Running downwind

[dgarrett@gte.net]

Another Option

Another option that I have used is to run with twin headsails and no main. I pole out the windward sail. Works great.

 

[Don Guillette]

Not much going on at the Sail Trim Forum so I thought I’d pop over here and take a crack at this subject. I’ll bet there is not one cruiser out there, who at least ONCE in his sailing life, wanted to get wherever he was going a little faster or at least ONCE wanted to give the guy he was sailing next to a “go at it”. Always sailing directly dead down wind is not the answer in all wind speeds. It is for a couple of them. If you are a middle of the pack racer, wouldn’t you like to move up a position or two? The downwind leg can give you that opportunity, as many of the folks in front of you will sail directly DDW to the mark, thus affording you the opportunity to pick them off. I like that leg as that’s when most racers crack open the beer and sandwiches but that’s when I go to work..Have you ever heard a cruiser brag that last year it took him 5 hours to sail from Long Beach to Dana Point but this year he made it in 7 hours? Of course not and the same goes for the Newport to Ensenada race, which is 125 Downwind. A lot a guys sail that race DDW. You could match their sailing time on a 55 gallon oil drum!!So what the answer? There is very little written about downwind sailing technique but help is at hand and it is coming from.our good friends Bly and Phil, who are the owners of Sailboatowners.com and it will be provided shortly to you FREE, with their compliments. All you’ll have to do is print it off and then go out and try it to see if it works for you. I have condensed just about all the downwind sailing information that is in print and condensed it into an 8 page document. It is designed for cruisers, “newbies” that want to try their hand at racing and middle of the pack racers, who want to move up a position or two. Cruisers will find it helpful because there will come a day when they’ll get themselves into a pickle and will find it helpful to be able to produce that needed burst of speed to get them out of harms way and their engine is not the only answer.Here’s what you’ll be getting – outlines and diagrams of the best courses to be sailed for each wind speed, a discussion of how to use oscillating and persistent wind shifts to your advantage, how to locate and use wind shifts, how to protect to the right and left, how far to head up or down plus downwind strategy and a general set of simple techniques.The newest edition (10/02) of my book, which is available from the ships store, includes the 8 page downwind document.

 

[Rick D]

Pole and Preventer

I run a 110 nm race that's 75 percent DDW. I have a 110 RF fractional jib. It is easily blanketed. I installed pole mounts on the mast two years ago and use a reaching pole on the jib. I also rig a preventer and keep the main out and slightly vanged. This rig works OK keeping the crew from going completely nuts at night, but DDW is a whole lot more productive with a big masthead spinnaker. I do, however, love DDW on cold winter days with guests aboard. Makes the boat settle back, the sun is warm and the peanuts don't spill. Rick D.

 

[Bob Kotch]

Shortest distance

I know better but I can't resist taking the shortest distance, which between two points is a straight line. But then again I seldom do well down wind.

 

[Rick D]

Good Book, Don

I purchased your book through the site and its as good as any of the sail trim books I've read in the last 40 years. Disgards the stuff on topsails, mizzen trim, gaffs, etc, which few of us are likely to use;^ Rick D.

 

[Jeff Bole]

GPS Velocity made good

It's pretty easy with the GPS to figure out what angle off the wind is fastest. Dead downwind is the slowest but shortest, while a beam reach is the fastest but longest (infinite) course. Somewhere between these extremes will cover the distance in the shortest amount of time, the VMG feature of the GPS helps to find the perfect point of sale. For my boat it is usually a broad reach which eliminates the problems of blanketing sails, wing on wing, and accidental jibes. It varies though, especially considering wind shifts around land forms, currents, traffic, and space between the shoals.

 

[John Dorowski]

Downhill Run

While I agree that, given the option, the reach would be a better point of sail, it often is not available when either racing to a mark, or cruising some of the narrow intercoastal channels here.We sail our O'Day 222 with a 135 and use a whisker pole to keep the optimum amount of exposed sail area. True it may be, that under a less watchful eye there will be an accidental jibe. But here practice makes perfect. If the air is light you may find yourself suddenly sailing by the lee. Playing with the windshifts and the course is all part of the fun and the experience.Wishing you dry socks and warm cheeks in the weather to come.

