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Beating (continued)

Beating in Medium to Strong Wind (12-20 kts)

9.  Jib.  Luff tension: no wrinkles showing:  start to flatten.

Clew board: jib sheets attached 1-2 holes below the centre position.

Jib sheets: use heavy weight, large diameter sheets to aid crew comfort.

Fairlead position: inboard, with 2 holes showing at the inboard end of the track.

Sheet tension: hard in, but with the crew prepared to ease the sheet in gusts.

10.  Main. Battens: average tension for fairest depth to sail.

Clew outhaul: 5cm depth, and tighter as the wind increases.

Boom vang: tension increases with wind to flatten the top of the sail.

Cunningham: sufficient to remove luff wrinkles.

Boom position: as near the centreline as possible. but eased to leeward in gusts.

Main tension: tight for a straight leech.

11.  Technique. Dagger board positioned from showing 15cm above the casing to 25cm as the wind increases and the gusts become more violent. Sailing flat is vital.  As crew weight becomes inadequate to keep the boat flat, it must be depowered. The vang is tightened first, then the main traveler eased to leeward in gusts. If the jib back-winds the mainsail, the jib too should be eased with the gusts. At the start of each gust ease the sails slightly and bear away for speed, then return to your original position as the wind settles. Heavy crews sailing in flat water might try planing to windward. This technique needs practice and care in use. Roll tacking becomes tricky!

12.   Waves. As for paragraph 8, noting that waves are more likely at this wind strength. With violent gusts and steep waves cleating the traveler and playing the main sheet is worthwhile.

Beating in Strong Winds (20kts+)

13.  Jib.  Luff tension: tight to flatten and so depower sail:

Clew board: from 1 hole below the central position to the bottom of the board, thereby inducing twist in the sail.

Jib sheets: large diameter to aid constant use:

Fairlead position: 1-4 holes showing at the inboard end of the track.

Sheet tension: hard when possible, but more likely to need near continuous playing with wind and wave requirements.

14.  Mainsail. Battens: minimal tension to flatten the sail

Clew outhaul: tight.

Boom vang: very hard to flatten the mainsail.

Cunningham: hard to ensure no wrinkles.

Boom position: from centreline to stern quarter as it is played with gusts and waves.

Main tension: eased to induce twist and feather the top of the sail.

15.  Technique. The dagger board should be near or at deck level. Sail flat and work hard. Wave techniques described in paragraph 8 become the norm. Weight should be moved farther aft (crew may have one leg aft of thwart). Coordinated crew work for changing sail settings is important. Venturi bailer should be constantly down. Don’t bother roll tacking!

16. Roll Tacking

a.- With the boat in an upright position, cleat the main sheet and use the tiller to a maximum of 45 degrees to luff the boat.

b.- As the boat nears ‘head to wind’, the helm and crew move their weight to the old windward side to roll the boat over themselves. As this happens the helmsman lets go the traveler line.

c.- When the boat is ‘head to wind’ the crew quickly changes the jib to the new side and rotates the mast to the new position.

d.- When the new course is reached the traveler should be positioned for the new leg and the boat should be brought back upright. Both actions should be smooth and at a speed appropriate to the wind strength.

At the end of any tack when beating. the boat should be sailed slightly below the normal course to windward until the normal speed is reached.

Rounding the Windward Mark

Use a set routine to follow in priority order.  Recommended is:

a.  Set planned course.  
b.  Ensure boat is upright.  
c.  Set sails for speed.  
d.  Over-rotate the mast.  
e.  Ease vang.  
f.  Fairlead out.  
g.  Leeward shroud forward.  
h.  Dagger board up.  
i.  Clew outhaul off.  
j.  Cunningham off.  
k.  Begin normal sailing.

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