Mainsail trim is controlled by the traveler and mainsheet in combination: the sheet controls the shape of the sail while the traveler determines its angle of attack. The trick is to know when and how much to adjust which one. 

In light air (e.g., under six knots), you want the boom almost, but not quite, on the boat’s centerline, but you don’t want the leech to close too much (i.e. sheet too tight—see the discussion of "twist" on page *). Therefore, trim the traveler to windward until its center is at the windward edge of the "table" in the front of the bridge, and trim the sheet until the boom lies about one boom-width to leeward of centerline. 

Now look up at the sail. From where you’re sitting, its leech should appear parallel to the backstay (see Figure) from the clew up to the second batten from the top (hereafter referred to as the "backstay rule"). Also, the seams in the top of the mainsail should appear as arcs of circles. 

 

Familiarize yourself with the dramatic difference slight mainsheet adjustments make by experimenting with the sheet as you watch for the "backstay rule." Also, observe how a small change in windspeed dramatically changes the mainsheet setting needed to maintain the "backstay rule"—think about it: the wind pressure in a four-knot wind is four times the pressure in a two-knot wind! 

The "backstay rule" applies in all wind velocities. To maintain it through puffs in, say, six to 12 knots, you must drop the traveler to leeward as you trim the sheet. Otherwise, you’ll trim the boom too close to the centerline and the boat will heel without generating corresponding forward thrust. 

From about 12 to, say, 18 knots (depending on crew weight, sail shape, and wave conditions), you still must play the sheet and traveler in harmony, but you’ll gradually have to drop the boom to leeward to prevent too much heel. 

Somewhere between 16 and 20 knots, the boom tip will reach the leeward gunwale. By this time, you’ll have trimmed the sheet as much as it will take, so from here on you’ll adjust only the traveler until the wind reaches about 25 knots. 

Heavier wind is a different matter. Although sailors with experience in this weather still find their Tempests fun (some would say these are the most exhilarating conditions of all), the mainsail will become completely inverted as the jib totally backwinds it. Beyond a certain velocity, you may not be able to keep the mainsail leech tight without heeling too much or losing way, so leave the traveler alone and play just the sheet. 

Jib trim is affected by rig tension as shown in Figure 18: if the forestay sags too much, the proper jib sheet setting described below will cause the jib to backwind the main too much. The apparent remedy is to let the sheet out slightly, but now you can’t keep the jib full and the main trimmed without heeling too much. In other words, if you don’t—or can’t—properly tension the rig, you can’t expect to point! 

When the forestay is tight, on the other hand, jib trim becomes a function of the factors referred to on page *: the jib lead track fixes the sail’s angle of attack, the fore-aft lead position controls camber, and the sheet, like the mainsheet, controls the leech. But you need to know where the leech is! 

Fortunately, you can observe the distance between the leech and the spreader tip through the mainsail window. Two inches is about right and, when both sails work in harmony, the jib may just barely backwind the mainsail down low. Let’s call this setting the "spreader rule"—like the "backstay rule" for the mainsail, it applies in all wind velocities. 

Now, as you did with the main, familiarize yourself with the dramatic difference that jib sheet tension makes by adjusting it as you watch the "spreader rule." From where you’re sitting, see how the marks on the leech (from page 18 appear to rise and fall against the spreader whenever you change sheet tension: perhaps ¼ inch on the sheet will move the leech two whole inches! 

Also, see how dramatically a small change in windspeed affects the "spreader rule!" These tiny variations are critical, so you’ll have to adjust the sheet often to keep a setting you like. Many times, the helmsman will be first to sense that the jib isn’t right, and adjust it himself. 

Spinnaker trim is key, of course. Proper trim is possible only when you remember that, unlike those on most other boats, a Tempest’s spinnaker pole normally angles up (see page 11 and Figure 20). 

Spinnaker handling involves two principles. First, from the cockpit, the bottom four panels of the sail’s luff should appear parallel to the forestay (hereafter the "forestay rule"). Second, while a range of sheet and guy combinations can yield the "forestay rule," you always want to expose as much of the sail as possible to the wind (maximum projected area). 

