Notes on Downwind Sailing

 Enchantress Equipment:

• Enchantress is cutter rigged, both forestays having furling systems.
• The mainsail is an in-mast furling system.
• There are 2 poles, the spinnaker pole permanently on the mast and a smaller whisker pole.
• There are 2 spinnaker halyards and 2 uphaul lines.
• The forestays have a full Genoa and a large staysail.
• There are also a spinnaker and a cruising chute, both with snuffers.
• There is a storm sail which hanks on to a sleeve which can be put on over the staysail.

Sail arrangement options:

• Where we want to sail directly downwind the main sail plan will be to pole out both the Genoa and Staysail and to have the mainsail fully reefed in. For safety reasons the poles will have guys attached to the end of the pole, so that the sails can be reefed without having to take the poles down, to cope with squalls (see below).
• On very light and steady winds the cruising chute can be poled out instead of the staysail to increase the sail area.
• The spinnaker will only be used when there are at least 2 people on deck.
• On a broad reach it in light wind we will use both headsails and the main.
• In heavy winds we will furl the Genoa, then if the wind is approaching a gale we will furl the Staysail and put up the storm sail.