Gybing gennaker in light wind, “late main”: when the mainsail comes in late

In an era when, even in the world of offshore comp racing, symmetrical spinnakers and tangons are gradually disappearing in favor of bowsprits and asymmetrics, knowing how to maneuver the gennaker with good technique will also be useful when participating in regattas, for example of a winter championship. Jibing the asymmetric in medium-light winds in particular is a maneuver that if done correctly can bring great advantages. There is often a tendency to pay more attention to gybing in high winds because it is more “risky” and physical to execute, but even gybing in less wind requires accurate technique to gain meters at carrying gaits.

“Late main,” the late gybe.

The most effective technique for jibing with the gennaker correctly in medium-light winds is the so-called “late main,” which is the delayed mainsail tack change relative to that of the gennaker, which works particularly well on displacement boats or boats that otherwise do not have great facility for planing and therefore need to bring the gennaker back under pressure as quickly as possible so as not to lose speed drastically. A maneuver in which coordination between the helm and gennaker tailer, as well as the mainsailer, will be crucial to its success.

The gybe begins with the helmsman starting with a slow rest and the tailer letting go of the gennaker sheet. The helmsman will pause for a moment at or just beyond the wheel thread allowing the gennaker to begin to inflate on the new tack before the mainsail is also gybed. In this way the asymmetric swells before it receives the mainsail disturbance, and the boat remains for a second almost butterfly with the mainsail on the old tack and the gennaker on the new tack.

At this point the mainsail trimmer, who under 10 knots may try to physically hold the boom blocked to prevent its passage (if the boat is not too big), or will be helped by a crew member grabbing the boom from the vang, will encourage the sail to gybe and the helmsman simultaneously heave on the new tack. The mainsailer at the moment the boom is passing, will retrieve a few strokes of the sheet both to aid its passage and to prevent the mainsail from hitting the spreaders on the new tack and in the crew’s “headsail area.” To make the maneuver even safer, the mainsailer can “call” the passage of the sail to alert the crew. The coxswain’s final heave is also important to get going again immediately under acceleration with the sails inflated. If it remains too rested, the gennaker will struggle to return properly to pressure and the maneuver will be thwarted.

leggi anche

This inflatable cat becomes a sailboat thanks to the kite

The tailer on the new sheet, will have to retrieve it quickly during the rotation of the sail (assisted by the men in the bow in the case of crewed running). Those who may be assisting the gennaker passage, pulling the sheet along with the tailer, and are standing on the edge, will have to pay special attention to the mainsail passage, which will take place very quickly and with a wide sheet spread. Once the gennaker is inflated and the boat has completed the gybe, if the exit course has been corrected, the helmsman will lean slightly and the tailer will let go of the sail accordingly to increase speed.

Mauro Giuffrè