O
ne design racing is
seen by those who
love it as the pinnacle
of the sport. Pitting
sailors or crews
against one another in theoretically
identical boats should mean that
the most skilled team should beat
all those who come before them.
Of course, there is a great deal
that can be done to optimise one
design kit and age, and wear and
tear of kit will obviously make
a diference. Nevertheless it is
absolutely the type of racing that
rewards skilled sailing the most and,
conversely punishes bad technique.
One of those who knows a fair
bit about setting up, trimming, and
sailing one design boats fast is North
Sails’ Charlie Cumbley, who has won
in classes from dinghies to yachts
and is something of a one designspecialist. We joined Charlie and his
team as they took to the Solent for a
two-boat training session against John
Pink on a breezy May aternoon, to
pick up some insider advice on getting
a one design to the front of the leet.INITIAL SET-UP
“One of the things many people don’t
get right is initial rig set up,” Charlie
says ashore while his team’s J/70 is being
craned into the water at Point Hamble.
“One of the great things about one
design classes is that there is bound to
be a tuning guide somewhere around!
It might not be 100 per cent the fastest
guide available, and you will want to
adapt it over time to suit you and your
crew, but it will be there from the irst
moment you get your boat and you
should be using it from day one as a
baseline for your set-up process.
“When it comes to rig set-up, keelboatsailors tend to have an advantage
over dinghy sailors in sportsboats as
the dinghy guys generally won’t be as
familiar with the settings and controls.
“On the other hand, a common
mistake I see amongst those with
keelboat experience is that they try to
sail sportsboats with too much heel;
they sail far too over-sheeted on the
main in particular. As a rule of thumb,
you get much better performance from
a sportsboat when you sail the boat
more upright and the high aspect keel is
allowed to work to its full potential. In
that sense it’s much more like a dinghy.
“Although people are better these
days at getting to events good and early
and studying the weather, one thing I
notice quite oten out on the water is
that people do not change their rigs
dynamically during racing (where
possible) and particularly between races.
“One of the big things I see is moreYou get much better performance from a
sportsboat when you sail the boat upright
July 2018 Yachts & Yachting 47