Expert’s Forum

EXPERTS' FORUM

Advice this month includes...

- Leaving your mooring in style - Dylan Fletcher on new crews - Crossing the Channel safely - Finding the start line sweet spot

Keelboat masterclass How to reduce drag

Just about any time when we’re racing our mission is to go faster than the competition, and if we are cruising, the sooner we can make it to our destination, the better. British Keelboat Academy Head Coach, Niall Myant, shares a secret

Understanding how to get the best sail shape for your boat, for all conditions and situations can feel exhausting – and most people brave enough to dive into the neverending spiral that is long articles on aerodynamic science quickly run out of enthusiasm. So, let me suggest that we take a moment to improve our speed from the other side of the equation: drag.

All boats produce drag, and as we get faster we produce even more. At higher speeds the bow wave gets bigger and, combined with other e ects, the total amount of drag ramps up. Once the drag – which is trying to stop us – equals the same as the power from the wind pulling forward, the boat stops accelerating and stays at that speed. In other words, if we increase the power we will go faster, but if we increase the drag we will go slower.

A huge part of sailing – and racing in particular – is about getting in the strongest wind, and having more power as a result.

Race teams might have one person whose sole job is to look for wind on the course, perhaps even climbing the rig to get the best view. If we put the same energy into finding ways to reduce our drag, it would have the same e ect as sailing into more wind. Upwind we’d go faster, higher or both. To put it bluntly, there is little point worrying about the condition of your sails if you sail with sheets dragging in the water.

There’s also another thing to consider. As sailors we’ve all stressed about a small piece of tape that’s peeling o in the wind, or a crew member standing in the jib slot, or slight crease in a sail. But instead we should be looking lower, at what is happening in the water.

Why? Well, water is much thicker than air, approaching 1000 times the density, so equipment dragging in the water has a far more serious impact than something of a similar size dragging in the air.

I don’t wish to get deep into the science, because there is no need to. We want to go fast, and we can do that by finding more power or by making the boat slip through the water more e ciently. Sometimes that means sanding and smoothing the bottom, sometimes shifting crew weight, and very often, simply checking over the side.

Remember, lifting a sheet out of the water is like finding more wind.

PHOTO PAUL WYETH/RYA

This month

The America’s Cup has been forefront of conversation this month. It’s universally acknowledged as the pinnacle of our sport, and the trickle-down of both trends and tech reaches many levels. But the interesting thing about this cycle is that the AC75s will make their appearance for the second time. Sure, there are tweaks to the design, most visibly represented perhaps in the reduction of crew numbers and the disappearance of the code zero. But that fact there’s no new boat makes this iteration of the Cup no less interesting; rather it’s where the nitty gritty of performance moves forwards. Five years ago, no-one was even sure if an AC75 could be sailed, let alone sailed well. Now that has been proven, this cycle is when the intensity steps up as systems, crew work and everything that goes with that gets tweaked, refined, perfected. It’s like anything with sport, and sailing is no exception: after any big leap follows a cycle of continuous improvement. The steps are smaller, progress may be less obvious, but incremental gains can make all the di erence to performance - and enjoyment. No matter what sort of sailing we do, it’s a process worth bearing in mind.

Email your thoughts to Georgie. Corlett-Pitt@chelseamagazines.com

Inspiration

Can't get enough...

This month we are loving 49er helm Dylan Fletcher's honesty when it comes to campaigning for another Olympic gold: “It is a tough decision coming back having already won a gold medal, because that’s there, and you may come back and you may miss it by miles the next time, but I was keen that I gave it a shot - if I look back in five years’ time I may regret it if I don’t push myself and go again.” Read more from Dylan on page 83.

Coach boat view

e sweet spot

Our resident racing expert Mark Rushall considers whether what might look like the perfect place to start is truly the best option, or could greater advantage be found elsewhere?

Picture the scenario: our rival in the RS200s has made the textbook start - the most windward boat at the starboard biased end, sailing at full speed, ahead of all the faster boats. We’ve started on a transit in the middle of the line: first gain to them. Have we lost the race already?

