Flying a spinnaker on a Hunter 320 in Jazz Cup

[Stephen Dale]

We did the Jazz Cup and did fly a stock cruising spinnaker for most of the race. I was surprised how well we did with the spinnaker, and could even do a wing on wing dead downwind, but you can imaging a few degrees off and the sail would collapse. Also- we could jib, but it took a lot of work to get the sail to pass without getting caught up. We were in light winds, but we participate in a weekly beer can race in the Carquinez Strait with the variable winds it would really be a challenge. Should I be thinking of a different spinnaker, or something a bit with a heavier material?

BTW – the winner of the Jazz Cup was a classic Catalina 30 with a cruising spinnaker – no pole – so I guess it can be done.

Here is a post about the race Log into Facebook

 

[sail sfbay]

We did the Jazz Cup and did fly a stock cruising spinnaker for most of the race. ............Should I be thinking of a different spinnaker, or something a bit with a heavier material?......

Congrats on doing the Jazz Cup race!! To answer your question depends on your cruising spinnaker code, size and weight. Was it an asymmetrical loop or symmetrical, what weight and did you pole it out? Typically, cruising spinnakers come in two weights — 0.75oz or 1.5oz. Anything heavier than that is a storm spinnaker; anything lighter is for smaller sailboats. The lighter the cloth weight, the better the kite will fly in light air. You can fly a 0.75 oz kite in wind up to 15 knots apparent. For the Bay you might need a couple of spinnakers to optimize performance. For example, a 0.75oz and a 1.5oz for moderate to heavy wind.

Might refer to these articles on spinnaker selection, specifications, sizes for your sailboat and the wind conditions you sail in:
Choosing the Right Spinnaker (constantcontact.com)
Wind Specifications For Cruising Asymmetrical Spinnakers - Precision Sails (precisionsailloft.com)
Our asymmetrical spinnakers specifications | iSpinnakers