LSC Crew Notes - June 4, 2003

Information for Crew Involved in Racing with Members of the Lansing Sailing Club.

Another Great Tuesday On Lake Lansing
It was another great evening of sailing on Lake Lansing yesterday. There was a good wind - with some occasional heavy puffs. At the end of the evening, one person asked how best to trim the sails during these puffs to keep the boat "on its feet" and moving fast. This involves a process known as "powering up" and "depowering" the boat.

Depowering To Keep the Boat "On its Feet"
Lightnings like a little bit of heel (about 8 degrees). However, too much heel makes the boat go excessively sideways. As the wind blows harder, "depowering" the sails helps keep the boat from heeling too much.

What Does "Power-Up" and "Depower" Mean?
In simple terms, "Powering-up" the sails means to give the sails have a more rounded shape. If the main sheet is pulled in tight, the quickest way to get more roundness to ease the sheet a little. To "depower" the sail, make the sail less round - flatten it out. The quickest way to make the sail flatter is to pull the sheet in. Lightning sailors also use other sail controls to power-up and depower.

How Is The Mainsail Powered-Up and Depowered?
There are three main controls that power-up and depower the mainsail: The mainsheet, the backstay and the traveller. You don't always need to use all these controls to keep the right amount of heel. Do only as much as is necessary. Also remember that there are other things that can be done to keep the right amount of heel - such as hiking.

1. Mainsheet. Trimming the mainsheet in pulls the boom closer to the deck and flattens the entire back part (leech) of the sail, depowering the boat. Letting the mainsheet out a little puts more curve in the sail and makes it more powerful.
2. Backstay. Pulling the backstay tighter depowers the sail by bending the upper part of the mast. This flattens the upper part of the sail and causes the upper part of the leech to twist away from the center of the boat - letting some air spill out of the sail. Ease the backstay to power-up.
3. Traveller. Let the traveller down to cause the boom to fall away from the centerline of the boat without changing the sail shape. This spills air out of the sail and depowers the boat. Pull the traveller back toward the centerline of the boat to power-up again. NOTE: not all boats have an easily adjustable traveller and this will limit the use of this sail control.

Depower first using the mainsheet. If this is not enough, pull on more backstay. If the boat is still heeling excessively, let the traveller down. Power-up in the reverse order.

There are additional controls for powering-up and depowering the sail. For example, pre-bend in the lower part of the mast, the outhaul, vang and traveller height all have an important impact on sail shape. However, the big three are mainsheet, backstay and traveller.

Practice Tuesday, June 10
Please feel welcome to join us for some practice next Tuesday - 6 PM to sundown. It is helpful to email Pat Dolan, LSC's Crew Coordinator ahead of time to let him know you are coming. This will help assure sufficient boats will be available to accommodate those participating. You can just show up - but no guarantees on whether there will be a spot for you. The goal is to to provide a structured opportunity for crew and skippers to expand their sailing skills. We will be doing this every Tuesday evening as long as there is an interest. Only lightning and very high winds keep us off the water. Assume we are practicing. If weather conditions are really bad, we have plenty of video to watch and "chalk talks" ready.