Chuting The Moon

We got our spinnaker up last night! Since we brought Moon home in May, we’ve been trying out different sails—either bequeathed to us or retrieved from storage. Yet this was only the third time we’d had a spinnaker out of its bag on Moon, the second time it was flying and the first time it went smoothly.

Flying the “chute”

… or “kite” requires not only just-right conditions—a light breeze from the right direction, fairly calm seas—but also coordination between everyone on the boat and a steady focus on the sail.  Normally the headsail is controlled by two lines, but the spinnaker has five controls that must be coordinated:  the guy, the sheet, the downhaul, the topping lift, and the car on the mast that determines the height of the pole.  For all the work, it’s worth it especially while racing because the spinnaker makes the boat go fast.

Despite best intentions of testing our new spinnaker on vacation, it never got out of the bag.  Once home and these weekday races started, Peter reclaimed his old spinnaker from storage.  I just learned the old one is affectionately referred to as Mrs.Thatcher and the new one had no name until the first time we got it out of the bag.

The first time

The night we sailed downriver with Liz, Ralph and Andy, Andy proposed getting Mrs. Thatcher out of the bag and after a short group discussion we all decided that the new spinnaker needed a name but couldn’t be named until we could see it flying. Andy ran lines while Peter drove and I observed/assisted—something that only happens when we have more hands on deck. The conditions that evening never warranted a spinnaker though and despite our readiness and even hoisting briefly enough to see it, the thing never filled with air and we dropped it quickly. But we saw enough of the blue and red on white background to conjure up the Czech flag and suggestions of Václav Havel were discussed.

The second time

Havel went up was last week, racing against Mike and R on the Santana. Peter and I alone, we worked our stations and clumsily raised the spinnaker for the first time together. From R’s account, there was a good deal of yelling heard across the river. We needed to clear the air.

Third time’s a charm

Last night, knowing we were facing Mike in the latest re-match, and knowing the wind would go light, Peter pre-ran the lines for the spinnaker thinking we would be out alone. At the last minute Al joined us for the race. With the three of us, we hoisted Mrs. Thatcher with ease. Her broad shoulders and light weight (half ounce) were perfect for the downwind, broad reach conditions. Peter and Al taught me how to pull the guy to adjust the pole and the big red, white and blue spinnaker puffed out over our starboard bow.  The spinnaker was flying with ease!
Sailing Glossary