Submitted on May 30, 2007 by Joe Braden

Question: For long runs on the Chesapeake Bay, I have considered flying my North gennaker in wind under 10 apparent without the main and using a light whisker pole support by pole lift. I have installed an adjustable tack controlled from the cockpit.

Do you think this will work? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Joseph Braden

Answer: HI Joe,

As you know, summer sailing here on the Chesapeake Bay often consist of light air drifting with very little breeze. That said I’m not surprised to hear your thoughts on how to gain more light air performance out of your Tartan 34.

Since you already own one of our G-series Gennakers you are way ahead of the game in terms of having the right sail to get the most out of these ever so common light air days!

The adjustable tack line you mention is an easy and effective way to change the shape of the sail, typically the tack line is used to keep the tack of the sail between 2-4 ft above deck level. When broad reaching or running you can experiment by carrying the tack higher to give the sail a fuller more powerful shape. When sailing closer to the wind you will want to bring the tack closer to the deck to tighten the luff and open the leech of the sail creating a sail shape more like a Genoa.

The use of a pole will help better project the sail and perhaps make the sail more stable however I would only suggest using the pole when on a broad reach or running angle and only in light air since it is a light weight pole.

In very light winds (under 5knots) lowering the mainsail can be effective as far as getting more wind to the Gennaker, but as the wind increases you might notice your boat will become slightly more unstable as the mainsail has a steadying effect. The mainsail can also make raising and lowering the Gennaker easier since you can use its “shadow” to block the wind from getting to it.

I hope this helps and thanks for choosing North Sails!
Aaron Serinis

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