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| Marc and Al: That venerable
Mike Mac chute still looks and works great!! ... |
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| A more recent Mike Mac
chute is holding 2nd place. ... |
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| Lori and Jason are about to
do ... ... |
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| ... a very nice gybe. Note
how the spi has been properly pulled around to the new leeward side for
the close spi reach coming up. While Jason completes the pole transfer,
Lori may want to reach forward and ease the jib to a reaching setting. ... |
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| Alan gybes inside Robin. ... |
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| Robin counters by going
high into clear air after both boats are past the mark. ... |
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| The jib still seems to be
oversheeted. The spi is well set and trimmed but perhaps it has seen
the last of its useful racing days? ... |
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| Brian (6082) struggles with
the spi. After dropping into last place on the previous reach, he and
John no doubt hope for better things on this leg - starting
with catching Robin in 6071??? ... |
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| Note the fine extra jib
sheeting effort being made by Carolyn as she and Robin have 6071 very
nicely trimmed. Even without a spinnaker, they will be hard for ... ... |
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| ... Brian and John to catch. ... |
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| And then Robin spoils the
whole "serious concentration" effect by doing a "Look ma! No Hands!"
for the photography boat!! ... |
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| After an uneventful second
beat, we began the run. It's still anybody's race among the boats above
where Jamie (4594) appears to have moved past Dave (282) into 3rd place. ... |
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| A very nicely balanced SHADES
continues to hold her lead over ... ... |
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| ... Bill and Frank. ... |
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| The pursuit continues. ... |
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|
Near the leeward mark:
Marc starts to pull the spinnaker halyard through Al's slightly
clenched hand. If Al just lets the halyard go, the spi could fall under
the boat. Note how Marc also pulls the foot around to keep the leeward
sheet from falling into the water and going under the bow. It takes
fine judgment to time this manoeuvre so that just enough time remains
at the end to ...
... |
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| ... gybe the boat and ... ... |
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|
... round the mark nice
and close. The wide rounding Al did at the gybe mark cost little or
nothing by way of distance sailed, but here, a close rounding is a
must. Note how quickly Al's main has gone from being all the way out in
the previous picture to perfect beating position. That's because Marc,
as soon as he has the jib sheeted almost to close-hauled (and cleated
there), reaches in and grabs the mainsheet and brings it in hand over
hand to closehauled before giving it back to me. A person with one hand
on the tiller and trying not to hit the mark, simply can't bring the
main in anywhere near fast enough!
... |
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|
Anatomy of a spinnaker
take-down: Note how Frank has removed and stowed the pole early. This
is easily done on a run where Bill, the helm, can stand and keep flying
the spinnaker while the crew stows the pole. In this situation, it is
especially important to have the pole down and stowed before the
take-down and gybe. Apart from the obvious reason that a pole left up
gets in the way of the take-down, the pole will also deform the jib
when it is sheeted in to closehauled after the gybe.
... |
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| Again, note how Frank
gathers the foot of the spi to keep the sheet from going under the
boat. Here, Bill and Frank have either left the take-down a bit late or
... ... |
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... the halyard has
snagged. I find it very useful to uncleat and then put my halyard hand
as far up in the air as I can. This gives me instant and early
feed-back about any snags in the line, and in fact tends to get rid of
the latter. Ideally of course, one remembers the halyard early enough
to check for and remove any tangles a minute or so before the intended
take-down. But using the hand-up techniques is a good alternative for
the many times that I forget to prepare my halyard. Above, Bill has had
to gybe before Frank can get the last of the spi stowed and everything
will now be a bit of a rush.
... |
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A fine rounding
recovery, all things considered. I think Frank must have sheeted the
main in for Bill, so now Frank can turn his attention to the jib which
still appears sheeted to windward? And then of course, the rest of the
spi needs to be stowed before the whole thing blows out to leeward and
becomes a sea anchor!
...
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