sailing a catamaran downwind

How To Sail a Catamaran Upwind or Downwind (Complete Guide)

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Catamarans are the perfect backdrop to a relaxing fishing excursion, with sails in the wind as you reel in 50-pound striped bass. But when the gusts pick up and shift directions, you’ll find yourself weathering uncharted territory where reefing and speed are unlike a classic monohull. Sailing a catamaran upwind and downwind requires a skill set much different from the classic one hulled sailing.

To sail a catamaran upwind, maintain high speeds, center the mainsheet, limit angles to 45-60°, lose unnecessary weight, upgrade to Kevlar sails and daggerboards. To sail a catamaran downwind, maintain 160-170°, use asymmetrical spinnakers, reef when winds exceed 15 knots, and jibe.

Downwind gusts can help a catamaran surf down waves, something that is extremely exciting. However, facing those dreaded upwind breezes (especially without daggerboards) can signal the end of a soothing Mediterranian adventure. To learn how to sail a catamaran upwind or downwind, read on!

Table of Contents

How Sailing a Catamaran Is Different Than Monohulls

Multihull vessels like catamarans respond very differently to rough surfs, gusting winds, and shallow waters. If you’re still questioning, “What’s the difference?” here’s your answer.

Compared to classic monohull boats, catamarans are:

More stable — at sail and when anchored — and less likely to heel or rock from side to side.
Less responsive to waves and winds (detecting these requires keen observation skills).
Likely to struggle when sailing into the wind.
Harder to tack (high speeds are essential to avoid losing momentum)

Traditional yacht enthusiasts quickly learn that sailing a catamaran is smoother, though stiff headwinds and choppy surf are more challenging to overcome. Learning to master upwind and downwind catamaran sailing is essential to get the most out of your trip

If there’s one debate looming over the sailing community, it’s the age-old catamaran versus monohull discussion.

What is the difference b e tween cats and monos?

The UPWIND Catamaran Sailing Guide

Sailing upwind means you’re cruising your catamaran toward the wind (i.e., Traveling east against westward-blowing gusts). This added wind resistance makes it more challenging to reach your destination swiftly and safely, as upwind journeys could come with:

Relentless sail luffing (fluttering like a bedsheet on a clothesline)
Slowed speeds and VMG (velocity made good)
Deep-digging bows in waves
Bridge deck slamming

Preparing for an upwind journey means taking the path of least resistance and the “long way home.” To survive your next upwind sail unscathed, follow these tips:

Maintain High Speeds

Thirty-knot gusts at-sea, high speeds, and a Leopard 44 might sound like a recipe for disaster. But a catamaran’s multihull design allows for lower capsize risks and less heeling in rougher conditions. It’s far gentler on the vessel to maintain momentum than to build throttle against heavy winds.

Sailing a catamaran upwind requires sail, chart plotter, and daggerboard monitoring. The video below discusses upwind sailing tips as your catamaran’s bow faces 20-knot gusts.

Limit Angles to 45–60°

A straight line is undoubtedly the shortest pathway to your on-shore destination, but sailing your catamaran directly into the wind will land you in the dreaded “no-go zone.” That is, sailing into 15-knot wind gusts directly, draining all forward momentum (unless motoring), and being unable to steer responsively.

The point of sail “sweet spot” for catamarans sailing upwind is between 45 and 60°. This tight range will keep the bow headed in the right direction — toward a particular cove or dock — without cutting throttle (too direct) or over-inflating the sails (too perpendicular).

An onboard flag can help you accurately detect your current point of sail (there are of course electronic aids as well). You should adjust the sails intentionally to ensure the perfect angle:

Slowly let out your sail.
Wait for the telltale to begin luffing (flapping in the wind).
Gently tug it back until the telltale flapping stops.

Upgrade to Kevlar Sails

Catamarans are impressively resistant to heeling where dainty monohulls might capsize. But instead of “giving” with the wind, a catamaran’s classic polyester sails will resist 30+ knot gusts almost entirely. Even the highest-tenacity Dacron sailcloths will develop wear and tear, performance-reducing distortions, or irreversible breakage in heavy winds.

Investing in heavy-duty Kevlar sails can create stiffer and more damage-proof sails that can better handle upwind excursions. Upgraded catamaran sail cloths can help you travel a crisper pathway at a close-hauled 45° without overcompensating at the wheel.

Select a Daggerboard Catamaran

Daggerboards are retractable vertical keels attached to a catamaran’s underbelly. These large, below-deck protrusions can prevent or limit any leeway in exceptionally windy conditions.

Daggerboards vs Centerboards explained!

In other words, daggerboards will keep your catamaran from drifting with the wind or falling off course. The $30,000 higher price tag is undoubtedly off-putting, especially when proper tacking technique might render them useless. But the benefits are substantial:

Sailing 1-2 knots faster than a standard keeled catamaran
Traveling 5-7° closer to the no-go zone
Reaching your upwind destination quicker and with less dramatic tacking

Catamarans with daggerboards installed are more reliable and accurate when traveling upwind. But these built-in keels require proper care to prevent grounding or lurching into a reef. Until your sea voyages bring you upwind, keep your daggerboards raised.

Clean Hulls

Aside from trimming the sails and staying in the close-hauled zone, there’s only so much you can do onboard to better tackle an upwind voyage. But what about beneath the water’s surface? A dirty underside can wreak havoc on your catamaran’s all-around performance — cutting RPM by 1,000, draining fuel efficiency, and slashing your maximum speed by several kts.

Keeping your catamaran hulls free of barnacles, grime, and fouling can make your upwind travels far less treacherous. Revive upwind sailing potential by:

Spraying the bottom clean with an on-land hose
Scrubbing the slimy waterline with a soft brush or sponge
Dislodging caked-on algae with a plastic putty knife
Applying a fresh coat of antifouling paint

Scrub your catamaran’s underbelly clean at least four times a year, though monthly is preferred for maximum performance. You’ll quickly notice a swifter, cleaner, and smoother journey the next time you take your catamaran up the coast.

Trim the Sails & Center the Mainsheet

“Trimming” the sails is a beginner’s catamaran cruising skill designed to improve speed and better catch the breeze. By changing the angle of the sails and adjusting line tension, you can evade sail luffing and add several knots to your voyage — especially upwind. It takes practice to adapt your sails to the wind speed and direction, so here are the catamaran sail trimming basics:

Lock the mainsheet and position the boom so that it’s somewhat leeward (further away from the wind gusts).
As you veer away from the wind, slightly ease the traveler and monitor the telltales.
Start slowly easing the mainsheet when you’re on a beam or reaching (when the catamaran is at the right angle to the wind).
Keep an eye on the telltales and watch for differences between leward and windward side (bluffing or flopping).

As you go through the classic trial and error process, don’t forget to keep the mainsheet centered — or as close to the center as possible. Otherwise, turning the winches in 18+ knot winds will require superhuman strength to get back on track, complicating your sail.

Steering clear of the no-go zone (straight into the wind) will keep your catamaran from stalling and your sails from flapping around and potentially increasing wear. But you’ll never arrive at your coordinates if you’re staying on a strict 45° path in one direction. This is where skilled catamaran sailors begin “tacking”, the art of turning your boat with the wind on your bows.

When you tack on a sailboat, you’re forcing the bows into the wind’s direction (no go zone). Tacking redirects the bow to the opposite 45° angle — from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock — and creates a zig-zag formation or subtle 90° turns through the water. Proper tacking requires a skilled crew on larger catamarans but can be a solo pursuit. Here’s how to do this maneuver carefully:

Start by sailing as close to the close-hauled territory as possible (within 40-45°).
Choose a heading 90° away as your turn “destination.”
Alert the crew to the tacking (if applicable).
Slowly release the loaded jib sheet and begin pulling the lazy sheet inward.
Steer the catamaran into the turn while maintaining speed (don’t speed up or slow down).
Allow the sail to backfill to assist with the pivot.
Release the jib sheet (watch your fingers, as the line releases quickly).
Tighten the jib sheet on the opposite side and feel the wind start powering the boat.

Tacking is a challenging sailing concept to master. But it’s also the only way to sail upwind efficiently.

Turn On the Motor

A traditional, motor-free catamaran cruise can be soothing if there’s no destination in mind. However, the sails become inefficient against 15-knot winds when your preferred snorkeling spot is several miles directly into the wind. The best way to sail upwind is by turning to your catamaran’s twin diesel engines and hitting the throttle. Even cranking the engine to half-speed can ignite your speed by 1-2 knots and improve the course by up to 20°.

The DOWNWIND Catamaran Sailing Guide

Sailing downwind means you’re cruising in the same direction as the wind’s blowing (i.e., Journeying north alongside north-blowing winds). This extra momentum can generate higher speeds on a run, though the consequences of unpredictable downwind exist. Spinnakers becoming tangled around forestays or spinnaker collapse are looming concerns in high winds.

Downwind sailing is the catamaran sailors’ favorite direction, and thats why most people circumnavigating the globe is travelling with the tradewinds going west!

How to circumnavigate the world

Downwind trips are much more straightforward for novice sailors, but there are techniques for building speed and learning more about your boat. To better handle your next downwind sail like an expert, follow these tips

Use a Screecher or Asymmetrical Spinnakers

Spinnakers are a special type of sail ideal for downwind runs. Unlike a mainsail or jib that luffs in the wind, spinnakers inflate like a balloon and give maximum power at around 90-160° angles. These ultra-lightweight, colorful sailcloths come in two varieties: Asymmetrical and symmetrical. Most yachters attach asymmetrical spinnakers or screechers to their catamarans because they:

Work well in close-hauls, beams, and broad reaches
Boost speed by about 2 knots
Resist damage in 25-knot downwind gusts
Are quite versatile

The latest spinnaker tends to have more volume when tacked to the windward bow. These new designs allow them to catch more wind and pick up speed at nearly all deep, downwind angles (except directly at your aft).

Sailing a catamaran downwind isn’t quite as simple as easing the sails and cruising. The video below explains the catamaran difference when traversing the sea with the wind at your aft.

Choose the Right Angle

Sailing a catamaran directly downwind sounds like a decent strategy for picking up some momentum. But because catamarans travel faster with the wind at their sails, a less direct point of sail can maximize your velocity made good (VMG).

The proper point of sail for downward cruises is in the broad reach position — ideally between 160 and 170°, though up to 90° can be somewhat effective. This 10-20° off-center angle is slight but can boost your maximum speeds by a few knots.

Reef at 15 Knots

Though catamarans don’t heel or spill wind like monohull ships, the high wind pressure cues are more challenging to detect. Sailing behind 15 or even 20-knot gusts can overpower even the sturdiest sails when you jibe. Reducing your sail surface area and allowing more wind to flow through — reefing — will reduce speed(usually) and increase safety.

Always keep an eye on your anemometer while sailing downwind in windier conditions. Once it’s registering 15-20 knots, here’s what you should do:

Reduce the mainsail’s pressure by loosening the mainsheet and repositioning the traveler leeward (away from the wind).
Take the pressure off the boom vang.
Lower the main halyard and hook reefing point #1 on the proper hook.
Pull the reefing line manually (or with a winch).
Put more tension back on the halyard and boom vang.

Time is of the essence while reefing downwind, and one reef might not be enough if you’re sailing into a squall. Be prepared for a second or third reef when winds measure 25 and 30 knots, respectively. If winds exceed 30 knots, remove the jib entirely and use the mainsail as you return to the marina.

These numbers above are general numbers and since cats don’t heel much it is very important to abide by the wind speed reefing table on your boat.

Why do catamarans capsize?

Jibe (Gybe)

Jibing (gybing) is the downwind version of tacking, meaning you’ll be heading off on another zig-zag 90° journey as you sail out of the bay. But unlike tacking, where you forced the ship’s bow toward the wind, now you’ll be guiding the boat’s stern away from the wind. Here’s how to jibe a catamaran safely and quickly:

Make sure the traveler is in a center position (or close to center).
Trim the sail to prevent the boom from swinging in mid-jibe.
Angle the catamaran so you’re traveling a few degrees off from directly downwind.
Choose a location in the distance that’s 90° from your current location.
When the mainsheet feels lighter, bring the boom toward the ship’s center.
Wait for the leech to rise (the sail’s rear edge).
Release the mainsheet again.

While jibing can help you stay on course and pick up some speed, it comes with some risks. An uncontrolled boom can rapidly swing and crash into a crew member, cause unpredictable heeling, or damage the rig. Make sure all crew members are ready to jibe before beginning the process.

Reduce Speeds

The physics behind sailing is quite complicated and misconceptions about venturing downwind are common. Thanks to choppy waves (water resistance) and sails (lack of wind resistance), it’s impossible to sail downwind at faster speeds than the wind directly at your aft.

Sailing a catamaran upwind or downwind is more complicated than a calm, Caribbean sailing expedition. Prepare for your next windy escapade by:

Checking the wind speed and direction via your local weather service
Practicing reefing, tacking, and cruising skills in calmer conditions
Experimenting with sail trims, headsail positions, and motor use
Learning more about spinnakers, screechers, and gennakers

Every gust, knot, and reef will help you hone your catamaran sailing talents and better prepare for less predictable weather. Try to build your confidence and perfect your skills before exposing yourself to harsher conditions.

Owner of CatamaranFreedom.com. A minimalist that has lived in a caravan in Sweden, 35ft Monohull in the Bahamas, and right now in his self-built Van. He just started the next adventure, to circumnavigate the world on a Catamaran!

Downwind Sailing on a Cruising Catamaran

Although sailing downwind in the trades in a cruising boat has its challenges, it is a relatively pleasant and fairly easy experience on a catamaran.

There is a more-or-less continuous flow of air across the Atlantic called the trade winds. Because the Earth is warmer at the equator and colder at the poles, and because of Earth’s rotation, this flow is generally westerly (from the west) near the poles and easterly nearer the equator.

Every season there is a migration of cruising boats that follow the trades when the trade winds are steady. One such migration is from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean across the Atlantic Ocean in November / December every year from east to west. It is the same downwind route that we took when we sailed our own boat back from France to the Caribbean in November 2019.

Although sailing downwind in the trades in a cruising boat has its challenges, it is a relatively pleasant and fairly easy experience on a catamaran. Assuming that your catamaran is a regular production cat like a Leopard, Bali or Lagoon, well equipped with cruising gear, you’ll perform much the same way as an equivalent monohull with either a conventional symmetrical spinnaker or asymmetric sail. Like on monohulls, you will pretty much sail to hull speed provided your catamaran is not overloaded. Performance cats are a different animal of course.

