Yachts & Yachting — February 2018

What does a

successful hoist

look like?

This will vary between dierent

boats, but suce to say when the

World Match Racing Tour used

monohulls the top teams would

expect to consistently have the

kite filling before the back of the

boat had passed the spreader

mark. Lightweight planing boats

like the Fast40+ need a bit more

space, but if you’re still struggling

to get the sail set more than two

lengths from the mark there’s clearly

scope to improve team work.

Above

A good hoist lets

you attack or

defend as needed

downwind

Above

Communication

between the

bow team and

pit is vital

is hoisted – failing to do so makes the

task much harder and increases the

time taken to complete the manoeuvre,

which costs valuable time. If the next

leg is a reach a quick dip downwind

when the head of the sail is above the

mid point of the rig can be helpful.

Few crews hike as hard as they should

while the boat is bearing away around

the mark. Granted some people need

to be o the rail at this time, but this

means the boat will be heeling more

than usual, increasing weather helm

and therefore requiring more rudder

angle to complete the turn. e atter

you can keep the boat, the smaller

the helm angle that will be required

to make the turn, which makes it all

the more important for anyone le on

the rail to hike as hard as possible.

Another common problem is that

the optimum next leg course is oen

not clearly communicated to all crew

in advance. Problems with failing to

do so are particularly apparent on legs

with a cross tide, where allowance has

to be given to the tidal set, but can

also occur when teams are not fully

conversant with a boat’s downwind

polars and are therefore not sailing at the

optimum angle for the wind strength.

Wraps, twists and hour glasses can

be caused by a number of factors.

Keys to reducing their prevalence is

to ensure the tack is sneaked to the

sprit or pole end before hoisting, to get

the halyard up as quickly as possible,

and to avoid sailing too close to dead PAUL WYETH; STEFANO GATTINI

54 Yachts & Yachting February 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk

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