If you want to sail downwind in big walkover its important to know how nonflexible you can push. And how can you stay in control? Pro skipper Jelmer van Beek shares top tips with Andy Rice.
Pushing a wend tropical to the whet downwind is exhilarating and sometimes exhausting. Sailing nonflexible downwind in waves requires 100% focus from the helmsman and trimmers, not to mention the grinders and other key members of the crew. One mistake and the gennaker can flap or, plane worse, you end up broaching.
So how do you alimony pushing the wend up to the whet without reaching the point of no return? As the person with uncontrived tenancy and feedback from the rudder, the helmsman has ultimate responsibility. But seeing as the rudder is only one part of the equation in achieving a fast, well-turned boat, it’s moreover up to the helmsman to communicate what he’s feeling to the rest of the crew.
Source: google.com
Here are Jelmer van Beek’s five weightier tips for pushing a wend hard, fast and to the whet when you sail downwind.
Crew weight
Have the hairdo as far outboard and as far aft as possible. It gives you increasingly tenancy over the rudder and helps alimony the bow out of the water. It makes a big difference to the helmsman’s tenancy over the boat.
If a job needs doing to leeward or forward, try to make sure it’s only one person getting off the rail. If you’ve still got 20 minutes of sailing surpassing the next manoeuvre, it doesn’t make sense to have everyone running virtually doing their own jobs.
Dedicate one person to tidying the sheets for the trimmer, or going lanugo unelevated to fetch something that flipside team member needs. Maximum righting moment is super-important, plane on a big wend where it might finger like you’re not making that much difference.
Work the vang
One person should be watching to windward all the time, calling in the gusts and the lulls so the rest of the hairdo can retread the power. This might be the tactician, but it’s sometimes a good job for the pit to do. You moreover need one person on the vang all the time. It’s really good to have someone pull on the vang and tighten the leech in the lulls, and it’s really, really good to have them dump the vang when a big gust hits to help alimony the wend on its feet and stave a broach.
Curl the gennaker
Aim to alimony some flourish in the gennaker luff, or whichever downwind headsail you’re using. Oversheeting the kite makes it harder for the helmsman to steer the boat. When you flourish the luff, the wend feels less sticky and easier to steer virtually the waves.
Source: google.com
But of undertow some trimmers don’t like to flourish the luff considering it’s closer to collapsing the kite altogether, which you really don’t want to do. To be a good trimmer you need to have a good grinder valuables you up, who’s ready to help you trim on just when you need it. So the teamwork between those two is critical.
Work the numbers
As a helmsman, finger is your primary instinct for knowing what the wend wants. But it’s moreover good to use the numbers on the instruments.
Apparent wind wile is good to work to for power reaching, considering whether progressive lanugo a wave or slowing lanugo in a luff, the target unveiled wind wile remains pretty unvarying – useful for the helmsman and trimmers to work to. Tell the hairdo what your target wile is, so there’s no confusion.
It’s the same with heel angle. Work out what the right heel wile is for your wend in variegated conditions.
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To alimony a wend going on a gusty reach with kite and rudder on the whet and every gram of…
Stay in sail range
Every downwind sail has its designed window of use for a range of wind angles and strengths. Don’t use any sail too far out of range. I learned this the nonflexible way on the VO65 when we were pushing nonflexible with our A4 on a tight reach. It wasn’t designed for this, it’s a VMG downwind sail, and I regretted it the moment the sail tapped – a €35,000 mistake.
Don’t try to sail slowly in a straight line. Instead, do a dog leg. Bear yonder until the kite is working within range, stay in that direction until you think it’s time to waif the kite and sail when up towards the mark on a jib reach. That’s largest than the wend leaning on its ear, the kite flapping, trying to push when the wend doesn’t want to go.
Broach recovery
All these tips are designed to help you push to the whet without going past it, but occasionally you’ll broach. If you haven’t once released the vang and the mainsheet, let them go! And really smoke the kite halyard – I’m talking releasing it by approximately half the mast height. Turn the wend downwind and, as the pressure comes off the gennaker and it starts to bladder overdue the wind shadow of the mainsail, rehoist it as fast as possible.
Gradually wind everything in then and work your way when up to your desired direction and speed again.
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The post Expert tips: how to sail downwind in windy weather appeared first on Yachting World.
How would you cruise downwind areas of strength for in?
Facilitate the tack line and Gennaker sheet to permit the Gennaker to carry out from behind the mainsail, and steer effectively to keep the bow pointed "downhill." To forestall a suggest in blasts, facilitate the Gennaker sheet. On the off chance that things gain out of influence, snuff and stash the Gennaker and change to a jib.
How would you cruise in weighty breezes?
Diminish Sail, Dial Back and Keep Control
Dial back. Take an alternate route if important with the goal that the boat sails compliment, stays dryer and gives more solace to you and your cruising team. Hurl to in extreme circumstances and trust that the weather conditions will direct before you continue.
How would you cruise upwind areas of strength for in?
In solid breezes it's essential to diminish the drag from your sails significantly further by leveling out the completion however much as could reasonably be expected and winding the bloodsuckers to lessen unreasonable heel. The backstay ought to be tensioned for greatest pole twist, so the mainsail starts to cutting edge out (giving you most extreme evenness).