Ex-Merchant Navy officer and Fellow of the Royal Institute of EXPERT ON BOARD Navigation, John Goode owned Southern Sailing School for 25 EXPERT ON BOARD years and is an RYA Examiner What goes where? TH EA H NE End for end pole XI a If you haven’t flown a spinnaker MS: M MS: before, you and your crew will put a R to sea with a lot more confidence if AG I d you work out where everything goes, Fly your spinnaker de. and that it all works, while still tied to oo the dock. Choose a berth with a light End for end n g n wind on the quarter and take as long pole with oh double as required to set the rig up to the sheets and pre-hoist stage – and even better if guys the wind is so light that the spinnaker all PHOTOS: j PHOTOS: all can be hoisted and dropped as well. with confidence Note that although the bottom two Advice from John Goode on corners of a spinnaker are labelled ‘tack’ and ‘clew’, these names change hoisting, trimming, dropping when the sail is gybed. Throughout this article, the tack is always named and packing your kite as the corner of the spinnaker being hauled back by the pole – and the n light conditions, a spinnaker should give clew the corner that’s attached to above: before flying a spinnaker for the first time, I advise better downwind performance than any the working sheet. practising setting it up before leaving the dock other sail. This is worth bearing in mind given that last summer’s winds were often IForce 3 or less. Being able to add even one Setting up double sheets and guys extra knot of boat speed while on a light airs passage is always welcome. A spinnaker also On a mid-sized yacht which requires the leeward sheet and guy, leading directly from adds a bit of colour and excitement to our doubling-up of sheets and guys to enable a the cockpit, are connected to the clew – and off-wind sailing! controlled gybe (see p41), they are led outside the weather sheet and guy, led via the end of Despite the spinnaker’s much publicised the stanchions and shrouds, back to the the pole, to its tack. When ready to hoist, the advantages, many cruising sailors are wary cockpit winches via sidedeck turning blocks. tack is hauled to the end of the pole. of flying one. But with a light following wind, The guy, which will take the most load and To prevent twists and enable easy plenty of open water ahead, and perhaps require a more downward pull on the pole, is attachment, all lines connected to a spinnaker an additional crewmember aboard to lend led through the forward turning block to the require an easily tripped swivel shackle and a a hand, I’d encourage you to at least give it primary winch. The sheet, which will be under plastic ball to prevent their ends jamming in above: Tie down a go if the opportunity arises. less of a load when trimming, is led through blocks or the pole’s jaw. the bag, or turtle, Although yachts of different sizes and layout the aft turning block to the secondary winch. With a double sheet and guy set-up, the on the lee foredeck. will have a diversity of spinnaker handling kit, Before we’re ready to hoist, the spinnaker’s sheet is led over the pole-end and connected RIGHT: The the basic principles required to hoist, trim and turtle is tied down on the lee foredeck with to the spinnaker with an easily tripped, weather sheet and drop this big sail are very much the same on its halyard led outside of the (over-sheeted) swivelling snap shackle. The guy is led through guy are led via the all of them. Only after first gaining confidence headsail and connected to the head. The the pole’s jaw, to the sheet’s snap shackle. end of the pole with these three sequences is it time to move on to gybing – as illustrated in the last part of Double sheet and this article. While the technique for gybing will guy set-up differ slightly from boat to boat, it can be quite straightforward provided everything is taken slowly and one step at a time. Please bear in mind that the old adage of ‘different ships, different long-splices’ applies to quite a lot of what’s shown here. Things might be done differently, for example, on a more racy yacht, with an experienced kite-flying crew. above: The primary winch above: a swivel shackle prevents twists. a plastic takes the guy’s heavier load ball prevents it jamming in the pole’s jaw Fly a spinnaker at the boat show An ‘end for end’ pole Following the success of last year’s cruising chute more advanced spinnaker