Hi,

I am totally new to Sailing, having played about in power boats for around 30 years I have finally seen the error of my ways. I have joined a racing crew and sailed my first inch on Sunday.

It is already clear to me there is more to harnessing the wind than I would have imagined. As well as reading about sailing I hope I will be able obtain advice on this forum from time to time. One thing I found a little surprising on Sunday was swapping the spinnaker pole across from one side to the other when gybing. We totally disconnected it from the mast and connected the other end to the mast. I could not help thinking it would have been easier to leave it connected and swivel it across. I look forward to your comments.

MINESAPINT.

so what have you been doing in power boats?      so you have seen that sailing is much better than power boats then!!!

First of all welcome

An interesting point with the spinnaker pole. There are two systems in use:

End to end pole: Here each end of the pole looks the same and you disconnect one end from the mast and connect that to the new guy (windward spinnaker sheet) and the end with old guy connects back onto the mast.

Dip pole: This keeps one end always on the mast and dips the end of the pole around the front and connects that back onto the new guy.

End to end is used on smaller boats (about 35 foot and shorter) whereas dip pole is used on the bigger boats where the loads get far higher.

Hope this helps!

Clearly we use the end to end system. It is a small boat about 30 foot. I just wonder if it is physically possible, (not checked yet if the pole will dip and swing round the bow) what is to stop us using the dip system if it is found to be possible and more convenient?

One advantage seems to me to be immediately apparent is that you have something actually firmly attached to the mast to hang on to.

Please bear in mind I am making these observations having only sailed for 2 hours. You might think I have a lot to learn and you would be right.

MINESAPINT.

Lol you will learn lots in the next couple of sailing days (it is a steep learning curve)

Did you say what type of boat you sailed? The only restriction I could see (if it was poaaible to use dip system) would be what fittings where on theend of the pole. Can you connect the end to the rope with out being at the end.

It may be possible but it's not more convenient.

You have to use doubled sheets and guys, since in a dip-pole gybe the new guy cannot have load on it when dropped into the pole end. That is extra weight, faff and general complication on a small boat.

Second problem is that the bowman needs to be right in the bow, rather that near the mast as when end-to-ending. In a breeze, on a small boat, this is liable to make the boat imitate a submarine at the worst possible moment mid-gybe. Once experienced, not forgotten.

Third problem is that is a slower, more complicated process, needing more crew. A good crew can go from standby to gybing end-to-end in a very short time in response to the tactical circumstances. Dip-pole is much more ponderous.

The only reason that bigger boats use dip pole is that as the kite gets bigger, it becomes physically impossible for the bowman to reattach the pole to the mast.

For a dip-pole gybe:

1. You need a suitable pole, which has a different inboard end-fitting to an end-for-end pole.

2. You usually need a pole attachment on the mast which can be raised to allow the pole room to swing inside the forestay. A lot of small boats have a fixed ring rivetted to the mast - this is unlikely to work for dip-pole.

3. You need twin sheets and guys with the correct shackles.

So it's not a simple switch.

Welcome to sailing.  This is a facinating sport where the conditions of the sea and the wind are never constant and yet when racing you have to strive to use them more effectively than your competitors.  Its complicated and that's the challenge - there is always more to learn and more you can do to make the boat go that little bit faster.  Thankfully its rarely a question of power and money that wins races, its guile, knowledge, strength, fitness, technique, experience and determination.  I'm afraid a little money helps, bujt that depends on which type of sailing you do.  There is room for everybody.

This is not to say powerboating can't be fun, I've done a bit and navigating into a strange harbour at night can be quite a challenge, but doing it under sail can be more so.  I have to say that no matter how fast I've been in a power boat it has never felt as fast as doing 15knots in my dinghy!  But then a jumbo jet does 550knots and it doesn't feel fast.

Enough; I'll always be prepared to offer advice, just ask.