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Randy’s Thistle
Resources
© 2001 Doug
Stumberger
Gratefully
mirrored from the Seattle Fleet Homepage.
Most Thistles are raced
with three people: driver, middle crew and forward crew. There are many ways to
organize a Thistle crew to get your boat around the racecourse and win races.
Who does what, and when, will vary based on how your boat is rigged, and the
preferences, strengths and weaknesses of the individual crewmembers. Your best
bet is to talk to different crews in your fleet or from other areas of the
country about how they organize themselves on the boat. Also, look at how other
boats are rigged, as rigging layout often determines crew roles. This article
does not discuss how to go fast or rig your boat – your sail maker’s tuning
guide and the winning boats in your fleet are
the best resources for
speed questions.
In a perfect world, the
driver might simply drive the boat, focusing completely on keeping the boat moving
as fast as possible through waves, velocity changes, and wind shifts. The
middle crew would
trim the jib and
spinnaker and call boat-on-boat tactics and boat positioning to take advantage
of shifts and current.
Forward crew would keep
the boat perfectly balanced using their weight, watch for crossing situations,
play the compass, call puffs and fix anything that needs fixing on the boat, as
well as manage the spinnaker and jib work at mark roundings and gybes. I know
one boat in our fleet that is organized along these lines, and they win a lot
of races, but in my experience this rarely happens in real life. What is more
important is that you identify what needs to get done on your boat during a race
and then make sure your crew understands who is responsible for what.
• Who keeps track of the course to be sailed
• Who times the start sequence
• Who figures out which side of the starting line
and course to head for
• What the roles are sailing upwind and downwind,
and at mark roundings
• Who calls boat-on-boat tactics
• Who calls laylines
• Who is responsible for deciding crossing situations
• Who owns bailing the boat after aggressive roll tacks
• Who picks the favored end of the finishing line
• Who manages the traveler, cunningham, topping lift, and vang
The list goes on, what’s
important is that you figure out the responsibilities for each crewmember and stick
to them in race after race. Reducing in-boat confusion, particularly at mark
roundings, will
increase your boat
handling confidence and enhance your performance on the racecourse. Spread out
the responsibilities, communicate them clearly, practice them, and adjust them until
the boat
functions
as a unit. In other words, keep your eye on the big picture.
Before the
start, our boat works together on figuring out the strategy for the start and
the first upwind leg (which side of the course appears favored by higher
velocity, more favorable current, or expected
shift). We
take a few wind shots sailing upwind on port and starboard tack. We talk about
what worked or didn’t work in the previous race. We look up the course for more
wind on the left or right sides. We sail head-to-wind and gauge whether the
boat or pin end of the line is the favored (more upwind) end. We sight the
windward mark to see which tack will be the longer leg upwind, since sailing
the longer leg upwind provides more opportunities to play shifts. Then we set a
target, for
example, we
might decide to start towards the pin end of the line and then head left to
reach what we believe will be the first shift and some additional velocity
towards the west shore.
Start
The driver
is responsible for the start tactics – getting the boat to the decided-upon end
of the line, finding a hole, protecting it, and powering up for speed. The
situation on the start line changes so
quickly that
we find it difficult to have anyone but the driver calling boat maneuvers on
the final approach to the start. Middle crew trims the jib based on the
driver’s commands, and calls traffic -both
starboard/port
situations and boats threatening to create an overlap from behind and to
leeward. Forward crew is counting down the time to the start (every 10 seconds
within 2 minutes, every second within 10 seconds) though the middle crew has
started their watch as a backup). In the final 30 seconds the forward crew is
calling distance to the line. If we are early in our approach to the line and
need to stop the boat quickly, we’ll carve an S-curve or the forward crew will
push the boom out hard, which stops the boat. In light air (less than 8 knots),
forward and or middle will often shift their weight to leeward in the final
seconds before start to create leeward heel to help the boat accelerate.
