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getmwaqar.
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March 26, 2015 at 7:17 pm #5841
getmwaqar
KeymasterFollowing on from last year’s post about upwind technique, how do the top sailors sail downwind, and what am I missing out on?
Usually, my offwind legs consist of:
-Pop the downhaul, let the outhaul off maybe 2-3cm, ease the kicker till the top telltale flies 50% of the time. Usually leave the rig tension alone, as it’s difficult to get on properly again with the rig under load. How much do others adjust the rig tension between legs, if at all?
-Board half up on a reach, 3/4 up on a run.
-Keep the boat flat, if necessary by dumping the main (but mainly just by hiking harder). Jib set to the telltales. Is this likely to choke the slot and slow me down excessively? Is this how other people control heel? Or would you dump the jib or spinnaker first to stop the slot getting choked?
-Trim-wise, I try and keep the angle of the bow skimming the water in non-planing conditions, which generally means sitting quite far forwards. Usually I will sit on the thwart in line with the sidestay, to leeward, while my crew sits level with me to windward.
-The guy is set so as to be far enough forward that the spinnaker doesn’t touch the forestay when sheeted in enough to stop the luff from curling.
-The pole height is set so the luff of the spinnaker curls roughly half-way up when it breaks. If it curls too high, pole goes up, too low and the pole goes down.
-Tactically, I tend to sail pretty high away from the windward or gybe mark to get clear breeze, and then come down into the next mark with speed. If I’m going to go low I do it early, and only if I’m caught on the inside of a bunch at the windward, or outside at the gybe. Is this the right thing to do?
-Perhaps most importantly, technique. In light and patchy winds, I point up about 10 degrees from the rhumb line in the lulls, and bear about 10 degrees below it in the gusts, rolling the boat maybe 5-10 degrees to facilitate steering and minimise rudder drag. Does anybody else do this? Do you find the advantage of staying in pressure longer makes up for the extra distance sailed?
In planing conditions, I tend to point up slightly when the boat isn’t planing, again by using about 5-10 degrees of roll, which allows me a roll to get the boat flat again as I pump the main and lean forwards as the wave passes under the mast and the bow dips. Once she starts to surf, my crew and I get our weight as far back as possible, sheet in the sails to stop them collapsing due to the apparent wind, and I steer the boat to keep pace with the wave, basically if the boat is going much quicker than the wave, I point slightly higher so the boat doesn’t overtake the wave and drop off the plane. Is this the correct technique, or can anybody recommend how I can improve it? I find my biggest losses happen in marginal planing conditions, when I am slightly slower to get on the plane than others around me.
Finally, are there any good videos of all this being done right? It would be good to have a close look at somebody who knows what they’re doing, even better if there is coach commentary on them (doesn’t even particularly have to be a GP, although that would help!), and are there any good downwind training exercises people could share to help improve?
Thanks in advance!
Peter
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