Therefor a regular cruising cat, much like a monohull, needs a lot of sail area and has to sail deep downwind if it is to achieve a decent speed made good (VMG), typically between 160° and 170°. But multihulls offer a unique wide platform for setting and sheeting downwind sails that set it apart from monohulls and make it a lot easier to sail downwind. The wide deck platform provides outboard sheeting points that makes downwind sails more efficient and the windward hull provides a tack location when sailing deeper angles is desired. Our preferred downwind sail is the assymmetrical spinnaker but a wing-on-wing configuration with dual head sails is very effective and, in many cases, safer and easier to handle for shorthanded crew.

Asymmetrical Sails for Downwind Sailing

Most modern catamarans choose to fly an asymmetric spinnaker and tack it to the weather bow. Sailmakers have managed to design these asymmetric sails so that they have more volume aloft. That means that even when you’re sailing deep angles, the luff of the sail sets well to windward and is able to catch more breeze that would have passed to windward of the boat. This configuration is pretty much as good as it gets for a cruising catamaran and is good for a range of apparent wind angles of between 90-160 degrees.

That was our sail plan onboard our Bali 5.4 when we did the Atlantic crossing…that is until we blew the asymmetrical sail halfway through our crossing and had to resort to using our Code Zero and jib in a wing-on-wing configuration for the duration of the trip. The spinnaker propelled us across the Atlantic fast. We easily did 200nm + days on the Bali 5.4 in 15 knots of wind.

The asymmetrical sail is a fantastic sail in light winds and once you understand just how easy it is to set and take down, it will be one of your favorite sails to use. These big downwind sails set forward of the mast and so, if there should be a sudden wind increase, the sheet can quickly be released, and the sail allowed to depower by streaming downwind. That means that when on passage, a cruising catamaran can always be rendered safe if things get a little out of hand. All being well, it can be snuffed, ideally while in the lee of the mainsail.

The key as always is in preparation. Make sure the sheets and halyard are all free to run and the sock is not crossed or tangled. The other mistake many of us tend to make is to over-sheet the spinnaker. One should let it fly out as far away from the boat as possible. It will make a huge difference. Keep easing the sheet until the luff curls, testing how far you can ease it out. You can always wind it back in. See the video here of how we set up our asymmetrical sail>>

We had our Asymmetrical sail made by Quantum in Annapolis, MD for our new Bali 5.4. It is a monster sail but surprisingly easy to handle. Andrew listened to our requirements for this downwind sail and built a sail that was ideally suited for our application. A word from our sailmaker at Quantum>> .

Wing-on-Wing Sail Configuration with Dual Headsails

The Code Zero is our favorite sail to use in light winds. It is the most popular cruising multihull downwind sail because they offer great versatility and cover a wide range of wind angles. Today the furling systems used with these sails are great and is as easy to use as a jib. We fly that sail most often and when the wind is just right on the beam, we really get flying. The Code Zero is best used with an AWS (apparent wind speed) of up to 18 knots, with an apparent wind angle (AWA) of less than 135 degrees.

When we blew out our asymmetrical sail halfway across the Atlantic, we were forced to use our head sails and our sailing became somewhat more conservative and a little slower. We set up a wing-on-wing configuration with the Code Zero to one side and the jib out to the other side of the boat. The two sails combine to create one giant sail, and the wind funnels from one sail to another and even though a touch slower than the asymmetrical, was totally adequate and is much more forgiving than sailing wing-on-wing with the headsail and mainsail where you have to use preventers etc. This configuration is also much more manageable and safer to handle for shorthanded crew or a couple.

Autopilot Wind Vane for Downwind Sailing on a Catamaran

When sailing with finicky sail configurations like the ones above, be sure to put your autopilot on wind vane mode and set the wind angle as a priority. That way, if the wind shifts, your autopilot will adjust the boat to have the sails properly filled. If you are running on a heading or a track when the wind shifts, you might find your sails backwinded or do an accidental gibe, which is dangerous.

Being on the wind vane setting does mean that you need to pay extra attention to your course; if the wind shifts, you may have to switch to another downwind sail tactic. Always get the boat balanced and steering comfortably before you switch on the autopilot. If the helm is overpowered and the steering is hard to control when you steer, the autopilot will have the same difficulty keeping a steady course. Set your right combination of sails and trim the sails well to set a comfortable course, then set the autopilot and watch it for a time to make sure it doesn’t labor too hard.

Chafe is Significant on Sails

Sailing downwind across the Atlantic, one will experience a lot of chafe on your running rigging. It’s a huge problem. We had our Code Zero come down while sailing from Madeira to the Canary Islands because the halyard was chafed right through in a few hours. Fortunately, we retrieved the sail without any issues, but it could have been a real problem. One should make provision for chafe and check your lines all the time. In fact, it is good practice to simply roam around the boat and check your running and standing rigging daily while on passage. We have bought several lengths of Dyneema sleeve and have sewn this chafe gear on the wear spots on the spinnaker halyard as well as all the reefing points on the main halyard.

Crash Stop or Quick Stop

Cruising yachts are mostly sailed by couples and are essentially short-handed. When a crew member goes overboard it is always at the worst possible time and completely unexpected, which means that the reaction time to start the correct maneuver is usually not good. The man overboard recovery method that we prefer being shorthanded, is called the “Crash Stop” or “Quick Stop”. It works in almost all situations and requires only one crew member and no sail trimming. Learn about the MOB Quick Stop Maneuver.

Parking Your Catamaran in Emergency

Parking the boat is an effective method for stopping anywhere and holding station, much like heaving-to in a monohull. Deep reef your main sail, drop the traveler all the way to leeward, and sheet the mainsheet hard in. Secure your helm so the rudders are pushing the boat into the wind. The cat will sit on a close-hauled course, drifting sideways at about ½ knot. This is great if you need a break from very harsh conditions or a squall. The motion will be smooth and will give you time to regroup or effect repairs if necessary.

FYI: If you own a Lagoon, Leopard or Fountain Pajot, you don’t necessarily have to have a sail built for your boat. There are pre-owned sails available to be purchased at a fraction of the cost.

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Downwind Sailing on a Cruising Catamaran

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ OUR DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

Last Updated on September 28, 2020 by Amy

When we wrote our first sail trim for a cruising catamaran blog post, we were just about to move aboard Starry Horizons for our circumnavigation. We’d been sailing a 30-foot Maine Cat around Galveston Bay, getting some sailing experience under our belts. Starry Horizons is a pretty big leap, and we’ve learned a lot about sail handling since then. There are two advanced sailing techniques that we’ve found very helpful when sailing deep downwind.

Table of Contents - Click to Jump

Flying Headsails off the Windward Bow

Our screecher is our favorite sail to use. It’s huge and when the wind is just right (like on the beam) we really get flying. The screecher on the bowsprit is best used with an AWS of fewer than 15 knots, with an apparent wind angle (AWA) of fewer than 135 degrees.

We have sailed several times with the tack of our screecher (or spinnaker) attached to the windward bow of the boat instead of being attached to the bowsprit. This allows us to sail at a deeper downwind angle (135 – 160). Instead of approximately 12 lateral feet between the tack and the clew (half the width of the boat), we are now using the full width of the boat to open the headsail even wider.

While the sail is still furled, we use a soft shackle to attach a low friction ring to the bow cleat. Through the low friction ring, we run a new tack line. The bitter end of the tack line goes through the clutch on the toe rail. We loosen the clutch on the bowsprit to free the normal tack line. We detach it and pull the tack of the sail over to the new tack line. You can keep both tack lines attached for added control. This allows you to adjust the position of the tack: to the low friction ring at the bow, to the bowsprit, or somewhere in between.

Wing-on-Wind with Dual Headsails

We have sailed several times, especially on our Atlantic crossing, with our headsail and mainsail set to a wing-on-wing configuration. It works, but can be troublesome depending on how light the wind is or how much the swell conditions are knocking the boat around.

Instead, we’ve flown wing-on-wing with both our screecher and genoa out. The two sails combine to create one giant sail, and the wind funnels from one sail to another. This is much more forgiving than sailing wing on wing with the headsail and mainsail.

We usually set the wind vane to 150 or so, unfurl the screecher, and then set the wind vane to 174. Then we roll out the genoa. The genoa is a much more forgiving sail, and its better to accidently backwind the genoa than it is to backwind the screecher.

Downwind Sailing in Higher Winds

As the screecher is not a sail that you can reef, when the apparent wind speed is higher than 15 knots, we sail wing on wing with the genoa and mainsail. You can reef both sails as the wind picks up.

Monohull Notes

As you may know, David and I don’t have much experience on monohulls at all. From what we gather, monohulls are not as comfortable downwave as catamarans are. This is a plus for sailing catamarans on a downwind circumnavigation. However, when they do go downwind, we have several friend boats who sail wing on wing with the two headsails. Putting poles on the clew of the sail to spread them out would be required.

Other Advice

What have you found that works best for you while downwind sailing?

12 Comments

Super useful stuff here. Much appreciated.

Amy, I’m In Galveston. Never moved after school. Always Ship work between Houston and NOLA. I’m scheduled for a charter around September in St Lucia on A Helia44. Three cabin configuration. Looking forward to it.

Great! I hope you have a great time, St Lucia is lovely!

Amy & “DAVID” Of course I made a bonehead move and called David ‘Frank’ .. ? My apologies!!

Amy and Frank, Last night I was google-ing Catamaran Sail Trim for our Gemini 105MC (same as Dave Hedgepeth) when I found your blog. Then copied your ‘About’ link and sent it to work (I am West Marine Rig Shop mgr in Kemah, TX) to read about ya’ll when I had time. 2nd sentence re: Capt Amy: “Grandfather started State Boat and Father started Star Fleet in Kemah, TX” … OMG … Amy is Tom Lober’s daughter! Your Dad and I were classmate at TAMUG on Pelican Island 77-82. He would be SO Proud of both of you!! Donna Cuddy (my girlfriend and also a classmate of your Dad) bought a Gemini 105MC just like Dave Hedgepeth. Ours is in Deltaville, VA where we will explore Chesapeake Bay. Thank you for the Adventure you are Sharing!!

Hey Franklin! What a small world! I think of Dad all the time while cruising, he would have loved to join us. I’m very familiar with that West Marine! 🙂 PS don’t worry about calling David Frank!

Amy, I have shared your Adventure with fellow classmates, Karl Haupt, Ed Bishop and Jim Brown. We are all very Impressed! Please tell your MOM hello!

I did pass along your hello! Wonderful to hear from Dad’s old classmates!

Amy, I went to school with you Dad. TMA’80. Another classmate sent me the link.

I own a Gemini 105Mc so this info is great. My boss owns a Helia 44 in a charter fleet in Grenada.

Glad you are having a good time.

Hi Dave, thanks for reaching out, I’m glad you have found the post helpful. Where are you located?

We love this approach too. Much more stable than the traditional wing on wing.

Thanks Claudia! Nice to get an endorsement from an expert like you. 😉

Controlling Your Sails On A Catamaran

By Don Margraf
Updated: June 18, 2018

In monohull sailing, when you leave too much sail up in a building breeze the signs are clear: The rail is underwater, the dishes are on the floor, Grandma is terrified. The boat is dealing with excess energy by trying to lever a 5-ton lead weight out of the water; in other words, it’s heeling, spilling breeze, slowing down and rounding up.

Multihulls don’t behave that way. When you overpower a cat, it can only accelerate, dig a hole in the water or bust gear. No-heel sailing has a lot of advantages, but one drawback is the temptation to sail badly. You might easily go sailing with breakfast dishes on the table and postpone reefing until you’ve cleaned things up. In the meantime, the breeze is on, the boat’s impossible to steer and you shred a sail. One key to safe catamaran sailing is to learn when — and how — to reduce sail.

The best place to learn how to tuck in a reef is at the dock. Pick a morning with zero wind, and hoist. Practice reefing and un-reefing till you can do it in less than three minutes, blindfolded. If something jams or snags, stop. Find the source, figure out the cause and fix it. Look for inherent weak spots, chafe areas and jammed lines or sail slides. Study the whole system in slow motion and imagine how it will behave in howling wind, thrashing seas or on pitch-dark nights.

With the main down and flaked on the boom, go to the mast and haul up the main halyard, hoisting the sail as far as you can with two hands and no winch. Let it drop. Repeat and get a feel for the amount of friction built in to this most simple system. Then, if your lines lead to the cockpit, go back and repeat the procedure from where you would normally hoist the sail. Note how every bend and turn adds friction.

It’s important to have a solid understanding of your boat’s base-line resistance. When something jams in the dark, at sea, and you’re alone in the cockpit, you have to know nature’s little warning signs. Your evil inner voice will say, “You’re just tired. Put that thing on the electric winch!” You have to be able to argue back, “No, this is not the normal amount of friction. Something’s wrong.” Remember: There are no snag problems an electric winch can’t make worse.

While you’re at the mast, study the gooseneck. With the first reef in, look at the way the reef line is led to the deck and back to the cockpit. Look for friction and chafe. Push the boom out and back, making sure the reef line doesn’t change tension. Look back at the tail end of the boom, where the reef line passes through the leech. The reef line should pull both reef points in two directions: down and forward at the luff, and down and back at the leech. It should run through all its turns, from boom to cockpit, with minimal resistance. It might appear to be all clean and peaceful at the dock, but on big seas, everything is in motion. The slightest chafe whittles line down to bird-nest fodder in no time.

Next, work out your own checklist for reefing. It should be a simple list of the basic steps, in an order that goes something like this: 1) Ease mainsheet. 2) Set topping lift. 3) Ease halyard. 4) Tighten and secure reef line. 5) Re-tension halyard. 6) Trim sheet.

Reach for It

Once you’ve got it down pat at the dock and you’re ready for a test run, pack a lunch and look for a steady 15-knot breeze with plenty of sea room. Set a heading on a close reach, check sea room again and punch in the autopilot. Watch the autopilot drive for five minutes while you review your checklist.

When you’re ready, ease the mainsheet and let the traveler down until the main is completely de-powered. Adjust jib trim and autopilot heading until the boat stays on course, powered only by the jib; don’t fall off and let the luffing main fill again. The speed will go down sailing only on the jib, but the boat should balance, still on a close reach. Now go through your checklist and practice it step by step for both the first and second reef, hauling the sail up and down until you have it down cold or run out of sea room.

Reefing on a close reach has its own tricks and hassles, but I find it far easier than starting engines, pushing the bow into the wind, leaping off wave crests, pounding in troughs, watching for stray lines in the props and minding the flogging boom.

