NORTH SAILS BLOG

UNCLE FLUFFY’S SECRETS TO WIN THE J/22 WORLDS Interview Reveals Details on Boat Settings, Tactics and Crew Work Congratulations Zeke, Emmy, JoAnn and Jackson on your, hard fought, victory at the 2018 J/22 Worlds in Annapolis. Can you tell us a bit about the team and how it all came together and worked so well? Zeke – Our team first sailed together at the 2016 J/22 Worlds in Kingston which was our first event as a team and my first time ever skippering a J/22. I had sailed a lot with each other person on the boat separately but never together. It was clear from day one of that regatta that we had something special. With the Worlds coming to my home waters here in Annapolis, it was obvious who I wanted to have on board with me. Jackson has made a name for himself across our sport as a Real-Deal-Tactician-and-Trimmer and I feel lucky to have such a good friend be so talented and willing to sail with me! Jo Ann already had a World Championship under her belt and she brings all of the technical perfection to her bow work as well as tuning (she tunes the rig!). She’s a spark of positivity and fun and I can’t imagine having anyone else on the bow. Emmy Stuart is an All American Crew from the College of Charleston who has really come into her own on the keel boat scene. Her knowledge of wind shifts and current really gave us an edge in the tricky conditions we had. On top of that, she kept us all organized with the off the water logistics that took a ton of pressure off of the rest of us. The only thing more special than winning a world championship is doing it with friends you love! Jackson – My role on the boat was to handle the jib trim, spinnaker trim, and tactics pre-start, upwind, and if we were going to have a straight set at the windward mark or look for an opportunity to gybe quickly. I would try to discuss my thought process as best as I could so that everyone was on the same page. Emmy would take over the tactics downwind as I was trimming the kite, and she also did a great job painting the picture of what was going on behind us on the downwind legs, which would keep me keyed into the race for when we turned back upwind. Sometimes I would take a quick snapshot of what was happening behind me while trimming the kite (maybe once or twice a leg if the opportunity presented itself, although I’m sure Zeke isn’t thrilled to hear that!). Due to Emmy’s tactics downwind, I don’t think we ever had a negative delta on any downwind leg the entire regatta. In fact, I’m pretty sure we actually passed boats about 75% of the time on the downwind legs. Jo Ann – I had 2 main roles on the boat: 1. Tuning the rig. Zeke, Jackson, and Emmy gave me full control over setting up the rig which freaked me out. I would ask for their opinion on it and they would always respond “just do what you think is right!” 2. The bow. Just making sure all sets and douses were flawless as well as ensuring weight placement was correct. Then assisting Emmy with an information regarding boats, speed, wind etc that Zeke and Jackson needed. Emmy – My role on the boat was pit. I was responsible for time on the line, trimming jib during pre-start, calling pressure, waves, current, lanes, keeping eyes on the marks, prepping kite for set/dousing the kite, cleaning up lines as needed, and moving my weight around quite a bit. With four people on the boat, I was sharing quite a few jobs with Jo Ann which forced me to constantly think about what I could be doing to add value in the moment. The week started off with an announcement that they were shortening the event by a day due to the possible effects from Hurricane Florence. How did that affect your strategy for the week knowing that the first few days they would be looking to get as many races “front loaded” as possible? Zeke –When we heard they were going to front-load as much racing as they could, it didn’t really alter our approach all that much. We just knew the first couple days might be long so we brought some extra rations so we could stay healthy out there. But our hard focus for the first couple of says was still the same – DON’T LOSE THE REGATTA. You can’t win the regatta in the first day or two, but you can certainly lose it. We just tried to avoid big mistakes and give ourselves a shot at the end of the regatta. Jackson – I personally didn’t look into that too much. We knew we had to have good races from the very beginning, but that’s always the case if you’re looking to win an event. I suppose the only thing that the schedule change affected was that we knew we had to prepare for slightly longer days. I think it was fairly close to dusk as we hit the dock after the first day of racing. Jo Ann – I think everyone on the boat is super focused and the longer days didn’t phase anyone. We made sure we all ate and drank after every race. Emmy – I was initially bummed to hear that Friday was cancelled. However, it was really positive being with a team that was excited to get in as many quality races as we could while we had good weather. From my perspective, we were all psyched to be racing this event together that it was more so mentally preparing for some of the challenges ahead (sailing in some of the tricky shifty conditions, lighter conditions and even the fog) and staying positive. In looking at the results the fleet was packed with talent with many past World and NA champions. Obviously teamwork was critical but you had to be confident in your boat speed in a large fleet like that. What were the keys to being “World Champion Fast”, what were the condition for the week and how did you “change gears” as the conditions changed? Zeke – As always, speed is king. Jackson and I worked hard to get the mast tuned as straight as possible before the regatta and from there I knew Jo Ann could take care of all the tuning. As the helmsman, it was my responsibility to keep us moving fast. I focused a lot on the balance of the helm and tried really hard to keep the keel engaged – I think that is the real trick in the J/22. It was mostly light air, so Jackson and I worked hard on keeping the boat fast but erroring on slightly eased/open sails and when I felt we had an opportunity to “squish” the boat flat with the sails trimmed a bit harder, I could really feel the keel engage and the boat would just take off. The North M7 main has been an amazing sail for us with that design having won 4 of the past 5 World Championships. We have worked a lot on development on new molds and designs over the years and, at this point, we just keep coming back to the fact that the M7 is the best all around shape. When the breeze came up a bit, my focus was on finding the perfect amount of backstay so that we could pull the head stay a bit straighter and open up the main leech to help keep the boat flat while still at max power. There was a lot of communication throughout the entire regatta about crew placement, sail trim, and mode so we could be sure we were on the same page shooting for the same goal. Major KUDOS to Emmy and Jo Ann who had to tough it out down below in a number of the light air races. Having weight low and decreased windage is key for light air speed upwind. But we wouldn’t have been able to be fast if we weren’t in the best breeze! Jackson, Emmy, and Jo Ann did a phenomenal job with boat placement so we always had a chance to rely on our speed! Jackson – Oh man, this is a good question. Our boat preparation started months and months before the Worlds even started. Zeke did an amazing job making sure we had the bottom of the boat well taken care of, and then we made it as perfect as possible throughout those months leading up to the Worlds, always thinking about how we might enhance even the smallest things. Starting to prepare the hull, rigging, and rig tune well before the event allows you to go into the first day of racing completely focused on the task at hand (sailing well in the conditions of the day), which is a major advantage. It takes a really long time and a lot of effort to get the boat in tip-top shape. We went over every little piece on the boat with a fine-tooth comb to make sure everything was working just the way we wanted it to, and it wasn’t going to break on us. Setting the base rig tune on Uncle Fluffy is a little strange. We found that for some reason the mast was very hard to set straight, and keep straight, through the settings. I really focused on that for a few days during the Annapolis NOOD back in May, then recorded caliper measurements at the turnbuckles to easily replicate those base settings. Once I dialed the rig into the best base setting I could, we pretty much turned the rig tune on the water over to JoAnn. She has an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience in that department and I think the team actually trusted her more than she trusted herself! But we knew we were in the best hands possible with Jo handling the changes on the water. She has a keen eye for mast bend and a lot of our speed came from her expertise! Our normal game plan for rig tune was to set it for the given wind and wave conditions before each race, but then we’d revisit it right