What sails do you need for a trouble-free transatlantic crossing? Toby Hodges sifts through the advice we gathered from 276 ARC skippersRelaxing offwind sailing, at a comfortable angle with low apparent breeze, can be idyllic. But what\u2019s the best sail set-up for you? Photo: Brian CarlinTradewind sailing is hard to beat. Every yacht is different, however, and each skipper likes to sail their boat their way. They\u2019ll establish a recipe that works for them, whether that\u2019s prioritising comfort, ease of handling, performance or, most likely on a long passage, a combination of these.
\nWhen we are family sailing our boat, we\u2019re happiest when goosewinged in a following breeze, with mainsail and boom prevented to one side, and the genoa poled-out to the other. But while this set-up is enjoyable on daysails and short passages, I\u2019d give things more consideration for a long downwind passage.
\nWhere would the main chafe points be? Would it be worth investing in a second foresail to fly twin headsails and avoid the need for the mainsail and risk of an accidental gybe? What would be the easiest and safest method to reef short-handed? And what would my back-up systems be if I lost halyards, tore sails or broke a pole?
\nRunning downwind to the sunset. Sailing with poled-out genoa was the most popular option with ARC crews, including aboard the Hallberg-Rassy 48 MkII Sally. Photo: Jonas Edlund
\nWe conducted a survey with the 276 skippers who completed last year\u2019s ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) and asked about their sails and sail handling systems. We looked at sailcloth, handling\/furling methods, which sails they used or had bought for the crossing, what they flew at night and how that affected watch systems, and any breakages and repairs they had.
\nWe wanted to know which set-ups worked best, and why.
\nTried and tested
\nIf the tradewinds establish themselves properly \u2013 which they did last year \u2013 it means sailing deep downwind angles. If you choose to sail the angles, you\u2019ll add hundreds of miles to the rhumb line distance. With a stable following breeze, there is little need to use anything other than white sails on cruising yachts. It\u2019s no surprise, therefore, to see twin headsails or a poled-out genoa coming out as the most popular options in our survey by a majority.
\nMany fly a spinnaker during the ARC, and enjoy some spirited sailing, but a squall, trouble with the snuff\/drop or a tear in the cloth may mean that the sail is quickly relegated to the bottom of the sail locker. However, modern snuffers and furling technology are helping to make spinnakers much easier for smaller crews to manage.
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Despite most yachts carrying a spinnaker or offwind sail, over 60 skippers commented that using a poled-out foresail was the most effective downwind option, with twin headsails proving the next most popular. For those with non-overlapping headsails, carrying a larger genoa or a furling reaching sail such as a Code 0 that can be poled-out or flown as twin headsails is recommended.
\nPoles apart
\n\u201cA poled genoa and reefed main is the most flexible and safe arrangement,\u201d says the crew of the Beneteau Oceanis 473 Heaven 47, adding that a pole is a \u201cmust have \u2013 to protect sanity from a collapsing genoa\u201d.
\nThe Oyster 485 Talisman sailed for 15 days with a reefed main and poled-out genoa and for four days under an asymmetric. They report that their poled-out headsail worked particularly well, especially when balanced by a staysail, but advise: \u201cPlan gybes with the pole \u2013 you must take time to furl in and not try to force the sail across.\u201d
\nJonus Edlund sails his Hallberg-Rassy 48 MkII, Sally, with his wife (and, for the ARC, their son too). He says reaching with main and genoa offered the most comfort, but that the poled-out genoa and main gave them best speed.
\nThey found their 150m2 gennaker hard to snuff in more than 15 knots and that it collapsed around the forestay in rolly conditions. So they settled on a wing-and-wing set-up for most of the crossing using the in-mast mainsail and furling genoa poled-out.
\nIn 6-20 knots of following wind, they would furl the genoa slightly so it didn\u2019t flog when the boat rolled and, in 20-30 knots, they could keep it poled-out but reefed.
\n\u201cWe have an extra pair of genoa sheets that run through aft blocks, which makes it easier to change the genoa between the poled position and reaching,\u201d Edlund explains. \u201cThe pole is stored with the forward point fixed to the deck and the forward and aft guys ready to set, so it can be all be done by one person.\u201d
\nReliable twins
\nUsing a traditional-style twin headsail system is nearly foolproof when there is a sufficiently stable following breeze. Whether they are using twin headsails or genoa and Code sail, skippers commented about how easy they are to reef and handle by all crew abilities.
