Five Keys to Asymmetric Speed and Teamwork
By Kerry Klingler
Over
the last 10 years, I have been campaigning boats with asymmetrical
spinnakers. This article, which was also published in “Sailing World,”
is about how to get more speed out of your asymmetrical spinnaker and be
more comfortable racing with this type of sail.
There
are several premises that have proven to be fast on all boats,
symmetrical or asymmetrical. Taking care of these details is the first
step to finding down wind boat speed. The top of the list is always let
the rig forward when sailing down wind. This one thing can have a huge
effect on boat speed. First, off ease off your backstay; you might want
to sight your rig after easing it to ensure you don’t ease it off too
much and create a reverse fore and aft bend in the rig. In most boats,
you will find you can ease the backstay a lot before this happens. On
top of easing off the backstay there are other things you can do to help
get the rig farther forward, such as using your jib halyard to pull the
rig forward. After the Jib or Genoa comes down, the bowman hooks up the
halyard to the tack fitting and grinds the rig forward. You will be
amazed at how much farther forward the rig will go. On boats that use
roller-furling systems on their headsail, you can’t tighten the jib
halyard to pull the rig forward. My advice is to furl your headsail and
then tension your jib sheet against your headstay to pull the rig
forward. On my J-80, I would ease my backstay to the point where it
was very slack. I would then tension the jib sheets to pull the rig
forward, and that action would also pull the backstay tight.
The
second premise is that separation between the spinnaker and the
mainsail is fast. The spinnaker trimmer’s goal should be to try to ease
the sheet as much as possible and allow the spinnaker to lift and float
away from the main. On asymmetrical boats, heeling the boat to windward
also helps the spinnaker separate from the main. It also helps project
the luff out to the side of the boat away from the main. This is why
when you see the top boats in an asymmetrical fleet the whole crew is
packed to weather down wind. It is also important pay attention to the
trim of the tack line. I often wonder why racers adjust the topping lift
on asymmetrical spinnaker all the time, but forget about the tack line
on an asymmetrical spinnaker. The tack line has a similar effect as
adjusting the pole height on a symmetrical spinnaker. If the luff of an
asymmetrical spinnaker becomes too bouncy or hard to control, tighten
the tack line. This straightens the luff, and moves the draft forward in
the sail. I like to have the tack line a little tight for a spinnaker
set or jibe because it makes it easier to fill quickly. After you get
going and the pressure increases in the sail, try easing the tack line.
This allows the asymmetrical to float away from the main and drift to
windward. I like to call this effect on an asymmetrical “opening the
luff.” When the luff opens, the sail lifts away from the boat to
windward, the upper section of the luff are more pressured and the luff
flattens in curvature slightly. This is OK because the spinnaker has
pressure in it, and stays stable. It is achieving our goal of rotating
to windward more and separating from the mainsail. A general rule for
the tension on the tack line is the following: If the tack line is
angling off to leeward or if the luff of the sail becomes unstable,
tighten the tack line: If the tack line is angled to windward and you
want to try to open upper luff, ease the tack line.
The
third key factor in downwind speed is mainsail trim. It amazes me how
many sailors forget about the importance of the mainsail when sailing
downwind. The first key is not to over-trim the main. I like to check
trim by easing off the main until the luff starts to break and then trim
it in until it stops breaking. Vang trim is also very important. In the
NOOD regatta (our first regatta in my new boat) we were slow down wind.
I couldn’t figure what the problem was. Then we experimented with a
much looser vang and we started to find some speed. Keep in mind the
mainsail it is still half the horsepower of the boat downwind.
Weight
placement is also very important to downwind speed. As stated before,
get the crew to windward to project the spinnaker. Also try to play with
weight placement, fore and aft. A number of the J-Boats have very full
bows and like the weight forward down wind. This has proven to be fast
in a lot of other boats as well. In Stars and Etchells you can often see
a crewmember in front of the shrouds. The goal in weight placement is
to reduce wetted surface, not to plow the bow too much, and to keep the
boat under control. In a Laser, keeping weight forward is very fast, but
if you loose control of the boat, the loss can be great.