before the warning signal and make sure that it was tweaked just ever so slightly towards how we thought the conditions might change for the start and the first leg of the race. Zeke mentioned the M7 main and knowing that we had proven winning sail designs that are also very easy to use in all conditions allowed us to keep our thoughts towards actually racing the boat and cracking the code of the current and wind each day. My focus on trimming was on the jib and spinnaker and, like the M7, having the BigFoot AP jib and FR-1 spinnaker in our quiver was a real confidence boost since we knew that, using that combination, guaranteed us World Championship speed. When the dust settled the top 4 teams as well as 5 of the top 6 used the same sail combination that we did so we certainly had to stay on top of all facets of our game since we weren’t the only team that figured that puzzle out! I think the overall results speak clearly for themselves as to which sails are used by the fastest boats. Jo Ann – On the lighter days Emmy and I spent a lot of time in the dog house! It was difficult to exactly tell what was going on, but we were constantly moving positions down below to keep weight in the correct place. Downwind, I think it was important to stay in the breeze and know where the next shift was coming from and where the leeward marks are located. As soon as we set, we’d immediately look for the leeward marks. Emmy – I’ve been lucky enough to learn so much from this team over the past couple of years. Jo Ann and I would talk through relatives compared to the boats around us, especially as the boys were talking about changing gears. We were constantly talking about wind on the course and counting down the immediate pressure. Weight balance feels pretty natural but we would talk through making minor adjustments like shifting weight in, or Jackson coming off the rail, to a change as drastic as me (and Jo Ann) hopping down below/up on deck. Consistency won the day at this event and, while you did win one race, more importantly you counted all single digit finishes in your scorecard. What was the focus of your game plan going into the event and how did you alter it as the week progressed? Zeke – I’ve done a fair amount of sailing (and talking about sailing) with Jackson and I know he is all about those top 5 finishes. He rarely makes a super risky call to try to win a race, but rather he sets the boat up to be in the top 10% at the first mark and then he snipes off packs or boats for the rest of the race. He’s always trying to avoid big mistakes. We would try to start conservatively near the favored end and then play the fleet up our side of the course. We paid very close attention to the breeze and course angles in the pre-start (3-5 wind checks before each race) so we could set up to be on the favored end of the line. We never really altered our approach until the very last race of the regatta. Jackson – A main contributing factor from our consistency came from Zeke’s excellent starting abilities. I’d develop the game plan, and then the area of the line that I wanted to start, and then he’d execute perfectly from there. Starting in low density areas of the starting line is a low-risk/ high-reward game plan, so we’d generally start near where we thought was the favored end of the line, but safely away from the pack. If for some reason the extreme end of the line was not crowded, then we’d jump at the opportunity. Making sure to pay attention to the location of the pack from about 2:30 before the start really helps to make sure you don’t mistakenly get caught up in it. With the highly variable and unpredictable wind that we had at this regatta, it was pretty stressful at times trying to keep track of all the top boats in each race. Playing the odds in relation to where the largest number of boats in the top group were heading generally provides for a solid score line. However it doesn’t necessarily keep the second pack that escapes to a corner behind you every time. Making sure to keep your cool in that kind of situation was hard, but imperative. Things were constantly and sometimes invisibly changing on the racecourse, so I tried my best to play the cards we had at each point in time and that seemed to work out pretty well. Emmy – Jackson had an innate view of the course, current, line and fleet and was very audible about the game plan for each race from the get-go, thus putting us in all the right spots. He was mostly conservative, which helped us manage the fleet, and was positive and patient when a shift didn’t go our way. Zeke always had the boat hooked up and going so fast (it also helps that he is incredible at starting) And on the course Jackson and Zeke were almost constantly talking through changing gears and minor adjustments to really put the boat through the water. Jo Ann and Emmy ran the front end of the boat all week. Sailing with 4 how did you divide up responsibilities and how did having the extra person help? Jo Ann – I’ve only sailed the J/22 with 4 (or 5 in the Womens’ Rolex days). The extra set of hands and eyes is key. One of us could be looking for upwind boats, logs (so much debris in the water), leeward marks etc. while the other one looked from breeze. Also weight placement downwind with four people really helps to balance the boat as we can fine tune the weight placement. Emmy and I work great together and would report different info such as puffs, relatives, compass headings etc. The whole team worked well together and really respected one another which made it easy to sail well. Emmy – With 4 people on the boat, Jo and I would share some responsibilities – we would both talk about pressure on the course, count down immediate puffs/waves/chop and help to be “opposite” eyes for Jackson and Zeke. Downwind we would talk about big picture pressure on the course, lanes, immediate pressure, relatives for the boats around us, finding the marks and helping determine game plan for the next beat. (Jo Ann is a boss on the bow.) The final day seemed to be quite a test for the team to stay focused on the task at hand. What would you consider your “mental tool” when you are under pressure going into the final race at a major event where you know you can win it or lose it all? Zeke – For me, it’s faith in my teammates. When things weren’t going well and I would get frustrated, (….after an initial outburst….) I would say to myself, “What’s your job?” I had complete faith that everyone else on the team was focused on their job and I knew that if I did mine well we would come out of tight spots. Jackson – It’s incredibly important to stay calm, cool, and collected in that kind of situation, not only before the race but throughout as well. Making sure you eat something and continue to hydrate properly can be easy to forget, and I find staying on top of that helps to keep my brain firing on all cylinders and settles my nerves a little bit. I really tried to focus on the process and stick with the normal pre-race routine that I would go through before every race. It was also helpful to try and predict what the game plan would be for our closest competitor so that we could minimize surprises, and then develop a fluid plan for how we might deal in certain situations. Knowing the point spread and where we had to finish to win the event also plays a big part in developing the game plan. Jo Ann – I was so impressed with how calm (and quiet) Zeke and Jackson remained when we were in constant battle during four general recalls. Emmy – Honestly, with this team I have the utmost confidence in everyone’s skills and ability to execute their jobs at a high level. My “mental tool” when I was under pressure was checking myself, going through the laundry list of jobs and making sure that I was providing the team with the information or action they needed. OK, tell us about current. Rumor has it if you didn’t know about current when you got to Annapolis you sure knew about it by the time you left. How did the current affect the fleet, positioning and did you guys have an advantage having sailed for years in Charleston current? Zeke – I think we absolutely had an advantage having all done a lot of sailing in Charleston. The current was certainly stronger than normal here on the Chesapeake Bay and it was a major factor in the regatta. In general I’d say the trick was always trying to be positioned up current of our nearest competitors when we could. But it really affected mark rounding and there was a lot to be gained from managing the current around the corners. We would not have won the Worlds if we didn’t nail the current at the first weather mark of the last race. We must have passed 15 boats by getting up current of the pack stacked up on the starboard lay line. It was an amazing call by my team! Jackson – It was certainly “currenting” quite a bit! With all of the rain in Annapolis and further north up the Chesapeake before the regatta, the bay was pretty high. I believe that a few dams opened up above Annapolis as well which provided a ton of ebb tide. Some days the flood tide never actually even happened, it would just slow the ebb