In the distant past, when mainsails had short (or no) battens, the sail flogged when luffing. This was considered hard on the sailcloth. The full-length battens on modern catamaran mainsails take the flog out of the sail but put it in the boom. This is considered hard on skulls, should they be in the way. An out-of-control boom also flails slack lines, which snag, bend, remove hardware and tie themselves in weird knots. It’s a deadly menace to life and property. I try to avoid it at every opportunity. Still, it’s good to practice reefing nose-to-wind, and also heaving to. It’s difficult, it tests boathandling skills and it helps prepare you for the toughest challenge: reefing while sailing on a run.

Before we head off downwind, let’s heave to for a minute and review. We like to practice at the dock, in dead calm, because, well, it’s calm. Everything’s easy.

So how to know when to reef? The first obvious answer is the wind-speed indicator. If your boat has an owner’s manual, it probably recommends reefing at 18, 28 and 35 knots or so. Every boat is different, and no rule fits every situation, but take it on faith that these are ballpark figures. Pick your own numbers, but be conservative, watch the wind speedo (hopefully it’s been calibrated) and stick to your rules till you know your boat well.

Do you put in the first reef at 18 knots true or apparent? Great question. Most cats pick up a lot of speed when they head downwind. This exaggerates the difference between true-and apparent-wind speed. You’ll especially notice this if you have set a gennaker or spinnaker and the wind is building. If you head up even a few degrees on these sails, the apparent-wind speed builds so fast you might have a shredded sail quicker than you can say “snap fill.”

Write your reefing-guide checklist with true-wind speed in mind, and make a note to clearly understand how your boat’s speed and heading affect apparent-wind speed and angle. Then make a note on the dashboard for downwind drivers: “Steer down in a puff.” The deeper downwind angle you sail, the less the apparent wind. And vice versa.

Most catamarans have shrouds placed far aft, and no backstay. That means the boom cannot swing out as far as on typical monohulls, and therefore the jibe angle is smaller. The boat has a narrower range of downwind sailing angles. For this reason, and a few other architectural ones, cat sailors don’t often sail dead downwind, at least not with the main up. It’s a big sail, with lots of roach in the leech; long, heavy battens; and, on many boats, a traveler that’s 10 or more feet long. When you jibe one of these accidentally in 25 knots, it’s like lifting a cat by the tail: You discover new things that can’t be learned any other way.

A lot of good sailors will say you can’t reef that big sail when it’s loaded on a run. But something about turning into a huge following sea is a motivator to try. When you turn into the wind to reef, and start taking big waves on the beam, even though you know that in theory your boat was designed not to capsize, all your senses will scream, “We’re going over!”

So before you get caught out in 20-foot seas with too much canvas up, it’s best to learn how to reef the big main while sailing hard, downwind.

Downwind Basics

You can work out the basic moves and hardware at the dock. But to feel the pressure, the friction you’re up against when sailing on a run, it’s good to have a long stretch of wide, flat water and at least 15 knots of steady breeze.

If you have the luxury of crew, this is the time to put your best downwind driver at the wheel. If you are cruising alone, or with a mate, your autopilot is your best friend and the most important piece of gear on the boat. Most autopilots have a wind function; instead of a magnetic heading, they will steer to an apparent-wind direction. This is where you learn to use it, adjust it and trust it. The boat has to maintain a rock-solid wind angle, and you need to be able to tweak it a few degrees, up or down, and trust it won’t lurch into a round-down wild jibe.

Before you punch the autopilot into duty, set your heading and sail trim on a deep downwind angle that’s balanced and easy to steer. If you’re struggling, zigging off and zagging back, fighting a heavy wheel, the pilot will struggle too. Eventually something will break. If your heading swings too far, the autopilot may give up trying to hold course and eventually switch itself off. (There’s a Catch-22 to all this: If you’re overpowered and out of balance, it’s hard to safely reef because it’s hard to hold course. But this is when you need that reef the most. Practice in lighter breeze and work up to the big stuff. And learn to reef sooner rather than later.)

Even in lighter wind, with the main sheeted out and traveler down, there’s plenty of friction on the mainsail’s luff cars. The sail likely won’t come down on its own, and even the reef line on a winch won’t feel effective. The simplest solution is for someone to stand at the mast and pull down on the luff of the sail. If you can safely get there in the dark and reach the sail, this method, being the simplest, has beauty.

But regardless, you already thought about this back at the dock, and you have rigged some kind of downhaul that lets you pull down on the sail from a position where you feel safe. It can be as simple as a separate line, tied to the top luff car, that is led to the base of the mast, or better yet to a manual winch either on the mast, cabin top or at the helm (to be used as a last resort!).

There are times when even an athlete at the mast, using a well-rigged downhaul, won’t budge the sail. Try bringing the mainsheet in 2 feet and try again. No? Alter heading slightly and try again. Bring in a couple more feet of sheet. Double-check the main halyard. No snags? Keep tinkering with sheet angle and heading, downhaul and reef-line pressure in tiny increments — but don’t jibe! Try even moving the traveler up a foot or two. Remember, the reef line has to pull the boom up a bit to meet the lowering leech cringle, so changing the sheet geometry can help.

If all else fails, you might have to put your downhaul on the (manual!) winch. Here, again, all your dock practice pays off because you need a good feel for how much friction is too much. You need to know if something is about to break.

If you keep tweaking the sheet and heading in small bites, and you don’t break something, the sail will finally move down an inch or two, and that’s all you need, a start. From there you can keep inching it down.

When you have the reef point locked down, give the autopilot a break. Steer the boat to see if it’s easier and better balanced with less sail. If you still have sea room in your practice space, take a break, open the lunch bag, review your checklist and then practice reefing the jib. You’ll find challenges there too in big wind, even though it rolls up.

Practice Makes Perfect

Every boat and every sea condition is a little different. Experimenting in all kinds of settings is the only way to learn the personality of your boat. There are devilish details: lazy jacks that snag battens, sail covers and Biminis that block the view. Besides their sails, catamarans have lots of sail area in fiberglass and gelcoat. When you’re sailing downwind, all that vertical surface you see from behind equates to sail area, and most of it is aft of the mast. I’ve sailed cats at more than 17 knots with no sails at all! So the dynamic balance of a cat is different from a monohull.

When you start tinkering, you’ll find most cats sail well, even tacking upwind, on jib alone. But they hardly sail at all on just the main. As big as the main is, that seems counterintuitive. But when I’m alone on the boat and both engines die at the worst moment, the first thing I reach for is the jib sheet and furling line. Before the anchor, before the radio, before the life jacket, I roll out the jib. Try it.

Learn your boat! When you understand how it reacts in various conditions, you’ll pick up other little clues that tell you if it’s overpowered. I can tell a lot just from the sound of the water tumbling off the transom. There are lots of cat sailors out there now. Go to school on the stuff they broke. Like electrics, every mechanical system should have a fuse. If you break something, before you beef it up, ask yourself if that was the best place for an overload failure. A raceboat owner summed that up best for me years ago, and I never forgot: “Guys, we sailed hard enough to break some stuff, but it wasn’t expensive. Great job!”

Don Margraf is a West Coast multihull sailor, rigger and yacht broker who mastered the finer points of boathandling at Trial & Error U.

More: catamaran , How To , monohull , safety at sea , sails & rigging
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Sailing a catamaran

If the wind is strong enough to lift the windward hull, a catamaran will always sail on the apparent wind—meaning that speed forward through the water tightens the angle of the wind so that it always appears to be blowing from ahead, irrespective of the course sailed.

SAIL FREE AND FAST

The principal requirement of catamaran sailing is to build up apparent wind. When beating upwind, do not try to sail as close to the wind as possible, as with a conventional dinghy . Instead, bear off a few degrees to power up the rig's forward drive. Increased speed will more than compensate for lack of pointing.

Like any boat, a catamaran is at its fastest on a reach. On a run, with airflow over one side of the sails only, and both hulls down in the water, a catamaran is slow. To compensate, catamaran sailors

Sailing downwind on a three-sail reach, the mainsail is sheeted almost on the centerline due to the apparent wind angle and the speed of the catamaran. The helmsman keeps maximum control by holding the tiller bar and letting the tiller extension trail.

should "tack downwind." Start on a beam reach and head up toward the wind to build up power, lift the windward hull, and increase speed. The result is that the apparent wind direction moves ahead and the helmsman can bear away downwind, still sailing at speed and keeping the hull flying. If the speed decreases and the windward hull drops, he will head up toward the wind, then bear away again, with a succession of jibes taking the boat to a point dead downwind. A catamaran that "tacks" downwind will sail considerably farther than one sailing on a dead run, but owing to far greater speed will always reach a downwind point first.

SAILING A CATAMARAN 145

Catamaran no sail zone

POINTS OF SAILING

Catamaran sailors should beat to windward on a close reach, not attempting to point high upwind, which slows the boat and prevents the windward hull lifting. Running is also inefficient, except in light winds. Sail a succession of port and starboard broad reaches, jibing across the downwind course. Center the mainsheet for upwind sailing; ease it down the track downwind.

Continue reading here: Tacking and jibing a catamaran

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Readers' Questions

How close on a reach catamaran?

On a Reach catamaran, the distance between the two hulls is usually quite close. The width of the catamaran can vary depending on the specific model and size, but typically the hulls are placed closer together compared to other types of catamarans. This design allows for better stability and maneuverability, especially when sailing on a reach (a point of sail where the wind is coming from the side of the boat). The close proximity of the hulls also increases the overall deck space available on the catamaran.

Why don't a catamaran sail closer to the wind?

A catamaran is a type of boat with two parallel hulls, and it is known for its stability and speed. However, one limitation of catamarans is their ability to sail as close to the wind (into the wind) compared to other sailboats such as monohulls. There are a few reasons why catamarans cannot sail as close to the wind: High windage: Catamarans have a wider beam (the width of the boat) due to their double-hull design. This results in more surface area exposed to the wind, causing a higher windage. The wind pushing against the larger surface area makes it harder for the boat to point directly into the wind and maintain forward progress. Limited upwind performance: Catamarans are usually designed with larger and flatter hulls, which provide buoyancy and stability. However, these hull shapes create more drag and resist the boat's ability to sail upwind efficiently. They are not optimized for pointing directly into the wind. Lack of keel: Unlike monohull sailboats, catamarans do not have a deep keel extending below the waterline. Keels provide lateral resistance and prevent sideways slipping or skidding. This lack of keel reduces the ability of catamarans to sail upwind effectively. However, it's important to note that modern catamarans have made significant advancements in their upwind performance through design modifications and technological improvements. Newer models may have features like daggerboards or centerboards to enhance lift and lateral resistance, allowing them to sail closer to the wind compared to older designs.

How to sail a catamaran dinghy fast downwind?

Tune your rig: Make sure your sails are set correctly and the rigging is properly tensioned. Carefully trim the sails: Sheet in or out your mainsail and jib as needed to keep them filling in the wind as you make your course downwind. Center your weight: Sit in the middle of the cockpit and make sure your crew’s weight is evenly distributed. Keep the bow up: Heel the boat slightly to keep the bow from plunging into the waves. Maintain a smooth ride: Trim the sails to adjust the speed and angle of your course. Ride the waves: As you go downwind, find the best angle of attack by riding on the crest of the waves. Use the wind to your advantage: As the wind changes direction or intensity, adjust your sail trim accordingly to get the most speed.

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Catamaran fundamentals : Downwind Sails: the Parasailor

The Parasailor? It’s a symmetrical spinnaker whose central part forms a paraglider. Particularly efficient and stable in any sudden wind, this is the sail of choice for transatlantic crossings… All hands on deck!

To make the most of your cat downwind, a good headsail is important…

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Published 01/10/2015

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No, the symmetrical spi isn’t dead! Sure, on board our multihulls gennakers sprout from the bowsprits, unfurling and furling in just a few seconds. Close-reaching or with the wind on the beam, they work very well… but not quite so well beyond a broad reach. And this is where the wind usually blows from on our big trips! So the symmetrical spi has lost none of its magic. The Parasailor is simply and evolution: the same sail, but integrating a paraglider wing in its upper section. The idea is to stabilize the sail by creating lift. And it works well on monohulls with their spinnaker poles! On board our multihulls, the bows enable us to position the tack upwind, which is even better. Let’s have a look at how it works! So how does it work? The upper third of the spi is opened by a gigantic kite wing. It’s a three-fold principle. It’s a question of helping the lift of the sail, of forcing it to spread out properly in a horizontal plane, and also to avoid it collapsing annoyingly (waves or other jolts), by evacuating the air, likely too much of which is stuck in the sail. That’s it for the theory, and it seems to be best adapted to “classic” monohulls. Heavier and generally slower downwind, they are frequently being pushed along when they sail. Not so in the case of multihulls, where the airflow over the spinnaker is almost always laminar, due to their higher speeds, and therefore their higher wind angle. One reason why the famous French sailor, Yves Parlier uses downwind sails with cell-construction… but oriented at 90° to the wing of our Parasailor and better adapted to our cruising multihulls. We need to go offshore, with a few miles of clear water to run in. All the crew gets the sail ready. For now it’s securely stowed in the forward cockpit of our test boat, a Lagoon. On each side, two lines are prepared. One acts as a guy, passing through a block fixed at the extremity of the bow. The other is the standard sheet. So that’s responsible for the horizontal trimming, which is to say the angle of the sail in relation to the wind. In practice, the four lines are never in use at the time, as you would see on a big monohull. To windward, the guy is under load, but the sheet remains slack. To leeward, the sheet is the main line for adjustment. The guy is more of a downhaul. The setup is very easy, even for a crew unfamiliar with downwind sails. So here there’s no need for either a pole or a bowsprit. That’s the first advantage of a Parasailor: the relatively minimal amount of hardware required. We put in a reef. The aim of this is to encourage the maximum lift out of the headsail. The sock is quickly hoisted, thanks to a continuous line, slowed slightly by the wing. The spi isn’t completely out yet, but is already beginning to fill. Despite the inevitable weight of the wing and its hangers - compared to a traditional spinnaker, the Parasailor shows an undeniable willingness to fill, and remain filled! This behavior is especially noticeable in a ...

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Yachting Monthly

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Downwind sails: How to pick the right one and fly it

Rachael Sprot
December 15, 2022

Sailing downwind can be slow without extra canvas. Rachael Sprot explores extra sail options and lists the pros and cons of downwind sails

The words ‘pink spinnaker’ are enough to send a chill down the spine of anyone who’s ever watched Cowes Week disaster footage. There’s Atalanta of Chester , which dis-masted when their fuchsia-coloured kite wrapped around the anchor of a tanker in August 2011. And who hasn’t seen the iconic image of Silk II as she nose-dived into the Solent in a 40-knot squall? It’s enough to put you off the big downwind sails for life.