Five minutes later, we’re able to tack and comfortably cross ahead. Where did they lose out? Certainly not on speed; we’ve raced each other enough to know that the di erences are minimal.

While line bias is always significant, there are some other questions worth considering before fully committing to that seemingly ‘perfect’ spot on the line.

Here are some questions that will help you to pick the sweet spot...

Why is the line biased?

A biased line on an upwind start is not square to the wind. If nothing changes, starting at the end closest to the wind gives an instant advantage. When Red tacks (fig 1) he’ll cross behind Green. You can think of the beat as climbing rungs of a ladder: the green boat has essentially started on a higher rung! Fine if nothing changes, but what if it’s a shifting breeze, and the reason for the starboard bias is that at start time the wind’s at the right hand extreme of the range? As it shifts steadily back toward the left (fig 2) the ladder rungs twist correspondingly. If the wind is in a left phase when the red boat converges on port tack, positions are reversed and Green’s apparent advantage is gone. Could Green have done anything to protect his position? Yes, he could have sailed low and free in fast forward mode to close down the

ABOVE

A wind shi at start time may not re ect the bigger picture, so try to think ahead

Fig 1 Fig 2

'Starting in a position that gets us to the gains sooner may be more signifi cant than the early line bias gain'

‘leverage’ between him and Red, but that is pretty di cult in displacement mode or when there are other boats on the start line that you need to take into account.

Can I ‘bank’ the gain?

In fi g 3, the wind has shifted left at start time, giving a port biased line. Red makes a great pin end start but can’t tack and clear the boats to windward. As the wind shifts right, the boats to windward are lifted around Red, who loses her initial advantage and more. If Red was clear to tack immediately onto port tack, she could cross ahead of the other boats before the right shift, and secure her bias gain.

Where is the course axis?

Look where the windward mark is in fi g 4. Red’s position is now even more vulnerable in a shifting wind. On a square beat, when the wind swings left and Red tacks, Green can also tack onto port, maintaining the status quo. Tacking back onto starboard in the next right shift will put Green back in the driving seat. But with the skewed beat, any time on port tack will take Red straight out to the layline: once there, a shift in either direction is a loss.

Where are the gains?

In our club race, there was another strategic priority. We were beating against the tide, with shallow water to the left. Starting further down the line got us into the slacker tide on the left more quickly: though if there had been more starboard bias we may have been vulnerable to faster boats sailing through to windward while the feet was compressed. Starting in a position that gets us to the gains sooner may be more signifi cant than the early line bias gain. If the gains are to the right, and the line port biased, starting to the left of the bulk of the fl eet may give a better chance of a quick escape route.

Where are the obstacles?

Mixed fl eet racing in both keelboats and dinghies is partly an obstacle course race. The ideal starting position for a given situation in a one design fl eet could be sub-optimal in a mixed fl eet if there are slightly faster, higher pointing boats just to leeward, or a procession of bigger boats lining up to power over the top with no prospect of tacking to clear your air.

Fig 3

THE REACHING START

Apply the same principles to weigh up the options on a reaching start...

Which is the biased end?

This time, the biased end is the one that gives the shortest route to the next mark. Again, there may be good reasons for avoiding it. If it’s a really short leg it might simply be better to defend the side that will give the inside line at the fi rst mark.

What is the fastest route?

Single-sail boats sail faster on a close reach than a broad one. The fastest route may not be the shortest. Even if the windward end is closer, it may be faster to beam reach from the leeward end. Or it may be that the windward end enables a spinnaker to be fl own, while the leeward end does not.

Where are the gains?

If one side of the course has more pressure, or more/less tide, the leg may be decided by who gets to the gain side fi rst. In that case pick the start position relative to the gain, rather than the fi rst mark.

Fig 4

Cruising clinic

Backing the jib

Sometimes it just doesn’t seem right to switch on the engine and shatter the peace after a tranquil night on a mooring, says resident cruising expert Clive Loughlin

Why not sail o ? Unless there is a decent tide flowing, a boat will normally lie head-to-wind when at anchor or on a buoy. Being head-to-wind or ‘in-irons’ is not generally considered to be a good point of sail – so how do we sail o in a controlled manner?

