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J/24 Tips
Racing On Long Island Sound
by Chris
& Waldek Zaleski
"Twins" USA 5259
Hello J/24 sailors,
Over last years the conditions on Long Island Sound changed. Believe or not, but
it used to be a fresh breeze area and nowadays it is known for light and very
light winds (we still do get nice breeze in the Spring and Fall). The reason for
this is a build-up of houses and new constructions on Long Island, which coupled
with massive exhaust from the cars on LI Expressway, creates a lot of heat. This
"smog" goes up and lifts the breeze which rarely comes down and touches Long
Island Sound. On the top of this on a nice weekend there are hundreds of power
boats speeding up and down the Sound creating an unpleasant chop. So set-up your
rig for light and let's go sailing.
South to South/West ( 0-18kn)
Most common breeze is south to south/west. Light and shifty in the morning and
strengthening in the afternoon. Leaving the harbor we set the rig at 20-15 and
adjust about 10 minutes before the start for existing conditions. Mostly have
to ease the shrouds to 15-10 or even less to help to power over the chop created
by pleasure boats. Remember! < always set the shrouds for existing conditions
or the lows of the wind range. It doesn't hurt you so much when you are under
tensioned, but it takes your speed away when you are over tensioned.
Sail trim looks as follows: Main traveler all the way to the weather with the
Main sheet tensioned so the top batten is parallel or a bit twisted. Genoa
eased, resting on the lifelines with the top twisted off to help accelerate over
the chop. When you want to go higher the natural tendency is to trim the sails
harder. Believe us it won't work. You will kill the speed and therefore
pointing, which then takes ages to rebuild. Current is another factor to
consider. The general rule is to avoid the middle of the Sound when current is
against you, since it is deeper water and therefore stronger current. Sail
closer to the shore (in less current), pass the layline and then tack for the
mark. Downwind, stay with the stronger current going in your direction, or jibe
away to get closer to the shore for less current when against you. Do not
forget! < in light wind and adverse current to start dropping your Spinnaker
when the bow is almost touching the leeward mark, not sooner.
North-West to North ( 15-30kn)
This is mostly strong, puffy and very shifty breeze, when we can often see #3 in
use. The current is less of a factor and playing the shifts takes precedence.
Our strategy is always to sail on a closer tack to the North shore and then play
the shifts. There is no one side better over the other. At any given moment the
right looks good and a few moments later the left is leading. Don't panic! <
stay cool and play the shifts. Do not try to cross the racecourse to get to the
other side only because it looks very good at the present time. Trust us; it
will change in a minute or so. We set-up our shrouds at 29-29 or even higher
for the existing conditions. Since there is not much chop with northerly winds
we trim our sails quite tight easing only for the puffs. You will be able to
point very high, so when judging your layline or competition remember that
tacking angle gets to 60 degrees or even less. Down wind keep it together and
watch for the puffs. In extreme conditions lower your pole and pull the tweaker
down to stabilize the leeches and be more in control.
Easterly ( 8-30kn)
Easterly breezes are often lighter in the Summer and stronger in the Spring and
Fall. With this wind direction we can get big waves which is something to
consider. Sailing in the summer is quite straightforward. Avoid the middle in
adverse current and stay closer to the shore. Downwind do the opposite - let the
stronger current take you to the next mark. With the strong easterlies the
current is not such a big factor. Dealing with waves is the key. The boat needs
a lot of power in the sails to go around the waves, with twisted tops for smooth
sailing. Imagine if the sails are not twisted, you hit the weave and slow down a
lot, then the puff hits - the boat heels instead of moving forward. With nicely
twisted sails, the excess of power goes off and the boat does not heel but
rather moves forward. Our backstay is set at 100% tension and the vang quite
tight. This set-up keeps the lower leech tighter, but the top twisted. While
doing all of this do not forget hiking. It does increase the stability of the
boat - one of the most important factors in sailing.
We hope our perspective will help you to improve your Long Island Sound sailing
and prepare better for 2004 for the Worlds in Noroton.
Sincerely,
Chris & Waldek Zaleski
"Twins" USA 5259
Racing On Long Island Sound - PART 2
Hello J/24
sailors,
Housatonic regatta gave us an opportunity to tune in #3 conditions. Recently
there is less and less occasions like this so we all find these conditions
challenging. Since we were setting our mast in the morning we went for 1.5" of
prebend instead of our regular 2.25". We try not to move the step of the mast in
general but knowing the weather forecast, this time we went for it. In the
stronger breeze you are constantly struggling to find enough power in the main
mainly because your backstay is pulled hard and it depowers the main much
faster(and more significant) than the front sail.. Having less prebend helps
this problem and it also makes the headstay stiffer which requires less
backstay. We tensioned the lowers tighter, again to promote deeper main and
stiffer headstay. Our set was 30 on lowers and 29 on uppers. We tried #1 when we
first came out and it was fine, but just before the start the wind picked up and
we were not sorry that we changed to #3. Here is when the fun begun.
We had the jib
blocks level with the chain plates and the sheet tension just loose enough not
to have a straight line tension between the tack and the clew. If you trim
tighter in the chop you would point higher but go slower ending with net loss.
We keep the backstay at minimum tension which would make the boat controllable
(the headstay is not bouncing back and forth, you do not see over bend wrinkles
in the mainsail) and adjust the main sheet so the rudder feels as close to
neutral as you can get it. In every puff or even slightly before it we would
ease the jib and main sheet an inch or two and take it back afterwards. The
traveler was mostly in the middle and the vang and cunningham was pulled pretty
hard. The crew weight bunched up close together. You have to have this
comfortable feeling that you control the boat and that she does what you want
instead of feeling of being pushed around by the boat, the breeze and the waves.
Downwind just remember to move the crew back and don't sail too low as it's the
easiest way to broach in a big puff. If the time comes to gybe get the boat
planning first and do it quickly then. There is not much pressure in the sails
and therefore it is quite effortless to gybe.
See you on the race course.
Sincerely,
Chris & Waldek Zaleski
"Twins" USA 5259