Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Driving Style
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Spinnaker Handling
Elise has a symmetric chute (the most classic type). It runs symmetrical alongside the boat with a guy running from windward corner of the sail and stabilized with a spinnaker pole. The leeward corner of the sail is hooked up to the sheet for trimmer, much like a regular headsail.
The spinnaker pole must be moved in each jibe, and is therefore quite difficult for beginners to use. However, it can be sailed in all downwind wind directions, including running straight downwind. When correctly set, the leading edges of a symmetric spinnaker (which is most of the top half of the sail) should be nearly parallel to the wind - this in turns helps you set the angle of the pole to the wind (roughly perpendicular).
The symmetric spinnaker also requires care when packing, since the three corners must be available on the top of the packing.
The asymmetrical spinnaker (J105-style) is a more modern spinnaker. It basically feels like a gigantic genoa (two sheets and no guy). It is very easy to gybe since it only requires releasing one sheet and pulling the other. However, they are unable to sail directly downwind (hence the zigzag pattern with loads and loads of jibes sometimes...)During our practice day, I said that we did numerous jibes. Here's roughly what happens at that time: the foredeck person stands behind the pole facing forward, usually back against the mast, each foot on either side of the mast. Often, the person has grabbed the sheet to make sure that there is plenty of slack in there. (the spinnaker is twinged in hard at that point) The pole is squared back and the boat will come deep downwind. This will help with jerky movement sideways on part of the spinnaker - the foredeck crew will then disconnect the pole from the mast and the guy at the same time, just before the jibe. As the boat turns downwind, the foredeck person puts the sheet into the pole jaw, passes the pole across the boat, pushes it forward and attach the free end to the mast. Meanwhile, the trimmers ease the sheet and trim the guy to keep the spinnaker full during the poleless part of the jibe. The person on the new guy needs to give some slack and the pit person pays out some foreguy to make the shift of the pole easy (and possible!)
As soon as the pole is back on the mast, the foreguy person shouts 'Made' and the spinnaker can be trimmer again (eg. put under solid load again) - in light air, most skippers will pull the main across at the same time as the pole is moved from side to side. In heavier air, it might be best to wait and make sure that everything is clean on the foredeck to pull the main across and actually jibe the boat. This is totally fine, even in a jibe with the genoa up only, the headsail typically jibes first, regardless. It is important to keep the angle of the boat to the wind pretty far down to avoid broaching (rounding up) which is fairly typical otherwise :)
Express 27 Nationals - more racing pictures
Courtesy of Ralph Deeds -
Winter is upon us
That's maintenance and upgrade season here! We need to fix what wasn't absolutely urgent in time for the next sailing season. Here are some of the upcoming projects for Elise
Well, not all of this needs to be done during the winter - but it is starting now on weekends when there isn't a race. So far, my weekends were busy with home improvement projects. It is now time to get back to the really important things in life :)
Most of the work that we did for the Pac Cup will apply to the Coastal Cup. And before the next big ocean race, we'll look at the emergency rudder and getting a second water bladder (Elise has one but we used two borrowed ones this time around)
- fix and recalibrate the autopilot (after the Pac Cup damage)
- clean up Elise's interior and put some new teak oil on all wooden parts
- fix wooden stern bulkhead (one of them has a small crack)
- fix lifeline for Bay mode
- clean up deck (remove stains) and wax
- re-install main pre-feeder (I can't find the other half but I am sure it is somewhere...)
- fix winch/lead: they are not quite at the same height and it causes a host of problems when we try to bring in a jib quick: a series of overrides usually. So one of them must come down or the other must go up. I am also wondering about self-tailing winches (you don't have to use the self-tailing option in a fast regatta) - it could be a nice to have for short-handed sailing. I am thinking especially, adjusting the pole angle for instance in heavier air - I am not sure if they are available in Elise's size and I don't think that I want to carry a ton of extra weight ;-)
- tiny gelcoat repairs
- Electrical install: permanent 'charge' system for the small solar panel
- Install the stereo: all the parts are here
- Adjustable cars so we can change their position while under load
- Engine refilling system
- Install laptop (and closer to the next Pac Cup, the Pactor Modem or equivalent)
- put wind instrument at the top of the mast. It is more weight at the wrong place but then Elise isn't absolutely optimized for the bay since she is also an Ocean racer. There are certain things we can remove, but others that are a little harder (second bilge pump for instance...)
