Yachts & Yachting — February 2018

SEQUENCE: MATTHEW CARKEEK/CARKEEK DESIGN PARTNERS

Here’s Peter Morton’s

Carkeek 40 Mk4 Girls on

Film hoisting her spinnaker

when under pressure due

to being further back in

the fleet than usual on

day three of the 2017 One

Ton Cup. The spreader leg

was around 30 seconds

long – it’s much more useful

to think of it in terms of

time than distance – so

most of the prep had

already been completed

when the boat arrived at

the windward mark...

1. Going into the tack at the
   top mark, after approaching
   on the port layline - the
   tack of the kite has already
   been pulled right out to
   the end of the sprit.


2. Four lengths from the
   spreader mark the crew is
   getting in position for the
   hoist, with those not directly
   involved hiking hard. Note
   the boat’s course: to steer
   an e‡cient line around the
   mark Morty has kept high
   on the spreader leg to have

space for a smooth bear

away tight into the mark.

3. The head of the sail
   is already level with the
   second spreaders before
   the bow is level with the
   buoy. Most of the crew
   are still to windward to
   allow the boat to bear
   away without using
   too much rudder.


4. At one length past the
   mark the head of the kite is
   at the masthead, it’s being

sheeted on and the jib is

about to come down.

5. The sail has filled, the
   sheet is being eased and
   the jib is already on the
   way down. Team members
   are moving their weight
   to the most appropriate
   part of the boat.


6. Once the manoeuvre is
   completed the foredeck
   needs to confirm that
   everything is clear to
   gybe if necessary.

1 2

3 4

5 6

KEELBOAT PLAYBOOK BEAR AWAY SET

downwind, especially oshore in a

quartering sea, which will induce

rolling. is is particularly important

for asymmetric boats, as the tack of

the sail is not projected to windward.

If the kite does go up with a wrap, then

pulling down on the sheet, while the sail

is blanketed by the other sails will oen

clear it – but beware of the potential for

the sail to ll with a bang and the load in

the sheet to skyrocket, along with anyone

still holding on or in the way of the sheet.

If that doesn’t work dropping the halyard

by around one-third will oen help as

well – though a slow winching back to

the top of the mast is almost guaranteed

to follow. Finally, if space allows a classic

way of dealing with a wrap is to gybe,

as the vortices coming o the mainsail

have the potential to spin the head

of the kite in the right orientation.

Next month, we look at the other

end of the course and consider what

makes a good spinnaker drop.

See video from the

Playbook series

online at yachtsand

yachting.co.uk

February 2018 Yachts & Yachting 55

PLAYBOOK_AC_GC_TH.indd 55 18/12/2017 15:05