\n\u201cTwin headsails because they\u2019re fast, easy to reef, and allow for one crew only on watch,\u201d was the conclusion aboard Hanse 588 Y Knot I.
\nTradewind sails set aboard Bavaria 49 Wilson, before head repairs were needed. Photo: Shahid Hamid
\nA second genoa was purchased for the ARC for the Lagoon 450 Hawkeye, which spent all 20 days of the crossing under twin headsails. It worked so well their skipper\u2019s only regret was not experimenting more.
\nEqually, the crew on Lagoon 380 Blue Tattoo loved the easy gybe, easy furl ability of twin headsails (they did not set a mainsail), but said they would add a large Code 0 to their inventory for downwind sailing.
\nThe skipper of Cara of Bute, a Contest 44CS, favoured twin headsails, both poled-out. \u201cYou need nine lines but once set up it\u2019s great \u2013 very easy to reef.\u201d He added, however, that it\u2019s not easy to gybe without two on deck.
\nSummerwinds of Cuan, a Moody 419, purchased a 100% genoa to use with their existing twin foils and an asymmetric spinnaker, and chose to spend all 21 days under twin headsails.
\nThe short-handed crew comments: \u201cThis system is very easy for one person to reef alone. We tried it with the mainsail with three reefs pulled tight \u2013 it worked well in big seas (5m) but hindered [the foresails] in normal 2-3m seas.\u201d
\nSailing at night often means reducing sail, particularly if short-handed, or adapting the watch system. Photo: Starke Logisztikai Kft
\nCombinations and night watches
\nSail selection and sail handling is dependent on boat type, crew experience and number, and conditions. The trick is mixing the sail combinations \u201cas required to maintain boat speed and to reduce the effect of the swell,\u201d says the skipper of Kathryn Del Fuego, a Hallberg-Rassy 46.
\nDan Bower, author of our Bluewater Sailing Series, explains that they flew only white sails at night aboard their Skye 51 Skyelark of London, and chose to broad reach if the breeze was light.
\n\u201cLess sails doesn\u2019t always mean less speed,\u201d he advises, adding that they also only fly their symmetric spinnaker in winds under 16 knots. Bower also finds that using a staysail with the poled-out genoa is useful as a \u201cgybe guide for hand steering\u201d.
\nThe \u201cperfect combination\u201d for the RM1200 Cadences, which carried a Code 0, asymmetric and symmetric kites, was to use \u201cspinnaker and main during the day and twin headsail\/no main at night.\u201d
\nThose aboard Emily Morgan, a Bowman 57, also recommended this as a \u201csimple and robust\u201d routine. Night sailing typically demands more prudence.
\n\u201cTwin headsails during the day; white sails\/staysail at night\u201d, offers the skipper of Jeanneau 57 Octanes Memoires. A Wingaker (a spinnaker with a vent) was purchased for the crossing aboard Great Circle, a Lagoon 52S, and when night sailing a back-up watch would sleep in the saloon if this sail was being used.
\nSpecialist sails
\nA specialist sail such as a Parasailor\/Wingaker or twin headsails that can butterfly open have long been favourites of ARC skippers. In recent years, Elvstrom and North Sails have created their own takes on the traditional twins system \u2013 essentially two free-flying furling headsails that join at the luff.
\nA double poled Blue Water Runner aboard the Hallberg-Rassy 48 MkII Jan, also sailed by a couple. Photo: Giorgio Aru
\nThe Blue Water Runner was the first of these new symmetric twin furling sails, which Elvstrom brought out three years ago, and it certainly proved one of the big successes of the 2019 crossing.
\nThis is a running sail when flown as twins or can be a reaching genoa when the sails are set conventionally. The nine skippers who purchased a set for the crossing all reported how well they thought it worked.
\n\u201cMy wife and I double-handed with this sail and like it so much that we have a spare one aboard,\u201d says Giorgio Aru from the Hallberg-Rassy 48 MkII Jan. \u201cIt takes us about half an hour to set the sail, but takes only one minute to close it in a blow, just pulling an infinite line \u2013 safe and fast.\u201d
\nThe Catana 42 Double Vision describes it as a \u201cbrilliant sail\u201d. Despite already having a Parasailor from their previous crossing in 2016, they had less-experienced crewmembers last year so the Blue Water Runner \u201cmade watches easier and possible for everyone to sleep\u201d. After 15 days sailing with this system, they found it ideal over 14 knots wind but advise not to use it in squalls.