Well, not all of this needs to be done during the winter - but it is starting now on weekends when there isn't a race. So far, my weekends were busy with home improvement projects. It is now time to get back to the really important things in life :)
Most of the work that we did for the Pac Cup will apply to the Coastal Cup. And before the next big ocean race, we'll look at the emergency rudder and getting a second water bladder (Elise has one but we used two borrowed ones this time around)
Pleasure and practice sail
On the day after the Great Pumpkin (Sunday), we went out on a pleasure/practice sail - 'we' is Stephanie, Rom (from the Saturday crew), Jonathan (a friend who hadn't been on Elise before) and myself.
It was really blowing! I estimated gusts at 20 knots toward the second half of the afternoon. I forgot to turn the instruments on (not racing...) so I don't have a final answer. We stayed in the area between the bridge, angel island and alcatraz, so the windy part!
Was so nice! A few interesting tacks as I had forgotten to tell our guest that it really helps to release the jib...I was wondering what was keeping the bow in the water and was getting Elise's deck more vertical than anticipated :) There were a few other practice moments, which is no problem at all, with the cruising sails - also some slightly slower weight shifting and a few maneuvers that brought the lee side of the boat close to being submerged.
Also - something to remember. If someone is new and asks to drive downwind - do NOT advice to do the race thing and really focus on wind shifts, etc...(not constantly looking ahead...) - best is to do the regular driving thing: look ahead, focus on some landmark and horizon...the typical 'let's make sure you don't get seasick' move...stupid stupid me...
Oh, and a word of advice, do not forget to bring WARM SHOES AND SOCKS...blue feet are probably not good, even if you are being kind and trying to match Elise's favorite theme color...
We got back in time to enjoy some really nice wine (thank you Rom!), really nice cookies, meringues and other delicacies before heading out to the first Chamber Music concert of the season in Bernal Heights!
Anyway...I will post some pictures soon. I promise!
It was really blowing! I estimated gusts at 20 knots toward the second half of the afternoon. I forgot to turn the instruments on (not racing...) so I don't have a final answer. We stayed in the area between the bridge, angel island and alcatraz, so the windy part!
Was so nice! A few interesting tacks as I had forgotten to tell our guest that it really helps to release the jib...I was wondering what was keeping the bow in the water and was getting Elise's deck more vertical than anticipated :) There were a few other practice moments, which is no problem at all, with the cruising sails - also some slightly slower weight shifting and a few maneuvers that brought the lee side of the boat close to being submerged.
Also - something to remember. If someone is new and asks to drive downwind - do NOT advice to do the race thing and really focus on wind shifts, etc...(not constantly looking ahead...) - best is to do the regular driving thing: look ahead, focus on some landmark and horizon...the typical 'let's make sure you don't get seasick' move...stupid stupid me...
Oh, and a word of advice, do not forget to bring WARM SHOES AND SOCKS...blue feet are probably not good, even if you are being kind and trying to match Elise's favorite theme color...
We got back in time to enjoy some really nice wine (thank you Rom!), really nice cookies, meringues and other delicacies before heading out to the first Chamber Music concert of the season in Bernal Heights!
Anyway...I will post some pictures soon. I promise!
How to win a race - Great Pumpkin
Just register and don't show up on the start line.
The day of the Great Pumpkin, we left early with only new crew onboard, the great majority of them inexperienced. We did a few practice sets, jibes and douses before the start and realize that not taking part in the race may actually benefit everyone: the other race participants who might get close on the start line and around marks, and the crew who can then get some practice.