When both of these principles are at work, the foot will be only two to three feet off the forestay and the luff will tend to "curl" at the sail’s "shoulder." While you must constantly adjust the sheet to keep the "curl," its presence shows you’re flying the sail on the edge of collapse, which means best efficiency. 

Flying the spinnaker is tough enough, even when you’re not doing it from the trapeze, so basic sailhandling principles are very important. 

Keep the windward twing trimmed home at all times. Keep the guy cleated at all times. In light air, the crew can trim it directly from the twing. In moderate air, the crew can play it from the windward rail by reaching around the outside of the shroud and "sweating" it between the pole and the twing. From the trapeze, the crew won’t be able to play it, but shouldn’t need to. 

Never cleat the sheet. Play it with the ratchet on unless the wind is very light. 

Leave the leeward twing released unless (1) you’re running and it can help lead the spinnaker sheet under the boom, or (2) you’re on a very tight reach in very light air and a little leeward twing tension will help set up the luff of the spinnaker (see also page *).

On tight reaches, you may have to trim it as if you’re beating to prevent the spinnaker from backwinding it. 

On heavy air reaches, the leech telltales at the top battens should always be flying. You may have to release the vang to maintain this condition if the boom starts dragging in the water. 

The vang should be tight on runs, when the top batten telltale can’t fly out from the leech of the mainsail.

Where to sit — In light air, the helmsman should sit to windward, immediately aft of the bridge, inside the boat, with his or her back against the side tank. The crew should sit so as to produce about ten degrees of heel (see Figure 7, page 7). Under most conditions, the skipper should sit immediately aft of the traveler, and the crew should sit immediately forward of it. Some good teams like to move forward on long tacks in lightest air, with the crew abeam of the chainplates and the skipper forward of the traveler. But only when the water is very flat! 

In trapeze conditions, the helmsman should sit right aft of the traveler (see Figure 6, page 6) until oncoming waves begin to slow the boat down as the bow starts digging in. 

Angle of heel — A basic objective is to keep the boat flat in any wind. If you heel too much, the bow won’t split the waves as it was designed to do, and the sides of the transom will dig into the water too much. While Ian designed the boat with fifteen degrees of heel in mind, a boat heeling ten degrees will generally be faster. 

You must maintain the same approximate heel even when the wind increases. (Many people have sailed Tempests for years without ever discovering how flat flat is. Some gain understanding only when they skipper with someone more experienced as crew.) 

A simple drill may help. Pick a day when the wind is at least 12 knots. 

"Heave to" with both sails luffing and no heel. Both helmsman and crew should be sitting on the windward side tank.  

Trim the main and jib in harmony, bit by bit.  

Bear off to support the crew when he or she has to go out on the trapeze.  

Continue trimming until the "backstay" and "spreader" rules are working. At this point, you should be able to see the mainsheet mark (see Figure 10, page 12) somewhere between the aft boom block and the mainsheet cleat. 

The crew must be horizontal on the trapeze—as low as possible, and not holding onto the handle (see Figure 5, page 6). Keep your feet at the end of the traveler. Otherwise, your weight won’t be fully effective. The helmsman can see out of the corner of his or her eye whether you’re clinging to the handle, which will be a distraction. 

You shouldn’t need to grip the jib sheet for stability if your trapeze ring is low enough (i.e. no more than five inches above the gunwale when stretched down alongside the shroud). In fact, with practice, you should be able to move your feet together and keep both legs straight. Lean aft and stiff-arm the skipper for balance. Feel free to step forward temporarily to keep your balance. 

The objective, again, is to keep the boat flat with the sails pulling as far forward as possible. In light air, that’s about all there is to it. 

In surfing conditions, however, waves—and therefore steering—again become a factor (see page *). 

Here the objective is to minimize drag, which means the helm must be neutral. This requires the center of effort to be over the center of resistance, which you accomplish by heeling the boat slightly to windward (see Figure 20, page *). 

Don’t point too low! The boom won’t go out farther than the leeward shroud, so the mainsail won’t be fully effective within about twenty degrees of dead downwind. Use your masthead fly to judge when this is happening. 

Finally, never trim the spinnaker pole more than you let out the boom. The two should be approximately parallel to one another whenever you can carry the pole off the forestay. 

The objective in tacking is to maximize net velocity made good to windward, which usually means minimizing use of the rudder. Tack quickly or slowly, depending on wind and wave conditions, by synchronizing your body weight transfer with the tiller motion. 

The helmsman initiates a tack by asking, "Ready?" to which the crew replies, "Ready!"—any other word means the crew didn’t understand and isn’t ready. There’s no need for further discussion once you both know the routine. 

The crew — The following steps apply when the jib sheet clam cleats are mounted on the "table" forward of the traveler. 

Face aft and grip the sheet with one hand near the windward ratchet block and the other near the cleat being used, palms down as in playing a piano.  

Release the old sheet when the jib "breaks," then cross the boat, pulling the new sheet through the ratchet block.  

Transfer the new sheet to your other (now aft) hand and lay it in the cleat. 

In light air, you must roll tack effectively. 

The crew initiates the tack by moving his or her center of gravity to windward in harmony with the skipper’s body and tiller movement, causing the stern of the boat to want to slide to leeward. All the helmsman has to do is let the tiller swing to leeward, with at most a little push.  

These combined actions cause the rig to roll to windward as the boat comes head to wind, keeping the sails filled long after they’d ordinarily luff. You can even get them to pop from side to side without luffing at all with a vigorous tack, although this is not ordinarily as effective as a more "gliding" maneuver.  

You want the mast to move once across the sky to its new angle of heel. Therefore, don’t move back to the new windward side until the boat heels over "on top of you." In lightest air, don’t move to the new windward side at all, at least until the boat is back up to speed. Any weight adjustment will depower the rig just when you need power most. You’ll know you’ve done it right when you leave virtually no wake at all. 

The objective is to get the spinnaker filled and pulling forward as quickly as possible while minimizing the time when the boat is sailing inefficiently. This would be simple—except that the helmsman is steering with his knees all the while. The steps, themselves, are straightforward, however. On a boat with a spinnaker launcher, the routine is as described on page 7: while the helmsman hoists, the crew inserts the guy in the outside end of the pole, then attaches the topping lift, and finally attaches the inside end to the mast ring. On a boat without a spinnaker launcher, you normally hoist the spinnaker first. The helmsman usually flies the sail while the crew handles the halyard and the pole. Alternately, the helmsman can hoist while crew simultaneously sets the pole. Note: The crew must keep the pole’s outboard end up when handling it—otherwise, the skipper will have difficulty flying the sail. Also, remember to orient the spinnaker pole with its jaws opening up, so that you can easily pull its inside end down and away from the ring on the mast later on. 

The objective in gybing is to maintain as much speed as possible while you handle the spinnaker. The skipper must be able to concentrate on spinnaker trim and steering. Hence, the crew must perform all other tasks. Here’s the sequence. 

The helmsman transfers steering to his or her knees, and takes the sheet and guy. The crew must release both the sheet and guy from the forward cleats, because the helmsman can’t reach them.  

While the crew releases the old windward twing and trims home the leeward one with a smooth motion, the helmsman bears off to a gybe heading, ducks low so the boom will pass overhead, and says "Now!"  

The crew grabs the boom from underneath with both hands and throws it overhead.  

While the helmsman tries to keep the spinnaker full, the crew lunges forward on the new windward side to release the pole from the mast. If the crew doesn’t do this immediately, (1) the spinnaker will collapse because the mainsail is blanketing it, and (2) the skipper, in his zeal to keep it trimmed, may pull the pole so far aft that it jams in the ring and can’t be released. If this happens, crew, say so immediately!  

The crew attaches the now-free end of the pole to the new guy and slides it up to the spinnaker tack. The helmsman can fly the sail again, so the crew can complete the remaining steps more calmly.  

The crew releases the sheet from the leeward end of the pole and attaches the pole to the ring on the mast.  

The crew cleats the guy and then takes the sheet from the skipper. 

The objective is to keep the spinnaker flying as long as possible while still having everything squared away when it’s time to head upwind. Here’s the sequence on a boat without a spinnaker launcher: 

The skipper ensures that the halyard won’t tangle or knot when released, recoiling it if necessary so that the top coils feed out first.  

