Spinnaker Sailing

Spinnaker sailing is fun,  especially when you have a crew that knows how. Most people have a new spinnaker on the boat, deep down in the bowels of the lockers. They usually end up at the bottom of the pile.

Resurrect your spinnaker. Flying it is fun, and adds an element of pride and excitement to your sailing skill set. It’s not hard if you prepare the boat properly for it. It’s disastrous if you don’t. (well messy anyway)

To begin with, you need a couple foredeck people and a couple in the cockpit. Pick a day when the winds are light for your first attempt. Pick a broad reach with a run where you can go in a straight line without being forced to turn. Put the sail up, and take it down, on one tack. This will give you an idea if you have it set up correctly and will be good practice for setting and dowsing.

Couple things to remember.

The spinnaker pole goes on the upwind side. It is the part of the system the holds the windward portion of the sail (the luff) into the wind. The “Guy” is the rope that attached to the sail “tack” on the upwind side. The “Sheets” are the ropes holding the downwind side of the sail.

Run all the ropes, the sheets and guys, around the outside of all your rigging. Your sail is large and runs outside of all the rigging on the boat. Do this prior to putting the sail up. Set the “Guy” first.  Draw the sail to the spinnaker pole prior to hoisting the sail. Set the pole.  The spinnaker pole should be roughly 90 degrees to the wind.

Hoist to the top before pulling in the sheet. This way the sail gets up to the top before filling. Make sure your “guy” and “sheet” are wrapped on your winches securely as the pressure on a spinnaker is larger than your other sails.

To take the spinnaker down there are a couple ways. On a smaller boat, simply have a crew member grasp the bottom of the sail, as close to centre as possible, release the guy and sheets completely so that the sail loses its power. You can hand over hand, towards the centre of the sails foot. Bring the sail down into the boat with all lines attached, usually into the forward hatch. On a bigger boat, Release the “tack” of the sail completely using your quick release. This lets the tack fly free and takes the power out of the sail. This allows you to pull the sail down into the cabin of the boat, on the downwind side, with the attached “sheet”. Take a good look at the picture and envision your hoist and dowse.

If you want to learn more about sailing lessons or sailing charters in the Gulf Islands, message us.  Have fun, see you out there.