But, like it or not, as you bear away through the wind angles you need additional downwind sails to maintain good passage speeds, rather than languishing under white canvas. The good news is that in the last two decades we’ve seen huge advances in sail design and sail handling technology. Asymmetrics, code sails, snuffers, furlers and laminates have all become much more accessible to us humble cruisers. But which of these sails would most suit you, your boat and your cruising plans?

I joined Mathias and Sybille Keim on board their brand new X5.6, Pure Fun, in Southampton to compare their gennaker, Code Zero and Parasailor spinnaker. Under the old racing rules a spinnaker was any sail where its width halfway up was 75% or more of the foot length.

A sail with a 10m foot length would need to be 7.5m across at the mid-height to count as a spinnaker. Anything below this was a headsail. These days, there’s a complex spectrum of sails which fall between a spinnaker and a genoa but few industry-wide definitions for these hybrids. Terms such as cruising chute, gennaker, asymmetric and reacher can all be used to describe the same sail. However, code sails, asymmetrics and the Parasailor are fairly distinct families.

For racing, a Code Zero counts as a spinnaker as its ‘mid-girth’ is more than 75% of the foot length. Less than that and it’s a headsail. In cruising, definitions and measurements are less strict. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Downwind sails: Code Zero

At the closest end of the scale to the genoa is a code sail, sometimes known as a Code Zero. These are big reaching sails, which set independently of the forestay on a furler. They’re usually made of a laminate if they’re designed for close-reaching, and spinnaker-style medium weight nylon for larger sails and beamier angles.

Much of their power comes from the vast sail area, but shape is also important. There’s usually a semi-rigid cable in the luff which gives stiffness and allows the sail to be furled, although some ‘cableless’ sails are now in production.

Whilst the luff is straight, the leech is curved like a spinnaker which accelerates the airflow over the top of the mainsail. This creates power in light airs and should dramatically reduce motoring time. Generally used between 80 – 120° TWA (true wind angle), larger code sails can reach deeper in stronger winds and smaller, flatter sails can point higher. They’re particularly useful for boats with small foretriangles where a large genoa can’t be accommodated, especially boats with self-tacking jibs.

Rigging a Code Zero is straight-forward, although it may require modifications to the boat. Firstly, it needs to set forwards of the forestay for maximum airflow. This was easy on the X5.6, which has a sprit with an integral electric furler. Without this you might need to modify the bow roller or fit a removable sprit.

Most boats will use a manual furler with a continuous-line furling drum, with the line taken back to the cockpit. The drum remains attached to the sail, and is removed from the sprit when stowing. Code Zeros also require greater halyard tension to furl well, so their halyards often have a 2:1 purchase system to cope with the increased loads.

A 2:1 halyard purchase is needed for sufficient tension, and to stop the top drum twisting when furling. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Unlike a spinnaker, the halyard should not articulate as that will stop it furling.

The sheet needs to be led well aft, probably to the same point as the spinnaker. A single sheet on the clew will suffice because you can’t gybe or tack a code sail due to its proximity to the forestay, so it needs furling for the manoeuvre. Since they’re used for reaching rather than beating or running this is rarely an issue.

The furled sail can be hoisted to windward or leeward of the headsail. With a 2:1 purchase system on the halyard the hoist is relatively easy, even on a big sail such as that of the X5.6, but there’s twice as much line to pull through so it can be slow going.

If the headsail is set, then hoisting it to windward works better as it will snake its way up the sail, pulling forwards and clear of the forestay once halyard tension is established. With the headsail furled a leeward hoist works better as it keeps the code sail clear of the genoa sheets and furling gear.

You can hoist the Code Zero in harbour and leave up while sailing. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Setting and trimming

One advantage of the Code Zero is that it can be hoisted in port and left furled until you need it. The body of the furled sail can disrupt air flow over the headsail, as well as taking some tension off the forestay, reducing the headsail’s efficiency, but this might be preferable to foredeck work at sea.

Since the wind strength in the central Solent was a good Force 4, we were close to the top of the sail’s maximum wind speed. We found shelter in Stanswood Bay and the electric furler seamlessly opened the sail as we took in the sheet.

A magnificent ivory behemoth appeared. We instantly set off with purpose, making over 8kn in just 9kn of true wind. As we ventured further offshore the wind was stronger and we bore away until we had 10kn apparent just abaft the beam.

Article continues below…

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Downwind secrets of ocean sailors

How do you choose which sails to set or what course to steer, and can you stop the boat rolling?…

Why twin headsails are best downwind

Crossing the Atlantic from Cape Verde to Barbados took us just 13 days in our 1998 Lagoon 410, Cushla Na…

Now the true wind was 13kn from 130°and we were making around 8knots. If we hadn’t had the code sail we’d have either had to cling on to a gennaker, or put up with much slower speeds under the headsail. It filled the gap between these two sails beautifully. We lost the impact of the sail at about 140° TWA, or 110°AWA where the wind dropped to only 7knots apparent. Even so we made 6knots through the water.

Unlike a roller-furling genoa it can’t be used partially rolled up, so it’s for light, stable winds only. The feeling of power was quite intoxicating but I was conscious that a moderate gust could have put serious loads through the rig.

On a manual furler it would be laborious to douse if the wind suddenly decided to pick up. As it was, the electric furler made short work of it; we simply bore off to blanket it behind the main, minimising the apparent wind speed, and eased the sheet as swiftly as possible without inducing too much flogging, which would work with a manual furler too.

Top tip: A Code Zero is the largest headsail you can have that doesn’t count as a spinnaker. It is defined as a sail where the mid-girth – the width of the sail from luff to leech – is no more than 75% the length of the foot. More than this and you’ve got an asymmetric spinnaker. While racing rules are irrelevant to cruisers, a light sail with a reasonable pointing angle can go a long way to keep you sailing in light airs.

The sail may need a tug when you start hoisting the sock, but once the wind catches it, it will unfurl rapidly. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Downwind sails: Asymmetric

Asymmetric spinnaker are best used for deeper angles without the fluster of polework. They come in a huge range of shapes and sizes and can be optimised for reaching, running or somewhere in between.

Racing yachts would carry several different asymmetrics with a numbering system to differentiate between running and reaching sails and their designed wind strength. Cruising yachts tend to carry one all-purpose sail, optimised for the mid-range of wind angles and strength, often referred to as a gennaker.

The cut of a gennaker depends on whether it is to be used on a furler. Furling sails need a straighter luff which limits how much belly it can have. A furling sail will have a semi-rigid ‘torsion cable’ strung between the head and tack, but not usually sewn into the sail. This cable is attached to a top-down furling device which winds the sail away from the head.

Deep running sails can’t be used with a furler as they’re too big and baggy, although technology is improving all the time and this may soon become a reality.

A barber hauler controls the sheeting angle and helps make the sail more stable. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Rigging and setting

Ideally, an asymmetric should be set on a bowsprit to give it clean air. However an inexpensive ‘tacker’ device negates the need for retro-fitting a sprit by tethering the sail’s tack to the forestay, but limits the amount of canvas that can be carried.

Pure Fun had a 225m2 all-purpose gennaker from Elvstrom in a snuffer sock with an inflatable collar (to minimise stowage space). It needs three lines to set: a tack line run to the bow, a pair of sheets run well aft and a halyard running through an articulating block on the mast crane. Ideally, the tack line is taken back to a cockpit winch or jammer so it can be adjusted underway.

Sails on furlers don’t have a tack line as they attach via the furler straight to the deck.

Even when contained by a snuffer or furler, a spinnaker should be handled with care and not left lying around where it might fill with air – unlike a Code Zero it can’t be rigged in harbour beforehand. The usual spinnaker handling rules still apply: remember to clip on the bag and don’t attach the halyard until you’re ready to hoist or else a big gust of wind could make it ‘live’.

Hoisting the sail in the snuffer is simple: connect the tack line and sheets to the sail and attach the halyard to the strong point on the snuffer. You’ll need to decide whether to set up for inside or outside gybes and lead the lazy sheet inside or outside the halyard. Most cruising boats with short sprits will find outside gybes easier as there’s limited clearance between the forestay and luff.

Keep the control lines on the snuffer tied down until you’re ready to hoist so that the spinnaker can’t take matters into its own hands. Unless it’s on a furler it should be hoisted to leeward like a symmetric kite.

As ever, a deep broad reach where the gennaker is partially shadowed by the main will keep the drama to a minimum when you unveil it. Once the halyard’s set, raising the snuffer is easy; it practically lifts itself once the sail starts to fill with air. Whoever’s on the snuffer lines needs good gloves as there’s no winch between you and the power of the kite.

When Pure Fun ’s bright yellow sail appeared from its chrysalis there was an exhilarating feeling of power. She took off and we scrambled to keep up with her.

Top tip: Woolling a spinnaker is an old technique which can come in handy if you want to re-hoist it. Simply work down the luff and leech of the sail, tying it up like a string of sausages every metre or so. You need to use a soft wool which will break easily; natural fibres are kindest on the sail and environment.

Sailing deep angles can be tricky as the sail can be blanketed by the main. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Gennaker trim is a hybrid of spinnaker and genoa trim. Flatten it out and turn it into a conventional triangular sail for reaching. When running the sheet needs easing so that it comes out in front of the boat.

When racing the sheet is constantly in play to keep a slight curl on the luff. For cruising, ease the sail and find the curl then tweak it in.

As you bear away you want the sail to take the shape of a more conventional spinnaker and come out from behind the shadow of the main. A slight ease on the tack line can help, but beware of easing it too much, it makes the sail less stable as it sets further out to leeward.

Like a symmetric spinnaker, a barber hauler helps to bring the sheeting angle forwards and keep the leech closed on deeper angles. This is important in stronger winds to improve stability.

Flatten the sail and ease the barber hauler to sail higher. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

The key with any spinnaker flying is to keep the pressure in it. When you’re trying to make ground to leeward in light airs this is largely down to the helm: coming up to create some apparent wind in the lulls and bearing away when the pressure allows. It’s hard work to do manually and challenging for an autopilot so you’re unlikely to achieve the same performance promised by sail makers.

On Pure Fun we found the true wind angle range to be between 125° and 160°, which equated to 70°- 145° apparent.

Top Tip: A barber hauler is an adjustable line to control the sheeting angle of a spinnaker. This can easily be added by attaching a block or low friction rig roughly half way between the cockpit and the shrouds. A second block or ring, through which the spinnaker sheet passes, is attached to a line that runs through the turning block and back to a winch or cleat in the cockpit

Gybing a very large asymmetric is challenging. The outside lead of the sheet makes it prone to slipping beneath the sprit and catching around the anchor or pulpit. If this happens mid-gybe it’s likely that the sail will then wrap around the forestay.

The gennaker had a webbing keeper for the sheet to sit in and a ‘gybulator’ batten protruding from the luff to help prevent this but it was by no means foolproof. A batten taped to the end of the sprit, protruding a metre or so horizontally, would improve the odds. As always with teamwork in the cockpit there’s no substitute for practice and coordination.

Alternatively snuffing or furling the sail for the gybe will eliminate the risk of spaghetti.

Top Tip: An inside gybe is where, like a headsail, the body of the sail crosses the boat inside the luff, through the foretriangle. An outside gybe sees the body of the sail fly around the front of the boat with the clew passing forward of the luff.

Off the wind, extra sail power is needed to keep the boat moving, and it’s a great feeling. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

With any down-wind sail, Newton’s first law of sailing applies: what goes up must come down, and it usually comes down in a hurry. Although furlers and snuffers have simplified the sail handling they haven’t fully tamed the beast.

When it comes to dousing a large spinnaker the first thing you need is foresight to not leave it too late in the first place. After that a combination of good technique and a sense of determination will see you through.

On a boat as large as the X5.6 you need liberal amounts of both. Even the incredible hulk would find it nigh on impossible to snuff or furl a big sail without depowering it first. Bear away and blanket it behind the main, simultaneously giving a generous ease on the sheet. At this point the sail will collapse and the foredeck crew can heave on the snuffer or furling line. Taking the snuffer line around a cleat or a block gives purchase and control.

If your furler or snuffer fails, it’s important to know how to drop the sail without it. Releasing the tackline, pulling the sail through the letterbox of the mainsail and down the companionway hatch is the conventional method and would work if a snuffer fails.

If a furler fails it’s more difficult since the tack is fixed to the furler. In this instance try to blanket the sail behind the genoa and mainsail as best as possible, take a deep breath, channel your inner octopus and gather it down the fore hatch.

Parasailors are designed to be flown pole free, and without the mainsail up for simple downwind cruising. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Downwind sails: Parasailor

From a distance a Parasailor looks like a spinnaker with a pressure relief valve, and crudely speaking that’s what it is, much like the vast J-Class spinnakers used to have cutouts in them to create airflow. But the paraglider wing inserted into the sail serves several purposes and isn’t just a vent. It’s designed to solve many of the challenges posed by conventional spinnakers so I was intrigued to see how the sail compared with the gennaker.

Neither Mathias, Sybille or I had ever sailed with one before, so we enlisted the help of Istec Parasailor trainer, Stuart Anderson, to help us learn the ropes. The sail itself was a 251m2 Istec Parasailor, which was bought second-hand.

The wing stops the luff collapsing as much, and makes it more forgiving when it does. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

The theory behind the sail is that the horizontal wing gives the sail structure, creates lift and allows air to pass through it, rather than around it. The wing acts like a ‘soft batten’, helping the sail take shape on a wide range of wind angles and without the need for a pole. It also makes the sail less likely to wrap by giving it more structure.

According to the designers, the upwards thrust of the wing reduces the tendency for the bow to be buried in a seaway and, as you’d expect, the wing aperture helps gusts to ‘vent’. Furthermore, the Parasailor sets best without the main, eliminating the threat posed by the boom and reducing the likelihood of a broach. Jimmy Cornell, world cruising guru, has said that he ‘would recommend it to anyone who is considering buying a new spinnaker’.

I have to confess I was somewhat sceptical as to whether the Parasailor would really live up to its bold claims and celebrity endorsement.

It can take some effort to pull the snuffer over the bulk of the wing. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Like a gennaker, a Parasailor is controlled by a tack line led to the bow, and a sheet led well aft. It can be flown from a pole, but it isn’t necessary and most people are attracted to the simplicity of going pole-free. In order to gybe you need a lazy guy and lazy sheet, so, rather like a conventional spinnaker, there are four lines in total, plus a halyard.

Parasailors are nearly always used in combination with a snuffer, and Istec have designed its own with colour-coded clips to prevent the clews from twisting.

We set off on a broad reach down Southampton water with 14-knots true wind behind us. Stuart explained that when opening the snuffer it’s important to pause after the first few metres in order to pull on the tack line and bring the sail towards the bow. Once the tack was just off the bowsprit the snuffer could be fully hoisted and the working sheet taken up.

