SB3 Bow Tips

General

  1. try to get to steer the boat as much as possible – gives better idea of timing and problems the helm has
  2. get fit and grow an extra set of arms

Kicker

  1. make the kicker your responsibility – ease it for bear offs, leeward roundings and out of gybes – don’t wait to be asked

Jib - Upwind

  1. trim jib upwind constantly
  2. mark jib halyard, and raise or lower jib on forestay dependant on conditions
  3. write down clearly the shift ranges for reference

Kite

  1. Hoist - mark kite halyard 6 inches from cleat when fully raised – tie tail of kite halyard to the starboard end of the kite bag to reduce knots on kite drops, or feed it through the Becket on the outhaul block so if it snags, you can see the snag point – decide on roles and don’t vary from them - all boats different, but in ours;
  2. Bowman hoists kite from middle of boat – stand well back so as not to grab kite / other ropes whilst hoisting – get it up fast to avoid dropping in the sea
  3. Middleman pulls tack line after pulling windward jib sheet in to pull clew to windward slightly – prevents kite catching on jib clew
  4. Helm holds tail of kite sheet, and sets kite (unless blowing stink, in which case left in leeward tidy-cleat, as this gives approximate clean set)
  5. If twist – Bowman pumps downwards continuously on kite clew until untwists – or if not untwisting, gybe the boat, which usually sorts the problem
  6. If kite sticks on hoist – Bowman calls for abandonment of hoist and re-packs it fast, before it hits the water – do not attempt to keep pulling if stuck
  7. Trimmer takes sheet – Bowman tidies halyard into bag and tack / pole lines after that, leaving end of tails out of bag and resets jib sheet
  8. Ensure front of bag clipped down (small eye above hatch hinge) to prevent bag washing out of position in nose-dive, and in drop – ensure retaining elastic for crossbar as tight as possible
  9. We use a mesh halyard bag for main and jib halyards – this is just stuffed into the bottom corner of the kite bag
  10. Flying and gybing – again different on all boats – we think this works best
  11. Middleman flies kite – crew balances boat for minimum rudder action – throw weight forward to catch waves – write down soaking and planing compass reading ranges and advise if on lift or header – watch for and report wind patterns coming and changes in boat angles – call boat to boat positions +/- tactics – watch for lay lines
  12. Into gybe – Middle eases kite sheet and calls gybe – Bowman pulls new sheet until clew 2-3 feet from back block – if light, listen for snap before releasing – then release and catch at perfect trim – very fast in blow – done as bum hits windward rail
  13. Out of gybe – Middle sorts mainsheet and takes kite sheet as soon as boat balanced when in light wind
  14. Windy – once planing, we have all three bums aft off grannyrail – Bowman trims kite out of gybe to get up to speed as quickly as possible and keeps trimming for 50% of leg to next gybe, to share workload with Middle, then switch and trim mainsheet – kicker 25% eased, boom on rear quarter driving boat as hard as possible – try to sit on kicker tail for quick release in crash, otherwise cleated
  15. Dropping – depends on drop
  16. Standard windward drop – make sure extra length tackline to ensure full inversion when tackline popped whilst pulling on sheet – ensure correct sheet to clew connection – no course adjustment needed – pole line off up to two minutes in advance, pole won’t come back in – grab sheet, then pop tackline, then halyard – no need for Middleman, who can sheet jib in - watch for tack washing off bow and over windward rail into piss
  17. Leeward drop – ensure boat well offwind – tackline off – gather foot – Middleman needs to feed halyard – don’t attempt in a blow – 50% off twists, 90% of kites overboard
  18. Kiwi gybe drop – easiest, fastest and best one to do at last moment into the left hand gate mark – key sequence is pole launcher line off, ensure tack is forward of shrouds coming out of the gybe, and not let go of, and boat not pointed dead downwind, as kite fills to windward – make sure helmsman heads up slightly to blow the kite into jib, and then as for windward drop – easiest and safest drop of the three

Broaches – kicker off, and if boat stops, and no steerage, release 20 feet of halyard – brace yourself to pull against half filled 46m kite to rehoist before helm drives through the middle of it!