Single-handed gybes on Elise

Gybing Elise single-handed (with autopilot, not sure that pegging the tiller works, as I had tried to do that on a SH Farallon race and it did not work...) may require some judgment calls based on the conditions:

Light Winds and pretty stable wave patterns:

Preparation:

Drive down, as much as you can without getting into an accidental gybe - set the autopilot in wind mode (so the angle to the wind will remain constant), as opposed to compass mode. What you want is stability during that time, as much as possible. Square the pole, take up slack on the foreguy, release the sheet as much as you can without collapsing the spinnaker.

Gybe the spinnaker (end to end)
Then walk forward and gybe the spinnaker: pop the pole off the mast, engage the new guy, release the pole from the old guy and pop the end on the mast.

Gybe the main:
Walk back, turn off autopilot, gybe the main, take up slack on new guy, release new guy to appropriate position on new course, release twing for the sheet, trim new sheet.

Note that Elise has an NKE autopilot which handles waves beautifully - if you have a tiller pilot, it may be a bit more scary as it would be less stable but should still allow you to do this without breaking the tiller.

With some complications, possible adjustments that can be made:

1. If the waves are coming from an angle that keeps pushing the stern over to the other gybe, you may wish to gybe the main first, get onto the stable side of the waves, then set up the autopilot and go forward to gybe the spinnaker. That way, your autopilot won't be working as hard and you will be gybing from the most stable position for the boat.
2. In more breeze, if there is more than 10 knots of wind, it may be very easy to float the spinnaker (less wind and the spinnaker may not fill up easily), this could be safer and allows you plenty of tactical freedom should things go wrong, you can always gybe the boat back, take your time before you put the pole back on, etc... - so you may want to
   

1. set autopilot
   
2. float the spinnaker (take the pole away) by releasing pressure on the pole through a downhaul/topping lift release
3. trim the spinnaker for stability
   
4. drive down and gybe the main while staying under the spinnaker by hand driving the boat
   
5. Stabilize the boat and trim the spinnaker
   
6. set autopilot and walk forward to put the pole back on, on the other gybe

In even heavier breeze, get the vang off to depower the main - if it is blowing 30+, you may wish to

1. take down the spinnaker into the companionway hatch, or leaving it on deck bungeed down
   
2. take the pole away into the sleeve
3. go back and gybe the main (by centering the main and then releasing the main sheet as the boat ends up on the other gybe), if you gybe while surfing on a wave, it is actually a little easier so long as the surf isn't too important as the pressure on the main is eased up (apparent wind will come from forward)
4. set the aupilot and hoist the spinnaker again on the other gybe - if your spinnaker was dropped in the companionway, you may have to re-run some lines. You can often hoist/float and then set the pole

Note that the risk of rounding up (or down) is when you gybe the main, and the good news is that regardless of how you do it, you will be back at the helm when that happens, so you can minimize that risk by acting on main and spin controls.

Floating the spinnaker in heavy wind during the gybe can help save your pole in the event of a round down ;)

An express 27 (and a lot of other boats) are actually pretty stable while going downwind if they are pretty deep, and a good autopilot will help maintain that stability. In heavy swell, you do not want to be too far downwind as any wave can throw you into an unexpected gybe. If the main gybes accidentally, gybe it back immediately to regain your stability.

And if it is REALLY heavy and you can spot a hole in waves (so as not to risk turning over the boat), you can always do a 'chicken' gybe, eg/ drop the spinnaker, tack the boat and go back down on the other gybe.

Remember that offshore, anything takes much longer than on flat surface. Waves can be big and the boat will be very unstable. You are tethered in so you move slowly around the boat. It is OK. Take your time, do things right and slowly - if things go wrong, always tend to the most urgent piece for safety/stability. Everything else is clean up. If you round up, that is also fine. Think sequentially.

Finally, if you are short-handed in general, single-handed in particularly always give yourself a lot more room to do anything. Don't sail close to a lee shore as you may not be able to react as fast as you would with a full crew. Don't wait before you pull your engine out if there is no wind and you are in a shipping channel. Just have it ready to go just in case - and test it out in neutral to make sure if will go. Anticipate :)