There was some resistance as the mouth of the snuffer negotiated the bulk of the wing, but after that the sock raised smoothly. We all found ourselves smiling when the sail popped out: there was no huge shock load on the sheet, the sail just took shape and started flying.

Once up it can be set much like a conventional spinnaker, flattening the sail using the sheet and tackline on a reach, and easing as you bear away. When running, the aim is to keep the clews the same height, so a barber hauler on the sheet is useful.

We set the sail for a comfortable broad reach with an apparent wind of 8 knots at 135° and a true wind of 14kn on 153º. Pure Fun made an easy 7 knots through the water. It was composed and comfortable. As we pushed her up through the wind angles we took in on the sheet, achieving 8 knots on 100° apparent before she started to wobble.

We sailed her as high as 80° AWA but there was a lot of lee helm without a mainsail up and a Force 4 felt like too much wind for the higher reaching angles. Performance on a deep run was sedate and predictable, we trundled along at 6 knots with the wind dead astern and even sailed slightly by the lee without complaint.

When we put her through an ‘accidental’ gybe the sail inverted but as soon as we gybed back again it instantly recovered its shape. It was impressively forgiving, if a little underwhelming speed wise. Stuart commented that the X5.6 should have had a sail which was 5-15% bigger, which would have improved performance.

Gybing is easy with no pole or main, but still requires changing from working to lazy sheets. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Gybing involves rotating the whole sail around the boat much like you would a symmetric spinnaker. With four lines to manage it could be daunting short-handed, but the process can be done in stages, easing the working lines and taking up the lazy lines as the helm holds a course deep down wind. It was easier and less stressful than gybing the gennaker, partly as there’s no mainsail to manage.

On a benign day in the Solent we couldn’t test the Parasailor’s stabilising effect in swell but many people testify to this.

The primary difficulty we had was dousing it with the sock. Since there’s no mainsail up it’s hard to collapse the sail and depower it without letting the sheet completely off.

It took two of us to bring the sock down in 15-16knots. Admittedly the X5.6 is a big yacht, but we weren’t operating at the top of the sail’s wind range and the sail was slightly under-sized for the boat. I wondered what would happen when a squall hits. Leaving it up and hoping the vent works well might become the only option.

Keep an eye on true wind speed. It’s easy to forget how windy it really is when running with the wind. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

All three sails got us moving downwind when the mainsail and genoa lacked oomph and any of them would be an asset. I’m drawn to the thrills and spills of the big yellow gennaker which certainly helped Pure Fun live up to her namesake but does need careful handling and the right conditions.

The Code Zero was glorious, and at a time when we’re all trying to wean ourselves off hydro-carbons it’s a useful tool for very light airs.

The Parasailor was far more effective than I imagined: it’s kind on novice crew and is one of the few sails that works deep down-wind as well as on a reach. It scored full marks for versatility and temperament. However, it won’t deliver the same wow factor as a Code Zero or gennaker operating within their optimum range.

I asked Mathias and Sybille how they’d come to carry all three sails on board, when most people would have opted for either a Parasailor or the combination of Code Zero and gennaker. ‘I only chose two sails actually’ replied Mathias, ‘the gennaker and the Code Zero’. ‘The Parasailor was my choice,’ Sybille said, ‘I wanted it for the ARC’.

Choosing your sail wardrobe is just as personal as choosing your own outfits, and what works for one occasion won’t always suit another. Buying second-hand sails for a specific passage also makes perfect sense.

If you can only carry one, then the gennaker is a rewarding option for experienced sailors, while the Parasailor is a pragmatic choice for short-handed or novice crew. If you decide on a second sail, then the Code Zero compliments either of them well.

Top Tip: It is tempting to lean towards buying sail cloth of a heavier, rather than lighter weight, as it seems like it would last longer. In reality, most cruisers only fly spinnakers in light airs, and a heavier cloth would tend to collapse more and be harder to set.

A lightweight spinnaker will last as long, and be used more. Once the sail cloth does get old, it will become less stable, making the sail harder to set and trim, and more likely to induce rolling, so a new sail is easier to handle.

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Catamaran cruising: everything you really need to know

Republished from Yachting World Expert skipper Nikki Henderson reveals what you really need to know before going bluewater catamaran cruising

It has become routine now for me to bookend the summer sailing season with a trip to the south of France for the biannual ‘Outremer Week’. This hugely popular event gathers 100-plus new Outremer catamaran owners for five days of training, both in the classroom and on the water, and three days of friendly racing. The goal is to educate future owners so they are as prepared as they possibly can be for their upcoming bluewater catamaran cruising plans.

It’s an intensive week of 12-hour days, with a lot of information to absorb. Unsurprisingly there are some discussions specific to bluewater catamaran cruising that come up repeatedly, and they apply to owners or prospective owners of all brands of a bluewater multihull. Here are some of the most common questions people ask me:

What sails should I buy for a cruising catamaran?

Every day after sailing a new catamaran owner will come up to me and say, “Nikki, I’d love to take up some of your time and rack your brains about sail selection .” To pitch my advice appropriately, I always ask some key questions about your catamaran cruising plans, and I’d encourage you to ask yourself the same.

What is your route plan?

Tradewind sailing will be predominantly downwind. So, focus your attention on downwind sails. A route involving more upwind requires more focus on headsails. Routes involving more upwind tend to be more coastal routes or schedules with strict timings that will reduce the option to wait for downwind weather windows. All bluewater sail plans will need storm options. Three reef points in the main is a must, or at the very least an extremely generous second reef. A storm headsail is another key component. Ideally, it should be possible to hoist the storm jib up over the top of your furled foresail. In very big conditions, reliance on the thin furling line gets quite nerve-racking.

How performance-orientated are you?

Performance catamarans are designed to sail angles downwind, ideally with an asymmetric spinnaker wardrobe. However, there is a cost to the incredible speeds that you can attain reaching on these boats: comfort. So, a key question is what is your attitude to speed versus comfort? Performance-focused sailors are typically racing sailors, sailors without kids, or sailors who are in good physical shape. If you fit this category, then I’d advise purchasing one heavy-weather flat-cut asymmetric sail that can withstand a squall up to 40 knots, and a rounder, lightweight sail that you can sail quite deeply in light to moderate conditions.

If you don’t have a taste or attention span for speed, then one heavy weather symmetric spinnaker (approximately up to 40 knots TWS) should be enough. This will allow you to sail a rhumbline course, and make night-time take-downs less of a worry because the kite will survive a squall. For upwind, if you will enjoy fine-tuning your boat to get that extra half a knot, your ideal option is a large genoa for drive in light to moderate conditions, and a small flat blade-shaped jib for heavier conditions – small enough that it does not need to be furled to an inch of its life to cope with a Force 6. If an inner forestay is an option, the latter could be a staysail which will keep the centre of effort low and reduce sideways drift. For anyone less performance orientated in their catamaran cruising, the key for upwind sailing is a strong, flat jib that is not too big. Mark three reef points on the foot with sail tape. Keep an eye on how much it stretches and don’t be surprised if you need to change it every few years to avoid losing 5-10° of height. Downwind the trade wind route logic applies: performance sailors should invest in asymmetric and non-performance sailors in symmetric spinnakers.

Who’s the crew?

At this point, the conversation often goes full circle. Sailors get enthusiastic about performance, and then remember that the kids will need home schooling, or that this is a retirement plan with potential health and fitness considerations. Most sail changes will require more than one person, and conditions at the bow can be bouncy. The crew also have to be able to sleep, cook, and live on the boat while it is thrown about. If you are short-handed, you could compromise for downwind sailing by choosing furling sails. A furling asymmetric such as a Code D can replace the ‘hoist and drop’ asymmetric. Or you can make the sock line on a symmetric long enough to route back to an electric winch. Upwind sailors could compromise by returning to a single jib and consider altering routing to sail slightly off the wind but faster; optimising for VMG. If you have a staysail, ensure it could be furled and therefore left rigged at sea – though make time to speak to the yacht designer about the impact on stability that having two heavy furled sails up continuously could have on the boat.

How ‘eco’ and time-conscious will you be?

Do you care about motoring? Increasingly for many of us, awareness of climate change is a strong motivator to avoid using the engine. And will you be more focused on the destination or more interested in the journey? If you are keen to avoid motoring, and you are free of time constraints such as fixed crew changeovers or grumpy children who need to stop and swim, then I’d recommend you invest in a Code 0. A Code 0 can double or even triple the boat speed: in 6 knots of wind, an Outremer will sail at 2-3 knots with a jib, but 5-6 knots with a Code 0. It’s a great sail and worth the investment, but first work out if you will use it. They often have low wind limits – around 15 AWS – which upwind could be 10 knots TWS.

When do you reef a catamaran?

Many bluewater cruisers will reef down before dark every night. I’m not a huge fan of this as a rule; reefing should be straightforward enough to not be an intimidating manoeuvre in the dark. But all new catamaran owners who are planning to go bluewater cruising are concerned about knowing when to reef, especially if they come from monohull sailing, as a catamaran communicates whether it is overpowered or not in a much more subtle way. You want to conserve your equipment while sailing the boat effectively. So aim for the least amount of sail necessary to achieve your target speeds and angles. The best way to get to know this is to put reefs earlier or later each time and take note of whether it was beneficial or not. Over time you will know your boat very well.

Sailing favours guidelines over hard rules, but it’s good to have a starting point so here are some general ranges. For more cautious sailors or bigger sea states, use the more conservative side of the wind range: -Reef 1 in at 15-20 knots TWS -Reef 2 in at 20-25 knots TWS -Reef 3 in at 25-30 knots TWS Note that I am using true wind and not apparent. When sailing downwind it’s tempting to fly more sail because the apparent wind is so low. However, if you need to turn upwind – perhaps to reef – the 12 knots AWS in 20 knots TWS will quickly become closer to 25 knots AWS.

Reliance on numbers is great until the wind instruments stop working (it will happen at some point). Remember your RYA Competent Crew course and use the descriptions of the sea surface at various Beaufort Scale forces to identify how windy it is.

There are other telltale signs that the boat gives if she needs a reef. Although hulls don’t fly unless you are at the performance level of a Gunboat or similar, you may feel the windward hull just slightly lifting. This is a sign that a reef might be needed. Another is if the bows are diving down when you are sailing downwind. Heel angle can be most obviously sensed while lying down.

The main hindrance to learning when to reef – and when not – is a hesitation to perform the manoeuvre. If taking a reef feels arduous, people avoid it. I admit I can find myself in this camp: I have to remind myself that it’s a win/win, either it’s the right decision and the boat sails better, or it’s wrong and I’ve learnt from it.

The key to reefing is to practice. Taking a reef should be possible to do in under two minutes, especially if you have fast electric winches.

It’s handy to have the option to reef downwind, especially if you’re tradewind sailing. Fully battened mainsails struggle to come down so set up downhaul lines from each reef tack point. Run them through the reefing point on the sail and through the reefing points on each side of the mast so the sail is pulled down in line with the track. Watch out for chafe on the back of the main if reefing a lot downwind, and add spreader patches to your sail where applicable. Centring the traveller during the manoeuvre can help, but keep your eyes looking up and check nothing is getting caught.

Also practice solo reefing ; aside from the possibility of needing to reef alone, this also builds a big-picture understanding of the whole manoeuvre. It means reefs are put in faster because anyone can work anywhere.

How can couples close the ‘experience gap’?

The argument for both halves of a cruising partnership being competent on board has always been that if something happens to the skipper, their partner will know how to safely get to a port of refuge. However, most people assume that this will simply never happen to them, or they practise parking a couple of times, pick a fender out the water – then never think about it again. The difficulty with starting a bluewater sailing project with a large experience gap is that it tends to widen over time. Each day as leader will be a learning opportunity for the skipper. They will grow in competence and confidence. Meanwhile, the first mate’s skills will suffer. They will get used to following instructions, their confidence will decrease, and a habit of helplessness will develop. Then, when an emergency does occur, they’ll be in a worse position to take charge than when they started. It’s critical that couples approach buying a bluewater catamaran for cruising as a team exercise from day one – for both safety and enjoyment. Ideas on how to level up your partnership include:

Rotate roles each day, or follow a rota. Who drives the boat into dock? Who makes the navigation calls (do this passage by passage)? Who does the safety checks? Who runs the watermaker?
Divide the boat – maintain one hull each and share the saloon. This forces you to both understand how everything works from bilge pumps and engines to steering gear and gear storage.
Take a coach with you for the first few crossings. It can be hard to learn to sail from your spouse. A professional coach will force you into a learning environment. They will also create space for the less experienced to be able to take charge in a safe way.
Sail the boat without your partner. Creating a scenario where your leadership role feels natural is the optimum way to practice skippering. So, invite a few friends who don’t know as much about sailing as you, and go for a low pressure cruise. It’s a brilliant confidence builder, and a chance to develop your own style and your own voice on board.

Production or performance cruising catamaran?

A common view is that you pay more for less when you buy a performance catamaran: fewer creature comforts, less living space, fewer berths, bathrooms, and instead get narrow hulls and sparse design. So, is the big price tag worth the upgrade in performance? If you are lured by the comfort of a production catamaran, but plan to sail intensively around the world for the next five years, it might not actually be the most comfortable option. No dishwasher or air conditioning is going to make a boat feel safer in a storm. Conversely, why buy a performance catamaran if you plan to leave the boat at the dock for 10 months a year? Ask yourself if you have the skills to harness the performance of a faster catamaran? And if not, how prepared are you to invest time into learning how to use the boat to her full potential? A common justification for buying a performance catamaran is that it can outrun bad weather and therefore is safer. But you cannot take advantage of that option if you sail everywhere with three reefs in the main because you are nervous of the boat’s power. Similarly, the power of performance catamarans comes in part from how light they are. If you load the boat with extras – personal gear, kitchen appliances, heating, aircon – you will quickly reduce a lot of the speed and safety advantages you’re paying for.

How to handle heavy weather in a cat?

A popular heavy weather strategy is avoidance: account for global weather patterns when planning your passages to ensure you sail during the more favourable months; invest in a good satellite connection to download accurate forecasts so you can see bad weather coming; use your boat speed to position yourself out of the predicted storm track; be flexible with departure windows and leave at an optimum time. However, do not misinterpret avoidance of heavy weather as a safety net. With weather systems becoming increasingly extreme and unpredictable (see page 38), this risk management strategy is becoming less and less dependable.