 

[Charlie E Hargrave]

wing & wing

I sail downwind wing & wing. My Holder will hold this to within about 10 degrees either side of the wind. I use my oar as a whisker pole and a preventer on the main.If I'll be on this course for more then 30 minutes or so, I'll usually crank the swing keel up. This seems to add a bi of speed.Charlie

 

[Ray MacStay]

Wing on Wing

Wing on Wing has always worked well for me. A preventer is a must. I have never had a gennaker and would like to try on, I have been told how well they work.No matter how you sail downwind, it always smells better then the diesal, and sounds better, Too!

 

[Colin Wightman]

Rockin n rollin

Does the new downwind sailing section discuss steering as well? We sail on Lake Superior and anytime the wind gets up to 20 kts or more (which has pretty much been the story for the past two months!) we very quickly have 4-6 foot waves of the very steep and close together variety...under these conditions, my downwind sailing attention is more focussed, perhaps "riveted" would be a better word, on steering rather than sail trim. Almost any sail larger than a handkerchief will get us (a Catalina 36) surfing down the wave fronts, and the passage of each wave requires very fast corrections from the helm...after a couple of hours I'm totally thrashed. DDW seems like the easier course to steer as, on a broad reach, each wave tends to require stronger helm corrections resulting in more pronounced rolls. I seem to end up using a bit of the jib for propoulsion and the double reefed main to reduce the rolling. I keep thinking there's a better way that isn't as strenuous but I haven't found it yet...

 

[Tim]

Very Broad Reach

When I first started sailing, it seemed no matter which side I sheeted out on for a dead run would end up being the wrong side with an accidental jibe to follow. However, using a very broad reach, which means to keep the wind crossing over one corner of your transom with the sheet out to the opposite side, solved this problem. I will take that tack as far as I can then head up and sheet in to get to my destination, or come about if need be, and come in on a faster reach for my last leg.

 

[Peter Brennan]

Such a hassle

is sailing DDW. Even though my wife has an uncanny ability to keep the boat (O'Day 37) wing and wing for the longest time. In that situation she is a far better helmsman than I am. But generally, unless we expect a long uninterrupted run in a steady breeze we just don't set up the whisker pole, the preventer or the asymmetric spinnaker. It's such a hassle with only one or two people on board. The whisker pole alone weighs forty pounds. Recently we came out of Oyster Bay bound downwind for home, looking to twenty miles of uninterruptd running with twenty knots of wind at our back. So we went through the hassle of rigging the spinnaker. Whereupon the wind went literally to zero and stayed there until we motored within sight of home. Then it came up strong again -- right on the nose. Such are the joys of Long Island Sound.

 

[Nick Leonard]

Twistleyard Rig

For downwind running....long term as in tradewinds duration...try a twistleyard rig. It puts the CEs as forward as possible; can be quickly reefed with speed and safety ( all cockpit), done right reduces the rolling to almost nothing, and is easy on everyone aboard. A twistleyard rig can be imagines thusly: two highcut working jib sized sails, each sail's luff from the common headstay, with a pole of about .95 "J" each side. Poles come together into a crude universal joint aft ( fwd of the mast of course) then a topping line goes up to the spin halyard; a "bottoming line" goes to a turning block in the deck a bit fwd of the mast at centerline thence aft to the cockpit. This is a control line in fact. Off each clew is a sheet running aft to the sheetwinchs. To reef...simply ease the sheets and roll up the furler line yhen adjust the control line to reduce slack. Adjust the sheets to fine tune and...it's back you the book you were reading....This rig is the singlehander's tradewinds best friend!

 

[Jeff Bole]

Broken booms and toe rails w/preventer

All of these wing on wing with preventer responses scare me somewhat. In my short racing career, I've seen (on competitor's boats) two booms broken where the preventer was attached, and one toe rail ripped out along with a sizeable chunk of fiberglass. Yes, these were racers possibly pushing too hard, but the risk is there.I'm thinking that I'd rather risk an accidental jibe than rig a preventer. Perhaps the preventer lulls the helmsman into false security, while I know that I have to pay close attention to avoid a jibe. One way I do this is to rest a hand on the main sheet, allowing me to make an immediate correction when it starts to slacken. I also keep an eye back to spot gusts or windshifts. And above all, I try to avoid dead down wind as it's the slowest and possibly most dangerous point of sale.Just my two cents,Jeff

 

[Beverly]

Downwind

Gull wings will work.I will hold out the Main with a preventer,The whisker pole hooks to the Jib and if there is not enough speed to go somewhere, I either change my course to catch the wind or turn on the Yanmar.On the Chesapeake there are sooooooo many nice places to visit, if the wind is not right in one direction, it will be right in another.Happy Fall sailing to all.

