Learn how to fly a Spinnaker when Solo Sailing (Ep 14)
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2022
- Learn how to fly a Spinnaker solo…
After many years of racing on other peoples and then my own boats with a full crew I moved to double-handed and then onto solo racing but I don’t accept going any slower than the fully crewed boats downwind. Over a couple of years I set out to learn and test the various skills and techniques of solo racing and cruising skippers to manage the spinnaker in all conditions from light airs up to stronger breeze and now feel confident to fly my symmetrical spinnakers in up to 25kts of true wind and occasionally more (although more can get a bit too exciting!)
In this video I show you what I find to be the best technique for launching, gybing and dropping a symmetrical spinnaker when solo sailing, I use much the same technique when sailing with an asymmetric kite.
Yes it may be a cruising Westerly Sealord I’m sailing in the video but I used this technique and process on my previous racier boat and it transfers to many other yachts.
I hope this gives you the encouragement to give it a try as spinnakers are nothing to be scared of with the right technique and provide fast, fun downwind sailing.
As part of my business I do provide own-boat tuition for couples and solo sailors to help with the various challenges that are to be faced, please feel free to contact me if interested.
George Isted
The Solent Boat Butler
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For my day-job I run a small business repairing, maintaining and refitting sailing boats (often contessa 32’s due to my long experience with them) I'm mostly in the central Solent area of the UK. Being a cruising and racing sailor with many thousands of inshore and offshore sea miles logged I like to think that I bring a great deal of real world experience to my work and help many new (and not so new) boat owners to improve and maintain their sailing boats. When I'm not fixing boats I also provide some own-boat sail training, help owners with deliveries and provide consultancy services to those that are refitting their own boats for cruising or racing.
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Disclaimer - I hope that viewers both enjoy and learn something from my videos but please remember to take the appropriate precautions for any DIY refit works you undertake with appropriate PPE and the correct tools for the job. If you are in any way unsure as to how to go about a project or are unsure if something on your boat is safe please consult a professional.
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Music credit - bensound.com
Thanks for putting this out there....well done.
This is a great video and explanation for symmetrical spinnaker flying. Your explanation breaks down all aspects of the process in an easy to understand format. You make it simple and real. Cheers Bro!
Great demonstration of of the solo spin handling, thanks
Thanks for the effort putting this detailed video together, with clarity on each stage. picked up a few tips for myself.
That's a great example of how it can be done if you know what to do. Thank you very much for that nice video!!
George, amazing video! By far the best solo symmetric spinnaker tutorial. You probably don't know it, but you've helped me a great deal with my new to me Contessa 32, "Corrina". Thanks for all the information.
Pleased you liked it, I’m sure you are enjoying your new co32
Been on a boat three years ago where the skipper decided to fly the symetrical kite alone (we were all absolute beginners in the crew !). Took him 15 minutes and it turned not that well. We were just watching without understanding. It ended with a wet kite in the boat and starting the engine. Since then, I am always a bit reluctant when it comes to fly a kite !!! But at least, your video makes me understand (three years later) a lot of things. Thanx for that. I understand why many people stick to a mainsail and a jib 😅
Brilliant George, thanks for listening to our wishes. Excellent demo with great instructions and lots of tips.
Pleased to hear you enjoyed it
Really good detailed video - thanks!
Great sailing and great manouvers very well explained and all of that at a great pace! Ciao
I was really happy to see you pulling the spinnaker into the cockpit. I was expecting to see you up on the foredeck, pulling it into the front hatch, as that's where I've seen sails go before. Doing it in the cockpit is so much safer, and more likely to keep the kite dry.
Excellent video!
On boats which are fully crewed it is quite common to pull the Spinnaker down and drop it below through the forward hatch as it keeps the crew out of the way of the cockpit. However, when single handing or short, handing it’s often easier to drop it down the main hatch, particularly as the mainsail and Genoa will blanket the Spinnaker during the drop.
Good video. This is very useful information, and will help for setting up my rigging for flying my spinnaker.
Thank you very much! Very usefull and good camerawork, I look forward to the next video, and regards from The Netherlands!
Fabulous - Thank You !
Great vid.
