April 17, 2005 Sail Trim Clinic Golden Gate Yacht Club

(If you like, you can skip down through the prose and go straight to the pictures below!)

Really. How do you even try to capture the fun, the spirit, the warmth, the caring among 50 people who gathered on the upper deck of Golden Gate Yacht Club for another great Islander event. Yes, they'd like to sail their boats faster. But they were both racers and cruisers. There were only 8 boats tied up at the docks, but there were 50 peole there - representing 26 Islanders.

In the South Bay, the wind howled over 20 knots, yet on the City Front the sun shone and the wind behaved itself around 10 knots as the fleet gathered for the Sail Trim Clinic. Boats backed in, headed in, and avoided the beach (just check out the pictures at low tide!). When someone arrived single handing, many hands were there. When they arrived full crew - many hands were there. But one by one all eight got tied up and ready for a very special day.

Gary Salvo had arranged a terrific reception from his Golden Gate Yacht Club (yes, the very same YC that is the Challenger Of Record for the America's Cup). The docks were ready, the tables set, a podium and microphone were ready and by 1000 we had almost everyone signed in. Each boat had their own table - a name card and each crew member's folder waiting for them.

Joseph Krensavage kicked it off right on time at 1000 hours. After introductions and a review of the schedule, Robin Sodaro of Hood Sails started us off with a review of the fundamentals of sail performance. The elemental diagram for every sail is the relationship of draft depth and draft position. He suggested you use your digital camera to shoot straight up from the foot to get a good imige of the shape of the sail. Then email it to your sailmaker and he can tell you a lot about it. As Robin said, you can tell if a sail is getting old if you can't put both draft depth and draft location where you'd like them!

Lov Zevanov was introduced to cover the vagaries of the mainsail. He started with a profound connection. Holding up the book 'Flow", by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, he explained that this spiritual writer equated growth of the indivdual spirit with the flow of sailing. Its blend of skill-based abilities to handle the technical nuances of sail trim, the mechanical abilities to anchor and dock, and the worldly ability to divine the weather of heaven combine to make sailing the well-rounded basis of understanding ultimate nirvana (and salvation).

On a more immediate basis, Lou remined us that the best of crews anticipate the changes needed in the main trim. Upwind, the Main's biggest contribution is a little drive and the big component of weather helm. On most Islanders where a 45 degree turn of the wheel equates to a 5 degree rudder angle, that is the Sweet Spot that you don't want to go beyond. If your weather helm is more than that, it's time to lower the traveler and flattern the main.

To get a really good feel for your boat, go out and aim the boat a little below close hauled and lash the helm or tighten your wheel lock. Now, sail the boat in a straight line by playing the main traveler and jib sheet. Pull the traveler to weather to point to weather, (and maybe ease the jib a bit), reverse the process, (and maybe ease the main) to bear away. This exercise will give you a lot of confidence about how your boat handles. All too often we sail our boats with the wheel, when we ought to change the sail trim to make the boat go faster and easier in the direction we want to go. Besides, Lou reached into his 40-year deep bag of experience and told how he once had to sail an Ericson 30 whose rudder had fallen off.

Your traveler is the most important moment-to-moment adjustment on your main when going upwind. The traveler is the biggest factor in weather helm. You want some - up to 5 degrees rudder angle - but not a lot more. If you've got lots of weather helm, drop the traveler lower.

Even on a boat as heavy as an Islander, weight distribution counts. Get your crew to weather going upwind. Keep the boat on it's waterline going downwind. If it's blowing hard and you have big headsails up, move them aft. If it's lighter and you are not flying a spinnaker, keep them evenly spaced on dock. Check your transom to see that it is not buried.

When Lou graciously yielded the floor to Peter Szasz to talk of jib trim, there was a classic moment of Old Salts. Take guys who have sailed together and against each other for 40 years and there is bound to be lots of humor. But like every one of us who have challenged and earned a friend, these two are among the best the whole organization has to offer.

Peter started out not with halyard tension and sheet leads, but with being "In the Groove". While he's from San Francisco, that's not the Haight & Asbury, Mellow Yellow, Smokin', definition. It's the sailing Sweet Spot. That perfect balance when your boat is performing at its maximum potential - and you are moving away from the rest of the fleet.

Getting there is a combination of the right jib tirm, and main trim, for the conditions you are sailing in. Though several questions asked for "right answers", Peter repeatedly pointed out that the "right answer" is different for every boat and situation. But as a starting piont, keeping both the inner and outer jib telltales flowing parallel upwind in 10-15 knots is likely to be fast. As the wind increases, pinching a little pops the inside telltale up about 45 degrees and keeps you going fast without putting the lee rail in the water. When it comes on to blow, try feathering mode with the inside telltale almost 90 degree up to keep your boat on its feet and still moving well.

From a "technical" viewpoint, a jib's draft position should be in the 40 - 50% aft range. Increased halyard tension moves the draft point forward, while an eased halyard moves it aft. Don't forget to tighten your backstay to minimize headstay sag.

Jib lead position is one of the most critical adjustments you can make. The initial setting is to have your top, middle and bottom jib telltales break at the same time. If the top breaks before the bottom two, move your lead forward. If the bottom telltales break first, move the lead aft. Apparent wind velocity is important too. In heavy winds, move your lead aft to open the leech and let the sail twist more and reduce the heeling moment on your boat.

