PAUL WYETH/RORC; SEQUENCE: MATTHEW CARKEEK/CARKEEK DESIGN PARTNERSa symmetric spinnaker, their role in
helping the clew around the front of
the boat is a critical one, especially in
light airs. Note that when there’s more
breeze, holding on to the sheet for too
long risks pulling you over the side.- MAINSHEET TRIMMER
This role is largely self explanatory
during a gybe, with the exception
that in light airs delaying the point
at which the boom comes across
helps the spinnaker to fill on the new
side. Therefore, hold the falls of the
mainsheet for as long as possible while
the boat is sailing by the lee, before
allowing the boom to swing across.
In stronger winds you don’t want the
helm to be forced into turning the boat
through too large an angle in order to get
the boom across, so as the boat
bears away it’s important to heave the
sheet in quickly to move the boom
towards the centreline. The sheet then
needs to be released and allowed to
runfreethemomentthesailfillson
the new side – holding it pinned in
will, quite often, spin the boat into
a broach, especially in borderline
conditions in strong winds.- PIT
Again there’s much less for the pit person
to do when gybing an asymmetric than
a symmetric kite. This is normally a
pivotal role in the comms on board, so
on a smaller boat without a dedicated
tactician or navigator it makes sense for
this person to monitor the manoeuvre,
alert others to problems, and suggest
possible solutions. This is far better than
the all too frequent default situation in
which the driver attempts to do this.
Watch video from
the Playbook series
online at yachtsand
yachting.co.uk1 2345768Here’s an inside gybe
performed on Peter Morton’s
Carkeek 40 Mk4 Girls on Film
during last year’s One Ton
Cup. The total manoeuvre,
from release of the old
sheet, to perfect course
and spinnaker trim on the
new gybe, takes 12 seconds;
however note that the
Fast40+ has the advantage of
a high-speed pedestal system.- In the minutes leading up to
a gybe make sure everything
is prepared, especially that the
old sheet will feed out quickly.
2. As the working sheet
is released, the new one
is already under tension
and pulling the clew
of the sail forward.
3. As the clew is pulled
forward, the boat is
turned further downwind,
but it’s important not to
bring the stern through
the wind prematurely.
4. The clew of the spinnaker
should be on the new side
of the forestay before the
boat passes stern to wind.
5. Here, the faster the new
sheet comes in the better.
6. At the same time the boat is
smoothly steered up towards
the new course – don’t linger
near dead downwind.
7. Continue luffing up and
sheeting in – at this point
the boat is sailing too low
for the kite to fill properly.
8. The wake in this photo
shows the total angle through
which Girls on Film was
turned – around 90 degrees.
The sheet needs to run
free the moment the sail fills
on the new side
54 Yachts & Yachting April 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk