Yesterday, I had my first solo sailing practice session. Well, not really solo—Genrich was there to monitor and support me. Big thanks to him!
We started with a solid 3 Bft Bise and no waves, which was perfect for a first practice. As the session went on, the wind gradually died down and turned into a Molan southeasterly. At first, I was a bit nervous because I was worried that if things didn’t go well, I wouldn’t have much time left to practice before the regatta. But overall, it went okay, and I’m happy with the progress I made.
Boat condition
Jedi is in really good condition, the hull was recently repaired, and all the lines look in great shape. The only issue I noticed is that the self-tailing on the port side winch doesn’t hold the line. I’ll check it next time to see if it can be fixed. In the meantime, there’s a cleat right next to it that will do the job.
Tiller lock
I installed the tiller lock, which turned out to be quite effective. Especially when the sails are trimmed well, the boat can stay on course without any adjustments. We even had a 20-minute run beating against the wind where I could just lie down on the side of the cockpit and chill.
It has a very simple mechanism: there's a knob in front of it that locks the attached line when toggled. On each side of the red line, there are elastics, allowing for steering even when it's locked.
Tiller lock mechanism
Maneuvers
Hoisting the main
It's straightforward: go into the wind, lock the tiller, and pull the halyard. I didn't even need to go to the mast. Although the regatta sails on the J80 don’t have clips in the mast groove and need to be guided in while hoisting, I don’t see this as a major problem.
Opening the jib
Probably the easiest of all maneuvers since our J80 has a furler. Basically, you go downwind, release the furling line, and pull in the jib sheet.
Tacking
Not too difficult. I just need to be mindful that if I'm attached with my lifeline to the middle of the boat, I mustn't always turn in the same direction around the mainsheet block and make myself tangled with the mainsheet. The tiller lock helps with the maneuver, and I was able to adapt to it easily. Also, I found it easier to adjust the main traveler for the new tack before starting the maneuver.
Gybing
It’s similar to a tack, except that in high wind, you’ll need to sheet-in the mainsail before making the maneuver. This doesn’t change whether you’re sailing alone or with others.
Spinnaker
This is where most of the challenge lies, especially for dousing and hoisting.
Hoisting/Dousing
The tiller lock isn’t very helpful here, as changing wind forces while hoisting cause the boat to turn, which can easily lead to an accidental gybe. To manage this, I either need an autotiller to maintain course while I handle the sail, or I need a system like Sebastian’s, with a line running around the boat to steer even when I’m at the front.
Additionally, while pre-feeding, the tack line often gets stuck on the pulpit. If the guardrails and pulpit weren’t there, it would make things easier, but removing them for just this regatta doesn’t make sense.
For dousing, the situation is similar; I need to be able to steer a bit during the maneuver.
In my next practice session, I plan to install an extra rope to allow for steering while I'm at the front of the boat.
Gybing under the spinnaker
For the gybe, you start by releasing the working sheet so the clew of the sail moves in front of the forestay. If the wind is light, you may need to luff up a bit to increase pressure on the sail and open it up more. Then, slowly make the gybe transition. Pull the new working sheet hard until the sail is fully on the new side, gybe the main, ease the spinnaker sheet, and start trimming.
I managed to perform the maneuver, but it wasn’t as smooth as I’d like. I will need to better coordinate helming with my legs while pulling in the new spinnaker sheet. I need more practice, especially in higher winds. I’m hoping for a practice session in 4-5 Bft.
The cleat for the spinnaker sheet is not in a very convenient position, so I’ll use the mooring line cleat at the back if I need to block the sheet.
Lessons learned
Clean up the sheets beforehand, this is much more important when sailing alone. During the maneuvers, I didn’t have time to manage the lines, which led to tangles and a mess. Lines that aren’t in use, like the spinnaker halyard and tack line, can be stowed in the cabin. Backstay trimming lines can be coiled since they’re not used frequently.
I now have a strategy for all the maneuvers; I just need to practice and develop muscle memory. In high winds, there won’t be time to think through each maneuver.
After a ~3 hour session, I was exhausted. Although I was doing the maneuvers back-to-back, I still need to try to be more efficient to be able to sustain it for more than 20 hours.
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