Develop scenario plans for the type of boat you have so that you don’t have to start with a blank sheet of paper as a storm approaches.
In all scenarios, on all boats, avoid 90° wind and waves. Your boat is at its least stable in these conditions. Sail with the weather forward or aft of the beam.
Keep an eye on heel angle. Reduce sail if you start to see any more than 5° or so, unless you have a catamaran that is designed to lift a hull. Lower the centre of effort by reducing sail, starting with the main.
Set up and practice how to reef downwind in case the weather comes in more quickly than you were expecting.
If you can’t sail as fast as the waves, consider trailing warps to slow you down and help with steerage. You should aim to keep the speed relatively high. The key is to reduce the erratic surfing which drops the bows into green-water troughs. I prefer warps to drogues where possible because we are more familiar with them. Unless you practice using a drogue regularly, you will likely need to read the instructions when you get it out, which isn’t ideal in an emergency.
If waves are breaking over your stern, consider turning into the seaway and holding steady. In a performance cat, you can drop the windward daggerboard, lift the leeward board, and pinch into the wind. In a production cat with no daggerboards, this will be difficult. Running the leeward engine might help you keep your bows into the wind. Watch that there is no back flow of water into the exhaust.
Avoid lee shores at all costs, sea room downwind is key.

When should we go?

How long should you wait after buying a boat before heading out on your first bluewater passage? Whether you spend £100,000 or £1,000,000 on your boat, it’s likely to need some fine tuning. I’ve never heard of a new boat that was perfect. Some yards will cover the initial issues as part of the warranty, so staying close to the yard is a good idea within that period. Even if you don’t have a warranty, proximity to the yard can help you access parts, boat builders and people who understand how your boat has been constructed. The flip side is that you want to get going, and experience all the freedoms of your new yacht! Some serious bluewater sailing is also needed to test some of the systems. Give yourself two to six months before you head out on the first crossing. This is enough to test the boat out, but not so long that ‘passage-anxiety’ builds up and you never actually leave. Do not treat the first few months as a holiday. This is commissioning, and it is the last stage of the build. Test the boat as rigorously as you can before you leave the proximity of the yard. Complete a couple of substantial offshore passages of 48 hours or more to test the systems. Run everything, including the watermaker. Fly all the sails you own. Sail in fruity conditions relative to your ability (Force 6-8 as a guideline) to see how the boat (and you) cope.

Get some experienced people on board to bolster the crew for the early days. The ideal is to hire a professional coach, as this will make pushing the boat much safer and more fun for you. Do some training ; the MCA AEC four-day engine course is a really useful opportunity to explore the parts of the engine you are normally too nervous to. A safety at sea course is worth its weight in gold. Use this to put together a safety kit that you feel confident in and that is appropriate for your cruising plans. A basic maintenance course can also be helpful, ideally one that covers beginners’ sail repair, rigging, splicing, and electrics. Ask other sailors for a good tools and spares inventory list. On top of the standard parts that the equipment manuals recommend, current and previous owners of your boat model will have a plethora of advice.

Confident to cast off

Knowledge nurtures confidence, and confidence breeds positivity – which all contribute to a safe, and successful bluewater catamaran cruising experience. If in doubt, ask!

YACHTING WORLD // https://www.yachtingworld.com Yachting World has had its finger on the pulse of sailing since 1894 (though some of us joined a little more recently). We reckon we are the most enthusiastic sailing fans in the world: we love boats of all kinds, modern and classic, we like racing and cruising, are fascinated by innovation yet revere tradition, and nothing that floats is too big or too small for our tastes. Every day online and every month in print we bring you the very best in adventurous sailing, whether that be bluewater cruising, ocean racing, high latitudes exploring, or anything in between, and we pride ourselves on our independent tests, in-depth reports and top quality photo journalism.

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04-11-2011, 07:59
Boat: Lagoon 420	(or other cats) downwind. The manual has a section with sail trim guidelines in their owner's manual for various points of sail. On downwind sailing it says never sail with just the jib/genoa only above a certain speed, and must have up anywhere between full and 2nd reef as minimum, again given certain speeds. (I looked for the manual online to post the details, but sorry, can't locate it.) This is related to stability of the mast/rig and potential for damage in strong winds which I take is due to mainstays off the sides of the as opposed to a backstay typical of monohulls. Manual also says not to sail directly downwind, and it recommends 30 degrees off the stern (or perhaps it was 15?). This is due to faster sailing on this point of sail I take it as VMG is better than straight downwind sailing? This is ok if you are on a larger open area of , but not a narrower channel between islands for example, as you'd be gybing back & forth. If straight downwind is not recommended for rig stability reasons then how does a person gybe (rhetorical question)? Can't sail wing on wing either? Anyway, I would appreciate comments from those with more knowledge and experience on this subject so I understand the reasons, risks, concerns. Thanks All.

04-11-2011, 09:57
Boat: PDQ Altair, 32/34	32, which in many ways is like your (no back stay, moderate design), just smaller. No sailing under alone in strong winds. This most likely has to do with suporting the againts buckling faliure an pumping, not the strength of the . This is not a mono-vs-multi issue. It is a design issue. Even the smallest amount of main will do. Imbalance. The will be more responsive and steer better with a balanced sail plan. With low-aspect ratio , too much fore-aft imbalance will allow the sailplan to overpower the rudders, particularly in waves. Similarly, main alone in strong winds will make the boat round-up in the puffs; very bad. Better, off-the-wind reef the main before the and always keep a little jib. Up-wind, reef both together. The goal should always be relativly neutral to slight . . Rolling up the jib with a big load on it is stressfull for the crew and . With a main up, down wind, blanket, and roll it up. No main, lots of flapping and huge loads, if it's really blowing. A double (or triple) reefed main is more dependable. Wing-and-wing. Should fine. Yes, reaching is faster, but it isn't smoother, it isn't always the dirrection you want to go, and it isn't faster (VMG) on cruising , once you are under reduced sail. Jibing isn't so bad: reef the main enough, tighten the mainsheet, center the boom, and ease it out on the new side. Just don't let it slam. If jibing is unmanagable, that is a hint that you have too much main up. This may take 3 people in a breeze, though 2 can manage if the jib is jibed first and the traveler eased later. Scan the pages; we'ld love to read them. The link on "Balance" contains pages from the manual.

04-11-2011, 15:38
Boat: Kelsall Suncat 40	jibs and no main, it is not a problem because we bear off, the apparent windspeed decreases and then we furl away the jib(s). I will start another topic another day about handling gusts in a cat. We are not experts and would appreciate sharing experiences. Chau!

04-11-2011, 15:40
Boat: Kelsall Suncat 40	, so we don't worry about only having 1 or 2 jibs up without a main. Gotta run. Bye!

04-11-2011, 18:09
Boat: 30ft Catalac 900 "Rubessa"	does make sort of sence. Personaly, I don't bother with the main when doing any downwind sailing, I find she'll easily reach with just the headsail in anything over a moderate wind so why bother?

05-11-2011, 01:23
Boat: Solaris Sunstar 38, Wild Honey	and full tension on the mainsheet . This triangulates the whole rig so the forestay / jib can take the loads , in the same way that the main would if raised , so I can,t see the problem running downwind with the jib , same with a chute or spinny .

05-11-2011, 06:44
Boat: PDQ Altair, 32/34

05-11-2011, 08:50

Boat: 65 Sailing/Fishing catamaran

The has a section with sail trim guidelines in their owner's manual for various points of sail.

On downwind sailing it says never sail with just the jib/genoa only above a certain wind speed, and must have up anywhere between full and 2nd reef as minimum, again given certain wind speeds. (I looked for the manual online to post the details, but sorry, can't locate it.)

This is related to stability of the mast/rig and potential for damage in strong winds which I take is due to mainstays off the sides of the boat as opposed to a backstay typical of monohulls.

to sail directly downwind, and it recommends 30 degrees off the stern

05-11-2011, 09:24

Boat: 65 Sailing/Fishing catamaran

, but not a narrower channel between islands for example, as you'd be gybing back & forth. If straight downwind is not recommended for rig stability reasons then how does a person gybe (rhetorical question)? Can't sail wing on wing either?

Anyway, I would appreciate comments from those with more knowledge and experience on this subject so I understand the reasons, risks, concerns. Thanks All.

05-11-2011, 09:40

Boat: 65 Sailing/Fishing catamaran

. . It is a mast design issue. Even the smallest amount of main will do.

Imbalance. The boat will be more responsive and steer better with a balanced sail plan. With low-aspect ratio , too much fore-aft imbalance will allow the sailplan to overpower the rudders, particularly in waves. Similarly, main alone in strong winds will make the boat round-up in the puffs; very bad. Better, off-the-wind reef the main before the jib and always keep a little jib. Up-wind, reef both together. The goal should always be relativly neutral to slight .

. Rolling up the jib with a big load on it is stressfull for the crew and . With a main up, down wind, blanket, and roll it up. No main, lots of flapping and huge loads, if it's really blowing. A double (or triple) reefed main is more dependable.

Jibing isn't so bad: reef the main enough, tighten the mainsheet, center the boom, and ease it out on the new side. Just don't let it slam. If jibing is unmanagable, that is a hint that you have too much main up. This may take 3 people in a breeze, though 2 can manage if the jib is jibed first and the traveler eased later.

05-11-2011, 11:18
Boat: Norseman 430, Jabberwock	up. It's not 60, but more like half that. So while you are 150 off the wind, you aren't far off from DDW anyway. Once while sailing with I was forced by obstructions to sail DDW. I jibed main, and continued wing and wing very well. Not sure I'd make a practice of this, but it worked for the 1/2 mile we were restricted.

05-11-2011, 12:28
Boat: Outremer 55 Light	or asymetrical quite a lot. I just don't like the boom banging about, and I'm cruising not . Seems the problem must be more pumping as ggray said....but what exactly is pumping?

05-11-2011, 12:40

Boat: PDQ Altair, 32/34

05-11-2011, 12:46

Boat: PDQ Altair, 32/34

05-11-2011, 13:40
Boat: Outremer 50	so as not to shadow the kite. The reason I always kept the main up was because if I dropped it completely I would have to turn into the wind to raise it again. As long as I never lowered it below three reefs then it could be raised back up while still downwind because the battens were up past the lazy jacks. On a cruising cat I can see no reason not to sail directly down wind which is usually directly down wave and a sweet ride. Of course more effort is required to set the boat up to maintain a good speed directly downwind but I feel it's worth it for the smooth ride.

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Home » Blog » Gear » Downwind sails demystified: how to choose a downwind sail for cruising

Downwind sails demystified: how to choose a downwind sail for cruising

By Author Fiona McGlynn

Posted on Last updated: February 15, 2023

Downwind sail terminology can be baffling! If you’re looking to build out your downwind sail inventory for cruising you may find yourself awash with spinnaker codes, headsail overlap percentages, and trying to understand the difference between an asymmetric spinnaker, gennaker, and cruising chute.

But don’t despair, the good news is: it’s not that complicated . All the marketing jargon aside, there are really just three types of downwind sails commonly used by cruisers and I’m going to cover them in this post.

Asymmetric spinnakers

Symmetric spinnakers

We’ll also briefly touch on Code sails.

Sure there are more exotic downwind sail options like Parasailers and Blue Water Runners, but the three sails above tend to be the staples in most cruising sail wardrobes.

Also, if you’re looking to buy a downwind sail, be sure to check out our post on buying used sails . Buying second-hand sails is a good way to build out your sail inventory without breaking the bank.

man standing in front of red, yellow, and blue asymmetrical spinnaker on a sailboat

What is the best sail for downwind sailing?

No single sail is going to do everything well. Downwind sails achieve peak efficiency at different apparent wind angles and conditions, which is why performance-oriented boats carry a large inventory of sails. For example, Vendee Globe skippers carry 9 sails (their allowable limit).

As cruisers, we don’t have this luxury. Instead, we make do with fewer, less specialized, sails that can be used over a wide range of wind angles and conditions.

The best sail for downwind sailing is going to depend on your boat, your crew, and what you’re trying to achieve.

Considerations for choosing a downwind sail

Boat and rig.

How heavy is your boat and what type of rig does it have? How much space do you have for storing sails?

It’s important to know your boat’s most efficient downwind sailing angle and then choose a sail that performs well at that angle.

Modern, light, flat-bottomed boats often sail faster on a reach, whereas older, heavy-displacement cruisers don’t achieve the same gains from reaching.

You’ll also want to consider your rig and existing sail plans. As we’ll see later in this post, fractional and masthead rig boats will have slightly different downwind sail requirements.

Woman standing on a boat at bow next to asymmetrical spinnaker

Crew and experience level

Will you have six people onboard or be sailing single-handed? Are your crew newbies or ocean veterans? Are you comfortable handling a pole and working on the foredeck?

Certain downwind sails are more challenging to fly than others. For instance, a symmetrical spinnaker is a lot more effort to launch, fly, and douse, than a genoa on a roller furler.

Often short-handed crews (couples, single-handers, and families with small kids) find that spinnakers are too much work and choose to fly white sails alone. Even the most energetic sailors may find that sleep deprivation on a long passage can sap the fun out of elaborate sail changes.

We, like many cruisers, are very conservative. On our Pacific crossing, I can count the number of times we flew a spinnaker on two hands.

However, now that we have more bluewater miles under our keel, I’m a lot more eager to break out the kite. On our next ocean passage, I can see it playing a bigger role in our downwind repertoire.

What are your sailing goals?

Do you aspire to complete an Atlantic or Pacific crossing? Do you enjoy racing your cruiser? Are you content to motor sail?

The type of sailing will influence what downwind sails you carry.

For instance, if you’re planning on bluewater cruising, your focus might be on durable, heavyweight sails that can handle a squall and stand up to the rigors of an ocean crossing.

Consider how much you want to use your engine. If you’re planning long passages where you don’t have enough fuel to motor, you may want to invest in a light air sail.

Reach out to other sailors with similar boats who are doing the type of sailing you’re interested in and find out what they’re using.

Types of downwind sails

Sailboat sailing wing on wing with a poled out genoa

Genoas on roller furlers are hard to beat for downwind sailing. They’re robust, easy for a single person to manage on a roller furler, and make for a stable, stress-free downwind sail.

They can become problematic in light air and ocean swell when they tend to flog. The best way to avoid this is to pole out the genoa.

Man holding pole on foredeck of sailboat

Poled out genoa

Sailing downwind with a poled-out genoa was our go-to setup for much of our 2017 Pacific crossing.

It seems to be a favorite with Atlantic skippers too. Yachting World surveyed 276 ARC skippers to learn about their sail and sail handling systems. “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.“

Twin headsails

Twin headsails are another great option, and one I would consider for our next ocean passage.

Many roller furlers have a second luff groove so you can fly two headsails at the same time, one to each side. This gives you a large sail area, while still making it easy to reef from the cockpit.