Some
advanced boats will make sail adjustments just before the start to get the boat
into “first gear” to maximize the forward drive of the sail plan to help squirt
the boat out in front of boats to leeward
and
windward.
Post-Start
The period
of time just after the start can make or break your race. The driver needs to
be completely focused on keeping the boat moving. Forward and middle crew
should be assessing the boats
directly to
leeward and windward to help the driver know whether to foot off for speed (if
there’s a big enough gap to leeward) or pinch up to stay clear of a leeward
boat or pinch off a windward boat on
your hip.
Crew should be evaluating the boats around you to find the driver a clear lane
to tack into if you need to bail onto port tack.
Upwind
Upwind, the
driver manages speed and point, calls for jib trim adjustments, and makes or
contributes to tactical decisions. We think the owner should make the final
decision on all crossing situations,
since the
owner will end up being responsible for damage to her or other boats. Middle
crew watches for crossing situations, plays the jib sheets, hikes, and works
with the forward crew to figure out which
way to go
and when to get the next shift or more velocity. Forward crew calls out compass
heading changes as lifts and headers (“up 5 from average,” “up 10 from last
starboard tack,” “down 10 from
last race’s
average” etc.), looks for velocity on the course, talks through strategy
options, and adjusts the cunningham, outhaul, jib halyard fine tune, and
traveler. Forward crew also does the lion’s share
of weight
adjustment, moving on and off the rail, in and out of straight-leg or droop
hiking to keep the boat flat. On our boat, the driver usually stays planted on
the rail for better sight around the jib (and rarely hikes hard enough,
according to my forward crew). In light wind, forward crew will play the traveler
above centerline to keep the boom centerline with the mainsheet eased for
twist.
Finally, keep
in mind that the Thistle has a lot of main, which inhibits the boat from
turning downwind when it is sheeted in tight. If you have to duck a boat, especially is any
breeze, make sure you ease the main or the rudder will not respond. Not easing
the main in heavy air crossing situations will result in increasing your boat
repair skills and is an effective way of reducing your bank account.
Tacking
If you’ve never
roll-tacked a dinghy, watch how the more experienced crews in your fleet do
this, and start practicing. Successful roll-tacking can dramatically increase
your upwind success, since with a good roll-tack you will lose no speed through
your tacks since the speed the boat generates while rolling counteracts the
loss of speed as the boat turns through the wind. (However, roll-tacking is illegal
if the speed of your boat after the tack is greater than before the tack.) In
our boat, middle and forward crewmembers act as a big lever, using their weight
to roll the boat to windward then moving to the high side through the tack. The
driver acts as a fine-tune lever, matching movements to the
middle crew. During the
tack, driver can pull in the main heading into the tack, and then should release
six to eight inches of mainsheet as the boat is rolling through the wind (or
drop the traveler, or both, depending on your preference and philosophy). On
the new tack, the driver re-sheets in the main as the boat rolls flat, gain
speed on the new tack, and heads up to point mode if appropriate. The rule of
thumb is that if the crew is not getting their butts wet on the roll to
windward, the boat is not being rolling as aggressively as it could be.
However, the higher the wind, the less roll you’ll need through the tack and
the more important it is to ease the main as you tack through the wind.
Windward Mark Rounding (Bear away set)
Middle calls layline to
the mark. Approaching the windward mark for a bear away rounding, the forward
crew moves into the boat to put up the pole and free the spinnaker halyard from
the guy hook on the port side. It is key that middle and driver hike hard to
keep the boat flat at this point. At the mark rounding, the crew leans back to
help turn the boat, and the driver then releases the main sheet and hoists the
spinnaker. Unless we’re rounding onto a reaching leg, I just let the sheet go
and forget about it. Forward crew releases the jib halyard, lowers it into the
well, and then pulls the centerboard three-quarters of the way up. Once she’s
done with that, she moves to leeward, pushes the boom all the way out (unless
we’ve rounded onto a reach) and turns to face aft to call wind lines and
tactical situations. During the rounding, middle crew eases the jib out, but
too quickly – easing the main before the jib will help the boat turn downwind,
as the jib will help spin the bow around. Then, the middle crew grabs the
spinnaker sheet and guy (a continuous line on our boat) and works the pole
back to get the kite to
fill. Forward crew must remember to hook the guy into the guy-hook (or, under the
new rules, tighten the windward twing). Forward or middle crew might also ease
the cunningham
and outhaul for the run.
