The Merlin race training events have taught us that it seems better to be prescriptive about pole systems at this stage. Choose either the twin poles with knots in the sheets and use the pole with the end facing up, or the single pole with marks in the sheets and use the pole end facing down.

Preparation

I have learnt over the many years of crewing Merlins that the best way to be confident about using the spinnaker is to be well prepared. I like to tie on the spinnaker myself when rigging the boat. I trust my knots and carefully check it's rigged properly before the first hoist. It's quite easy to mis-thread the downhaul as it passes from the bottom of the mast back towards the turning block at the rear of the centreboard case.

Twin poles require more string and elastic than the single pole. Check this is not excessively worn. I would still recommend twin poles for speed and simplicity when rigged correctly. A quick guide to correct pole height - when the pole is stowed along the boom, the pole end should lie adjacent to the gooseneck. Try checking your pole height using the "Alsop" method, a man of average height should be able to touch the end of the pole with the spinnaker hoisted whilst bow down on it's trolley on the shore. More on pole height later.

Leave for the race area early and fly the spinnaker before the start to check for gremlins. Re-threading a spinnaker on the foredeck before the race is easier than during it! Make any final adjustments to pole height and do check that the pole can be attached to the mast eye easily on both gybes. Some slick gybing practice will soon have the opposition wobbling at the knees.

Check the course and plan ahead for the first spinny hoist especially with a single pole. It's easier to have the pole on the windward side to push out, i.e. with a port hand course, stow the pole on the starboard side of boom.

Spinnaker Drills

I don't mean square bashing or the like, drills here refer to a sequence of manoeuvres which, if strictly kept to, should see you setting a perfect spinnaker every time. There is no set routine, I advise each of you to get together as a team and discuss between you, your preferred sequence of hoisting, gybing and dropping the spinny. Then write it down twice and each of you commit it to memory. In the heat of the moment you can then fall back on the drill which both of you will know and understand perfectly. A typical drill may go something like this:-

Pre-hoist reaching leg

1. Ensure pole is on windward side of boom before hoist. Clip guy on to pole and cleat guy to reaching mark. Uncleat sheet.

1a. Twin poles. Pole automatically on correct side. Pole end already attached to sheet, and knots will stop the spinny sheets getting out of control, so just uncleat sheet.

2. As helm bears away, pull up centreboard to halfway and slacken jib sheet a little.

3. Pull on guy and pull out armful of spinnaker from chute, at least across the foredeck.

4. Put up pole. If you can't easily clip it on, you haven't pulled out sufficient spinny to start with.

5. Crew hoist spinny. Helm resist temptation to hoist until pole clipped on unless light airs. It's almost impossible to clip a pole onto the mast with a flogging spinnaker on the end of it unless you've been weight training down the gym every night. Once it's up, grab sheet and trim. Check boat trim. Trim jib.

You may find that it is easier to do things differently. Try it out, choose what works for you and repeat it every time. Compile a drill for the gybe and the drop.

Twin pole gybing - reach to reach

Simple and very fast with good teamwork - just watch Richard and Sally in Flying Cloud.

Main points
Remember to release the old pole from the mast just before the gybe.
Tell helm that you're ready.
Duck under the boom as you pass through the gybe and smartly pull a good armful of spinny around the forestay. This will ensure that the spinny is flown behind the jib rather than to windward of it.
Quickly replace the new pole and sheet in.
The knots on the sheets for the twin pole system must be positioned so that the pole is just to windward of the forestay.
The pole must never be allowed to rest on the forestay.

Single pole gybing - reach to reach

Done well it is possible to gybe a single pole and keep the spinny flying throughout the manoeuvre. This does require some preparation and good teamwork.

Do not remove the pole before the gybe.

Cleat the guy if not already cleated and just prior to the gybe the crew will need to move into the boat.

Take up the sheet tension outside the boat and re-cleat sheet at the reaching mark (this will be the new guy).

Do make sure that the sheets are behind your feet or you will kick the sheet out of the cleat as you gybe.

