Pumping the sails to win in regattas: beware of the rules, what you can do and what is forbidden

Anyone who frequents the world of racing has undoubtedly heard the expression “pumping the sails,” it is in fact one of the techniques that, from dinghies to monotypes to offshore cabin cruisers, represents one of the fundamental skills for running a sailboat in race mode. Be careful, however, because pumping sails is an action delimited by precise rules, breaking which commits a “foul,” which can be signaled in various ways depending on the type of regatta (and the type of rules of the class of boats participating in the regatta), for example in dinghies it is whistled “live” by the judges on the water.

Knowing how to implement pumping sails , while staying within the rules, can also make a difference on cabin offshore boats, particularly in the stern, where a more “sporty” conduction will allow us to gain many meters compared to those who limit themselves to a school adjustment.

Definition of pumping and rules

Wanting to give a technical definition to the term, to pump a sail means to dick it and subsequently let it go, with a generous sheet excursion, an action that for boat propulsion we can imagine as a wing beat. In dinghies or monotypes this effect can also be recreated by shifting the weight of the crew, but be careful because as we wrote in our introduction here we immediately enter a zone of action where the risk of breaking the regatta rules becomes very high, rule 42 in fact prohibits a whole series of actions aimed at increasing propulsion with physical gestures.

Rule 42 on Propulsion, in its basic definition (42.1) is very clear:

“Except when permitted by Rules 42.3 or 45, a boat must race using only the wind and water to increase, maintain, or reduce its speed. Its crew members may correct sail and hull trim, and perform other acts of seamanship, but must not move their bodies in any other way to give propulsion to the boat “. And again, 42.2: Repeated foiling of any sail obtained either by caulking and hauling it or created by vertical or transverse body movements is prohibited.

A whole series of impermissible actions follow from this basic rule, including boat rolling intended to generate propulsion and not produced simply to improve hull trim. Simplifying the terms there are exceptions, provided thus in 42.3:

When “surfing” (rapid acceleration by descending on the front side of a wave), gliding are possible, to initiate “surfing” or gliding, each sail may be capped only once per wave or gust of wind…and continues a capping of any sail made in an attempt to promote surfing or gliding, when surfing or gliding conditions are marginal, is allowed even when it fails in purpose.

We can therefore say. stern-sail pumping is permissible when done to prime the boat’s surf/planing, it is a permissible action then depending on wind and sea conditions.

We can caulk the sails once on the wave so that the boat accelerates with it and starts in the surf. We can do this once for each wave, even on close waves, even in conditions where the wave is not very formed and the surf will only be hinted at.

The general rationale of Rule 42 is to prevent that through repeated pumping or rolling, discrimination is created between sailors and crews who are more physically fit and those who are less so. If pumping and rolling, in nonfoiling classes (foil boats have a different rulebook on this), were allowed without restriction, boat handling would become a more physical and less technical game. Instead, with these rules, an attempt is made to maintain a balance between physical/athletic and technical play.

Beware, however, because every class has its exceptions regarding the 42, in surf/planing conditions on many dinghies such as for example the Finn 0 the 470 the rules on pumping and rolling change, going so far as to speak in some cases of “free pumping,” which in any case is regulated within certain boundaries, which we will not analyze here, and which in any case are always inspired by the general principle of allowing pumping by finalizing it to surf/planing. Here we simply examine the general criteria and apply them particularly to cabin boats.

How to pump up the aft sails

Pumping has to be done at the right times to be effective: normally we caulk the sail with a moderately deep sheet hike when we feel the wave begin to lift the stern of the boat slightly, and we keep it capped during the duration of the surf/planing also because by accelerating abruptly the boat will have a slight shift of the apparent wind toward the bow that will last almost as long as the planing. When we lose the surf the boat slows, the apparent returns toward the stern, and it will be necessary to quickly let go of the sails to return to a proper setting. To then start again in the maneuver with the next wave.

This work can be done simultaneously on mainsail and gennaker. On cabin boats, most of which are displacement boats and are limited to surfing on the wave, the time in which we will keep the sail capped will be significantly shorter than on a boat capable of true planing.

On a cabin boat, let’s say up to 40 feet, and in wind conditions within 15 knots, a good rower in good physical condition can try pumping by taking hold of the sheet deck. In fact, in the stern the faster the boat is, the more the apparent wind on the sails will decrease and we will have less load. Alternatively, mainsail pumping in stronger winds should be done with the aid of the winch and a man at the mast who, from the sheet to the German, helps us to caulk the mainsail generously as the wave arrives. On monotypes, at least up to a certain boat size, because of their lightness and ease of developing speed and glide, it is in many cases done with the mainsheet deck in hand.

The gennaker, again staying on the cabin boat front, given the loads involved, is normally pumped with the help of the winch. Under pumping conditions there will be a grinder fixed to the winch, which will make the trimmer calls by working vigorously on the handle when the wave comes in.

When the wave is not there and the wind is light

Pumping is permitted to facilitate surfing and planing, so it is effectively prohibited in flat seas and light winds. However, staying within the permissible, albeit playing with the limit of the rules, trimmers even in light winds can implement conduct that somehow helps the boat to have minimal acceleration.

The gennaker trimmer will have to be good at keeping the sail on the “ear edge” at all times, with micro leavings and micro retrievals of the sheet perhaps in conjunction with a light gust, excursions of a few inches, slow. Doing so in the meantime will keep the sail on the correct setting, which must always be at the edge of the ear and never fucked up again, and at the same time generates slight propulsions that are unlikely to become illicit pumping.

The light-wind mainsailer, even if his margins of maneuver are extremely small and pumping is prohibited, will still have to hold the sheet deck in his hand, follow with slow movements those of the gennaker and make sure that on the natural roll of the boat the sail always remains “on” and does not flapping deflated, perhaps recovering a few inches of sheet so that it does not lose its buoyancy.

Mauro Giuffrè