on the bow, we would

start to hoist the jib 20 seconds from

the mark. The take-down systems the

Fast40+ fleet now use means they need

as little as half that time. On the other

hand, less well-drilled teams will need

longer to complete the manoeuvre, even

on smaller boats, as well as wanting a

bigger buffer before reaching the buoy.

There’s one common situation in

which the navigator may not have the

GPS time to mark info – that’s when

racing a windward/leeward course

with laid marks. If the buoys are in

position before the start it’s well worth

going over to ping their position if

there’s time. If that’s not possible the

navigator won’t be able to give a precise

time to the mark on the first lap. The

answer is to be conservative, unless

you have adverse tide in light airs. As

you round the buoy the navigator can

mark its position to use in subsequent

laps (do check it hasn’t been moved).

While the navigator should be calling

time to the mark, it’s the tactician that

calls the drop – there are times they

might want an early drop. Equally, it’s

up to the tactician to make an early

call as to which side of the boat the

kite should be dropped so that the

foredeck team knows whether to set up

for a straightforward leeward drop (as

described here) or a windward drop.

Priorities by position

1. HELM
   This can be more complex than in a
   smaller keelboat thanks to the need to
   point fairly well downwind, with a true
   wind angle of around 160 degrees, as the
   kite comes down. If you’re approaching
   the leeward mark on a reaching course
   this means allowing extra space for the
   rounding. If you don’t allow sufficient
   space – or other boats stop a perfect line

• then drop early to give the foredeck
  team more time to get the sail down.

2. PIT
   As in every manoeuvre this is a
   pivotal role and a conduit in the
   communications between the afterguard

and the foredeck. It’s vital to ensure

the halyard is flaked out so that there’s

no chance of a snag as the sail is

lowered. Often it’s worth considering

borrowing a tip from solo and two

handed boats and stream the halyard

tail in the water. This does two things:

firstly it increases friction, so the

BASIC

SEQUENCE

1. Foredeck team, pit and
   trimmers prepare and double
   check well in advance.


2. Hoist the jib on the signal from
   the tactician and partially sheet in.


3. Spinnaker trimmer dumps
   the tack line or eases the guy,
   then the bowman spikes the
   guy (or trimmer lets it run).


4. Head briefly downwind to
   reduce apparent wind and ‘blanket’
   kite. If properly choreographed this
   needs only to be for 5-10 seconds
   once the head of the sail is half
   way down you can start slowly
   returning to the original course.


5. Start gathering the sail in, using
   the lazy sheet; gather the foot
   to stop it falling in the water.


6. Ease halyard to match the rate
   at which sail is gathered in.


7. Get ready to hike as the sails are
   sheeted and the boat rounds the
   mark, and continue to hike hard at
   least until everyone is on the rail.

KEELBOAT PLAYBOOK SPINNAKER DROPS

March 2018 Yachts & Yachting 69