Light
weather
Compared
with modern race boats the 38 is heavy and relatively underpowered. Upwind
in 20 knots this is an advantage – but in 8 knots or less, acceleration
is slow and life is a bit of a struggle.
Starting
– Normally go for the ideal starting position . BUT , if this
involves a dogfight – and the ducking and diving kills speed ,
you will be left for dead by lighter boats accelerating away.
Start in a low traffic area with a long build up on a fetch ,
winding up over the last 15 sec to cross the line at maximum speed.
This is less critical in
a one design start – but I believe the principle still holds.
Sail
shape – More shape in foot of both genoa ( sheet forward) and
main ( ease outhaul ).
Draft of both sails relatively aft ( 50% in genoa – draft of the
mylar main seems more dependant on mast curve than halyard tension)
, and boom in centre line but travellor well up to windward .
If however there is a slop then
you need to drop the boom , increase the twist in both the sails
and possibly tighten the halyards to bring the draft forwards.
Mast
– Modern practice is to wind off forestay tension in light airs
to increase forestay sag - and tighten it up as the wind increases-
a LOT ! But Sigmas have neutral helm so pretty much need max allowed
forestay length ( see class rules) in all but a huge blow, which
means the far more complex task of adjusting all 6 shrouds ! My
conclusion is to set up
the
mast with quite soft forestay for light winds - use loadsa runner
for medium winds - and wind on some forestay for 15 knots plus.
Crew
– Flat on deck and forward in the boat . If it is cold “trimming
the focsle” with the heater on becames popular - and fast - along
with reading the papers on the cabin sole sipping hot chocolate. Purists would have all but 3 crew inside - especially in a slop.
Upwind
– If in doubt don’t tack – it takes an age to get back up to speed.
Ease
sheet and travellor to a lifting puff, and head up slowly , sheeting
back in as you go ( instead of keeping the sails pinned and putting
helm down ). Try and distinguish between a true header and a velocity
shift. The apparent wind will go ahead in both , but if you have
just run in to a patch of no wind – don’t alter course - wait for the wind to come back.
Downwind
– Sail high angles with the pole well forward and the main surprisingly
well in but with some twist. Look at the slot between the spinnaker
and the main and keep it open . As long as the leech ribbons are
flying , the main is not going to be overtrimmed.
Hoisting
– When you first bear away , the apparent wind stays ahead – so
don’t be in too much of a hurry to hoist until the speed bleeds
off a bit.
Gybing
- Gybing on the wind shifts downwind is crucial
. Do it slowly as otherwise the apparent wind stays ahead and
the spinnaker collapses. Keep the pole low until you are through
the gybe and accelerating again – the kite is far less likely
to collapse.
Navigation
– light winds and strong tides mean that course steered and course
made good will differ markedly. Work
it out before the beginning of a leg and check it on a GPS as
soon as you are on course.
Leeward
mark – Where possible do your final gybes well before the leeward
mark so as to enter the rounding at max speed with as little course
change as possible. Enter wide, exit narrow using minimum helm.
Hull
– If its foul, give up and go to the pub!
Tactics
– At least one person should be constantly thinking and looking around – in light airs
opportunities to win a race are there to be spotted more often than in
any other conditions.
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