So I was quite surprised to receive emails of congratulations on winning the 2nd race. I hadn't checked the scoring website, since we were either DNS (did not start) or DNC (did not compete). Not quite sure what happened. I wanted to call the club to make sure that things would get corrected but Nathan said that he would tell the race committee on the day of the pursuit race.
After, as a team, we decided not to race, we had a great practice day: upwind and downwind, light and slightly heavier air all in one day!
Upwind, people got to practice some driving and light air trimming. In light air, the driver tries not to move the tiller, so a lot of the optimization comes from the trimmer. We played everything we could: make the sails a little rounder, bring the traveler up, shift the weight around, actively trim both main and jib - be much more reactive to any shift - constantly on the lookout for wind/current info on the water and steering to the breeze in the most favorable current given our planned destination. I find sailing in light air extremely demanding mentally (and so boring if you ask me...especially on day 1 and 2 of the 2008 Pac Cup :)) Everyone who desired to do so got to play with the sails control and the tiller got a go at it.
Downwind, we first had to deal with really reasonable breeze and on very long runs, we practice setting, jibing and dousing, switching roles (two people took turns for the foredeck work). On a second run down, we also spent some time perfecting trimming techniques. The breeze got up to maybe 13-15 knots giving us a really really nice reach/spinnaker work in heavier air. We talked about ways to increase sail area, stability of the boat, depowering the spinnaker (bringing the pole forward) and how this can affect that stability. Our driver at one point may have realized that when the wind is getting a little too heavy, it is hard to jibe the main by hand: the solution then, to avoid breaching and having to be sailing on a reach before the boom decides to go to the other side, is to bring in the main with the main sheet just as you are about to jibe, then let go of the main quickly as you complete the jibe to resume a downwind course. We played with the vang also to show how it can depower the main. All good fun.
We didn't practice rounding up (a big favorite of mine as learning the right reflexes is always a good thing) - probably because things started to go pretty smoothly. Speed will be the next thing we would have to work on.
Upwind (well, we had to go upwind every time unfortunately...to get a go at another downwind...) - we played with the traveler, backstay, mainsheet, dropping the jib halyard slightly, etc...to figure out tricks to depower the boat. I was learning and playing around as well - these boats are very tender, they respond fast which means that you need to be pretty attuned to changes...and sailing them flat and fast isn't easy. I am getting better all the time, and regardless, Elise is just a pleasure to sail, even upwind!
If you are looking to go into sailing or join a race program. Now is a GREAT time! The winter season is much more relaxed - and you can train up for the main season. Most sailors will be happy to train new crew. The more crew available, the more boats out there and the more fun for everyone. There are also fewer races so practice days are easier to schedule, which provide a stressfree environment for people to learn.
The day of the Great Pumpkin, we left early with only new crew onboard, the great majority of them inexperienced. We did a few practice sets, jibes and douses before the start and realize that not taking part in the race may actually benefit everyone: the other race participants who might get close on the start line and around marks, and the crew who can then get some practice.
So I was quite surprised to receive emails of congratulations on winning the 2nd race. I hadn't checked the scoring website, since we were either DNS (did not start) or DNC (did not compete). Not quite sure what happened. I wanted to call the club to make sure that things would get corrected but Nathan said that he would tell the race committee on the day of the pursuit race.
After, as a team, we decided not to race, we had a great practice day: upwind and downwind, light and slightly heavier air all in one day!
Upwind, people got to practice some driving and light air trimming. In light air, the driver tries not to move the tiller, so a lot of the optimization comes from the trimmer. We played everything we could: make the sails a little rounder, bring the traveler up, shift the weight around, actively trim both main and jib - be much more reactive to any shift - constantly on the lookout for wind/current info on the water and steering to the breeze in the most favorable current given our planned destination. I find sailing in light air extremely demanding mentally (and so boring if you ask me...especially on day 1 and 2 of the 2008 Pac Cup :)) Everyone who desired to do so got to play with the sails control and the tiller got a go at it.
