On Saturday, Four Hands, Squirrel, Lazy Sheet and I went out to conquer the spinnaker. Â Although we were short handed, the light wind gave us time to think, talk and move slowly until it started to click. Â At one point, though, the wind was so light, it was all a bit silly!
Here’s the first sequence, using sheets only (no separate lines as guys), and end-to end jibes. Â By the end of this sequence, we had a good rhythm, jibing confidently within 30 seconds.
On the second sequence, we used sheets and guys (a separate line to control the pole), but we found that the guys were too short to comfortably reach at the forestay.
On the third sequence, we extended the guys with some additional line. Â Although this made it long enough, the pole didn’t slip over the union. Â Conclusion? Â We need longer guys before we can master the dip pole comfortably.
But check out the douse on this sequence: Â textbook!
- Remove the pole first. Â Keep the spinnaker filled
- Bring out the jib and set it
- Douse the spinnaker and head upwind.