Now that Mini Skippy had her British registration, a functioning VHF, GPS, EPIRB, it was time to get out sailing and check out her sail wardrobe !!!
Sail Wardrobe
The Classe Mini rules limit the sail wardrobe whilst racing to 7 sails including the storm jib and learning the boat meant getting to know all of them!! Although the things with sailboats is that they tend to amass sails and after some very successful shopping with Jean-Yves at XVoiles, Mini Skippy's full wardrobe was now up to 12 sails!!!
To deal with different conditions and various wind angles, the sails come in different shapes, sizes and fabrics and Mini sails tend to fit into 5 different categories: Mainsails / Solents / Gennakers / Spinnakers / Storm Sails.
Mainsail
First up is the mainsail. This is the principal "motor" for the boat and on a modern Mini, the square-headed design makes the mainsail ressemble a block of flats when viewed from the deck!
Fully hoisted it has an area of about 26m2 which is just a bit smaller than the floor area of a 40ft shipping container. This is great in light winds but becomes uncontrollable as the breeze picks up so the size of the mainsail can be reduced by "reefing".
My mainsail has 3 reefs and each one had its own "reefing pennant" (the ropes going through the back edge of the sail). The first reef reduces the mainsail by around 10%, the second reef by a further 20% and the final third reef by another 20% to leave about 12m2 of sail.
Solent
The Solent (or jib) is the triangular sail which flies just in front of the Mainsail. This sail provides additional drive to the boat and balances the Mainsail.
Balance is fundamental because a balanced boat is sailing efficiently and means the helmsman or autopilot has to make fewer and less severe corrections which in turn means that the boat sails faster.
In simple terms, the Mainsail makes the boat "luff up" or head towards the wind. Imagine the stern of the boat slipping downwind because of the wind on the mainsail.
The Solent helps remedy this tendency since it is at the front of the boat and makes the boat want to "bear away" or turn away from the wind. This is surely more intuitive than for the mainsail since it is easy to imagine the bow being blown away from the wind because of the Solent.
The Solent is just a little bit smaller than the mainsail at 19m2 and can also be reefed to allow for sailing in stronger wind conditions. However, unlike my Mainsail, my Solent only has one reef which reduces its area by around 25%.
Gennakers
I put Gennakers with an "s" because Mini Skippy has two of them - a big one and a smaller one. They are flown in front of the Solent from the end of the bowspirit. They fall in-between a solent and a spinnaker and help to generate even more drive when reaching.
The Gennakers on Mini Skippy are both furling sails and although that means an extra piece of string, the furling line, they are very easy to hoist and even more importantly, they are easy to furl away again. They can then be folded into their sailbags like sausages.
In terms of size, the small gennaker is Mainsail sized at 24.5m2 and the big gennaker is another 50% bigger at 38m2. However, size is not all that matters, shape is very important too. The small gennaker is cut flatter for sailing tighter wind angles and the big gennaker is cut with more camber to provide more drive at lower reaching angles.
Spinnakers
Again, Spinnakers has an "s" because Mini Skippy has more than one! There are two sails but three spinnakers - I wonder if you can guess how?!
You guessed it, it's reefing again!! My medium spinnakers have two tacks and two clews and the bottom can be rolled up. This allows the sails to be used over a larger wind range although it does mean that the sail is slightly less durable since the stitching for the zip creates weak points in the fabric. In terms of size, the medium spi is a serious sail at 57m2 and when reefed 48m2 (still bigger than the bigger gennaker!!).
The last spinnaker is the Spi Max which is for deep sailing in lighter breezes or for reaching in very light conditions. It's a huge sail and comes in at 75m2 (almost 3 times the size of the mainsail!!).
Storm Jib
Although only 4m2, in dayglo orange, the storm jib doesn't go unnoticed. It is 20% of the size of the Solent but is a very important sail when the wind gets above 30kts.
I have used it 3 times so far in earnest but I those times, I wasn't taking photos. This photo is from when I hoisted it in the marina to have a look. Here it is hanked on the forestay but normally, I would hoist the storm jib on the inner forestay which I can tension from the cockpit using a block and tackle.
The keen eyed amongst you will also notice that there is a reefing point in the storm jib to convert it into a "spitfire" jib. I hope never to need this reef!!!
Storm Trysail
This sail is optional under Classe Mini rules and so far I haven't hoisted out on the water. At 5m2 it is half the size of the triple reefed main and so very much designed for storm conditions and I hope never to need it.
For me the importance of this sail is that it provides another arrow in the quiver. It could be used in a variety of ways:
- As part of a jury rig in the case of a dismasting
- To slow water ingress into the boat in the case of damage to the hull or deck
- To provide drive and balance if the 3rd reefed main was too powerful with the advantage that the sail is free-footed allowing the boom to be secured and reducing the consequences of an accidental gybe.
- To test but it may allow Mini Skippy to sit hove-to in a wider range of conditions
Being very light and beamy, the Maxi makes far more leeway than a bigger yacht and it's unlikely that the trysail would enable progress to be made to windward (e.g. escaping a lee shore). However, it may enable a higher course to be steered than would be possible under storm jib alone.
Again, being very light, when the wind picks up, it can be hard to find the brake with Mini Skippy, particularly downwind. The trysail might enable a more controlled approach into harbour in such conditions.
Credits:
Julian Adamson / David Ferguson