Don’t
be afraid to go out and practice, try different things. Use your Speedo
or GPS to help figure the fastest way to sail. Also record downwind
sailing angles. You will find them very valuable in a race for keeping
track of shifts downwind.
So,
now that you have the general premises for downwind speed how do you
organize you crew to maximize you performance. We use four key areas or
positions that help in the division of labor on the boat.
The
first key position on the boat is the spotter/tactician. His job is to
help with the following critical decisions: First is keeping the crew
informed of the position and speed of your competition. The spotter
provides the skipper with information about the boat’s speed and angle.
The spotter also tells me things like we are lower or higher in angle
and whether we are faster or slower. The spotter also helps with
tactical decisions like keeping our lane clear and free from any wind
shadows, and taking advantage of wind shifts and angles to the leeward
mark.
The
next key position is spinnaker trimmer. The spinnaker trimmer helps the
skipper sail the boat at the optimum sailing angle for the best VMG to
the leeward mark. The trimmer should keep the skipper informed of the
pressure on the sheet and sail. Helpful advice should be offered
constantly about how much or how little pressure is on the sail such as,
‘I am losing pressure on the sail let’s try a little higher’ or ‘I have
a lot of pressure, let’s fall off a little.’ The trimmer’s goal should
be to keep the sheet as loose as possible without the luff of the sail
breaking. On bigger boats, spinnaker trim should be worked as a team
with the grinder and trimmer working together to keep the sail in
optimum trim.
As
in any boat that sails downwind, there will be a time where you have to
jibe. In asymmetrical boats, readiness is a key factor in attacking the
racecourse. A second trimmer’s job is to make sure the boat is prepared
to jibe at any time. On our boat, as soon as we complete a jibe we are
prepared for another. The key for a successful jibe is to make sure of
the following: 1. The current spinnaker is free to run out smoothly and
completely. 2. The second trimmer on the new sheet is in a place of
location where the new sheet can be trimmed efficiently and quickly. 3.
The new spinnaker sheet is clear of the bow pulpit and is up high on the
headstay (around 6’ to 8’), ready for a fast trim. During the jibe,
the spinnaker trimmer on the old sheet stays with that sheet. His job is
to make sure the clew floats to the headstay and then makes sure the
pressure is off the sheet for trimming on the new jibe. The second
trimmer, trims in as fast as possible and tries to get the spinnaker to
refill as soon as possible. Right after the spinnaker fills, there
should be ease in the sail for proper trim on the new jibe.
The
skipper’s job is to sail the boat to the fastest VMG to the leeward
mark. It is his job to assimilate the information given to him by the
trimmer and the spotter. Some skippers give the tactical decisions to a
tactician, others make those decisions for themselves. The key is that
boat speed and VMG are maximized. At the same time, you must tactically
defend your position on the racecourse.
In
a race, we work together as a team to work the boat down the run. The
skipper looks for constant feedback from the trimmer, spotter, and
tactician. The trimmer is key in angle assessment and pressure on the
sail. The tactician and spotter help keep the boat in an optimal
position relative to our competition and the next mark.
Other
things to do that help: Before a race get out early and get a good
idea of the conditions and wind angles upwind and downwind. When going
into a windward mark, ask yourself are you on a lift or a header? That
will help you decide what tack you want to start the run on. Typically,
you would want to sail on the headed jibe going downwind. Use a
hand-bearing compass. It helps a lot on sighting the leeward mark and
determining when to jibe to a mark. Try to make your jibes count. Each
jibe is a loss in distance. Make sure you take advantages of the shifts,
but don’t jibe just for the sake of jibing. In a J-80 on a one-mile leg
two extra jibes would cost you at least three boat lengths. Work hard
not to sail under the fleet, and keep your air clear, in asymmetrical
boats, it is easy for boats behind to trap you and blanket you.
Contact Author:
Kerry Klingler
914-924-3466
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