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Welcome
For years, sailors sought the
challenge of racing distances to
include the excitement and solice
of sailing through the night.
What are the new safety requirments?
How does the weather change tactics?
How do you trim sail in the dark?
Is it really as different as day and night?
What do crew members need to know?
What do you need to know….
Test and familiarize yourself with all
emergency equipment
Test all emergency equipment and familiarize yourself with its use.
Practice emergency procedures, and assign crew to specific roles.
Come Prepared
Bruce Cooper, Erik Shampain
and Keith Magnussen
18 Transpacs
2 Pacific Cups
Coastal Cup
Victoria to Maui
Too many Mexico & Cal Coastal
races to count
• Over 100k Ocean Racing Miles
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Night Sailing Outline
•Dusk
How to prepare for the night
•Night Vision
Quick Guide to Night Vision
•Trimming Sails at Night
Tips, Techniques and Technology
•Crew Watch Schedule
How to keep the crew awake!
Dusk: Get Ready For The Night Fight
• Check the deck
Prepare and clean the deck
Dusk: Get Ready For The Night Fight
• Halyards and Sheets
Visually confirm all halyards are clear and all
sheets are coiled and able to run freely
Dusk: Get Ready For The Night Fight
• Be Aware Of Surroundings
Get compass bearing & visual of any boats nearby
Dusk: Get Ready For The Night Fight
• Be Aware Of Surroundings
Get compass bearing & visual of any boats nearby
Visually get a good idea of where you are and
confirm with charts
Dusk: Get Ready For The Night Fight
• Crew Meeting
• Update helmsperson and watch captains of night
time game plan:
*Eat dinner and clean up before dark
*Confirm watch schedule
*Headings
*Distances from obstacles and shore
*Update wind & sail changes &
maneuvers in log book
*Discuss upcoming scenarios with
wind strength and direction
*Check the keel & rudder for kelp or trash
Dusk: Get Ready For The Night Fight
Quick Guide to Night Vision
• Wear sunglasses and sun hat during the day.
• Use red light bulbs in flashlights and cabin lights at night.
• Dim screens on navigation instruments and turn off
unnecessary electronics.
• Have a black-out curtain in the companionway
• Headlamp with red lens (red marker)
Sail Trimming at Night
• Establish trim points & mark sheets during the day.
• Genoa’s sheets w/ tape near winch to determine trim off
spreaders
• Spinnaker sheets w/ tape for guaranteed same trim after
grinding or collapse.
• Main trim by heel angle.
Sail Trimming at Night
• Glow in the dark draft stripes
• Glow in the dark spinnaker chevrons
• Reflective draft stripe material on batten ends
Sail Cleaning/Washing
• Salt adds a lot of weight
Dried, salty .5oz. cloth weighs the same as clean 1.5oz
cloth which gives away the advantage of the lighter sail.
• Squalls = Moisture,
• Moisture = Weight,
• Weight = Stress on Sails
Going Too Slow ?
Not “On Target” ?
• Know your target boat speed for the wind conditions
• The #1 reason is the sails are trimmed in too much…
Particularly true in light air
Remember the wind usually clocks aft
Trim at Midnight is different than at 10 PM
• “When In Doubt…Ease It Out”
Check the knot meter & GPS
Going Too Slow ?
Not “On Target” ?
• Know your target boat speed for the wind conditions
Your sails are your friend
• Prep them well
- Inspect, Repair, Clean and Fold
• Take care of them during the race
- Keep them folded and organized
• Change before it’s too late
- Better to switch than to blow up
• Have FUN and sail FAST!
Sail fast and safe at night…
“you will be happy to see your
hardwork pay off in the morning!”
Weather Planning
HAVE A GENERAL PLAN
Look at the Trends
Finding the Fronts
One of our main
sources of wind comes
from frontal systems.
These large scale frontal
systems, commonly
referred to as storms,
can generally be
identified by tightly
packed isobars (the
black lines on the chart
below, connecting areas
of equal pressure) on a
sea surface weather
chart. The tighter the
isobars are packed
together, the stronger
the wind is within a
storm. Be sure to
observe how these
systems are moving
leading up to the event.
DIAL IT IN
LOOK AT THE LOCAL HIGH RESOULUTION WIND MODELS
& DRAW ON LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
TAKE NOTES
KEEP A RACING JOURNAL DOCUMENTING FORECASTS
AND ACTUAL CONDITIONS NOTING ANY LOCALIZED
WEATHER EVENTS AND WIND DIRECTIONS.
MATCH WIND DIRECTIONS AND SPEEDS WITH SAIL
CHOICES AND LOOK AT WHAT WORKED BEST FOR BOAT
HAVE FUN.
SAIL FAST.
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