Odd Spinnaker Launch

[mikehoyt]

One one memorable day this summer we were in a race that had a triangle added to increase overall distance to 20NM to qualify as a race in this series. After completing the initial downwind leg that was serveral miles long the spin had been repacked and we were on a short upwind leg (approx one mile) to be followed by another very short downwind leg (under one mile).

On the initial upwind and downwind legs it had been blowing 15-18 knots and as we were outside the harbour there was some wave action but not a lot. Our boat is fractional rigged (just under 7/8) Niagara 26 and was a bit overpowered with the #1 that we had been using. For the short upwind we decided to use the #3 since we would be entering the harbour in an area prone to gusts and the previous day we were overpowered during these gusts. So of course during this short leg the wind diminished and we were being caught by a C&C 27 mark III that had been behind us.

On the second downwind leg we launched the chute and were on a broad reach with the wind at about 45 degrees over port quarter. Probably 10-12 knots at this time. The foredeck guy uttered a shocking exclamation that got our attention and then told us he had launched the chute sideways! (see pic). As we were on a very short leg and as the jib on the foredeck was still the #3 and as we had no time to douse and repack and since the darn thing was actually flying we left it up and hoped the rest of the fleet would not notice ...

So - the odd thing is that we were still making over 6 knots. The head of the sail reached back to the cockpit winches and the halyard only managed to hoist the sail between 1/2 and 2/3 of the way up since the foot is much shorter than the luff.

Beside us was the masthead rigged C&C27-3 with a PHRF rating in our area of 177. We are fractionally rigged with a rating of 182. We not only kept up with the C&C but might actually gained. The 27 has a masthead chute with much greater square footage vs our spinnaker and our spinnaker is actually about 24 inches shorter on the luff than it can be.

So the question then begs. Why did the chute actually fly and why were we not losing ground? Can it actually be as fast or faster on some points of sail than a properly set spinnaker? Is it even legal to do this?

I cannot imagine that this would even be possible on a masthead rig as the head of the chute would be aft of the stern of the boat.

... and yes there were a few comments from other boats after the race but luckily most were over a mile away at the time.

Thanks

Mike
Full Tilt 2
Niagara 26 #002

[sailingdog]

Damn, the bowman really must not have been paying attention. It is pretty hard to mistake either corner of the foot for the head on most sails. Also, most spinnakers have colored tapes along the luff and leech and the two colors also identify the head of the sail.

I doubt it is legal to fly the spinnaker that way. It may in fact be faster on some points of sail, as the sail is much wider than the main, and if you're going in the right direction, the sail may effectively present more surface area to the wind, since less of it will be blanketed by the main.

If you were to do this regularly, you would probably want to get a telescoping spinnaker pole.

[paulk]

If it works, it works. We hoisted a spinnaker staysail once, and watched the speedo. Letting it luff? 8 knots. Sheeting it in half-way, so that it was luffing along half it's length? 8.25 knots. Sheeting it in all the way so the telltales were "happy"? 7.75 knots. Dousing it? 7.5 knots. We let it luff half-way and won our division in the Marblehead-Halifax race. It might be difficult to find where the rules say you have to hoist a spinnaker right-side up. On a reach, hoisting the spinnaker sideways on your boat might be faster than right-side up, though it might not be the same on another boat, or on another wind angle. Think of all the asymetrical sails you've seen, though. They're supposed to be fast on reaches. Are they longer on the hoist or on the foot? Hmmm. Also, to be ahead of the C&C at all is sweet. Good work!

[ThunderFog]

Well if you hoist a spin sideways then the luff or leach becomes the foot. The foot would then exceed PHRF measurements. However, I think you would have a hard time finding someone that would protest you.

[LazyGuy]

It always goes up by accident, only when our regular bow kitten is not on board, but we call it "the reaching chute" If you were heading more down wind, it would have been a problem but since you were essentially on a broad reach you had a very light weight 200% jib.