Windward Mark Rounding (Gybe set)
Approaching the mark for
a gybe set, forward remains on the rail and detaches the pole from its upwind
resting spot, attached to the starboard
shroud and the spinnaker guy. The pole is then stowed
below. At the mark
rounding, all three crew hike hard to roll the boat around the mark and through
the gybe. As the boat turns and gybes, the driver must release the mainsheet,
and the driver or forward
crew can help by pulling
the main across the boat. Once the gybe is complete, and a check for oncoming
starboard or port-leeward boats is done, the forward crew grabs the entire
spinnaker, counts “1-2-3” in a loud voice, and then throws the sail in a ball
up and forward of the boat. On “3”, the driver hoists the sail and middle
cranks the windward clew around the forestay. Once the forward crew has thrown
the sail forward, she immediately grabs the pole and attaches it to the mast
and sail. If the driver heads deep, the sail will fill without too much trouble
even without the pole. If the fleet is gybing due to a right-hand wind shift,
there is often good reason to hold off on the hoist and sail high with the jib
still up - this will allow you to drive up and over boats that are struggling
to get their kites up. It is especially important that someone on the boat be
on the lookout for approaching starboard
and port-leeward boats,
as you effectively have no right of way over boats coming at you once you have
gybed onto port and are up upwind of boats approaching the windward mark.
Although we don’t often
race with reaching legs on Lake Washington, they show up in district and national
regattas, and add a number of tactical complexities to the race. Far from being
a parade, I’ve always found the gybe mark to be place where you can gain or
lose numerous boats. Crew roles are straightforward on the reaches. On our
boat, driver plays the vang (though this will depend on the rigging of your
boat), middle plays the kite, and forward stands with her back to the boom,
watching for boats attempting to head up over us. It is important that the crew be ready to work
together to head up suddenly if you need to protect your space. The driver
calls “going up,” then the pole has to come forward and the sheets trimmed in
to compensate. If the wind is kicking up (15+), we will all move back in the
boat, and in planning weather the forward crew will play the centerboard to encourage
planing. At the reach mark, make sure the middle crew squares back the pole as
you head down into the gybe. Your position with respect to other boats is very
important right before and after the gybe mark, so protect your inside position
at the mark and work hard to keep other boats from running over you even if the
kite is not yet pulling.
Downwind
Downwind, forward crew
stands with her back to the boom, holding it out while she calls gusts, looks back
upwind for more velocity streaking down either side, and warns of any boats
heading into a
passing lane to windward
of us. Middle is playing the kite (including the pole topping lift), and the driver
is playing the mainsheet and vang. With forward to leeward and in front of the
boom, I prefer to
have middle sit on the
cross thwart, and I’ll hike out to windward to get windward heel dead downwind or
move into the boat to get some leeward heel in light air and when reaching up
for speed.