Again, you may need to pole out one sail and sheet the other to the end of a boom that’s been locked off with a boom preventer in order to prevent flogging.

Speaking of which, if you’re planning on doing a lot of downwind sailing I highly recommend using a boom brake or preventer for limiting the risks associated with an accidental gybe.

Headsail types

Headsails are categorized by their Luff Perpendicular percentage (LP%), which describes a headsail’s size/overlap relative to the boat’s J dimension (from where the forestay connects to the bow to the base of the mast). Larger sails, with more overlap, have higher percentages.

Generally speaking, 130-135% headsails are pretty common sizes on cruising boats. We had a 130% genoa on our 1979 Dufour 35.

If you have a fractional rig with a non-overlapping headsail, you could use a Code Zero (more on that below) either poled out or flown as twin headsails.

Stable and comfortable
Easy to deploy and reef on a roller furler
Covers a wide range of wind angles and wind speeds
Dacron is durable and not prone to damage
Requires a spinnaker pole or whisker pole in lighter wind conditions and swell

Asymmetric spinnaker

Asymmetric spinnakers (also known as gennakers and cruising chutes) can be thought of as a blend between a spinnaker and a genoa.

They’re ideal for sailing in light conditions. We usually doused ours when windspeeds increased to 15 knots.

Most of the time, they’re flown like a genoa, with the tack attached to the foresprit or bow, and the clew trimmed with a sheet. However, it’s also possible to sail an asymmetrical spinnaker in more of a symmetrical configuration .

Many short-handed crews (including ourselves) prefer asymmetric spinnakers to symmetric spinnakers because they’re a lot easier to sail and often don’t require a pole.

It’s possible to put asymmetric spinnakers on a roller furler, but this generally requires a flatter sail and limits the wind angles you can sail at to 135-145 degrees.

For fuller shapes, there are other options for taming your sail. A snuffer sock (a.k.a. spinnaker sleeve) consists of a tapered fabric sleeve that can be raised and lowered over a sail. According to Yachting World’s 2019 ARC Survey , 57% of skippers used a snuffer sock on their boats.

Asymmetric spinnaker types

You may have heard cruisers referring to their A-sails. The “A” stands for asymmetric and is preceded by a number that designates whether the sail design is for light air or heavy air—the higher the number the heavier the air.

The number also tells you whether it’s a reaching or running sail, with odd numbers for reaching and even numbers for running.

1A Light Air Reaching Asymmetric
2A Light Air Running Asymmetric
3A Heavy Air Reaching Asymmetric
4A Heavy Air Running Asymmetric
5A Extreme Wind Asymmetric
Can point higher than a symmetrical spinnaker
Easier to fly than a symmetrical spinnaker
Not always necessary to use a pole
Great in light winds
More work than a headsail on a roller furler
Only appropriate for light air
Lightweight nylon fabrics more prone to damage

sailing race with boats flying symmetrical spinnakers

Symmetrical spinnakers have been around for a long time and continue to be a valid choice for cruising sailors.

The symmetrical shape of the sail lends them to wind angles of 165 degrees or more. If you’re going to spend a lot of time running, it’s a great option.

They’ve become less popular with short-handed crews, namely because of the work involved to fly them. They require a pole, sheet and guy lines, an uphaul, and a downhaul—all of which can be a lot to manage! They also can’t point as high as an asymmetrical spinnaker.

Symmetric spinnaker types

Similar to asymmetric spinnakers, symmetrical spinnakers have S codes. The “S” stands for symmetric and the number designates whether the sail is for light air or heavy air (the higher the number the heavier the air) and for reaching (odd numbers) or running (even numbers).

1S Light Air Reaching Symmetric
2S Light Air Running Symmetric
3S Heavy Air Reaching Symmetric
4S Heavy Air Running Symmetric
5S Extreme Air Symmetric
Great for running
Great in light air
More work than an asymmetric spinnaker
Limited reaching performance

Code sails are not technically downwind sails, and are best used for reaching in light airs. They’re similar to asymmetric spinnakers but have a solid luff that allows them to point higher.

They’re necessary on fractional-rig boats with non-overlapping headsails as they fill the gap between upwind headsails and downwind spinnakers. However, they can also be flown on a run as a twinned or poled-out headsail.

Finding the right sail and having a good downwind sailing setup can make your cruising experience more efficient, comfortable, and enjoyable.

I highly recommend talking to other sailors who own similar boats and who’ve sailed the passages and cruising grounds you’re interested in. Most experienced bluewater cruisers have spent a lot of time thinking about and refining their systems and will be more than happy to share what they’ve learned.

Fiona McGlynn is an award-winning boating writer who created Waterborne as a place to learn about living aboard and traveling the world by sailboat. She has written for boating magazines including BoatUS, SAIL, Cruising World, and Good Old Boat. She’s also a contributing editor at Good Old Boat and BoatUS Magazine. In 2017, Fiona and her husband completed a 3-year, 13,000-mile voyage from Vancouver to Mexico to Australia on their 35-foot sailboat.

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Catamaran cruising: everything you really need to know

Nikki Henderson
September 21, 2022

Expert skipper Nikki Henderson reveals what you really need to know before going bluewater catamaran cruising

It’s an intensive week of 12-hour days, with a lot of information to absorb. Unsurprisingly there are some discussions specific to bluewater catamaran cruising that come up repeatedly, and they apply to owners or prospective owners of all brands of bluewater multihull. Here are some of the most common questions people ask me:

What sails should I buy for a cruising catamaran?

Every day after sailing a new catamaran owner will come up to me and say, “Nikki, I’d love to take up some of your time and rack your brains about sail selection .”

To pitch my advice appropriately, I always ask some key questions about your catamaran cruising plans, and I’d encourage you to ask yourself the same.

What is your route plan?

All bluewater sail plans will need storm options. Three reef points in the main is a must, or at the very least an extremely generous second reef. A storm headsail is another key component. Ideally it should be possible to hoist the storm jib up over the top of your furled foresail. In very big conditions, reliance on the thin furling line gets quite nerve-racking.

Catamaran cruising sail options range from symmetric spinnakers to Code sails for reaching performance. Photo: Nicolas Claris

How performance-orientated are you?

Performance-focused sailors are typically racing sailors, sailors without kids, or sailors who are in good physical shape. If you fit this category, then I’d advise purchasing one heavy weather flat-cut asymmetric sail that can withstand a squall up to 40 knots, and a rounder, lightweight sail that you can sail quite deeply in light to moderate conditions.

For upwind, if you will enjoy fine tuning your boat to get that extra half a knot, your ideal option is a large genoa for drive in light to moderate conditions, and a small flat blade-shaped jib for heavier conditions – small enough that it does not need to be furled to an inch of its life to cope with a Force 6. If an inner forestay is an option, the latter could be a staysail which will keep the centre of effort low and reduce sideways drift.

For anyone less performance orientated in their catamaran cruising, the key for upwind sailing is a strong, flat jib that is not too big. Mark three reef points on the foot with sail tape. Keep an eye on how much it stretches and don’t be surprised if you need to change it every few years to avoid losing 5-10° of height.

Downwind the tradewind route logic applies: performance sailors should invest in asymmetric and non-performance sailors in symmetric spinnakers.

Left: taking videos and photos to remember key points of spinnaker handling technique. Photo: Robin Christol/Outremer

Who’s the crew?

Most sail changes will require more than one person, and conditions at the bow can be bouncy. Crew also have to be able to sleep, cook, and live on the boat while it is thrown about. If you are short-handed, you could compromise for downwind sailing by choosing furling sails.

A furling asymmetric such as a Code D can replace the ‘hoist and drop’ asymmetric. Or you can make the sock line on a symmetric long enough to route back to an electric winch.

Upwind sailors could compromise by returning to a single jib and consider altering routing to sail slightly off the wind but faster; optimising for VMG. If you have a staysail, ensure it could be furled and therefore left rigged at sea – though make time to speak to the yacht designer about the impact on stability that having two heavy furled sails up continuously could have on the boat.

How ‘eco’ and time-conscious will you be?

If you are keen to avoid motoring, and you are free of time constraints such as fixed crew changeovers or grumpy children who need to stop and swim, then I’d recommend you invest in a Code 0. A Code 0 can double or even triple the boat speed: in 6 knots of wind, an Outremer will sail at 2-3 knots with a jib, but 5-6 knots with a Code 0. It’s a great sail and worth the investment, but first work out if you will use it. They often have low wind limits – around 15 AWS – which upwind could be 10 knots TWS.

Code sails for reaching performance. Photo: Balance Catamarans

When do you reef a catamaran?

Many bluewater cruisers will reef down before dark every night. I’m not a huge fan of this as a rule; reefing should be straightforward enough to not be an intimidating manoeuvre in the dark.

But all new catamaran owners who are planning to go bluewater cruising are concerned about knowing when to reef, especially if they come from monohull sailing, as a catamaran communicates whether it is overpowered or not in a much more subtle way.

You want to conserve your equipment while sailing the boat effectively. So aim for the least amount of sail necessary to achieve your target speeds and angles. The best way to get to know this is to put reefs earlier or later each time and take note of whether it was beneficial or not. Over time you will know your boat very well.

Reef 1 in at 15-20 knots TWS
Reef 2 in at 20-25 knots TWS
Reef 3 in at 25-30 knots TWS

Note that I am using true wind and not apparent. When sailing downwind it’s tempting to fly more sail because the apparent wind is so low. However, if you need to turn upwind – perhaps to reef – the 12 knots AWS in 20 knots TWS will quickly become closer to 25 knots AWS.

How to share roles is a frequent question among couples planning a catamaran cruising adventure. Photo: Robin Christol/Outremer

The key to reefing is to practice. Taking a reef should be possible to do in under two minutes, especially if you have fast electric winches.

Also practice solo reefing ; aside from the possibility of needing to reef alone, this also builds a big picture understanding of the whole manoeuvre. It means reefs are put in faster because anyone can work anywhere.

Catamaran designs at the ARC start cover a full spectrum of performance. Photo: James Mitchell/WCC

How can couples close the ‘experience gap’?

However, most people assume that this will simply never happen to them, or they practise parking a couple of times, pick a fender out the water – then never think about it again. The difficulty with starting a bluewater sailing project with a large experience gap is that it tends to widen over time. Each day as leader will be a learning opportunity for the skipper.

They will grow in competence and confidence. Meanwhile, the first mate’s skills will suffer. They will get used to following instructions, their confidence will decrease, and a habit of helplessness will develop. Then, when an emergency does occur, they’ll be in a worse position to take charge than when they started.

It’s critical that couples approach buying a bluewater catamaran for cruising as a team exercise from day one – for both safety and enjoyment. Ideas on how to level up your partnership include:

Rotate roles each day, or follow a rota. Who drives the boat into dock? Who makes the navigation calls (do this passage by passage)? Who does the safety checks? Who runs the watermaker?
Divide the boat – maintain one hull each and share the saloon. This forces you to both understand how everything works from bilge pumps and engines to steering gear and gear storage.
Take a coach with you for the first few crossings. It can be hard to learn to sail from your spouse. A professional coach will force you into a learning environment. They will also create space for the less experienced to be able to take charge in a safe way.
Sail the boat without your partner. Creating a scenario where your leadership role feels natural is the optimum way to practice skippering. So, invite a few friends who don’t know as much about sailing as you, and go for a low pressure cruise. It’s a brilliant confidence builder, and a chance to develop your own style and your own voice on board.

Do you have the skills for a faster cat? Photo: Rick Tomlinson

Production or performance cruising catamaran?

If you are lured by the comfort of a production catamaran, but plan to sail intensively around the world for the next five years, it might not actually be the most comfortable option. No dishwasher or air conditioning is going to make a boat feel safer in a storm. Conversely, why buy a performance catamaran if you plan to leave the boat at the dock for 10 months a year?

Ask yourself if you have the skills to harness the performance of a faster catamaran? And if not, how prepared are you to invest time into learning how to use the boat to her full potential?

A common justification for buying a performance catamaran is that it can outrun bad weather and therefore is safer. But you cannot take advantage of that option if you sail everywhere with three reefs in the main because you are nervous of the boat’s power.

Similarly, the power of performance catamarans comes in part from how light they are. If you load the boat with extras – personal gear, kitchen appliances, heating, aircon – you will quickly reduce a lot of the speed and safety advantages you’re paying for.

The dream – catamaran cruising in paradise! Photo: Robin Christol/Outremer

How to handle heavy weather in a cat?

However, do not misinterpret avoidance of heavy weather as a safety net. With weather systems becoming increasingly extreme and unpredictable (see page 38), this risk management strategy is becoming less and less dependable.

Develop scenario plans for the type of boat you have so that you don’t have to start with a blank sheet of paper as a storm approaches.
In all scenarios, on all boats, avoid 90° wind and waves. Your boat is at its least stable in these conditions. Sail with the weather forward or aft of the beam.
Keep an eye on heel angle. Reduce sail if you start to see any more than 5° or so, unless you have a catamaran that is designed to lift a hull. Lower the centre of effort by reducing sail, starting with the main.
Set up and practice how to reef downwind in case the weather comes in more quickly than you were expecting.
If you can’t sail as fast as the waves, consider trailing warps to slow you down and help with steerage. You should aim to keep the speed relatively high. The key is to reduce the erratic surfing which drops the bows into green-water troughs. I prefer warps to drogues where possible because we are more familiar with them. Unless you practice using a drogue regularly, you will likely need to read the instructions when you get it out, which isn’t ideal in an emergency.
If waves are breaking over your stern, consider turning into the seaway and holding steady. In a performance cat, you can drop the windward daggerboard, lift the leeward board, and pinch into the wind. In a production cat with no daggerboards, this will be difficult. Running the leeward engine might help you keep your bows into the wind. Watch that there is no back flow of water into the exhaust.
Avoid lee shores at all costs, sea room downwind is key.

Outremer Week crews receiving coaching on sail handling. Photo: Robin Christol/Outremer

When should we go?

Some yards will cover the initial issues as part of the warranty, so staying close to the yard is a good idea within that period. Even if you don’t have a warranty, proximity to the yard can help you access parts, boat builders and people who understand how your boat has been constructed.

The flip side is that you want to get going, and experience all the freedoms of your new yacht! Some serious bluewater sailing is also needed to test some of the systems.

Give yourself two to six months before you head out on the first crossing. This is enough to test the boat out, but not so long that ‘passage-anxiety’ builds up and you never actually leave.

Do not treat the first few months as a holiday. This is commissioning, and it is the last stage of the build. Test the boat as rigorously as you can before you leave the proximity of the yard. Complete a couple of substantial offshore passages of 48 hours or more to test the systems. Run everything, including the watermaker. Fly all the sails you own. Sail in fruity conditions relative to your ability (Force 6-8 as a guideline) to see how the boat (and you) cope.