Downwind, we first had to deal with really reasonable breeze and on very long runs, we practice setting, jibing and dousing, switching roles (two people took turns for the foredeck work). On a second run down, we also spent some time perfecting trimming techniques. The breeze got up to maybe 13-15 knots giving us a really really nice reach/spinnaker work in heavier air. We talked about ways to increase sail area, stability of the boat, depowering the spinnaker (bringing the pole forward) and how this can affect that stability. Our driver at one point may have realized that when the wind is getting a little too heavy, it is hard to jibe the main by hand: the solution then, to avoid breaching and having to be sailing on a reach before the boom decides to go to the other side, is to bring in the main with the main sheet just as you are about to jibe, then let go of the main quickly as you complete the jibe to resume a downwind course. We played with the vang also to show how it can depower the main. All good fun.
We didn't practice rounding up (a big favorite of mine as learning the right reflexes is always a good thing) - probably because things started to go pretty smoothly. Speed will be the next thing we would have to work on.
Upwind (well, we had to go upwind every time unfortunately...to get a go at another downwind...) - we played with the traveler, backstay, mainsheet, dropping the jib halyard slightly, etc...to figure out tricks to depower the boat. I was learning and playing around as well - these boats are very tender, they respond fast which means that you need to be pretty attuned to changes...and sailing them flat and fast isn't easy. I am getting better all the time, and regardless, Elise is just a pleasure to sail, even upwind!
If you are looking to go into sailing or join a race program. Now is a GREAT time! The winter season is much more relaxed - and you can train up for the main season. Most sailors will be happy to train new crew. The more crew available, the more boats out there and the more fun for everyone. There are also fewer races so practice days are easier to schedule, which provide a stressfree environment for people to learn.
What is a sailor?
What makes a sailor? Doing a few day sails here and there? Participating in local regattas? Knowing how to rig a boat and pour coffee underway without serving the bilge pump first?
After the Pacific Cup, I tend to agree with Erik Orsenna's definition. A sailor needs the following qualities:
The sea is an indifferent blob of ondulating liquid. It is a rough, cold, wet or too hot, abrasive environment. It is hard on boats as it is on their crews. But it is so liberating to focus on the moment, even in planning - we plan for the next few hours, the next few minutes - one mile at a time - and we reduce our considerations to the most basic survival requirements: biological and naval.
The quest for self-fulfillment comes from our throwing ourselves against this moving wall, again and again. Until we see what finally sticks.
After the Pacific Cup, I tend to agree with Erik Orsenna's definition. A sailor needs the following qualities:
- Endurance: the sea operates on its own timeline, one that we need to adapt to. A storm or a day without wind will last however long the sea decides. All we can do is react to the situation
- Physical strength: try to grind Nathan up Elise's mast and you'll understand...
- Reading the weather: using instruments, technology, looking at the sky, the surface of the sea, etc...a sailor will anticipate and try to be ready, just ahead of the change.
- Ability to make fast decisions: the sea can be violent, unpredictable (yes I know, I just talked about anticipation) and very very fast changes. Disaster can strike at any time - and it is almost guaranteed that on any passage, something will break. A sailor will have to react fast, for both safety and comfort.
- Handyman: out at sea, It's McGyver style...and a long-distance race will probably be awfully suspect if nothing breaks. This is what I have begun to LOVE about sailing (boat ownership and a Pac Cup teaches you this) - look at a problem, try to figure out a simple way to solve it yourself, based on what you have around, or can easily get. Always make the best of imperfect circumstances. What a school of life!
- The art of napping: night and day may differ only by the length of your watch...and given the uncertainty described above, a sailor will want to sleep whenever possible. There's never a 'well, I can sleep later this afternoon'...it's now or maybe not for a while...Also, sleep can be divided into infinitely small chunks of time...
The sea is an indifferent blob of ondulating liquid. It is a rough, cold, wet or too hot, abrasive environment. It is hard on boats as it is on their crews. But it is so liberating to focus on the moment, even in planning - we plan for the next few hours, the next few minutes - one mile at a time - and we reduce our considerations to the most basic survival requirements: biological and naval.
The quest for self-fulfillment comes from our throwing ourselves against this moving wall, again and again. Until we see what finally sticks.
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