down a little bit. Staying out of the adverse current was certainly on the top of our priority list and having raced in the currents of Charleston provided us with the knowledge and experience for how to deal with the strong currents. Especially during the starts and mark roundings. Jo Ann – Thanks goodness Jackson and Zeke have spent so much time sailing in current! Zeke was amazing at mark rounds despite the ripping current. We were able to get inside everyone at the leeward marks and sail around boats at the top marks. Jackson was also incredible at strategically placing us in the right position at the top mark to gain as much as possible from the current. Emmy – I never thought that the current in Annapolis would be as bad as it is in Charleston but this week proved me wrong. We were talking a lot about where we could get current relief in shallower water and would talk about relatives to other boats when we crossed current lines. I think with all of the current, especially on the last day, our experiences of sailing in Charleston shined (especially Jackson’s hard left, port layline call in the first beat of the last race that helped us cross the fleet sitting on the starboard layline “treadmill”). What were your rig settings. Did you stay on the looser side so you could power thru the lulls? Or were you in the same settings most of the regatta? Zeke – We checked and adjusted the rig tension a lot. Jo Ann always nails the rig to perfection but for sure we encouraged her to keep us set up for the lulls. We felt we could get away with being slightly too loose if the breeze came up by pulling the back stay on and hiking hard, but it was imperative to be set to get through the lulls. Jo Ann – We always tried to have the rig tune set up “perfectly” (That’s what I would tell Greg in the olden days….”The rig is perfect!” ) before the start. I would want to keep looking at the rig every 2 minutes or anytime the wind velocity changed to make sure it was still perfect. I tried to always look at it in the lulls so it would be set up for the lulls. I guess you could say we might have always been on the looser side. Going into the last race we were anticipating the wind dying so we set up a little on the loose side, as it turned out the breeze picked up which was not ideal. Emmy – Jo Ann is the rig master and really had us hooked up all week. With the breeze on the lighter end, we would bet on it dying out more than building so we mostly would keep it on the looser side. World Champions know stuff the rest of us don’t so, at the risk of giving a way all of your secrets, can each of you tell us 2 things that you felt were the key to your win and one “tip” or “secret” that every J/22 sailor should know to help them move up in the fleet? Zeke – There is nothing like the magic of a good team. Pick the people who you LOVE to sail with and who you have fun with regardless of the result. Then focus on your communication and be honest with one another about what you like and don’t like. Take the time to build confidence in your boat speed and then let good conservative starts and top notch speed do the work for you. In terms of trimming, be willing to make changes and always set up for speed before height. The J/22 will not go upwind until the flow attaches to the keel, so don’t even think about pointing until the boat is moving. Once it’s moving, focus on getting the boat DEAD FLAT with 0 helm. Now the keel is doing the work for you! You’ll learn to feel the boat starting to lose flow before it happens at which time you need to go back into speed mode. It’s all about changing gears and sailing as flat as you can! Jib trim is imperative. Make sure your jib trimmer is always ready to ease or trim to keep the tell tales straight back. The helmsman can’t appropriately correct for shifts or puffs if the jib isn’t reacting first. Jackson – Making sure you’re having fun always seems to make the boat go faster. Our teamwork was a major part of our success. I can’t think of any other sailors I would have rather been on the boat with for this championship. We all have a ton of respect for each other and we’re great friends. I think that’s really important and it makes for excellent chemistry on the water. There are definitely times when we disagree with each other, but it’s quickly and easily forgotten due to the nature of our relationships. Playing the jib sheet constantly helps the boat go fast and stay fast, even as much as 2-6 inches at times. If we sailed into a header, I’d trim the jib in to help bring the bow down as Zeke brought the boat down to the proper course, then ease it into acceleration mode before trimming back into the “5th gear” setting. If we sailed into a lift, I’d ease it out to the proper trim according to the telltales in the middle of the luff, which would allow the bow to ride up back to the proper course, then trim back in to the “5th gear” setting. Also keeping the jib sheet moving through the pressure changes proved to be very fast as well. My eyes were on the leech telltale of the jib (through the main window) fairly constantly when the boat was going straight and not encountering any pressure or angle changes. I’d look to have it flying 100% of the time, while also making sure I had it trimmed in as tight as it would allow. When the leech telltale starts to raise up 15 or so degrees from flying straight back (but still flying and not stalling), I’d know that it was at maximum trim. Eating the most delicious wraps I’ve ever had in my life (thanks to Emmy!) also didn’t hurt! Jo Ann – For me this team had fun, we were always hanging out together and enjoyed each other. We all drink the same cocktail (Ed: The cocktail of choice for Team Uncle Fluffy is “The Fisher”, which is vodka, water, splash of grapefruit! Is this the next big thing?) and I READ MORE

North Sails expert Mike Marshall answers your J22 speed and boat handling questions.  Who sails the J22? The J22 class is simultaneously both international and “grassroots.” Make no mistake. The top J22 sailors are extremely talented, but at the same time, the class has a culture that’s quite approachable and down to earth. In addition to the United States and Canada, fleets are active in France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica. Sailing a J22 upwind in a good breeze, hiking hard and sailing flat is fast. J22 sailors are friendly and want to help each other sail better. On the water, people are definitely competitive, but if you ask someone on the dock what they were doing to perform so well in a certain situation, they’ll tell you. And quite a few of the people you may be asking, especially at North American regattas, have won world championships. What’s also special about the J22 is that getting to regattas and out on the racecourse can be easier compared with many other keelboats. You only need a couple buddies to sail with you; the boat is simple to trail; and the cost of getting into the class is relatively low. Your big decision each year is which one or two new sails to buy. Put all these things together and you have a class of very friendly and likeable people enjoying an affordable game with their friends, and that creates a special vibe. What kind of sailors do best in the J22 class? The boats are often called “a dinghy with a piece of lead hanging off the bottom.” You need to roll tack them, and boat handling is critical to sailing fast, so dinghy sailors naturally do well. The class encourages young dinghy sailor participation with a grant program that loans a boat each season to a youth team, and these teams always do well. Of course, you still have all the technical aspects of a keelboat, so teams also need to develop the skills required to tune the rig and make sure the sail shape is right. What is the ideal J22 crew size? You can sail with three people or four. The weight limit is 605 pounds, and it pays to be right on the limit. Ideally, you’ll sail with your biggest person in the middle. How physical is the crew work? While the crew work involved in taking a J22 through maneuvers is only moderately physical, racing this boat competitively is a workout. As my friend Jeff Eiber says, “I don’t like sailing boats unless I’m working hard to do it,” and the J22meets this criterion. Jeff is happy to be a middle crew on these boats where he’ll be hiking out like you would on an Etchells. The bow person is also hiking. And the harder you hike, the faster you go. What are your top J22 speed tips? Sail the boat like a dinghy. Focus on tuning and forestay length. Keep the boat as flat as possible. Upwind, sail as fast as nearby boats; don’t try to out-point them. What’s involved in crewing on a J22? When sailing with three, the helm drives and handles the mainsheet, backstay, and traveler. The middle person trims the jib and spinnaker, and also douses the chute. The bow person manages halyards, spinnaker pole, and sail controls at the mast. Sometimes the bow person is the tactician; sometimes the middle person is. When sailing with four, the bow person’s job gets split. On sets, the second person aft may feed the spinnaker out of the