\nOther skippers also cautioned against using twin sails in squalls, but many commented that, if they were doing the crossing again, they would choose a Blue Water Runner.
\n\u201cTwin headsails are safe, but slow,\u201d says the skipper of Neel 51 La Linea. \u201cThe Parasailor works perfectly.\u201d Parasailors have long proved popular with ARC participants.
\nThe Wagners used three different sized Parasailors aboard their Neel 51 San, including this 232m2 heavy airs red one for up to 25 knots of wind. Photo: Birte Wagner
\nThe skipper of Neel 51 San perhaps had the largest collection of coloured sails, including three different sized Parasailors and two asymmetrics. Birte and Mathias Wagner sailed double-handed for 12 days under Parasailors. On their blog, Mathias has produced a helpful report about his set-up including deck leads, stowage, usage, trimming and chafe.
\nSailing two-up
\nThe Wagners were one of 23 rally crews sailing with only two adults (couples crossing either double-handed or with children under 16). Being able to adjust sail trim without calling on other crew is vital to a successful watch system.
\nDespite having an asymmetric spinnaker aboard, the skipper of Bavaria Ocean 38 Cross Ocean elected to sail mostly with a double-reefed mainsail and poled-out genoa. But they often only used the genoa, explaining that it was \u201ctough to hoist the mainsail in the sea state.\u201d If doing the crossing again, they\u2019d consider buying a furling Code 0.
\nBirte Wagner shows the value of having a sewing machine on board
\nAboard the Ovni 435 Nauplios they carried a cruising chute and snuffer but relied on white sails. \u201cWe planned not to use the main, just the staysail\/poled jib, but discovered we did need to use the main for balance and speed.\u201d It\u2019s a system they wouldn\u2019t change if doing the crossing again.
\nThe Haglunds aboard Aliara, a Malo 36, sailing double-handed, meanwhile swore by sailing with a reefed main and poled-out genoa and stuck with it for the full 16 days. They believe that reefing early and in daylight helped prevent any sail damage.
\nDownwind under spinnaker
\nA surprisingly small proportion of our survey respondents (around 15 skippers) rated spinnakers as the most valuable downwind sails, and they were mostly skippers of larger yachts, or those with large crews, including a Swan 82 and an X612, or high performance yachts such as a Pogo 12.50 and a JP54.
\nRoss Applebey likes flying his big spinnaker aboard Scarlet Oyster, but has the crew to help with a quick drop. Photo: Jules White
\nThose skippers advise using spinnakers with caution, and counsel the need to reef early, trim vigilantly and douse safely before conditions get lively.
\nRoss Applebey always drives his Oyster Lightwave 48, Scarlet Oyster, hard with his full charter crew \u2013 and 2019 was his third consecutive year of winning the ARC racing division. He finds the boat very manageable under 25 knots with a big spinnaker and main and sailed like that for two weeks, including at night, only opting for twin jibs if it was squally.
\n\u201cWe are constantly ready to get the spinnaker down, by means of an envelope drop,\u201d Applebey explains. \u201cWith four plus on deck at all times we can have the spinnaker doused inside 30 seconds.\u201d
\nTwo hulls, three sails. \u201cOnce above 20 knots of true wind, with squalls around us, we found a set-up which is easier and quicker to handle,\u201d says Robbert Verboon, skipper of Saona 47 Eight \u2013 \u201cwing on wing with the Code 0 opposite the main, and the genoa opposite the Code 0.\u201d This allowed them to sail angles of 155\u00b0 True. \u201cWe can\u2019t let the main out very far. Using this system, the wind gets deflected by the mainsail into the Code 0 from where it blows into the genoa, with all sails adding to the speed of the boat.\u201d Photo: Robbert Verboon
\nIdefix, a Lagoon 450S, has a modern set-up, which includes a Code 0 on a furler and an asymmetric on a snuffer, and the crew found the Code sail easier to furl quickly when squalls approached. They settled on a main with two reefs and the Code 0 flown wing-and-wing when the breeze was over 20 knots.
\nDownwind on multihulls
\nWith two (or three) bows from which to set a headsail, multihulls are well suited to flying a variety of downwind sails. Julian Ronnie, the skipper of Catana 47 Domini, quickly found that using his genoa with the screecher (a large, furling, high-clewed sail) worked well, and stuck with that for 13 days. \u201cWe figured out setting the screecher to windward and genoa to leeward worked better than the other way round, which surprised us,\u201d he comments.