Women’s only coaching groups for catamaran cruising sailors help bridge the ‘experience gap’. Photo: Robin Christol/Outremer

Get some experienced people on board to bolster the crew for the early days. The ideal is to hire a professional coach, as this will make pushing the boat much safer and more fun for you.

Do some training ; the MCA AEC four-day engine course is a really useful opportunity to explore the parts of the engine you are normally too nervous to. A safety at sea course is worth its weight in gold. Use this to put together a safety kit that you feel confident in and that is appropriate for your cruising plans. A basic maintenance course can also be helpful, ideally one that covers beginners’ sail repair, rigging, splicing, and electrics.

Ask other sailors for a good tools and spares inventory list. On top of the standard parts that the equipment manuals recommend, current and previous owners of your boat model will have a plethora of advice.

Confident to cast off

Preparation for any type of bluewater sailing can feel daunting. Training courses and cruisers’ seminars like Outremer Week are a little paradoxical – learning how to insert an IV line in a morning medical session, then toasting your upcoming lifelong dream in the evening. It’s a bit like watching the flight safety demonstration before taking off on a once in a lifetime holiday.

The reality is that bluewater sailing is the most incredible opportunity in the world to be both savoured, and treated with an appropriate level of respect. But the most rewarding thing is to see sailors’s enthusiasm grow as they learn. With the opportunity to make mistakes and ask questions in a supportive environment, everyone develops their own skippering style and mantras.

Knowledge nurtures confidence, and confidence breeds positivity – which all contribute to a safe, and successful bluewater catamaran cruising experience. If in doubt, ask!

If you enjoyed this….

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Brazilian Olympic star Martine Grael will become the first woman to helm an F50 catamaran in SailGP

FILE- First placed Brazil's Kahena Kunze, right, and Martine Grael celebrate their gold medal at the end of the women's 49er FX at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Fujisawa, Japan. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Bernat Armangue]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two-time Olympic gold medalist Martine Grael will become the first woman to helm an F50 foiling catamaran in SailGP when a new Brazilian team debuts in the fifth season of tech billionaire Larry Ellison’s global league.

Grael was introduced Monday during a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, which will host a regatta May 3-4 on Guanabara Bay against the backdrop of Sugarloaf Mountain.

“I’m going to be representing every girl out there. There are a few girls that could be in this position. So, I’m very honored to be the first one,” Grael said in a video interview with The Associated Press.

“And honestly, I think it’s going to be a great challenge, not just for me as a girl, but as a sports person, to come in a circuit that is already established and trying to perform when there’s teams there that are already skilled,” she added. “I think it’s going to take every little bit.”

SailGP, which was launched in 2019 by Ellison and five-time America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts of New Zealand, includes most of the world’s top sailors, including America’s Cup champions and Olympic medalists. Season 5 will have 11 teams competing in 14 regattas.

Grael’s father, Torben, counts two golds among his five Olympic medals, skippered the winning team in the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race and has sailed in the America’s Cup.

Martine Grael and crew Kahena Kunze won the 49erFX gold medal in home waters in 2016, holding off New Zealand by two seconds in the last race of the regatta and setting off a wild celebration on Flamengo Beach. As their skiff approached the shore, a few dozen people waded into the water, lifted the skiff and carried it up to the beach, with the sailors standing on top of it.

They repeated as gold medalists in Tokyo and finished eighth in Paris last month. Grael crewed with Team AkzoNobel in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race.

She said she has goosebumps thinking about what’s ahead in making the jump from the 49erFX to the wingsailed F50s, and doesn’t think it matters that she has two gold medals.

“It matters what you do and your attitude,” she said. “I think it really matters what you put in in the moment and how your team takes it.”

SailGP started a Women’s Pathway Program in 2021. Since then, there has been a woman on every boat in every race, with a total of 37 women having raced onboard F50s. Most teams have an active roster of three women alongside their male counterparts.

“I think I was born in the right moment,” said Grael, 33, who grew up in Niterói, across Guanabara Bay from Rio.

“She was the obvious choice,” Coutts told the AP. “Brazil’s got a strong history in Olympic sailing. And when you look at the talent that’s available, she’s a standout candidate. She’s got two gold medals. She’s proven that she can perform under pressure.”

If the Brazilian team puts the right crew around Grael, “I don’t see any reason why they can’t do really well,” Coutts said. “I think that’s super exciting for the development of women’s sailing because if she does do well and starts winning races at that level against the best in the world, you’ve got to think that’s going to have an impact on all the young female sailors out there, to be aspiring to do a similar thing to her.

“And it is unique that she’s competing against the best males in the sport,” Coutts added.

Tom Slingsby, an Olympic gold medalist and former America’s Cup champion, dominated SailGP’s first three seasons before Diego Botin of Spain stunned Slingsby and Peter Burling of New Zealand in the $2 million, winner-take-all Season 4 championship race on July 13. Three weeks later, Botin and Florian Trittel, his SailGP wing trimmer, won the Olympic gold medal in the 49er.

Burling has one gold among his three Olympic medals and is the two-time reigning America’s Cup champion helmsman. British helmsman Giles Scott is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Slingsby, Burling and Scott are currently helming in the America’s Cup trials in Barcelona.

“It’s not going to be easy, but she’s got the talent to succeed, I think,” Coutts said.

Grael was scheduled to fly to Bermuda on Monday night to participate in SailGP’s first preseason training camp aboard an F50 fitted with new T-foils that are designed to make the boats faster. She’ll get more time in the boat at a camp before the season opener in Dubai on Nov. 23-24.

Bernie Wilson has covered sailing for The Associated Press since 1991.

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10 most interesting places in Yaroslavl Region (PHOTOS)

1. H istorical center of Yaroslavl

Church of Elijah the Prophet

Yaroslavl is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosl rivers. This is the capital of the region (and the unofficial capital of the ‘Golden Ring’ tourist route) and a beautiful city with a thousand-year-long history; some of its landmarks are depicted on the 1,000-ruble bill.

The city is, at the same time, very modern – with bars and restaurants to satisfy every taste; that said, it is saturated with history and a rich cultural heritage. So, you can stay awhile and spend quite some time visiting attractions and churches… (don’t miss the Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve and the 17th-century Church of Elijah the Prophet!). You can read a detailed guide of Yaroslavl here .

Aerial view of the city center

Even if you don’t like to go to museums, we still recommend you to visit the ‘Golden Ring’ show market, where you can see the main attractions of all the ‘Golden Ring’ cities in one room – well, a miniature version of them! It’s not simply static architecture in miniature, it’s an entire living world. Trains and cars move around, power stations are in operation, you can also hear church bells ring. Night comes every 10 minutes; lights spark up in the cities and in the windows of apartment blocks.

‘Golden Ring’ show market

Such an attraction is fun for both adults and children! You can see more videos and photos here .

2. Pereslavl-Zalessky

The 12th century Transfiguration Cathedral and the monument to Alexander Nevsky

This is the first city of the region along the way for a tourist en route from Moscow to Yaroslavl. It’s also included in the ‘Golden Ring’. Pereslavl-Zalessky has one of the most ancient surviving churches of Russia – the 1152 (!) Transfiguration Cathedral. Almost every house here has a unique “museum” with its own theme, from vintage irons to gramophone records.

Locomotive Museum in Pereslavl

One of the most unusual ones hides in the forests not far from the city – the Pereslavl Railway Museum under the open sky. Examples of different locomotives and coaches since the beginning of the 20th century are collected there. You can also have a ride on a real draisine (a light auxiliary rail vehicle).

You can read a detailed guide to Pereslavl-Zalessky here .

3. Lake Pleshcheyevo

Lake Pleshcheyevo and the Church of the Forty Martyrs

Pereslavl-Zalessky stands on the shore of quite a large body of water. This lake is famous for the fact that Peter the Great trained his amusement fleet there. A museum stands on the shore, where the small boat ‘Fortuna’ is exhibited, built by Peter the Great himself, according to legend.

‘Fortuna’ boat built by Peter the Great

Near Lake Pleshcheyevo lies an ancient artifact of pagan Russia – the sacred ‘Blue Stone’. This is a giant boulder (estimates say it weighs around 12 tons) that changes its color to blue after rain. The locals worshiped the stone in pre-Christian times, but even after accepting Christianity, the stone was attributed mystical properties (it was supposed that the stone possessed dark powers).

This Blue Stone was considered sacred

Pleshcheyevo is a paradise for eco-tourists; there are a lot of rare birds and animals that livee there, surrounded by a forest and picturesque places. You can stop at one of the recreation bases or pitch a tent and enjoy the view, ride a boat or SUP-boards. There’s also a kiteboarding school; also, during summer, hot air balloon festivals are often held.

4. The Rostov Kremlin

The Rostov Kremlin

The next city along the way is Rostov Veliky (don’t mistake it for the southern Rostov-on-Don). Its main attraction is its unbelievably beautiful white-stone kremlin of. It was also captured in popular culture: many scenes of the iconic comedy movie ‘Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future’ were shot there.

A still from ‘Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future’

The kremlin is not a defensive fortification like in other cities. It was built as the residence of Rostov metropolitan Jonas III in 1650-1680. The high walls with embrasures and lookout towers are more of a stylization and a tribute to architectural trends.

Inside, you should definitely enter the ancient Dormition Cathedral, admire the iconostasis and frescoes and take a stroll in its picturesque garden. Try pastries with kvass, medovukha or sbiten in the local refectory.

As a souvenir, you can get a decoration item with Rostov ‘finift’, an old local handicraft that originated in Byzantium, involves a technique known as ‘fire writing’.

You can read our Rostov guide here .

5. Uglich – the city where history was made

Uglich, the red church is the Church of Dmitry on Spilled Blood

This small town on a picturesque shore of the Volga River is famous across Russia. Not for its ancient churches or its nature, but as the place where Tsarevich Dmitry was killed, which ended the Rurikid dynasty and paved the way for the ‘Time of Troubles’.

The main attractions are concentrated in the kremlin, with a bunch of souvenir stores and a new embankment with trendy cafes.

Visit the chambers of Uglich princes of the 15th century, as well as the Church of Dmitry on Spilled Blood, built on the place where the tsarevich was killed – it has fantastic paintings inside.

And you can read our detailed Uglich guide here .

6. The city of mice

Cruise ships cruising along the Volga River always stop in the city called Myshkin. It is, probably, the most lovely (and cutest) town in the entire region, a small center which has preserved the spirit of Russian antiquity.

‘Mysh’ is Russian for ‘Mouse’, so Myshkin literally means the ‘Mouse City’. Thanks to its name, the city made the mouse its mascot. And now mice (no, not the real ones!) are all over the place – there’s a special museum dedicated to mice, while there are souvenirs wherever you go: mice of the most diverse varieties!

Mice of Myshkin

It’s considered a blessing to buy a small clay mouse and put it in your wallet – the locals believe it will attract money. The square, where the Volga River liners dock, offers a dozen types of smoked fish. A marvelous view of the Volga River, meanwhile, opens from the bell tower of St. Nicholas’ Cathedral.

7. Rybinsk – a retro-style city

Retro street signs on the local Red Square

Rybinsk is yet another city on the shore of the Volga River. There, you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of rich merchant life – the city was once a true trade center, which also dealt in fish. The Nobel Brothers Museum, who developed the oil industry in the city and on the Volga River, can also be found there.

It’s pure joy to have a stroll in Rybinsk, for, today, the main aspect of the city is that all the signs in the center are made in the retro merchant style. Even modern banks and stores attract visitors with their seemingly pre-revolution signs. Also, Rybinsk has a beautiful and very long embankment and even its own Red Square, which, despite the Lenin monument, is very reminiscent of a typical square somewhere in Europe.

8. The most beautiful village in Russia

The village of Vyatskoye

The village of Vyatskoye 40 kilometers from Yaroslavl is considered one of the most beautiful in Russia (at least, according to the ‘Most Beautiful Villages of Russia’ Association). In recent years, it has become a true Mecca for tourists. Its center was restored in the Art Nouveau style of the beginning of the 20th century, right down to stone pavements and vintage buildings.

There are museums to satisfy every taste (including the Museum of Russian Entrepreneurial Spirit), stores with souvenirs and local delicacies, sweets, and liqueurs, as well as a multitude of cafes.

9. Borisoglebsky Monastery

Borisoglebsky Monastery

There’s an old and very important monastery between Rostov and Uglich. It was founded in 1363 by monks Fyodor and Pavel with the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh himself – who, according to legend, picked this place (he was born not far). The monastery had always been a district center; it was visited by tsars and a village gradually formed around it, after which fairs and trade markets began to be held.

In Soviet times, religious services here stopped and a museum opened instead; but, today, the monastery is operational again. The impressive monastery walls and an imposing gate church speak of its former glory.

Resurrection Cathedral in Tutaev

This city received its name after the revolution; before, it was called Romanov-Borisoglebsk. It was known for its mineral oil factory, as well as for its linen and fur manufactures (in the 18th century, the breed of Romanov sheep was bred there).

To this day, you can only reach one part of the city from the other only by a ferry, so get ready to sail or pick only one side of the city for your visit. For example, the Borisoglebsk side, with the unbelievably magnificent 17th-century Resurrection Cathedral. Be sure to study the tiled belt and paintings on its facade; inside, you should definitely approach the cathedral’s relic – the unique three-meter-tall Borisoglebsky Savior icon, which is considered miraculous.

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Picturesque winter views of Tutaev churches

1 Comment · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Architecture , Photos , Religion , Travel

Tutaev is one of the towns of famous “Golden Ring” of Russia located in Yaroslavl oblast . The churches of Tutaev are picturesquely scattered on the hilly banks of the Volga and attract numerous tourists and architecture lovers from all over the world. The following nice winter views of Tutaev churches were taken by Petr Ushanov .

Tags: churches · Yaroslavl oblast

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Antonio · March 12, 2013 at 11:06 am

Thank you a lot for very nice photos, now I know much more about your big Russia.

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How To Sail a Catamaran Upwind or Downwind (Complete Guide)

How Sailing a Catamaran Is Different Than Monohulls

The UPWIND Catamaran Sailing Guide

Maintain High Speeds

Limit Angles to 45–60°

Upgrade to Kevlar Sails

Select a Daggerboard Catamaran

Clean Hulls

Trim the Sails & Center the Mainsheet

Turn On the Motor

The DOWNWIND Catamaran Sailing Guide

Use a Screecher or Asymmetrical Spinnakers

Choose the Right Angle

Reef at 15 Knots

Jibe (Gybe)

Reduce Speeds

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