companionway or manage the controls for the bow person. What should you know when buying a J22? The first J22 was built in 1983, so many of them have been built over the years. New boats are not currently available in the U.S., but you can pick up a competitive boat for $8,000, add a couple new pieces of gear, and, with practice, compete at the top-20 level in a world championship. If you’re aiming for the top 10, you should buy a boat in the $15,000 range. Boats with numbers above 1460 were built by U.S. Watercraft as opposed to TPI, which built the earlier boats. The newer boats have no wood in the interior and therefore need less maintenance. However, older boats can certainly compete. Boat number 677 finished in the top five at the last two world championships in the United States. Most people who join the class buy a used boat, purchase a new jib, and get on the water for $10,000 or less. If you’re on a tight budget, you can do it for half that much. Beyond the basics, what kind of prep is needed to make a boat competitive? If you have aspirations to be in the top 10 at the worlds, you need to prep the bottom and make sure your chainplates, mast step, and jib tracks are in exactly the right place. If that’s not your initial goal, just prep the bottom and go sailing. Bottom paint is not a problem either, but make sure it’s sanded nice and smooth. If you bought a $5,000 boat, take a close look at all the blocks. You’ll probably want to replace a few of them. How do you transport the boat? Although this boat has a fixed keel, it draws slightly less than four feet, so it doesn’t stand too tall on its trailer. Combining a displacement of 1,790 pounds with the weight of sails, equipment, and trailer, gives a total weight of 4,000 pounds. This means that you can haul the boat with a minivan or light SUV. One of the Canadian teams tows long distances with a Honda Odyssey. I’ve also seen European teams tow the boat with a Volkswagen Passat, but this seems a bit small to me. What's involved in rigging and de-rigging a J22? What I love about the J22 is that everything needed for the boat always stays on the boat. No outboard engine is required. I usually leave the shrouds attached and tuck them in. So when I pull my J22 out in the spring, I just take off the tarp, put sails in the boat, remove a bin of cleaning supplies, and put the rudder in the van. The mast is still tied down from the last time I raced, so I simply tighten the straps and drive away. My routine at a regatta is equally straightforward. The deck-stepped mast can be put up or taken down with help from just one other person. Before launching, I usually wash the bottom and put some polish on it, and we’re ready to go. One or two of us can do all the prep work in well under two hours—or even in one hour if we’re in a rush. What kind of inventory does North recommend and how long do sails last? The J22 has three sails—a main, a jib and a spinnaker—and there are no restrictions on sail purchases. Jibs get tired every year from beating against the mast. Spinnakers can last two seasons if not abused. Mains might last a little longer. Most people buy a set of racing sails for major regattas, and for other racing they use their second set. When a new set is purchased, the previous new set becomes the practice set, and the cycle continues. Our results prove that the North Sails J/22 inventory is outstanding. We’ve tested many new shapes, but have confidence that our standard designs are best across a range of conditions. Two pins hold the J22’s mast in place. J22 Tuning What are the keys to setting up the rig? First, make sure your mast is straight and centered in the boat athwartships, and then, as described in the North Sails J22 Tuning Guide, set your forestay measurement at 4’11.75”. There are two sets of numbers in the Tuning Guide, depending on the age of your boat and the type of mast step, but this position is a good starting point from which you may make further adjustments after you go sailing and get a feel for how much helm the boat generates in light and medium winds. The J22 keel position can vary by as much as 30mm fore and aft. If the keel is farther aft, you’ll likely lengthen your headstay by up to three-quarters of an inch. If the keel is farther forward, you may shorten the headstay up to three-eighths of an inch. Be aware that you needn’t start tuning from scratch at each regatta. Once I know my mast is straight, I can leave the uppers and lowers tensioned when I unstep the mast; I just pull out the forward of the two mast pins and have someone pull out the forestay pin while I hold the mast. Because of the aft-swept spreaders, the tension on the uppers eases almost immediately. When I put the rig back up, the upper shrouds are already tuned, provided that they didn’t move when I trailed the boat to the regatta. Upwind, whether sailing with three or four crew everyone shifts forward; even the helmsman moves ahead of the traveler. J22 Upwind Sailing Where does each person sit when sailing a J22 upwind? Crew positions center around the jib trimmer, who is usually the biggest person and tends to sit just aft of the cabin house. The driver sits as far forward as possible. On our boat, I’m far enough forward so that I can touch the winch on the cabin top. In very light air, our bow person sits right up next to the aft side of the shrouds. In big breeze, our jib trimmer moves aft half a body width, and the bow person slides back close to the jib trimmer. Having the weight together on the rail is key. The backstay controls on our boat have been moved forward so they are between my legs in light air. When it’s windy, I’ll move back half a body width so I can play the mainsheet effectively. Our jib trimmer hikes with legs in and butt just over the rail, while the bow person hikes with legs out over the rail. The bow person hikes off the vang, so when hiking, that person pulls the vang on, and when coming back in, they let the vang off. This is in line with how you want the vang played in breeze. In lighter air, say 7 knots, the jib trimmer will be the first to move to leeward. We don’t move the bow person if we can help it, in order to keep the rig quiet. The jib trimmer can move more smoothly and is therefore more active What do you focus on when trimming the main and jib? Two key things we watch on the J22 are the upper leech telltales on the main and minimizing heel. Our jib trimmer also keeps an eye on jib halyard tension, lead-car position, and the jib’s upper leech telltale. At our lightest setting, we set jib halyard tension so we have only slight “crow’s feet” wrinkles at the headstay snaps. We position the lead car so that the foot of the jib intersects the toe rail 18 inches back from the bow. We want the foot inside the toe rail but pressed up against it. In most conditions, the jib’s top leech telltale should be flying, with just a quarter of an inch of trim needed to stall it. As the wind strength increases, these reference points remain the same, so we use more halyard to maintain little to no “crow’s feet” and move the car back because the jib is more eased. In the biggest breeze, the jib halyard is as tight as possible. In light air, the top main telltale should always be flying. In medium air, we trim the sheet until the top telltale stalls 50 percent of the time. With increased wind, the telltale will stall less and less as we increase tension on the backstay and open up the top of the sail. This crew is working hard to keep the boat flat even while ensuring the spinnaker is not twisted for the next set. What are the key gear shifts to make when wind and sea state change? The backstay and vang are hugely important controls. With a big velocity change, we’ll adjust the jib halyard. As the wind picks up, I’ll start putting more backstay on, then more mainsheet, then more backstay again, always taking slack out of the vang until I get to maximum backstay. If the wind continues to build, I’ll start to play the traveler a little, but if the traveler car ends up at the leeward seat, that’s my cue to center the traveler and start playing the mainsheet with full vang on. The bow person is already holding the vang tail because that person is hiking off the vang. The bow person tightens the vang in the puffs, and then in a lull, leans in and eases it, adding depth to the bottom of sail. Who is in the dialogue loop and what's a typical conversation? Our bow person calls the major waves, flat spots, puffs, and lulls. That allows me to decide whether to bear off around a wave or ride high over it, sailing with telltales up. It also allows me to be ready on the controls if I know a puff or lull is coming. Our middle person talks about relative boat speed and our positioning with other boats. Besides that, I’ll ask for more vang or cunningham, or I’ll say things like “We need to ease the jib sheet a little bit,” or “Big hike here.” Any special considerations upwind? As a standard rule, “Flat is fast.” Also, in big breeze, there’s a point when you can have the jib too tight. You’ll know this because, when you ease the main, you’ll see the sail start to