The skipper takes the sheet, the guy remaining cleated.  

The skipper bears off to level the boat and says, "Go!"  

While standing to windward of the mast, but not up on the foredeck, the crew removes the pole from the mast ring, topping lift, and guy in that order, and stows it.  

The crew pulls on the guy until the spinnaker tack is in hand, and releases the halyard.  

Still from the windward side, the crew gathers the spinnaker in the largest armfuls possible and stuffs it into the bag or bucket which, while the halyard and sheet are still flying, should keep the sail from twisting. You shouldn’t need to pack it.  

The crew glances up to be sure the halyard isn’t caught on the leeward spreader, tensions it, clips it outboard or wraps it around the windward twing so it won’t interfere with the jib upwind, and then tightens it.  

The crew squares away the twings and then the spinnaker sheets. 

There’s a very precise combination of sail trim and steering that makes a Tempest go fast upwind. This "groove" is very narrow: tolerance on the jib sheet is only about ¼-inch, and perhaps one inch on the main and traveler. Experienced Tempest sailors have memorized "point of departure" settings and can correlate them with the feel of the boat. 

But you need more than proper trim. It takes good steering to keep the keel from stalling: "A boat that goes fast points high," Glen Foster once said. So drive off and accelerate before you sheet the sails all the way home and start searching for the groove. 

Finding the groove — In moderate or heavy air, the boat’s sensitivity makes the groove easy to recognize once you’ve found it: the leeward bow wave lands aft by the shroud, the rooster tail is visible beyond the transom, and the tiller transmits even subtle changes in feel. The backstay and spreader rules are working, the windward jib telltales flutter a bit, and the boat feels "sucked upwind," as former champion Ken Cormier would say. 

The groove is not so easy to feel in lighter air, but with the sails properly set, you know it’s near when the leeward mainsail telltale stalls most of the time. Unfortunately, you can’t both watch the telltale and keep your mind on the race, so you must learn to feel the groove through the tiller and the "seat of your pants." 

Pointing vs. footing — Even within the groove, there’s a tradeoff between pointing and footing, and you always want to know what your next adjustment will be in case you find you’re slow. Think it through: a sail’s "thrust" is approximately perpendicular to its chord at any height, so when the top of a sail "twists" in relation to the bottom, its thrust will be more forward. Sheet and traveler tension, in combination, control this twist within the narrow range of the "backstay" and "spreader rules." 

Hence, to point within the groove, trim the traveler a little and let out the sheet, twisting the mainsail so that its lower part provides extra lift without stalling the upper part. To foot within the groove, drop the traveler and trim the sheet so that the lower part of the sail provides maximum forward thrust. Don’t forget to free the sheet a bit to drive through an extra large wave or recover from a puff that heeled you over too much. 

The jib stays about the same in either case, although you’re frequently adjusting it, of course. "Does it feel faster?" As the groove on a Tempest is so narrow, a practiced skipper can quickly tell by feel when an adjustment is needed. With the standard layout, he or she can even adjust the jib sheet without the crew’s help. The crew, on the other hand, may be first to realize, when alerted, whether an adjustment helped or hurt. So talk about it (e.g., "I’ve just dropped the traveler, does it feel faster?")! 

In waves, a Tempest’s sharp bow will knife right through, but compared with other Tempests, it’ll plunge too deeply unless both crew members move aft—up to a foot behind their normal positions. You can get too far aft, causing the stern to dig in, but experience in listening to the wake can tell you when this is happening. 

Tiller technique also is important. The problem is not getting over a steep wave—it’s a matter of not plunging into the next one. You can prevent this by steering into the wind as the bow rises up the face of a wave. Then pull, perhaps sharply, on the tiller to bear off and track down the back side. 

There’s a bonus from getting this right: your heading will actually remain constant because you won’t be letting the crests toss your bow off course, and the crew can balance much more easily out on the wire. 

You’ll need to practice this technique, of course, so that you know how much to apply it each sea condition. In fact, all the techniques described here must become second nature, so pick a day when there’s a good wind and just sail upwind for as many hours as you can, as Dennis Conner used to do. Invite a better sailor to be your crew or pair up with another Tempest. You might learn more in 20 concentrated miles of upwind work than during all your previous sailing career! 

Ready to tack? — You always should be, with all preparations complete. In trapeze conditions, toss the jib sheet into the boat as soon as you’ve tacked and adjusted it, so you won’t have to think about it later. Remember to take any slack out of its windward side. 

In light air, always try to keep your weight over your toes for instant mobility. 

In trapeze conditions, as helmsman, pick a relatively flat spot and initiate the tack as the bow rises—an extension of the tiller technique in waves described above. As crew, leave the jib cleated until you’ve come into the boat: it will remain filled longer, you’ll be free to concentrate on the trapeze, and you won’t "telegraph" tacks to other boats waiting to react. 

Completing the tack without losing speed takes practice. The crew must release the jib at the exact moment it collapses, and must lay the new sheet into its cleat just as the jib is ready to fill on the new tack. When your timing is right, you won’t need to trim the jib sheet until you fine tune it. You’ll know you’ve done it well when you look down after the tack and discover the sheet is within about two inches of its eventual trim. Count the stripes on the line between the clew and the nearby turning block to check: you don’t have to look for the "spreader rule" just yet. 

In trapeze conditions, you need weight on the wire as soon as the jib is cleated. The crew grips the handle with his forward hand, grabs the ring with the aft hand, and launches out over the gunwale, hooking up afterward. You can tack the boat without extra heel if you do this smoothly. 

The helmsman has a less athletic job, but also less space. He must find time to release the old windward traveler control at the last second, and grab the control on the other side in the next instant just as he’s crossing the boat. Most helmsmen turn forward, perhaps with this in mind, but too many cross the boat before returning the tiller to center, negating the roll-tack effect at just the most harmful moment. 

An alternate technique is to face aft when tacking, swinging the tiller extension away from you over the tiller. True, you can’t play the traveler while you’re moving your body, but you can delay transferring your weight and hence get the most out of the roll. Your backside won’t conflict with the tiller and you avoid disorientation: your body actually turns only through ninety degrees. 

Setting the pole — With a spinnaker launcher, you want the forward end of the pole to pull up on the guy so the boat won’t run over the spinnaker. Hence, you set the pole before hoisting. 

Without a spinnaker launcher, however, you can fly the sail without the pole, so you hoist first. The one exception is in heavy air on a tight reach, when setting the pole first may prevent a "wipeout." The helmsman can judge this best and indicates his choice with the words "pole first!" 

In light air on a close reach, releasing the leeward twing line only about 18 inches and recleating it will (1) favorably change the sheeting angle so that the spinnaker will draw much more easily, and (2) lead the spinnaker sheet nicely under the boom. 

In moderate wind, the Tempest rewards hard work. You can use every puff of wind and every small wave to make the boat go faster. The helmsman should be constantly working the mainsheet for best trim and to promote planing. The crew should do the same with the spinnaker. Either crew member can adjust the jib for mean wind direction. 

Luff in the lulls and bear off in the puffs to make best use of the apparent wind and to keep the boat flat. Sometimes, on tight reaches, you can fetch an otherwise-difficult mark by letting off the vang to spill wind from the top of the mainsail: you may find you can point higher than you thought you could without stalling. But, if you can, stay to windward on reaches in general: Tempests have big wind shadows, and trying to drive through to leeward rarely pays. 

Surfing — The trick is to steer straight down the face of a wave to accelerate (much as a surfer paddles in the same direction as the wave is moving), and then, when the wave catches you, steer up again along its face to gain speed. 

The basic technique is to pull the tiller to windward as the stern lifts, and then let the boat head up before the bow buries itself in the back of the wave in front of you. 

While this requires a lot of practice, sail trim makes it possible to catch waves that steering alone can’t catch: 

As helmsman, center the traveler so you can readily grab a handful of mainsheet with a 1:1 purchase and trim it; 

As crew, trim the guy or, in some conditions, both the guy and the sheet.

Spinnaker play is the crew’s job, but the helmsman can unwittingly make good spinnaker work impossible by wandering off course or not communicating changed intentions. Just as the crew watches the fleet upwind while the helmsman concentrates on tiller work, so the helmsman reports news downwind while the crew concentrates on looking up. The crew will know the moment the boat alters course and, if the helmsman doesn’t say something about it, should assume it is unintentional. "Hey, skipper, do you know we’re heading up?" ("Yes" is not a good answer.) 

