How do you trim your sail at "Nite"?

[rockDAWG]

How do you trim your sail at "Nite", especially there are no telltales or can't see them.

I enjoy sailing non-stop through out the night. I found it difficult to optimize my sails. If I am just sailing in the bay with out a destination, one or 1.5 kn will make no difference. But when I need to go in distance, it becomes an issue.

As now I listen to the sails and keep my eyes on the SOG, but it is the no best since wind may not be constant and SOG is not sensitive to instance change to speed.

Your thoughts?

[jackdale]

Full moon nights permit you see a lot, after your eyes get accustomed.

Red lenses in flashlights and headlights help.

Although illegal, turn on the anchor light to check the windex occassionally

Good illuminated instruments are very useful.

[McMikeJr]

I've used a laser flashlight (white) to hit the reflectors on my windex. The small laser light doesn't hurt my vision like a regular white flashlight would, it's very well focused and only lights up the masthead. I'd go with the red-lens flashlight to see telltales, you don't want your sails lighting up and taking away your night vision.

[nolatom]

I do it by feel.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by nolatom

I do it by feel.

That too.

[jrd22]

Wind feel and sound on the ears, pretty easy to determine wind direction if you practice during daylight.

[rockDAWG]

Originally Posted by jrd22

Wind feel and sound on the ears, pretty easy to determine wind direction if you practice during daylight.

I don't have problems in wind directions and speed, since I have the instrument. It is the actual trimming of the sails that bothers me. Can't see my telltales at nite. Flash light helps sometime, but not always.

[chef2sail]

I rarely use the telltales in daylight. Looking at the luff and leech of the sail usually tells me where I have to trim. I also use a laser pointer every once and a while at the windex.

I have a ST60 wind instrument too, but thats a major adjustment...for the finer ones of trim...i just look at the sails...and the knotmeter.

Dave

[Sabreman]

A timely topic since we sailed upwind all night Friday/Saturday during Gov Cup.

We lit our anchor light (as did many others), but I found the combination of boat speed and relative wind direction most helpful. I didn't really need the Windex since the relative wind indicator and boat speed told me what I needed to know. Of course in a chop, the relative wind speed changed as we fell off the top of each wave. So even if I was looking at the tell tales, they would fly up as we went down (even in 22 kts AWS).

Is this the most efficient way to sail? No, but it's pretty good.

[SVAuspicious]

I use a tri-color. The aft sector lights up the windex nicely AND it's legal.

For the sail I listen, watch SOG, and once in a while use a small LED torch to check the sail. Don't have to use the torch much on clear nights.

Remember to turn the backlight on all the instruments down. On the Raymarine stuff even "OFF" has some light.