luff due to the jib’s backwind. That’s when we’ll sometimes ease the jib sheet as much as 6 inches. In most conditions, the J22 will be sailed at deep angles with some weather heel. J22 Downwind Sailing Where does each person sit when sailing downwind? As the driver, I sit to leeward when sailing downwind, up against or in front of the traveler bar. I have four parts of the mainsheet in my hand to pump the sail. My trimmer stands to windward, weight centered over the guy block, with the leeward sheet in his leeward hand. The bow person when sailing downwind manages heel with weight movement, sitting behind the mast and generally to leeward and watching out for the boom when I pump the main. In lighter air, the trimmer will walk in from the windward rail to add heel when needed, and the bow person will likely stay to leeward. In big breeze, our trimmer steps in and the bow person moves back a little but stays on the cabin top to hold the guy for the trimmer, often with feet in the companionway sitting on the cabin top’s leeward side. It’s important in any breeze to keep the weight as much as possible to the edges of the boat. This helps to stabilize the rocking. What is your main focus downwind on a J22? The main focus downwind is to make sure you’re going fast all the time. Match your speed with others before you match angle. On the J22, it’s all about momentum. As soon as your momentum starts to fade, turn up and get the boat going again. Then the middle person can move to windward and press the rail to help you bear off. What are the keys to downwind trim for the main and spinnaker? In light air, I trim the mainsheet and also focus on how the vang is controlling upper leech twist. In trimming the chute, we try to get the pole back as far as possible but keep the foot of the spinnaker two feet away from the forestay. Also, when the pole is fully squared, we don’t ease the clew past the forestay. In surfing conditions, the helmsman pumps the main as the trimmer leans to windward, trimming the sheet and helping to turn the boat down the wave. How do you shift gears on a J22 when wind and sea state change? The boats will plane near the top of the wind range, but most of the time our mode is to drive low and, if possible, pump to surf the waves. Whether that’s possible depends on the wave state. I think of it in much the same way as I think of sailing a Laser. The more you can surf the waves, the faster you’ll go. Who is in the dialogue loop downwind and what's a typical conversation? My trimmer always pushes me to go lower when feeling pressure in the sheet. I also listen to the sound the boat makes going through the water, using this sound to help gauge our speed. Sometimes my trimmer says the sheet is light and we need to come up, but listening to the bow wave, I know that the boat is still moving, so I’ll hold it down for a couple more seconds. J22 Boathandling What's a typical start like in this class? At the start, all the boats are set up on the line with sails luffing. It’s like going back to college sailing. Good maneuvering skills are key. Heel the boat to leeward; then flatten the boat to get going. Your goal is to open up the hole on your leeward side. Before the start, a J22 fleet lines up with jibs luffing, each team attempting to keep way on and leave a hole to leeward for acceleration just before the gun. Top 3 tips to starting a J22 well? Set up far enough back from the line to avoid being early. When sailing up to the line, over-trim the main to keep flow over the keel so you don’t slide sideways when you trim in to go. Don’t pull the trigger too soon and sail down on top of boats to leeward of you. After the gun, some boats accelerate ahead of others. What tips can you offer for down speed boat handling? The J22 is very much like a dinghy. The mainsail turns the boats up, and the jib pulls the bow back down. Also practice heeling the boat to turn it up (heeling to leeward) and down (heeling to windward). What mistake slows this boat down most in a tack? What slows you down most is the wrong rate of turn—too fast or too slow—plus not roll tacking every time. What does each crew member do in a J22 tack? As the driver, I stand up holding the mainsheet, hopefully with the traveler cleated on both sides. As on most smaller boats, I swap the tiller from one hand to the other behind my back, sit down on the rail, and adjust the traveler (also easing the main about an inch). Roll tack the J22 like a dinghy, although the forward crew waits until after the tack to cross (through the slot and around the mast). Our jib trimmer waits until the jib backwinds halfway and then releases it off one winch while holding the lazy sheet in the other hand. As the jib blows through, the excess sheet is collected either directly from the block or on the winch, depending on wind strength. No pressure should be felt on the sheet if this job is done fast enough. When the sheet is within 2 inches of final trim, the trimmer hikes out and drops the winch handle in place, ready to trim when we’re at speed. About 60 percent of the top boats use 2:1 sheeting, with blocks on the jib’s clew. The advantage of using 2:1 is being able to sail without winch handles. The disadvantage is having a lot more sheet to get caught on things. The bow person’s job on the tack is to avoid stepping on the jib sheets while helping to roll the boat using the handrails with butt in the air. Then, when needed, the bow person crosses the boat, sliding between the leech of the jib and the mast. When sailing with four, the second person back can either follow the bow person around the mast or slide across the cabin top. Any special tips for good light- or heavy-air tacks? In light air, roll tack as hard as you possibly can. In heavy air, you need to decide when to turn fully onto a close-hauled course and when to hesitate at the end of your turn to regulate the amount of power the boat has when coming out of the tack. If you turn the boat too quickly, it will fall over. If you turn too slowly, you’ll hit a wave and slow down. Practice before the race to decide what’s best for the day’s conditions. What mistake slows down a J22 most in a jibe? As the driver, you have to learn the exit angle for the jibe, or your spinnaker trimmer may have difficulty flying the kite. It never hurts to practice your jibes. What does each crew member do on a J22 jibe? In light and heavy air, everyone rolls the boat in a jibe. As the driver, I stand up in the cockpit and grab all parts of the mainsheet along with the twing that will need to come on. Then, closing my hand tightly, I pull the twing on as I throw the boom over. In light air, I’ll roll the boat more, moving from my position on the old leeward side across to the new leeward side. On a jibe, our trimmer is standing to windward, with a hand on the guy. Then the trimmer kneels down and uses that hand to pop the twing out of the cleat near the guy block while at the same time ducking below the boom that’s coming over. Next, the trimmer stands up or stays kneeling until ready to move to the windward rail and help flatten the boat. Our bow person during a jibe moves across the boat to help roll it before the main comes across. Then, as the main is coming over, the bow person jibes the spinnaker pole. In big breeze, jibing the pole can be done simply standing by the mast. What is the key to a fast spinnaker set? When the kite goes up, make sure the clews are separated. Get the tack of the spinnaker out past the shrouds and make sure the leeward sheet is cleated, so when the tack goes forward, the clew stays aft. The pole can be "dangled" before the mark rounding; the forward crew won’t move to snap it on the mast ring until standing up to set the chute. Who does what in a J22 crew on a bear-away set? The bow person keeps hiking and raises the pole from the rail. The pole is inside the shrouds and clipped to the guy up forward, so the bow person raises the pole, eases the vang, and then stands up and clips the pole on, pulling up the spinnaker halyard as fast as possible. The middle person, who has pre-cleated the spinnaker sheet to a mark, eases the jib sheet a foot while feeding the spinnaker out. When the spinnaker is halfway out, this person pulls it around with the guy as rapidly as possible until it fills. Meantime, the bow person un-cleats the jib halyard, reaches around to leeward of the mast, and gives the jib leech one good yank down. The trimmer then picks the spinnaker sheet up out of the cleat as the sail fills. What is the key to a good J22 spinnaker takedown? The most important tip I can offer is “Don’t wait too long.” Raise the jib and take off the pole (this spinnaker is easy to free fly). As the pole comes off the mast, the bow person remains standing, un-cleats the topping lift, and drops the pole to the deck inside the shrouds on the starboard side. Then the bow person takes the halyard in both hands waiting for the trimmer to gather half of the foot of the spinnaker on the takedown side, at which point the bow person lets go of the halyard. Quite a few lines lead to the same area at the base of the mast, so it’s important for the bow person to make sure that all these lines are cleaned up in advance. How easily does a J22 broach? Downwind, a broach can happen pretty easily. It typically occurs when you come out of a jibe too high or too low. So if you broach, just make sure that everyone is OK, let the spinnaker halyard down, and get the chute out of the water really fast. The boat will soon be on its feet and going again. Any suggestions for drills to improve boat handling? Find a buoy and do 50 circles around it in each direction. Then do 30 tacks upwind and 30 jibes downwind. What is the coolest thing about the J22? The class itself is the coolest thing. People who sail J22s are all extremely friendly and helpful. Everyone wants to see others succeed. READ MORE