\nWhile a Code 0 and jib flown wing-and-wing worked best on the Lagoon 450F Opus One, the favoured downwind combination aboard the Fountaine Pajot Saona 47 Brizo was either flying a gennaker with a double-reefed main or goosewinged using a single reefed main and genoa. However, after 15 days sailing with white sails and no pole, the skipper admits he would have liked a symmetric spinnaker for running deeper downwind.
\n\u201cMost catamarans that sail dead downwind use a symmetric spinnaker only, without the mainsail and without a spinnaker pole,\u201d says Robbert Verboon, who owns Saona 47 Eight.
\n\u201cAs a racing sailor, it feels odd to sail this way. I tried the spinnaker with the mainsail up but at 170\u00b0 True the spinnaker gets very unstable. So I added a spinnaker pole, which allows me to keep the mainsail up, generating more speed and allowing me to douse the spinnaker behind the mainsail.\u201d Verboon had experienced hands aboard with him and they used a variety of offwind sails and experimented with other set-ups including three-sail running (see picture, above).
\nEight\u2019s crew of racing sailors got carried away while flying an asymmetric spinnaker \u2013 the head ripped off in 30+ knots of wind. \u201cWith five yards of spare spinnaker fabric, a sewing machine, and six hours of concentrated work, our gennaker was as good as new,\u201d says skipper Robbert Verboon
\nBreakages and repairs
\nSail breakages are commonplace on the crossing \u2013 158 skippers said they experienced sail or running rigging damage \u2013 so it\u2019s important to plan a back-up system or a means to repair a breakage.
\nMost sail repairs involved tape, patches and stitching, so taking suitable materials, glues and a sewing kit is essential. After a long repair to their kite with fishing line, duct tape, sail repair kit and a roll of Dacron sail tape, the crew of the Bali 4.1 View Finder were one of many who wished they\u2019d carried a heavier weight spinnaker.
\nThere were also many broken halyards and pole breakages, including aboard the Jeanneau SO54DS Scilla, where an angle grinder was used to cut the pole before using rivets to join it back together.
\nThe crew of Oyster 575 Janus were frustrated when they broke their whisker pole just two days into the crossing, as this prevented them using their downwind sails. Those aboard Bianco, a Dufour 520GL, didn\u2019t have a pole for the asymmetric or genoa so, inventively, made one out of wood. It lasted 11 days.
\nMany breakages were not repairable, including a tear in the woven polyester main on the Beneteau First 47.7 EHO1.
\nMarco Thyssen, now in Tahiti on the World ARC aboard his Hallberg-Rassy 53 Ngahue IV, has seen his membrane sails suffer from severe delamination after just three years and his view is that a high-tech membrane sail is not suitable for bluewater sailing.
\nWhile the sailmaker has provided replacements, Thyssen says his local salesman \u201cshould never have recommended this type of sail for a circumnavigation \u2013 a good Hydranet sail would have been around 35% cheaper and much less hassle.\u201d
\nPhoto: Steve Frary
\nCase study: Family lessons learned
\nThe Frarys bought their Catana 65 just in time for the ARC 2019. Steve Frary, his wife and two children had spent the previous 18 months living on a Herreshoff ketch in the Caribbean and \u201ctransitioned to Libeccio for the longer passages of the World ARC,\u201d he explains.
\nDespite the favourable weather conditions, they had a number of equipment failures and broke both the mainsail and spinnaker during the crossing. Steve shares some lessons learned, including:
\nMake a complete inspection of all key rigging including reefing lines and exposed gear on the rig that could catch the spinnaker.
\nSail downwind angles rather than focussing on the rhumb line to minimise gybes.
\nSlow all sail manoeuvres down and go one step at a time, with lots of communication.
\nBeware the electric winch: it\u2019s easy to put too much load on halyards, sheets and reef lines. Go slow.
\nFirst published in the August 2020 edition of Yachting World.
\nThe post ARC 2019 skippers\u2019 survey results reveal the art of easy transatlantic sailing appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What sails do you need for a trouble-free transatlantic crossing? Toby Hodges sifts through the advice we gathered from 276 ARC skippersRelaxing offwind sailing, at a comfortable angle with low apparent breeze, can be idyllic. But what\u2019s the best sail … <\/p>\n