Chris Brittain, who has been a regular Dragon crew for over 10 years, discusses good crew work – essential for success. Chris has been aboard winning boats for 2 Edinburgh Cups. He is now most often seen aboard Danish Blue but started Club racing aboard Smug at Burnham. In this article he outlines the basic manoeuvres; get these right and your results and enjoyment will probably improve.

When searching for those few extra boat lengths ‘Crew’ might not be at the top of your list. But a well crewed boat with agreed, coordinated techniques will manoeuvre efficiently, maintaining boatspeed and leaving time to concentrate on the important things – sail trim, wind shifts, tactics etc. There is no magic formula but practice, preparation and concentration go a long way to raising the standards.

When going through the tack, releasing the headsail is as crucial as pulling it in; backed for too long, the bow is pushed too far off the wind and there’s more sail to be sheeted in; not long enough and the clew takes an age to clear the leeward shrouds and speed is lost as the sail flogs; get it right and the sail clears the mast and shrouds in one move and is down the side of the boat with minimum sheeting required.

In light weather ensure the sheet is off the winch and free to run before all three crew have moved to weather for the “roll-tack”, remembering to sheet in slowly as the boat sails out of the tack.

In heavier weather the headsail will, naturally, need less backing and should be sheeted as fast as possible, preferably by pulling – it is faster than winching. With one crew to leeward the other crew is hiking all they can to help boatspeed out of the tack. The helmsman and crew should coordinate the tacks to find the balance between the amount of helm and the amount of backed sail needed to tack the boat most efficiently.

The downwind legs are no time for rest. On rounding the mark get the headsail pulling to maintain speed whilst the spinnaker is hoisted. Always make sure the leeward barber hauler is free prior to the hoist; a closed leech will only heel the boat. When it is blowing set the pole 12–18″ off the forestay; this will flatten the sail and give you better balance and control. Remember to mark your spinnaker halyard so you can be certain that the sail is fully hoisted.

The gybe is about coordination and can be very easy. The fore-deck crew stands between the mast and leeward shrouds, facing forward so the sail can be seen, with the leeward genoa sheet in one hand under which to pass the pole. By starting to leeward there is no across-deck shuffle halfway through the gybe – you will also be more secure, with the leeward shrouds to grasp! The pole comes off the mast as the boat bears away and immediately afterwards off the sail. The spinnaker is now free of the pole and it is the middle crew’s job to ensure the sail is floated round, away from the rig, keeping it pulling all the time and not forgetting to free the new leeward barber-hauler to keep the leech open. The pole in the meantime has been set on the new guy and mast respectively, the fore-deck remembering to tell the boat when the pole is “made”. The helmsman must make every effort to coordinate with the crew in sailing the boat through the gybe and play the runners. What’s the problem?

On a running gybe the pole comes off the mast and sail simultaneously and is set on the new gybe as the main boom crosses the boat; set too early the sail will be trapped behind the main on the old gybe, too late behind the main on the new gybe. Again three way coordination is required to perfect the timing.

The run is no time to sit and relax. Keeping weight forward, the middle crew sits at the front of the cockpit, not on the traveller, and the foredeck crew by the mast, helping the helmsman find the wind bands, wind shifts, clear air etc. behind.

When dropping the spinnaker let the halyard run and pull the retrieval line like mad – the object being to get the sail into the chute before it hits the water. When dropping at the end of the run, run the guy forward (and maybe pull the sheet as well) prior to running the halyard. This takes the spinnaker to leeward so it drops down the side, not over the bow.

Think of the cockpit as four corners – standing in the middle is normally in the way. The front corners are used to keep the weight forward unless both crew are hiked out or to leeward. Always keep the lines tidy and never have any that are too long, to add to the tangle factor.

Whatever way your boat is sailed, think what you want to achieve, talk it through and practise it. If nothing else you should avoid the daily idiots’ prizes which proliferate now.

Finally and most important, enjoy your racing; even if you don’t win the race you might be one of those making the shy-to-shy gybe look easy.