Annapolis NOOD: Road to the J/22 Worlds Zeke Horowitz on overcoming the challenges of Chesapeake Bay J22 “Uncle Fluffy” skippered by Zeke Horowitz wins the J22 Class This year’s edition of the Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD brought almost 200 boats to the Chesapeake Bay for one of the biggest one design festival events of the year. Among the 14 one design classes, the J/22 class was the largest with 32 boats competing. There is lots of excitement amongst the J/22 class as we approach the 2018 World Championship in Annapolis this September. While, as usual, the J/22 fleet was focused on having fun and visiting with old friends, there was definitely a sense of urgency as every team wanted to give it their all and get some solid practice in at the Worlds venue. Day 1 brought a beautiful southerly to the mouth of the Severn River where our course was set and run by the Race Committee from the Severn Sailing Association. With a dismal forecast for days 2 and 3, the RC was determined to get as much racing in as possible. Every start went off with an I over Z penalty which led to lots of letters on the score-card after the 5 race day. While the breeze was certainly the best of the 3-day regatta, it was anything but steady on our course. The holes on the course were absolutely tragic and it wasn’t uncommon to see a competitor five boat lengths away from you going twice your speed. Combined with the typical Chesapeake Bay chop, this made for some pretty frustrating moments. Patience was key and the left side paid almost every time. It was imperative that the helmsman stay 100% focused on sail trim and tell tales so that the boat was always moving as fast as possible while the tactician kept their head out of the boat to find the pressure and avoid the holes. With upwind current most of the day, it made starting at the pin relatively easy because you could set up lower in the starting box and let the current help carry you up to the line. Since the left side of the course was so favored, it really came down to execution. If you could nail a pin end start and get left, you would usually be in the top group at the weather mark. Of course, as soon as we figured this was a 100% game plan, the final race saw another wind reset and the boats that came out of the right won the first beat! Welcome to Annapolis! Days 2 and 3 saw a very similar forecast with light winds out of the North and some rain showers throughout the day. Pre-race homework including watching the fleets in front of us was key to deciding on our game plan. It seemed like often times the fleet would start in a left shift, but the pressure would wind them right shortly after the start -ultimately leading to more pressure at the top left. We saw this repeatedly with the fleets in front of us so our general game plan was to start middle-boat so we could take advantage of the initial right pressure and get us to the left at the top. Of course our game plan didn’t always work out due to some bad starts and some pretty whacky conditions with several total glass-offs and fleet inversions. Nonetheless it was a great lesson in pre-race home work and how important it is to develop a solid game plan based on what you’ve learned. Our team managed to squeak out a victory over the immensely competitive group that raced at this regatta. But much like the rest of the group here, the primary focus was on coming away with some good lessons that can be applied to the rest of the season as we prepare for the Worlds. Here are a few takeaways from our team that we look forward to improving upon on the road to the Worlds: Don’t underestimate the impact a large fleet has on wind speed and direction. Especially in light air, the group of boats all gathered on the starting line drastically decreases the wind speed and makes your angle of attack to the starting line greater. Keep this in mind to avoid being late and in the second (or third) row at the start. Take the time to perfect your rig-tune before each race and always error on the softer side. The J/22 has a pretty sensitive “groove” as it pertains to rig tune so it’s crucial to do numerous checks before each race to make sure you have the right amount of “dangle” in your leeward shroud and side sag (or poke) in the middle of the mast. It’s better to be caught too loose than too tight! Define the roles on your team. Boat speed is king and that should be the helmsman’s primary focus. There are big gains to be made from minor tweaks in sail trim set up and accurate driving. Don’t let the driver look around too much! It’s the responsibility of the tactician and other crew(s) to make sure the boat is in the right places on the course. Be conservative and avoid big mistakes! Often times at the end of a regatta it’s the team that made the fewest big mistakes that comes away with the hardware. Keep this mind in the starting area and at marks especially. If you are fast, you can get away with conservative starting and tactics and that is always the recipe for success! Feel free to contact Zeke, our local Annapolis J/22 expert if you need assistance getting ready to the Worlds. Learn more about North’s fast J/22 sails. Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD J/22 Class – Powered By North Sails 1 Uncle Fluffy / Zeke Horowitz 2 Hot Toddy / Jeff Todd 3 Dusty / Pete Levesque 4 Scooby / JR Maxwell* 5 Rythmic Pumping / Aden King 6 Mo’ Money / Victor Snyder 7 The Jug 4 1 / Chris Doyle 10 Capstan Consulting / Brad Julian * Denotes Partial North Sails Inventory READ MORE

This guide for the J/22 has been developed through extensive testing, tuning, and practical racing experience by some of the top sailors in the country. New changes in the class and developments in sailcloth and sail design technology continue to bring about improvements in the J/22’s performance, and North Sails is an important part of these innovations. While we can’t guarantee you immediate victory on the race course by following this guide, we can assure you that you’ll be taking a big step in the right direction! BOAT PREPARATION The suggestions below are for our latest M-7 mainsail, which performs best with the angled step. If you have the SC-2 main or a flat step (the NB-1 main), please contact us and we’ll gladly help you with your tuning. In preparing your boat for sailing, first step the mast and connect the forestay. Then: 1. Pull your jib halyard down alongside the mast and tension it so the halyard shackle is just even with the top of the gooseneck band. Cleat the halyard at this point.Next, swing the jib halyard out to the forestay and pull it snug alongside the forestay. Place a mark (either with a piece of tape or a permanent marker) on the forestay at the very bottom of the halyard shackle. Measure from this point (which represents the top of your band) down to the junction of your template and bow plate. For the angled step, hull numbers prior to 1460, and the M-7 main, this measurement should be 4’ 11”. For the angled step, hull numbers 1460 or after, and the M-7 main, this measurement should be 5’ 1/8”.   2. To aid in centering the mast laterally in the boat, place a pencil mark 8’ back from the stem fitting at the shear (the hull-deck intersection) on each side. Then hoist a tape measure on the jib halyard and measure to these pencil marks. Adjust the upper shroud lengths correspondingly on each side of the boat until the mast is centered. Be sure to adjust the lower shrouds as well, maintaining a straight mast (sighted up the back of the mast). 3. Tension the uppers to 250 lbs for the M-7 and angled step. This setting (for 10- 12 knots of breeze) is your uppers tension “base” number. 4. Tension the lowers so the mast is straight laterally when sighting up the slot at the back of the mast. The lowers “base” number should be at or close to 5 on the newer black PT-1 Loos Pro Model gauge. 5. Re-measure the side to side position of the mast to ensure that it is still centered. If you have calibrated turnbuckles, record the respective numbers. 6. Check that you have developed the proper pre-bend in the mast (positive bend) by pulling the main halyard taught to the gooseneck. The distance between the back of the mast and the main halyard at the spreaders for the M-7/angled step should be close to 1”. 