Our main should be raised and set ready for action with the mainsheet let right out and kicker released, so it is well and truly depowered.

Unroll a few metres of headsail and have the sheets slack. At this stage not a lot should be happening. Decide which way you want to go when you release the buoy. The main thing is not to hit anything - so go for the safest option and if there is a stream running, ideally head into that so that you have immediate steerage.

It is best to have two trusty crew on the foredeck – one to release the buoy and the other to back the jib – but one person can quite easily do both tasks provided everything is prepared in advance.

If you have decided to go to starboard then the jib will need to be ‘backed’ by grabbing the clew and holding it out to port. First slip the buoy and then immediately back the jib. The bow will be blown away from the buoy and as soon as the boat is getting towards beam on to the wind, the starboard jib sheet can be hauled in together with the mainsheet and suddenly you are sailing.

Whether you are in a river or a bay the chances are there are other craft around, and having just a scrap of jib up will greatly improve forward visibility. The main aim at this stage being to safely depart the mooring area.

Backing the jib is a simple procedure that can often be used in other situations such as leaving a pontoon berth.

It is not at all di cult but it encourages a di erent attitude to sailing, a revised mindset that considers the natural forces and how we can use them to our advantage instead of instinctively reaching for the ignition key.

Ready to go with mainsail up and jib backed

Keep watch by eye and AIS

Thinking beyond the horizon

Bob Garrett is Chair of Council for the Cruising Association. He has crossed the Channel on board his Dufour 365 Intrepid many times...

Crossing the English Channel, or any busy seaway, we must avoid contention with other vessels by following the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, or 'colregs'. On a yacht if you have AIS ensure it is set to transmit that you are a 'sailing vessel' as the default setting is 'pleasure vessel'. As a yacht under sail, we find most ships take early action to avoid us and with AIS we can sometimes see their rate-of-turn flick briefly upwards. But it doesn’t always work out that way…

On one occasion, approaching the northern part of the Channel we were heading towards three ships heading west. Doing the eyeball task with multiple vessels involves many numbers, so using AIS was a good double check.

The first ship was going to be clear ahead of us, and the third clear astern. However, the second ship was the problem. Some say to obey colregs and not contact ships by VHF as confusion can arise. That would mean a turn to starboard which would take us into contention with the third ship. Turning even more to starboard would either mean passing quite close to the third ship or gybing and heading back south-east; but first we decided to call the second ship.

A call to their MMSI number produced no response and nor did Channel 16. Positive action was needed so we commenced a starboard turn while also calling that third ship. He responded immediately, said he had heard our earlier calls to the other ship and we agreed we would pass port-to-port about half a mile from him while he also turned a little to starboard. He seemed pleased we had called him and had found an agreeable set of actions.

Immediately after, another ship called us; they were sailing westwards, we were now heading directly toward them. They were still some miles away and not visible by eye. Colregs would demand they turn to starboard to avoid us, but if we turned northwards then our courses would again converge. His question was simple and logical, “could he assume we would revert to our earlier course as soon as we could?”. We confirmed our plan to turn northwards astern of the ship; and he confirmed he would maintain his course. We were soon heading for home again.

What did we learn? That one ship failing to keep watch and observe colregs had required actions from three other vessels. We had had a clear plan that did not need VHF communications for safety but VHF conversations meant minimum disruption to shipping and to us. The Cruising Association is the home of worldwide boating information for yacht cruising enthusiasts. Visit theca.org.uk

Pairing up with a new crew

Gold at the 2020 Olympics left 49er helm Dylan Fletcher hungry for more, and he has since teamed up with new crew Rhos Hawes. What has he learned?

What’s the smart way to boost your performance? INEOS Britannia’s Head of Human Performance, Ben Williams, says healthy eating is the answer

“It’s always di cult to know when you start sailing together if it is going to be right, so give it time; people are quite di erent. I sailed with a couple of others, but Rhos is the right physical size for me as I am quite a small helm, and he has the right level of professionalism in the way he operates. “As I’ve got older I’ve realised the importance of that. At Olympic level, everyone has talent and works hard; it’s about how you use that and how you balance talent and motivation.

