Some Tips from the Top
Balancing the Lightning
By Brian Hayes
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Connecticut-Rhode Island District
1993 North American Champion
(From Racing the Lightning)
I have always believed that everyone should have many
different interests and hobbies in life. Too much of one thing generally
leads to stagnation and boredom. I think that you have to have the
proper balance in your life to be happy and successful.
“Alright,” you may ask, “but what does that
have to do with Lightning sailing?” To be honest, EVERYTHING!!! Just
as you need to constantly change and try new things to avoid becoming
stagnant, the Lightning needs constant movement and adjustment so that
it can be sailed at its fastest all the time. The following are some
ways we use to make sure that we have the right BALANCE when we race the
Lightning.
Checking your upwind heel
The first thing that you should realize is that the
Lightning is a hard-chined, very square, flat boat!! if you could look,
from under water, at a Lightning sailing at various heel angles I think
many people would be surprised at how drastically the profile of the
boat changes with just a few degrees of heel.
When sailing upwind the middle crew is responsible
for making certain that the boat has the proper heel and that the crew
weight is positioned correctly fore and aft. You should make certain
that the transom is never dragging in the water. if it is, move your
weight forward. You also need to maintain proper heel angle. in very
light air we try to have the boat heel so that the weather chine is
about 4” to 6” out of the water. This will allow gravity to fill
your sails without sliding to leeward when a puff hits. If there is a
lot of chop you will need to heel more to get the forward section very
narrow and pointed so the boat does not pound in the waves. In flat
spots you can sail the boat a little bit (2” to 3”) flatter.
In moderate wind conditions we usually have the
middle crew turn around so that their chest leans on the rail. This
allows them to (a) see the race course a little easier so that they can
give good tactical information to the skipper, (b) keep their upper body
and head out of the skippers line of sight and (c) gives them ability to
quickly check over the weather side to monitor the heel of the boat by
checking to see how far out of the water it is. In moderate air we try
to keep the chine out of the water about 2,” this is about 8 to 10
degrees of heel. These are the conditions when subtle changes in weight
can make huge differences in pointing and speed. There should be
constant adjustment to keep this angle of heel.
In heavy air the middle crew will basically disappear
over the side until the weather mark (when they will need you to fly the
spinnaker). In these conditions the balancing of the boat and keeping
the proper heel becomes the responsibility of the skipper. It is very
important to keep the boat as flat as possible. As the boat heels more
the centerboard loses its hydrodynamic efficiency and you will slide to
leeward. The skipper must steer and play the backstay, bridle and
mainsheet to keep the boat tracking and flat.
The secret of keeping the Lightning going fast at all
times is having your crew working in unison so that you maintain the
proper heel angle. If you practice sailing your boat focusing on keeping
the proper balance it will give you and your crew a “sixth sense”
and feel for the boat so that maintaining boatspeed will become second
nature.
