Yachts & Yachting – April 2018

SHAUN ROSTER; PAUL WYETH/RORC

KEELBOAT PLAYBOOK: PART 4

ASYMMETRIC

RUPERT HOLMES talks through how to pull off a neat and hassle-free

gybe every time to make your big boat season a winning one

G

ybing is arguably the

one manoeuvre that

most obviously separates

the best teams from

the also-rans. While no

individual element of the manoeuvre

is rocket science, timing is critical,

whichcallsforawelldrilledteam

that communicates effectively.

Acommonsourceofproblemsarises

when one person doesn’t carry out

their task at the right moment, which

cantheneasilyleadtoothersloudly

pointing out the deficiency, while failing

tocarryouttheirownjobsproperly.

Ifthepersonwho’sdistractedisalso

the driver, then the chances of the boat

being consistently steered at the correct

wind angles to match the movement of

the spinnaker are markedly reduced.

CORE PRINCIPLES

With a symmetric spinnaker the aim

istokeepthesailflyingatthesame

orientation to the wind direction

throughout the manoeuvre. You

are therefore effectively rotating the

boat around the sail, which stays in the

same place relative to the wind.

However, asymmetric kites

must be dragged around to

the other side of the boat.

In lighter airs, pulling the sail

through the gap between the end of

thespritandtheforestaytendsto

work best, but in heavier winds an

‘outside gybe’ in which the sail rotates

aheadofthespritispreferred.

Inbothcases,butparticularlywith

an inside gybe, the old sheet needs to

come off with no snags and minimal

friction. At the same time, the new

sheet should be hauled in as quickly as

possible,firsttodragtheclewforward

round the forestay, then to sheet it

Above

Comms are crucial

so all crew have

time to set up for

the gybe, as here,

on GP42 Zephyr

Facing page

Avoid heading up

too high after a

gybe in breeze as

this risks a broach

52 Yachts & Yachting April 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk