Quite a few people had asked us to create a video on close hauling so we went out into Belfast Lough to do just that. Of course the day we chose to do it was quite windy so not quite a great classroom day but you just have to deal with things as they come along.

Beverley in Carrickfergus

Well its been a windy day in Carrickfergus, but we hope that it is not going to be like that all the time. If we get some nice weather then we will be out sailing, improving our skills and become better sailors. In the mean time we have received a galvanic isolator which you can plug in line to the boats electrical supply, so that you are isolated from any faults present in the marinas electrical supply. On top of this we have bought a new selfie stick and some new camera mounts so that we are in a better position to film what is going on in the cockpit. Lastly we have bought some electrical components so that we have spares for our light bulbs that seem to go ping on a regular basis.

Close hauling

Since we bought Salty Lass we have improved our close hauling after reading the RYA sail trim book. So the things that you need to know are:-

• The lines that are involved -
  • The traveller - this can move the position of where the main sheet attaches to the boat, by moving the traveller to the opposite side of the boat from where the sail is will allow you to sail closer to the wind
  • The kicker - This will bring the boom down at the front of the boat, which flattens the sail but it can also be used to introduce twist into the sail.
  • The back stay - This too needs to be tight as it adds bend to the mast
• What you are looking for is all of your tell tales flying on the main sail
• While on the Genoa, what you want is the line that runs from the car to bisect the sail. By initially having the car forward then grinding the sail in the car will move back and will tend to find its correct position.

So in summary

• Bring the sails well in
• Create a narrow slot between the two sails
• Move the traveller to the windward side
• Use the kicker or vang and the backstay to flatten the sails
• Adjust the car positions and the Genoa sheets to bisect the clew angle and get the tell tales to fly horizontally across the sail
• Adjust the kicker and mainsheet to get as many tell tails as possible flying on the main