You make it look soooo easy. I've only ever launched, flown and dropped a reg spinnaker a couple dozen times on my old 33 ft IOR boat and every time usually with crew of 3 and only 2 others who knew what to do, the rest learning sailors. Needless to say we managed it quiet well (in the water only once) but after watching you solo it makes me wonder how I might survive doing it solo. Oh yeah on the last fly of our spinnaker, on a 60 mile race, wind was gusting to 20-24 kn the old spinnaker finally just tore clean across a foot below the head. It was so quiet and almost in slow motion we watched as the rest of the sail flapped listlessly down to the water. There was this incredible silence in the cockpit for what seemed a very long minute.
Wow always wondered how one does a gybe solo. Seen some crazy fire drills.
That was. Ery cool. Also the way I learned it, but with crew of 4.
Excellent video. I'm not a single-hander, but I like the methods used by them. Your explanations were easy to follow.
Have you ever done a letter-box recovery where the kite is recovered through the gap between the boom and a loose-footed main?
I have done it, it can be handy to letterbox in stronger winds as it helps stop the sail from getting away from you on the drop but generally I don’t bother
I've done many singlehanded jibes, but I've never managed to get the kite to fly so stably once the pole is off. I've written down your tips, particularly keeping the clew 2 ft behind the headstay, and hopefully I'll have better luck. Thanks, good video!
Good instructional video. Another option for halyard release is to throw it (halyard) overboard and let the water resistance aid in control. If more resistance is desired a docking line or similar can be tied on to the halyard to increase the effect.
Thanks, yes I have tried the “stream it astern” trick and that can work very well indeed, it also reduces the chance of getting kinks in the line. This being a centre-cockpit boat it is less convenient that doing it in an aft-cockpit boat so I didn’t show it in this vid. On an aft cockpit boat it works great!
We just tried to sail a 90 m2 spinnaker for the first time on our 34 foot boat with 2 people on board - and in significantly less wind than in your video.
We had a lot of respect for such a big sail. But in the end everything worked well and we were able to pull down the spinnaker safely and dry again.
Nevertheless, many of your tips will certainly be helpful next time.
Above all, I now finally know where this short Pole is for that has been lying under deck for years. I was wondering what can I do to prevent the LUV sheet from bending the railing stanchion.
Now I know -the answer is called Jockey Pole.
All in all, a great video that I will definitely watch some more times.
Nice tutorial
Thanks
Another great video George, keep them coming 👍 Jonathan SD34
Thanks Jonathan, seen your message, will get back to you about that.
Chapau sir very calm. If you could do a video on packing a kite also, as there as some of there think you just stuff it in the bag 😁
I did record a video on packing the kite as I wanted to include that but when I looked back at it the sound was no good to I need to re-record it. Spinnakers are just off at the sailmaker for small repairs but once back I will try to remember to do it.
Great video. I'd suggest one let the main all the way out to the shrouds in order to avoid accidental gybes. You also project more main in that way.
Depends on wind angle but maybe, for sure it needs to be out when the wind is aft of 130 or so. The camera lens can sometimes make things look different to reality I find. Thanks for the comment 😁
Very nice video but camera was too far away to view details on the bow when turning pole
"Jockey pole." There was one thing on the boat I purchased two years ago that I just could not figure out. Looking for the beer link for clearing that up, thank you!
Pleased I could help. Link in the video description
Great video, thanks! You have a new subscriber. I might have to watch it a few more times to absorb all that ! I’ve never been brave enough to fly a kite solo, the best I can do is one other person on board to steer (my boat didn’t have autohelm so I imagine having autohelm is the only way you could do this solo? ). Also, I didn’t know double sheets and guys was a thing! Sailing here in Canada, I have only sailed with line on each corner of the sail, with the lines swapping roles every gybe. Question: at what relative wind angle will the kite fly happily without the pole? Is that 150-160 degrees or so? Getting that angle right would take some of the panic out of swapping the pole over on a gybe.
Try it and see, you done want to be going poleless dead downwind as it’s unstable, but ok up to 140 I would have thought. All boats will have some variation due to spi size, shape and the relative sheeting location.
