ATLANTIC NATIONALS TAKEAWAYS
ATLANTIC NATIONALS TAKEAWAYS
Experts Tim Healy and Rodrigo Meireles Share Key Tips
The 2019 Atlantic Nationals took place at Cedar Point Yacht Club in Connecticut with twenty-seven teams attending the three day regatta. 6-12 knots from east to southeast with moderate to heavy chop made for intense competition in these classic boats, followed by great hospitality ashore.
After the first day of racing, North Sails expert Tim Healy led a debrief with Dave Peck, Bill Healy, Steve Benjamin and Morgan Trubovich on the panel (representing skippers, trimmers and tacticians). The crowd had a lot of good questions and sailors found the panel very helpful.
David Peck from Niantic, CT won the regatta convincingly, posting only seven points after six races and a drop. Steven Benjamin finished second with 14 points and Rodrigo Meireles finished third with 19 points. We are happy to report that the top twenty teams used North Sails.
The top five boats all used the FRC mainsail, AP Jib and V-2 spinnaker.
Tim and Rodrigo’s Takeaways
JIB SETUP
Set the height of the jib so that the foot overlaps on the deck by 1″ max. In light air, move it down as low as ⅛”. This will prove a good deck seal to trap the wind from going under the sail, which will maximize its power.
Never let the upper jib leech tell tale stall. Find max trim by trimming so it just stalls, then easing just enough so it is flowing 100% of the time.
CHECK PREBEND
At the base setting for your rig, it should be about 1.75-2″ for speed in a range of conditions. (The fastest boats at CPYC use 2.5-2.75”, as they sail mostly in 5-8 knots.)
DOWNWIND TIP
Work hard to separate the spinnaker from the mainsail. The main is so big that it easily shadows the spinnaker. Be careful not to pull the guy back too far or set pole too low. You can even try easing the halyard up to 6″.
HEEL ANGLE
Try to keep the upwind heel angle as constant as possible. Crew weight adjustment is key.