“The key is in your mindset; you both need to be willing to learn together and want to progress. If you’ve got weaknesses in the same area, it can make it harder, but the flip side is you’ll have a super strength in that area.

“The quickest way to progress a new partnership is to work on boat handling and communication. You need to know what the other person means when they say something mid-manoeuvre - that’s the stage we are now at. You don’t have to be on the water: you can talk your way around the race course, and discuss what you would normally say and agree exactly what a call like 'maxed on main' means. On the water, we are putting time into the basics like tacking and gybing.

“The 49er has a new mast and sails for this cycle, so there is a big technical learning curve. It’s very di erent from when Stu (Bithell) and I started sailing together (for 2020); he was already an Olympic silver medallist. Rhos and I are on a much steeper trajectory in aiming for gold in Paris, so our goal setting has to be very di erent this time.”

“I have learnt that you must both be honest about your goals; have an open conversation at the start so you can avoid arguments later on. There needs to be trust and respect, so you can talk through issues. Agree clear roles - boat work, admin, etc - and split them fairly to avoid imbalance. Above all, have fun together.”

Follow via britishsailingteam.com

Fuel for sailing

Sailing is a sport where you’re exposed to the elements with long periods of time spent on the water. You can’t always fuel and hydrate as e ciently as you would do if you were in the gym, so the stress on the body can be really quite hard in sailing.That said, you need to be healthy and available to go sailing (i.e. avoid illness and injury). Good immunity is essential - that’s why it’s important to look at your diet, understand the food you are eating and why.

So, make sure you’re eating from really good food sources; lean proteins, lots of colourful veg and salad, and getting as many nutrients from as many di erent sources as you can.

Do some reading: what are the key ingredient or nutrients you need for immunity and what foods you can get them from? Don’t go straight to a multivitamin! Look at food first and then if needs be add a supplement for your extra needs.

You also need to ensure that you’re fuelling the work you are doing correctly. There’s no point in eating the same every day; if you are going out sailing for six or seven hours on a Saturday, then you probably need to up your carbohydrate intake on that day to support all of the work are you doing. You should also have an increase in protein after gym sessions and long sailing days to help recovery.

When it comes to fitness, make nutrition, not the gym, your first port of call.

Follow the team at ineosbritannia.com

Charter choices made simple

The secret to getting more out of your time on the water can often lie in the details. Time for some careful research, says pro skipper, Tom Fletcher...

When chartering, consider not only the manufacturer and length of the boat, but also how it’s equipped. A Sail Ionian yacht anchored Check the boat in Kioni Harbour specification carefully. Some companies have a one-size-fits-all approach so their yachts can be a bit generic. But knowing what spec you want will ensure not only the crew, but also the skipper can relax and enjoy a great trip. So, what should you look for?

1. A good anchor – Essential if chartering in the Med. There is obviously some personal choice here but for me it would ideally be a Rocna and at least 60m of chain. Don’t underestimate this – the anchor will be well used and it can really spoil a holiday if you have to make several attempts before it holds each evening. 2. Instruments – A deck-mounted colour GPS should be bare minimum these days when sailing in unfamiliar waters. In addition, an auto-helm is an under-rated but incredibly useful extra. On a calm day no one wants to spend their holiday glued to the helm and if you’re sailing with novices you’ll need to move around the boat while she stays a course. 3. Electric outboard engine – Not only will you get extra points from Greta, but there will be no more rowing home into the wind with a flooded carb! 4. Creature comforts – In a hot climate, unless you splash out on a yacht with air con, you will definitely be wanting cabin fans. If the yacht has fans then it should really be fitted with solar panels too, otherwise you’ll be su ering from flat batteries. 5. Extras – These can really make a di erence; don’t be afraid to ask. What about some assistance on the first day? An hour with a skipper practising stern to mooring or long lining? An additional battery for that electric outboard if you’re chartering with teenagers? A SUP or a kayak to play with? Or even an ice machine? The devil may be in the details, but so are the ice cubes for that well deserved G&T after a long day on the water!

Tom Fletcher is a highly experienced charter skipper who has worked at Sail Ionian for over a decade.