When reaching, add an extra sheet to move the jib lead out to the rail and forward of its upwind position.

Joseph Krensavage picked up the pace on tacking. While there are lots of different ways to tack your boat between light and heavy wind, the important thing is to keep the boat moving and allow your crew time to get the sails trimmed for the new tack. In light to medium air, you can come up slowly, then turn a little past head-to-wind and let the crew sheet home the jib before you fall off on to the new course. It's very important to NOT over-trim coming out of a tack. Let your boat build speed, then trim in for higher pointing.

All this easily used up an hour and a half, then we moved to the docks and used Mustang as the demonstration boat to go over what we'd talked about upstairs.

Then it was time for a lunch break. The crew at GGYC rolled out a fabulous lunch of soup, salad, and paella, with a strawberry mouse for dessert. While we were all eating, you can check out who showed up and the crew on each boat.

Sail Trim Clinic Attendees

Ok, finished lunch?

Shortly after 1300 everyone suited up and headed out onto San Franciso Bay to practice what we'd learned. With eight mentors aboard the eight boats, there was lots of experience to share. First, each boat set up its own sails and tried to maximize their performance in the 18-20 knot apparent wind speeds.

Joseph Krensavage hailed the fleet on channel 68 and started a countdown for a first practice start at 1420. With about a 2 knot current running directly downwind across the starting line, a number of boats struggled to make the line despite the strong wind.

By the second practice start, most had figured it out. With the third start and a short race on the line, it was as tightly packed as any gung-ho one-design fleet around. With mentors who had sailed for 40 years coaching newer skippers, spaces between boats were measured in feet - like one or two feet. But nobody touched and nobody yelled. And away we went for Blackaller Buoy. With the full flood tide, the game plan was to short tack up the shore. The likes of Rich Shoenhair skippering Windwalker and Peter Szasz mentoring Mustang have raced these water since they were pups and touched the bows of their boats within inches of the rocks before tacking west. But everyone had a great time driving to windward along the city front toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

A simple rounding, then a gybe to get back out into the current and finally a gybe back to cross the "finish line" neatly wrapped up the day. Eight Islanders converged again on the GGYC docks. Sails were furled, wet gear stowed and all gathered on the upper deck for a libation and a shared "well done".

It was one special weekend. Thanks to Joseph Krensavage for the idea, and getting Robin Sadaro of Hood Sails to be our anchor. Thanks to Lou Zevanov and Peter Szasz for being our main and jib speakers. Thanks to the other six mentors who came out to teach others what they know.

We get better each time we sail. We get better each time we share. We get better each time we talk when we come in. And we get better each time we learn more about our freinds in the Islander 36 Association. See you all next time.

Pictures are from Lou Zevanov, Rochelle Adams, Sylvia Stewart & Rick Van Mell. Click on images to enlarge, click "Back" to return.

Beautiful Saturday morning	Wait! I'll get that line.	This group BACKS in!
Some help, some kibitz	A very fast Bimini!	Windwalker walks in
Getting cozy	Sandy takes lunch money	Mentor Don Schumacher & GGYC Director Gary Salvo
Joseph & Robin Sodaro tune up	Lou Zevanov studies up!	The Oracle presence...
is very....	evident.	Smokey, Susan & Frank Mayo & Commodore Dickson sign in
Lots of room!	Windwalker's casual approach	Amante is bright and alert
Pacific HIgh has a great crew	Wind Lock has lots of ringers!	Freedom Won is serious about this!
Tranquility is, well......	Joseph gets it going	Hood Sails' Robin Sodaro sets the tone
Grandpa Lou Zevanov gets the main points across	Firebrand Szasz talks the pointed end	What a great....
crowd we ....	had!	Time to go dockside
Doesn't every Islander have a PA system?	Rapt attention aloft and a alow.	Robin Hoists the mian
Now remember about...	halyard tension...	pulls the draft forward...
then Peter says....	OK - advertising!	Great marker for backstay tension.
Now the jib.	Just look at that.	OK, say Sandy & Paul from the upper deck
Tenacious heads out to practice	Windwalker too.	Mustang follows.
Time to suit up.	Hoist!	Get the tension right
Wind Lock follows.	Almost sand-locked!!!!!	Wind Lock lookin' pretty
Practice start # 1	Practice Start #2	Lots of looking good
OK let's go back and try again.	The race is on!	Hate to see them ahead!
Tenacious	Tranquility & Windwalker	Amante
Mustang	Pacific High	Pacific High and Amante
Pacific High	Windlock crew	Freedom Won
Looking Pretty!	Tranquility	Tranquility
Joseph tunes Mustang with Tenacious to leeward.	Nice jib trim!	Surfer dude!
Got them covered.	Think we ought to tack?	OK, that looks good.
Headed for Blackaller Buoy	Inshore stays out of the current	How did they get up there?!
Whadayamean, follow that boat?	Windwalker heads for home.	Freedom Won close behind
Mustang port tacked by a kite surfer!	Bye dude!	Wind Lock locks it.
Tenacious drives home.	Almost lost Amante	Wind Lock loves it
Tacking downwind.	Heading for home.	Glorious Day!
Art Fowler & Dennic Bush survived.	Libation central.	Sandy, John,Rick, Peter, Chris & Marcelo
Lou collects badges	Thanks Joseph & Rochelle.