 

[Mike]

Best running tactic

Since the 23 has swept spreaders, a no roach main, a small jib, and I have no spinnaker, the best tactic for downwind in less than 10 knots is simple, noisy, and smelly-start the outboard.

 

[Mike Barnett]

reaching is for me!

I sail an older AMF Sunbird, a 16' daysailer with a small cuddy. I find that sailing a very broad reach and gybing saves me significant amounts of time when sailing in Tampa Bay. If I were to possibly invest in a cruising chute of some type, going downwind might work better, but, then again, a bigger boat would solve even MORE problems! Granted, my boat will plane sometimes, even though it's not a racing boat, but I do always enjoy getting all the performance out of it that I can. A picture of the boat is available on my website at www.strato.net/~mikeveg , along with a link to the Sunbird forum that I run.Happy Sailing!!

 

[Justin - O'day Owners' Web]

Poled out Genny, Prevented Main by the Lea

If I really have to sail a course anywhere near truly downwind I will gybe the boat onto port tack, prevent the main off the starboard rail, then gybe back and deploy the gennoa off the port bow with the pole. For some reason the boat is much faster and easier to control with the sails in this configuration than it is with the sails reversed. Haven't figured out why. Velocity made good is better if I tack down wind at about 150 degree apparent, however. Justin - O'day Owners' Web

 

[Brad Newell]

Downwind?

For all the reasons mention, we almost never sail straight downwind. On our Pacific cruise, when the wind blew directly at our destination, we usually "tacked" downwind. The only time we went straight downwind was when the wind exceeded fifteen knots. Then we usually went main-alone. As an example, when we left Mexico for the Marquessas, we were looking at almost 3000 miles, mostly downwind, after two or three days of reaching. When the fresh, 20-30K, off Mexico disappered, we were left with about 10K from the east. (If you head for your destination prematurely, you wind up dealing with the Convergence Zone for a LONG ways.) A straight run would have been limited to about 5k, provided that we could wing-out. We do not carry either a spinnaker pole or a whisker pole - too much fuss. By reaching off 20-30 degrees, we could broad-reach under full sail at 6-6.5K, tacking once a day. In winds that light, the boat stood almost straight up, with the sails steadying the boat. Straight downwind the boat would roll occasionally in swells that came from God only knows where, aggravated by the asymetry of forces due to the main sitting off to one side. My memory says that we made good an average of around 6.5K for the passage.For local sailing, in those conditions, I tend to use the jib alone, today. The HarkenII furler works so well that I can furl it easily in any conditions.

 

[Jose Venegas]

Jeff Bole has a point

A fix preventer can result in catastrophically large forces on the boom and tow rail during a wild jibe. I prefer to make the preventer with a line that runs through a couple of pulleys and returns back to a winch at the cockpit (blue lines on the picture). Although the pulleys have a weak link that would break before the line, I never cleat the preventer line. Instead, I make 4 to 5 turns on the winch leaving the rest of the line hanging on the companionway. An identical system is set on the opposite side and the line forms a continuous loop. The preventer keeps the boom still in waves minimizing the chances of an accidental gibe. However, when a gibe does take place the preventer works as a brake that slows down the boom as it swings around. Once the boom reaches the opposite side, the preventer from that side has to be trimmed. This system has worked very well form me more than once and in high seas and relatively heavy winds. Effectively, the system works like the “Dutch brake” for a fraction of its cost. Other advantages of this system are that you don’t have to leave the cockpit to set it up and, while on the hook, you can use it to fix the boom eliminating noise at night.Having said that, I do believe that sailing downwind without a preventer is very dangerous since a gibe can be caused by a wave or a gust even while broad reaching. An accidental gibe can not only send somebody overboard, but also result in boom, mast or rig failure.