On the "Gybe" command, let go of the tension on the sheet and pull in a handful of the old guy - this pulls the spinny around the forestay.

After gybe completed, stand up and unclip pole from mast.

Attach new guy and pull release line along pole so the old guy drops out.
Attach other pole end to mast eye.

Take up sheet from helm who has been trimming it for you.

To make life easier for you try to come into the gybe on a broad reach and do not head up to windward too quickly after it. If you do have a poor gybe and the spinnaker is flogging and the pole just won't go on - don't be afraid to drop the kite and start again from an initial hoist situation. At least everything is under control again.

Gybing run to run

Pretty similar with each pole system except again remember to take down the twin pole before the gybe. Do make sure that the boat is level and travelling at near maximum speed before the gybe. The spinny must be filling perfectly and pulling well. Helm should give some notice of the impending gybe and allow crew time to drop both guy and sheet into the cleats. After the gybe, allow the boat to settle especially if there's been a little wobble and then swap over the pole as before.

A Merlin will sail a little way in breeze without a pole attached if the spinnaker is trimmed well. The lift from the spinnaker will compensate the bows burying as the crew moves forward to change the pole.

The drop

Do give yourself enough time. Don't rely on the helm to always tell you, the helm is busy pulling strings too. At the end of the run it's easier to drop and then round up, rather than having to gybe as well. If it looks a close thing, think about dropping before the gybe and then rounding up. Better to have a few seconds spare with the spinny stowed under the foredeck, the sheets all pulled in and centreboard down rather than be sailing past the mark in a muddle.

To maintain control of the spinny at the drop, pass the sheet to the helm as you uncleat the spinny halyard. This also keeps the sheet tight and will prevent it dropping over the bow.

Pull down the spinnaker until you feel a resistance - with knots it will not be possible to pull the spinnaker all the way into the boat.

The twin pole can then be smartly removed from the mast eye and the remaining spinny pulled in. With the single pole it is possible to pull in all the spinnaker when using a no-knots system if the helm uncleats the guy.

Stow the pole at the earliest opportunity, i.e. possibly after rounding the mark. Don't allow sheets to trail in the water - it's a bit like sailing a big boat with your fenders out!

Getting the pole height right

Very few spinnakers are cut alike or to similar dimensions so the pole height is a very individual requirement. I mentioned some guidelines earlier which can be a starting point. To get the most effective use from your spinnaker, it must be pulling equally throughout the luff. To check that this is the case, try sailing onto a broad reach with the spinny up and ease out the sheet until it almost collapses. Look carefully to see where the spinny wants to collapse first - ideally it should be starting to curl back down the centre panels.

An easy to remember rule is:-

Spinnaker breaking high - raise the pole
Spinnaker breaking low - lower the pole

There is one exception - in very light airs, the spinny will fill more readily with the pole dropped slightly. Once you have found a sweet spot, mark it for next time.

Sailing fast with the spinnaker

You should be playing out the sheet continuously on a spinny leg. The luff (front edge) of the spinny must always, but not quite, be on the point of collapse. It may seem tidier to oversheet the spinny but this will affect mainsail wind flow and make you go a lot slower. As I mentioned before, the pole must never be allowed to sit on the jib - it always pays to have the pole pulled back as far as possible. A good tip, in gusty weather use the Jon Turner method of pulling the guy back hard to flatten the spinny and power the boat by keeping it driving hard and level.

If the crew finds that clipping the pole onto the mast is difficult, consider placing a second mast eye lower or talk to Dan Alsop about fitting an automatic pole launching system.

Always position yourself where you can see the spinny. In light weather this will be somewhere at the foot of the mast, looking up the slot. Make the helm sit in to balance you. Use the helm to windward and crew to leeward positions when flying the spinny - the Merlin is too wide to risk the helm scrunched down in the bottom of the boat. Keep alert, keep watching and communicating. Look for boats about to roll you, capsizing boats, gusts, the next mark.

Above all, have fun.
Check out Part Three too.