Gybing presents an opportunity to gain distance on the competition, both in light and heavy air, if you slam the boom into the middle of the boat, shoveling wind aft. The crew does this by bracing one foot on the leeward tank and putting his whole body into the motion, as if trying to rip the boom off the boat. 

The skipper, meanwhile, is struggling to keep the spinnaker full. While it will fly easily in heavy air, in light air you want it away from the rest of the sailplan. You can accomplish this by gently letting out both the sheet and the guy just before the gybe, floating the sail away from the boat. 

The timing of a takedown is critical, of course, because the penalty for bad judgment is severe. 

Before turning into the wind, the crew must complete Step 6 (page *). But the crew needs to know how much time he has and whether to attempt Steps 7 and 8—without taking time to look up from his work and scan the horizon for the turning mark. The helmsman can provide the needed input with a steady countdown plus encouraging phrases like "You’ve got plenty of time" or "Forget the rest and trapeze now!" A good crew can recover from a late drop by steering from the trapeze while the helmsman cleans up. 

Man Overboard — Sooner or later you’ll find yourself trying this drill. It’s not always easy: a waterlogged body can weigh 50 per cent more than a dry one. Bruce Kirby once wrote that trying to help your humble editor back aboard "was like grabbing firmly onto a fire hydrant and attempting to hoist it into your convertible." 

The trick is to bring the boat to a stop with the person in the water along the leeward side. Thanks to a Tempest’s low freeboard, he or she can almost swim aboard by grabbing the traveler and getting one foot inside the tank. The person in the boat can then do the rest. 

Fixing the Main Halyard — A broken main halyard shouldn’t keep you from sailing, because it’s so easy to jury rig. At the dock, two people can pull the boat over on it beam ends by hanging from the trapeze wire and shroud. You can use a light line to lash the sail to the exit block in the mast, or even the backstay crane, to get you through the day. 

Even out on the water, you can jury rig the main halyard. Just heel the boat over and climb hand over hand up the shroud (it gets easier as you go along) until you can reach the mast. Then make your way to the top of the mast, which will be in the water when you get there. 

Weeds and Lobster Pots — Before a race, you may not realize that you have weeds, so it’s a good idea to back the boat down to let them float free. Once you’re under way, you can use your weed stick to remove most debris from your rudder and keel. The technique will be intuitive. 

Sometimes, however, weeds or a lobster pot line can hang up near the top of your rudder, where a weed stick can’t reach too well because of the shape of the hull. Fortunately, the rudder is so far aft that the helmsman can clear it by reaching over the transom, if he/she has long arms. 

Towing — Sooner or later you’ll get towed home. When this happens during a competition, you’ll probably find yourself in a long line of other boats. 

The principle here is to avoid straining your boat. Tie your tow line around the mast before you heave it to the boat ahead of you. Be sure it can’t chafe on anything sharp (e.g., the partners). Then tie the tow line from the boat behind you to your line where it loops around the mast. You can tow a long string of other boats this way without straining your own. 

Landing — Good seamanship is perhaps no more apparent than when a crew brings its boat home. It takes a little practice to spin the boat at the dock and back the main while the crew, who’s been standing on the bow in front of the forestay, just steps off with the painter. But it can be worthwhile in a crowded harbor when you only have one chance to moor under sail. Satisfying, too.At a mooring — It takes just a little time to roll the jib up, disconnecting it from the forestay as you go, and stuff it back in the cockpit under the bridge. Roll up the mainsail, too and secure it with the mainsheet; no need to remove it from the boom as long as it can’t catch the wind. Tie the halyards to the trapeze handles so they won’t slap against the mast, and secure the tiller with the ends of the backstay control line so it can’t wiggle back and forth. Double check the knot you’ve used to tie the mooring line around the mast, and be sure you’ve led it so that it will always pull from the bow without chafing. Finally, don’t forget to open the bailers. If you take these precautions, your boat should be able to ride out even a hurricane without any fuss, as many did in Marblehead Harbor in 1972.