After traveling to the regatta and bobbing around in a Whaler whose
steering cables broke, Greg Fisher led a discussion amongst the J22 sailors at
the community center in Marion.
Greg has a great way of simplifying the complicated aspects of sailing so
that we amateurs can put his suggestions to use. Bob Cunkelman, Lou Mariorenzi and I
thought it might be helpful to pass them on. I’ll give it my best shot, and
hopefully Lou and Bob can add anything I forget.
Greg is a great fan of the port tack approach when starting. I think he has an article on the J22 web site about this.
Leeward Mark
Roundings:
Greg talked about how it helps to come into the mark dead downwind. This allows the spinnaker trimmer to release the twing and hold the guy out to windward to keep the chute full while/after the pole is removed and placed on deck. This does not work very well if you come in on a broad reach. He also encouraged people to make wider turns at the leeward mark and start the turn earlier so as to come up close by the mark when already close-hauled.
Rig
Tuning:
Greg said that any tuning guide is just an estimate of how tight the rig should be - a good place to start. He said that the best gauge of rig tension is to check the leeward upper shroud when sailing close hauled with everyone in racing positions. He said the leeward upper should be just going slack. He sails upwind, checks the leeward upper, adjusts it, tacks, makes the same adjustment on the other side, checks it, adjusts, tacks, etc. When he has the tension he wants in the uppers, he sights up the back of the mast and adjusts the lowers based on whether the mast is sagging to leeward (lowers too loose), or bowing to windward (lowers too tight). If you are sailing with more crew weight, or the seas are rougher, you will need more rig tension for the same wind speed than if you are sailing with lighter crew in flat water. The tuning guide can’t account for that.
(Quick note: This sounds cumbersome and time-consuming, but we tried it on Saturday and Sunday, and once the rig tension is in the ballpark, it’s quicker than pulling out a tension gauge – especially if adjusting between races. Also, it’s a good check when sailing during the race if you want to know if your rig is too loose – though you can’t change it during the race. Also, I think this is the same method that Cory Sertl (Fisher) mentioned to Jack Hubbard. )
Jib Trim:
He said that his first approach to setting up his jib when getting into the class was to make the jib look “normal” – not too deep, fairly flat – and he was really slow. He now sails with the lead forward to create a fuller jib. For the North jib, with the rake listed in the tuning guide, the lead should be just about exactly in line with the shrouds. Then he sails with the sheet eased just enough to open the slot up top. He only moves the lead back a slight bit if it gets windy.
Responding to Puffs:
Get this! – He sails with 2:1 jib sheets and his jib trimmer hiking on the rail at the front of the cockpit, but facing inward so that he can play the jib. In puffy conditions, they ease the jib sheet as much as a foot (6” at the sail with 2:1 sheets) to help keep the boat flat and allow the boat to feather up toward the wind. Often, when they respond this way, they don’t ease the main at all, just the jib! (Think of this when sailing up to the “Z” mark in a puffy southwester!)
(Quick note: One boat had blocks on the clew of the jib for the 2:1 arrangement. We have tried the 2:1 setup with the line just led through the grommet and there is a lot of friction when tacking. Lou tried 2:1 on Saturday, and then went back to 1:1 on Sunday. He could also play the jib just fine from a hiking position with feet over the side. )
Main Trim:
Greg actually sails with the old fiddle block arrangement on his main sheet, and has a different approach to main trim from what Moose was saying. They both do the same thing in light air – traveler up to keep the boom on CL and twist the main to keep the top batten parallel to the boom. But in medium air, when Moose would keep the traveler in the middle and drop it temporarily in case of a puff, Greg prefers to go straight to vang sheeting (vang on hard, and mainsheet used to play the main). Moose suggested only going to vang sheeting when it really started hooting.
Spinnaker Poles:
Greg said that he stores the spinnaker pole on the deck between the cabin and the shrouds with the topping lift attached, and the guy pre-led through the fwd end of the pole. It does not get clipped to the shroud (or anything) or stored with it’s fwd end under shock cord fwd.
When setting the pole at the windward mark, one just pulls up the topping lift to a mark on the line, which lets the pole float in the air, and then stands up and clips it to the ring. At the leeward mark, the foredeck person stands up with the topping lift in one hand, unclips the pole from the mast and chute, and lowers the pole straight down on deck between the cabin and the shrouds with the topping lift still attached. Done!
(Quick note: This is shown on the J22 boathandling CD ROM that you can buy through Layline, or the Harken website. It is well worth the 50 bucks. We’ve been using this pole system on Rhapsody all season and it works perfectly even when the guy isn’t through the fwd end of the pole. As long as the pole is slid back so that the topping lift is about even with the shrouds, it stays-put perfectly and the topping lift does not interfere with the jib.)
Other Lessons from the Regatta:
Jibe Sets:
The Quantum Sails boat (Scott Nixon and crew) from Annapolis did jibe sets at the windward mark when they wanted to start the run on port tack. They did this simply by setting the chute without the pole up, pulling it around the forestay, jibing, and hooking the pole on as the trimmer held out the guy. - seems like a good option if you want to get to the inside of the fleet for the run and the leeward mark rounding.
Wind and Waves:
We had good speed in the lighter air, but had trouble adjusting to a very bumpy seabreeze. It seemed to help to sail with the jib eased a bit and the main twisted a bit. This was not reaching (!) but it allowed us to sail a bit lower and more powerfully through the waves. This seemed to be similar to the angle that the others were sailing.
Downwind Visibility:
On one downwind leg, we were commenting on how our jib, which was still partway up, was filling nicely below the spinnaker and giving us some extra sail area. About two minutes later we fouled a Shields that we did not see coming straight at us. After doing a 720 and missing some shifts, we dropped 6 places in that race. The partially raised jib still seems like a good idea, but there is a Big Ass Blind Spot that you have to be careful about.
Leeward Mark Roundings:
In one race we lost a bunch of places due to a botched leeward mark rounding. I had forgotten to preset the traveller for upwind on port tack, and had not taken in any mainsheet before we got to the mark. We rounded with the main flogging and the traveler all the way to leeward, which put us in bad air to leeward of the boat ahead and gave clear air to the boats behind. Ugly, ugly, ugly!
Mainsheet:
We switched our mainsheet swivel cleat and plate to the fwd side of the traveler bar. This is much better upwind when sitting forward - which seems mandatory in all breezes.
Finally:
This is a great time to be in the class - especially if you are just figuring it all out. The racing is friendly and everyone is so interested in building the fleets, that they welcome and thank anyone who travels to a regatta. With 11 boats on the course, there was always somebody close to race against, but still enough room on the course that we did not have constant crossing situations, etc. The Buzzards Bay Regatta was spectacularly well run, and our hosts in Marion could not have been more friendly. The regatta will be in Padenarum (sp??) next year - a great chance to get the Marion, Hyannis, and Newport/Jamestown fleets together.