7. Check your forestay tension without any tension on the backstay and with the rig still tensioned to your base settings. The forestay tension should be close to 6-7 on the PT-1 gauge. 8. Check that your backstay is the proper length. Sometimes on older boats, and especially with the increased rake of the M-7/angled step, the backstay may be too long and “bottom out” too early, not allowing enough backstay tension to be applied in heavier winds. If this problem exists, the backstay may need to be shortened a few inches at the top. RIG ADJUSTMENT ON SHORE We suggest you start each day by setting your rig close to the base numbers (or do this at the end of the previous day’s sailing). UPPERS: 250 lbs LOWERS: 5 PT-1 For lighter winds, you need to loosen your rig tension to allow for more headstay sag, which will create a more powerful jib. The lightest wind settings should be 145 lbs on the uppers and very loose on the lowers (the PT-1 will not register). In these extremely light conditions, the forestay should be loose as well, just barely registering on the PT-1 gauge. In heavier winds (above 19 knots), much more tension is needed to maintain proper forestay sag and mast bend. In the 19-20 knot breeze range, the upper shrouds should be tensioned to 450 lbs and the lowers to 14 on the PT-1. The headstay should be nearly 16 on the PT-1. RIG ADJUSTMENT ON THE WATER ADJUSTING SHROUD TENSION: THE VISUAL METHOD This visual method is our suggested way to set your shroud tension for all crew weights and in all wave and breeze conditions. We feel that it is not only a relatively simple technique to use, but also the most accurate way to achieve proper and consistent rig setup in the J/22. Set your rig tension so that the leeward upper shroud just starts to appear slack – not sloppy, but just not taught. Start out close to the upper shroud tension suggested in the chart below for your best guess of the present wind velocity. When sailing upwind under proper sail trim, watch the leeward upper shroud, and if it has a great deal of “wiggle” (more than a ½” back and forth), tighten both sides equally until the leeward upper is again just starting to go slack. If the breeze lightens, or you start out too tight (no wiggle at all), back off both uppers equally until a slight wiggle just appears. The lower shroud tension is checked by sighting up the slot in the back of the mast (lay your head on the windward side of the mainsail facing forward and looking up the mast groove). There should be a slight sag (approximately ½” to 1 ½”) to leeward at the spreaders in all conditions except very breezy ones (20 knots and above) when heavy boom vang tension is used. Only in these very breezy conditions will the mast become almost straight. Never, in any condition, should the mast bow to windward at the spreaders! You’ll have the most sag in very light air and the least sag (almost straight) in 20 knots and up.   Sight the sag in the mast by sighting up the back of the mast when sailing upwind.   1”-3/4” of sag to leeward indicated proper lower shroud tension   ADJUSTING FORESTAY LENGTH Although the forestay length set on shore for your boat’s hull number is generally correct, you can also check to make sure on the water that it’s as accurate as possible. Doing this is easiest in 6-8 knots of breeze with a crew of maximum J/22 class weight. In this wind strength, the crew should be all just hiking and the boat should be “awkwardly flat,” with about 3-4 degrees of heel. Make sure your shroud tension is right and your sails are set up and trimmed correctly for the wind speed. The backstay and other sail-depowering controls should not be needed in these conditions. Once the boat is sailing comfortably, begin the forestay length check by gently letting go of the helm and allowing the boat to go where it likes. If the forestay length is correct, the boat should drive straight for 3-5 seconds and then turn down. Repeat this test several times to confirm the results. If, after performing this check several times, you find that the boat consistently turns up instead of down, you should shorten your forestay two full turns and then perform the check again. If the boat now goes straight but doesn’t ever turn down, you’re very close to the right length, so shorten the forestay another full turn and perform the check again. If the boat starts turning down sooner than 3-5 seconds after you let go of the tiller, lengthen the forestay by one or two turns and perform the test again. Through trial and error, you’ll be able to get the correct forestay length. So using this method, you can either verify that your forestay length set on land is correct or make adjustments to it based on how the boat drives when you let go of the helm. Once the boat drives as described above, pin the forestay and tape it. You will not need to change it again for any conditions that you sail in. UPWIND SAIL TRIM Once you have the rig set up properly, you can now concentrate on trimming your North J/22 sails for maximum boat speed. At this point, it’s critical to mark your shrouds, sheets, tracks, halyards, outhaul, and backstay. Keep accurate records of these settings (fast or slow), the conditions you’re sailing in, and what the other boats are doing differently. It’s essential to be able to duplicate settings from race to race and to know how your boat was set up when you were going fast. THE MAINSAIL MAINSHEETTrim the mainsheet hard enough to make the top batten parallel to the boom. You can check this by sighting from underneath the boom on a lateral plane. Once you’ve accelerated and you want to point higher, trim harder to cock the top batten slightly to windward. We generally recommend sailing with the top leech telltale stalling 75% of the time. In flat water, you can trim harder, but in light air and choppy water, you’ll need to ease the mainsheet ( there should be no vang) to twist off the top of the main so that the top batten is eased open about 10 degrees from parallel. Trim your mainsheet so that the upper batten is parallel to the boom for 75% of your sailing TRAVELERIn light to moderate air, keep the traveler car to windward so the boom is close to centerline. When you have the traveler to weather, be sure to ease the mainsheet until the top batten is twisted off considerably (15 degrees past parallel). This can be most effectively achieved by pulling the traveler to windward until the car is within 2” of the windward cockpit seat. As the breeze increases, gradually drop the traveler to reduce helm while at the same time trimming the mainsheet. In heavy winds (above 15 knots), leave the traveler on centerline and play the mainsheet constantly to maintain helm balance. Also, tension the vang quite hard to control leech tension. Position the traveler just below the weather seat in light winds to help keep the boom close to centerline OUTHAULYou can use the outhaul for power in the bottom of the mainsail because outhaul tension primarily adjusts the shape in the main’s lower third. A looser outhaul increases lower leech “hook” and adds fullness. This can aid pointing ability as well as increasing power. A tighter outhaul flattens the lower sections of the main, which helps to minimize windward helm and reduce drag. Remember that in flat water and light winds a flatter sail is fast, whereas in chop a slightly fuller sail is needed to give the necessary punch. A good guide for tensioning the outhaul is the distance between the side of the boom and the middle of the shelf foot seam (a seam that runs from the tack to the clew of the main). In heavy winds, the outhaul should be tensioned tightly so that the shelf is completely closed and this seam is right alongside the boom. In medium winds, the outhaul should be tight enough so that this seam is about 1” off the side of the boom. In choppy conditions or when power is needed, ease the outhaul so that this seam is 1 3/4” off the boom’s side. Never have the outhaul any looser, except while sailing downwind, when it can be eased so that the shelf is nearly all the way open. The shelf foot seam will then be about 3” off the side of the boom. Determine outhaul tension based on the distance BACKSTAYThe backstay affects several different areas of sail trim and should never be overlooked as a power control. Pulling on the backstay does two things to the sail plan. First, it bends the mast by pulling on the tip, which opens the main leech and flattens the upper two-thirds of the sail. Second, it makes the headstay tighter, which flattens the upper entry of the jib and eases its leech, thus increasing pointing ability and reducing heel. Because pulling on the backstay has a large effect on main leech tension, whenever you adjust the backstay you should check your mainsheet trim and vang tension. Assume minimum tension when the backstay blocks are at rest and maximum tension when the blocks are about 1’ above the deck. BACKSTAY TENSION 0-6 knots Min 7-10 knots 1/4 11-14 knots 1/2 15-18 knots 3/4 19+ knots Max   The backstay turnbuckles should be adjusted according to conditions. Ease the turnbuckles in light air so the backstay has no tension and the backstay blocks ride just below the connector plate. A small piece of shock cord can be used to help hold the blocks up closer to the connector. This cord is attached from the deck through a block on the connector plate and then back to backstay bridle blocks. As the breeze increases, tighten the backstay turnbuckles in relation to the uppers and lowers to allow for maximum adjustment. Remember that, just like shroud tension, the backstay turnbuckles cannot be changed after the preparatory signal.  