Spinnaker In Theory And Practice – One Day Training Program

Any sailor who wants to experience the true speed of a sailboat will want to sail with a spinnaker. After experiencing sailing with a spinnaker, you will never sail without it again. If you’ve already mastered basic sailing skills and love speed, this program is right for you!

Spinnaker

Modern, bermuda rigged boats are designed primarily for sailing upwind. This type of rig is not so efficient when sailing downwind, especially in light winds. That is because in broad reaching and run points of sailing sails are eased out and do not work like wings of an aeroplane. There is no airflow streaming along them and hence the aerodynamic force is smaller. In conditions like these, you can speed up your boat by hoisting a spinnaker instead of a jib. A spinnaker is always used instead of a jib while the mainsail is on at all times.

Usage

A spinnaker is a sail that is used to increase a boat’s performance when sailing downwind. It differs from ordinary sails (mainsail and jib) by shape, size and the material that is made from. Unlike ordinary sails, a spinnaker is symmetrical and it develops a bigger bellly which is more efficient when the wind is filling the sails and “pushing” the boat. This happens in broad reaching and run points of sailing and in these situations a spinnaker works like a parachute.

There are different types of spinnakers, for various wind strengths and for different points of sailing (reaching or downwind). However, unless you are sailing on a professional racing boat, you will probably have only one universal spinnaker onboard. Because of its symmetrical shape and the way it is handled, only its foot and head can be given names. The other two edges and corners of a spinnaker are named in accordance with the tack that the boat is currently sailing on.

It is usually made of lighter materials than ordinary sails. It is bigger than ordinary sails and is made in various colors. Different drawings or sponsor logos can be found on modern spinnakers. boats sailing with colorful spinnakers look very attractive and it can be said that a this sail is the trademark of modern sailing.