Crew roles during the
gybe are straightforward. On our boat, as the driver turns downwind, the middle
crew squares the pole. When the driver is dead downwind he calls “angle” which
is the trigger for the forward crew to release the pole from both spinnaker and
mast. The forward crew pulls the boom to the new side as she’s ducking under
it, and then reattaches the pole to the mast and kite. There are two methods of
managing the pole during a gybe. The one I’ve just described leaves the pole
hanging from the topping lift during the gybe, and has the benefit of ensuring
that the forward crew is not pinned to leeward by the boom. In heavier air,
keeping weight centerline or to weather can help avoid an unplanned swimming
lesson. The other approach to gybing is for the forward crew to
wiggle to leeward under
the boom before the gybe, then release the pole from the old side and attach on
the new side as the driver is gybing the boom. I like having the forward crew
pull the boom across
during the gybe, as it
lets me concentrate on driving, especially in heavier air. Some crews roll-gybe
the boat, we try and keep the boat on her bottom during the gybe, though when
gybing at the windward or leeward mark we’ll often roll her around the mark. On
a boat with twing-lines rigged, the forward crew will manage the twings.
Coming into the leeward
mark rounding, the driver calls the sequence of events for the forward crew. On our boat, the forward can lower the
board, raise the jib, and release the spin halyard standing at
the mast facing forward,
making it easy to work through the sequence as the driver is calling it. At the
douse, forward crew first gathers the foot of the sail, pulling it around the
headstay while the middle
releases the starboard
spinnaker sheet. Once the forward crew has the foot of the sail gathered, then (and
only then) does she pull the sail down and stuff it into the bag. It really
helps control the sail if the
forward crew first
gathers the foot then pulls it down. We have our spinnaker halyard run into a clothesline
reel (Chubby and Tubby), so some effort is required to get the sail down. This
prevents the halyard from releasing too quickly during the takedown causing the
sail to drop into the water. We are often gybing at the mark using the driver and
middle roll the boat. Middle crew times the sheeting of the jib to be no faster
than the main is sheeted in, which will help the mainsail turn the boat upwind.
There is often a lot of
confusion at the leeward mark rounding, and there are significant gains and losses
to be made here. The driver needs to be focused on tactical concerns
(determining overlap,
steering for a tactical
mark rounding), so it pays to have a preset sequence of actions that the
forward and middle can do without the driver having to manage the maneuver step
by step. In fact, we’ve
rigged 3924 so that the
driver has no sail handling responsibilities at the leeward mark except for sheeting
the main at the rounding. We define the sequence this way, with notation
as to who does what based on the rigging of 3924:
1. Tighten the cunningham and outhaul if they were eased
2. Lower the centerboard
3. Raise the jib
4. Detach the pole from sail, then mast, and store it below
5. Release the spin sheet and gather the foot of the spinnaker
6. Release the spinnaker halyard and stuff it into the turtle bag
After a while, the
driver can just say “Do the sequence now” (which often comes out more like
“quick, get it down!”) as the boat approaches
the leeward mark rounding, and 30 seconds later the pole and kite are stowed,
the jib is up, and the boat is ready to turn upwind without the driver having
to watch or think about what’s happening on the boat.
Whether the finish is
upwind or downwind, forward is looking in front of the boat to figure out which
end of the finish line is favored. For close upwind finishes, middle should
call when to shoot up into
the wind. But hopefully,
with great crew work, you’ll have no one in front of you as you cross the line.
Although three people on
the Thistle is the norm, the boat can be raced with only two, and double-handed
boats have even won Nationals. Two person crews are often lighter than three
person crews,
and therefore they are
faster through the water, especially downwind and upwind in light air. The difficulty
in racing with two occurs at mark roundings and gybes. We have found that the
key skill to master for double-handed racing is driving with your knees. At the
windward mark rounding, I grab the spinnaker sheets while the middle crew
hoists the spinnaker, douses the jib, and raises the board.
During this time I am
crouching just forward of the aft grating and driving with my knees. Once the middle
is finished up forward, I hand the sheets to him and can resume normal driving.
It’s the same
gig during the gybe.
Have the middle hand the spinnaker sheets to the driver, then go forward and gybe
the pole. At the leeward mark, it helps if the middle can gather the kite and
then release the spin
halyard, while the
driver trims. And remember to hike, hike, hike to keep the boat flat when the
wind picks up.
For
more information, you can email me…
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