Listening to Cullison after the races today I learned their secret of going fast to weather. They were able to sail as fast as we were and higher.
Brian is a good driver who can follow the subtitles of shifting winds and communicate changes to the trimmers.
Jim sits on the weather rail and trims the main and jib. He is also able to play the back stay outhaul and halyard tension from the rail.
This allows them to constantly shift gears to keep the boat fast, high and flat as conditions change.
They flatten or deepen sails as the winds change. Jim can retrim the main and jib quickly to match changing or shifting winds.
For example, in a header or a lift Jim can ease or trim the jib faster than the helm can follow the shift. Once boat is on the new heading the jib and maybe the main can be retrimed. This keeps the boat fast.
At the same time the back stay and outhaul can be adjusted to keep the sails powered up as winds increase or decrease.
Jim said they like to keep the main flat with main tension and top open with backstay. This allows the boat to sail high and fast. It also prevents weather helm. We witnessed that on Saturday.
He said the outhaul position is adjusted about an inch between minimum and maximum.
This symphony of steering and trimming relies on constant communication between driver and trimmers.
To accomplish all this will require we change where some of our controls are located.
Sailing with three of us allows many of these adjustments to happen easier while having the ability to keep our eyes outside the boat.
If we want to win we must incorporate these changes to overcome our extra weight of sailing with three people. We need to be cleaver and fast.
And so endth the sermon for this evening.
Moe
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