techniques for racing As its name suggests, an ‘end for end’ pole has demo at the London Boat Show, Yachting Monthly sailors. While the fans are off there will be clinics identical end fittings, with the plunger of each jaw and Hyde Sails are again supporting this popular on packing a spinnaker, connected by a trip line, so that they can easily be feature at the show from 6–15 January at ExCeL. rigging a furling chute and swapped between being attached to the (height This time, as well as running a repeat of the more top racing tips from adjustable) mast fitting and the spinnaker’s guys. cruising chute demo, the team from Southern experts. So that the pole can be raised and swung from side Sailing will show how to hoist, trim, gybe and to side during a gybe, the topping lift is connected drop a spinnaker confidently in easy stages. Scan this ‘QR code’ with to the middle of an upper bridle. The downhaul, The realistic simulator, designed by John Goode your smartphone or visit which is led from a turning block on the foredeck, is to resemble the rig and deck of a typical cruising www.yachtingmonthly.com/ See the video connected to the middle of a lower bridle. The load on above: our popular cruising chute yacht, with huge fans generating wind to fill the cruisingchute to see a video For instructions the downhaul can be considerable, so we’ll have more above: an ‘end for end’ pole has above: The topping lift is connected to an upper demonstration at last year’s boat show sails, will also be used by Sunsail to demonstrate of the cruising chute demo see News, p8. control if it’s led aft to a coachroof-mounted winch. identical end fittings and jaws bridle and the downhaul connected to a lower bridle 34 www.yachtingmonthly.com JANUARY 2012 JANUARY 2012 www.yachtingmonthly.com 35 EXPERT ON BOARD EXPERT ON BOARD Hoisting the spinnaker 1 Furl headsail and tidy 7 With our boat on a broad reach, set the rig up control lines up as shown on the previous page. Take With the pole braced back and the sheet roughly plenty of time to make sure that the trimmed to keep the spinnaker full, roll in (or spinnaker’s turtle is tied down beneath the drop) the headsail and then linger awhile on the (over-sheeted) headsail and that a sheet initial hoisting run. Take time to ensure there or guy hasn’t been inadvertently led over aren’t any lines trailing over the side (which can a guardrail. Check, too, that there are no easily be drawn into a spinning propeller if it stopper knots in any of the spinnaker’s isn’t locked off) and generally tidy up around running rigging – which we must always the cockpit and deck so that all sheets, guys and be able to let run free instantly. halyards are tangle-free and ready for instant Leaving the As well as creating a lee, the set headsail headsail set above: after a final check to see that everything use. Once accustomed to being towed along by above: Lightly taping-up the will eliminate the risk of the spinnaker should prevent a is in the right place, and that our well-briefed the spinnaker, we can then start to improve its headsail’s sheets can keep the wrapping around the forestay while forestay-wrap crew are standing by their designated lines, the shape and stability. above: Watch for any trailing lines once the sail is hoisted foredeck uncluttered it’s being hoisted. spinnaker is now ready to hoist Hoist in the wind shadow of main and headsail Trimming the spinnaker Luff just Still on the hoisting point of sail, don’t sheeting in hard or bearing away from curling 2 3 4 worry too much about fine-tuning the the wind. Cruising yachts on passage spinnaker beyond the rough rule-of- often accept a fraction less speed by thumb of keeping the pole level and slightly over–sheeting the spinnaker so aligning it (and the mainsail’s boom) at that a course can be maintained without right angles to the wind. having to constantly trim to the Basic sail trim (like that of a headsail) ever-shifting wind direction. is achieved by playing the sheet until the luff just starts to flutter. On a spinnaker this is indicated by its luff just starting Rght: Keep the spinnaker trimmed by to curl inwards. If the wind heads you, playing its sheet so that the luff is just a collapse can be prevented by quickly starting to curl inwards Too high and the spinnaker will tend Adjust height of pole to swing and roll the boat to leeward in Along with trimming the spinnaker’s sheet stronger winds.