Maintain an eased luff tension in light winds. CUNNINGHAMThe main cunningham is used to position the draft of the sail. Aim to keep the maximum draft point close to 50% back in the sail (sighting from luff to leech). In up to 10 knots of breeze, you need very little cunningham. In 11-12 knots, use just enough cunningham to remove many of the wrinkles in the main. And as winds rise above 12 knots, progressively tighten the cunningham to remove all the sail’s wrinkles (a smooth luff) and maintain proper draft position in the top of the sail. The boom vang should be slack until about 12 knots of breeze when you have to start depowering. From there, it should be pulled on snug until you want to start easing the mainsheet because the boat is overpowered. In that case, pull the vang hard (you should see the boom bending). More on boom vang tension is given in the Heavy Air Techniques section below. THE JIB Proper jib trim upwind has one of the greatest effects on speed and pointing. Usually, the biggest mistake most J/22 sailors make is over trimming the jib sheet. This sheet is normally trimmed so that the middle batten is straight aft parallel to the boat’s centerline. In light wind and/or sloppy conditions, ease the jib sheet so that the middle batten is angled outboard 10-15 degrees. Also, in breezy conditions, ease the sheet for more twist in the leech. Generally speaking, the jib leech telltale should be flying but just about to start stalling. In the bigger breeze, however, this telltale will be less likely to stall because the jib is eased. Note that trimming the jib harder for short periods of time (where the middle batten is slightly hooked to windward of parallel to the centerline) is only effective in “ideal” boat-speed conditions (medium winds and flat water) because it narrows your steering “groove.” Like the main, be conscious of not over tensioning the jib halyard. However, never allow the jib halyard to be eased enough that there are scallops between the snaps. There should be slight wrinkles off each snap but they should not be extreme. To maximize pointing ability, we suggest cross-sheeting to the weather winch and using the larger Harken 009 ratchet blocks if possible. These blocks will allow maximum inboard positioning for the jib sheet lead. The J/22 is very sensitive to jib halyard tension. For light and medium breeze conditions, the jib halyard should be set so that slight “crow’s feet” wrinkles emanate from the snaps, with no scallops between the snaps. As the breeze increases, these wrinkles will become less and less visible as the halyard tension is increased, and they should disappear at about the same time you are halfway into the backstay. As the wind continues to increase, use more and more jib halyard tension. To get maximum tension for survival conditions, turn the boat downwind and let the backstay off. The middle crew should then pull the jib halyard as hard as possible. The starting jib lead position (called the “standard position”) for the M-7 main/ angled step and rake of 4’ 11” should be where the block on the car (not the pin, but the actual block sheave attachment point) is directly in line with the mast and the shroud chainplates. In heavier breezes (above 15 knots), move the lead aft to help depower the boat and widen the steering groove. The farthest aft the lead should ever be moved is three holes aft of the standard position. A good way to check your jib lead position is to trim the jib in so that the mid-leech batten is sheeted correctly and the halyard is properly set for the breeze condition. In that case, the foot of the jib near where the “Big Foot” sticker is (about 18” back from the tack) should be just inside the toe rail. You should either be able to see the shadow of the toe rail through the jib foot or the jib foot should actually be pressed against the rail. If the shadow of the toe rail isn’t visible through the jib foot, the car is too far back and should be moved forward a hole. If the jib is on top of or outside the toe rail, the car is too far forward and should be moved back a hole. We suggest drilling extra holes in your lead tracks so that finer tuning on the leads is possible.   Like the main, be conscious of not over tensioning the jib halyard. However, never allow the jib halyard to be eased enough that there are scallops between the snaps. There should be slight wrinkles off each snap but they should not be extreme. DOWNWIND SAIL TRIM THE SPINNAKER  Maintain an eased luff tension in light winds The general rule of spinnaker sheet trim is to allow 8-10” of curl in the luff of the spinnaker. The outboard end of the pole should be even vertically with the free-floating clew, and the guy (windward clew) should be continuously adjusted so that the pole remains perpendicular to the apparent wind. Pole height has a big effect on spinnaker performance. An effective and easily visible guide is to position your pole so that the center seam of the spinnaker (the vertical seam running from the head to the middle of the foot) is parallel to the mast. This generally occurs when the clews of the spinnaker are at the same height. Also be careful not to pull the pole too far aft, which over-flattens the spinnaker. The most important trimming technique in light air is to concentrate on good communication between the helmsman and the spinnaker trimmer. The goal is to sail as low as possible while still maintaining good pressure on the kite. An easy way to monitor this is to assess the tension on the sheet. It’s important not to sail too high, which translates into longer distances, but also don’t sail too low or you’ll sacrifice boat speed. The windward twing should always be all the way down. When sailing downwind in light air, the leeward twing is completely released. In very heavy air, pull the leeward twing on about 2’ away from the deck (so the sheet is just clearing the boom) to help keep the spinnaker under control. It is critical to make sure that the leeward twing is off during the set. If it isn’t, the spinnaker will fill prematurely and can cause the boat to create weather helm and round up. THE MAINSAIL Ease the mainsheet until a luff appears, and then trim slightly to create more apparent wind. Dead downwind the boom will be out to the shrouds. Set the vang in light to moderate air so the top batten is just open (pointed outboard) from parallel to the boom. The cunningham, backstay, and outhaul should all be eased for maximum power downwind. THE JIB The jib should be down on a downwind leg except in survival conditions when the concern is that you won’t be able to get enough tension back on the halyard at the leeward mark. If this is the case, leaving the jib up and very eased, almost luffing, is not going to slow the boat. CREW PLACEMENT UPWIND In light air going upwind, the crew should be as far forward as possible, with the farthest-forward person just behind the shrouds. An aft weight shift by the crew of almost a foot will help the boat steer through waves and big puffs. The skipper should sit forward of the traveler bar and as close to the jib trimmer as possible. In big breeze, the crew will be shoulder to shoulder with the farthest-forward person about a foot back from the shroud base. DOWNWIND Downwind in light air, the crew should again be as far forward as possible, with the farthest-forward person just behind the shroud base. In large waves and in big breeze, everyone should be behind the companionway in order to keep the bow out of the water. It’s also important downwind in heavy air to position the crew to the edges of the boat so as to keep it from rocking side to side. SAIL CARE Your North Sails are constructed out of the best materials on the market today. Before we made your sails we tested many different fabrics from the best suppliers in the world. MAINSAIL It is not necessary to remove the battens from the main when storing it. Be sure to roll the sail up parallel to the battens to avoid putting a permanent twist in the battens. Be sure to wash the sail off with fresh water when it gets salty and dry thoroughly before storing. JIB When rolling the jib keep the battens perpendicular to the leech. Pay special attention to the battens and batten pockets for wear and tear. Since this sail is manufactured from firm finished Dacron, problems can arise due to mishandling. Like the main, wash the sail off with fresh water when it gets wet with sail water. SPINNAKER The best thing you can do to prolong the life of your spinnaker is to always store it clean and dry. When the sail gets wet in salt water, wash the sail off and dry it thoroughly. Fold your spinnaker to store it if possible. Rev. R02a READ MORE