Very nicely handled , i have to admit , i've never flown a kite even when crewed . I've heard horror stories about them , and that has kinda put me off . I did come close with my last boat , as performance was a bit dead with the wind aft of the beam , but i wasn't sure how to rig it , so never had the confidence to actually fly it .
I've put a like up , but i will admit , i'm gonna be watching this a few more times .
I'm gradually working my way through your videos , so you may have noticed a few like popping up recently .
Pleased you got something from the video, it’s there to try and demystify it a bit and hopefully give some confidence to try a kite. When I’m not fixing boats I also do own boat sailing tuition, if you are not to far away that’s an option fir you, obviously not possible if you are the wrong side of the Atlantic!
@@RefitandSail LOL , actually George , if i've been reading the signs correctly , i'm about 50-60 miles north of you , and yes you did mention that option in the video .
My current position is that i'm between boats right now . I sold my cruiser/racer earlier in the year , and though i am following a replacement , actually another 70's classic . I'm holding back right now , as the current climate is beginning to affect my job . But the offer is noted , Thank you .
Hey Anyone Watching This Video. When in Winds Over 15-16 Knots...Don't Release the Spinnaker. Happy Sailing...!!!
Thanks for the video. What model is your sailboat?
The boat in the video is a Westerly Sealord 39, largish and comfortable (somewhat heavy) cruising boat.
great Video - just one point though - solo spinnaker sailing without a lifejacket ?😮
I’m pleased you enjoyed the video, that’s a fair point about wearing a lifejacket. I am generally very safety conscious, but I also consider the conditions of the day, and I know my boat extremely well in terms of how it behaves to waves, and where strong holding on points are.
I have noticed that some sailboats have 2 spinnaker poles. Is it possible to use the spinnaker with two poles (one pole for the tack and another for the clew)? There is one good thing about this setup - you don't have to move spinnaker pole when gybing...
It’s a good question. There was a time when having a twin pole setup for a symmetrical kite was the fashion but you only use two poles during a gybe manoeuvre, the idea was that it makes the kite more stable and makes the gybe easier. In reality, on boats that are sub 40’ it creates more work and effort than is really worthwhile and with practice and end-to-end or dip-pole gybe is much easier, especially if you have sheets and guys for both sides of the boat/sail. Twin poles for ocean crossing on twin headsails is quite common on cruising boats but not so much on anything more performance oriented while would likely fly a kite.
A Spinnaker While Soloing...? 😲😲 Man...
Couple Things...Spinnaker Pole Needs to be an Imaginary Line Continuing From Boom. Also, Spinnaker Pole Should Be 90 Degree parallel With Deck. Don't Have it Lower or Higher Than 90 Degrees.
This is Just a Conjecture From Info I've heard. I've Never Soloed a Boat, and Used a Spinnaker...You Have. 🤟
Can’t remember how much detail I went into but on the pole it’s best to have the inboard end and outboard end at the same height, I.e the pole is not angled up or down, this is to maximise how much you are projecting the kite away from the boat (and the mainsail in particular). Regarding the pole angle to the wind, most people get told the “90 degrees to the wind” or “a continuation of the mainsail boom” as a good rule of thumb and it’s not a bad starting point but from a performance point of view you often want to pull the pole slightly further aft than that to help project the sail but it can also make trimming harder work, trimming can also be made harder if the sea state is such that the boat is rolling and changing direction to the wind a lot so it’s all a balance and racing trim to maximise performance and cruising trim when you want to sail well but not be constantly tweaking the sheet and guy are two different things. Thanks for watching and the comment.
Forgot to mention, the pole height is dictated by the angle to the wind, wind strength the cut of the kite. All variables that need to be taken into account.
@@RefitandSail Yes, You're Welcome About Me Watching. I'll Be Back. Your Video Was Very Informative. Spinnaker Solo...I Don't Know If I'll Ever Get There....Maybe If I Were At Sea, and Had Good Wind.
In a Crowded Area, With Changing Winds, No Way. ha...!
The Spinnaker is Make or Break. Spinnaker is Like Snow Skiing Out of Bounds. Can Be a Thrill, but One Wrong Move, and You're Eating a Tree ⛷