WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OBSERVATIONS
By Frank Levinson

"Some very interesting developments in the FD Class have come out of the World Championships in St. Petersburg. The outstanding factor of the entire regatta, which all the winners had in common, was unexcelled teamwork between skipper and crew. Paul Elvstrom and Andy White, respective crews of the first and second FDs in the WCs, were slightly terrific. In the heavy breezes these two fellows put on a show that had everyone open mouthed. Also, the English skipper and crew were an excellent team. consider too that they sailed a borrowed boat. For us here, it means -- get a regular crew and practice, and get every maneuver down to seconds instead of minutes.

"The FD, with all sailing gear, should not weigh much over 400#, and the closer you approach the limit the better you will go on the runs. Weight doesn't seem to hurt as much to windward and reaching. In cutting down weight go after things that are above the waterline; oversize blocks, etc., can be replaced with light stainless and plastic fittings. Halyard hooks for main and genoa were common to relieve mast compression. In the aluminum masts the Proctor spars were superior to the Italian, as most of the spars on the Alpa boats bent in two pieces.

"Good sails played an important part however, exact tuning of mast and sails was the difference between many boats. Masts seemed to be raked more than previously. Many spars had a diamond spreader plus the conventional crosstrees. However, the regular spreaders seemed to be adequate. The mast was also blocked at the deck, at least forward and sometimes sideways also. In addition all boats used "Highfield-type" Levers and really tensioned the rig. The Danes and Australians had 5/32 inch wire for all stays and halyards, thus minimizing wire stretch. Everyone tended to carry as much sail as they could pile on the boat. In the heavy winds the full sails made of light-weight fabric stretched badly. When the wind blew steady 25 and 30 and gusted to 35 and 40 all the leaders carried big genoas, which were quite flat and had a hollow leech however, they probably would have been better with smaller genoas. The Australians and the Danes held their boats in these heavy winds, and it was breathtaking to watch them perform. The Danes had four self-bailers plus holes in the transom of their no-stern-deck, but otherwise conventional wood boat. The Australians had a wood double-bottom, self-bailing boat. Yes, they flew spinnakers in this wind also.

"The centerboards were stiff and heavy to prevent bending in heavy winds. They were shaped blunt round forward to a fine sharp edge aft. Most boards were glued strips and glassed. Rudder blades were shaped the same and of the same construction. Also rudders had no play between tiller and rudder. Jardine, the English gentleman, said that a good stiff centerboard was essential to windward in a breeze.

"All the good boats had trapeze wires that were very long; the crew could get flat out going to windward and on a reach too. This was one of the reasons that enabled them to go to windward and hold their boats flat in the heavy winds. The Australians had a new type trapeze belt which worked easily but it takes a red hot crew to use it effectively.

"Elvstrom used the Novex blocks on his genoa, which snubbed the sail sufficiently to allow him to take it off the winch and still hold on to it coming about, and also to trim and hold it until he was able to put it around the winch; sometimes he did not even use the winch. The Danes were far superior in tacking to everyone. Very few crews cleated the genoa.

FD/BL NOVEMBER 1-4 Joaquim Roderbourg sends word of the First Open South American FD Championship at Sao Paulo, Brazil. It's on the same lake on which the April 1963 PanAm games will be sailed, Free board and lodging and possibilities of borrowing an FD there. This sounds like a fine regatta of international merit. If you'd like more info, write President Walter Zwarg.

"Spinnaker work was very effective by some boats. Most all of the hot boats furled the genoa with roller-reefing gear when flying the spi. The" Seahorse" type chute was most in evidence, however, there were others, including the flat dish of Tasker's which was very good on a reach. You have to fly the chute whenever possible when reaching, simply because of the extra sail area. Positioning of the pole is very important and this should be worked out for the most effective height on all points of the wind with the spi [See the second question in "The Skipper Asks." Ed.]. Many boats had their spi's in bags in the foredeck; others had theirs stuffed in the cockpit. It did not seem any particular method was superior -- just make sure your system works with a minimum of flaws.

"The many different sailors from all over the world were not vastly superior to US, however, they worked as teams much better than we did, and they did know how to tune their boats and sails. They were constantly working with their boats during the regatta. After one particularly gruelling morning race and finishing second, Elvstrom and Fogh worked all afternoon tuning the mast and trying different sails. The next day they finished first.

"Perhaps these few observations might help your racing. I sincerely hope so."    

Frank Levinson.

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The Skipper Asks...

If you have a specific question thot can be answered specifically, the Editor will attempt to get on expert to answer it for you. Even experts disagree on the best way to handle certain problems though, and the answer can only be on opinion based on his experience. if you have another opinion on handling a problem, the Editor will be glad to receive it.

Q. At the World's I noticed the height of the spinnaker pole fitting on the mast varied from 2" to 8" on the various boats. How do you tell just where to put the fitting?

A. "The height of the pole eye on the mast is pretty much optional. We have found in other classes that it pays to carry the inboard end of the spi-pole high enough so that when the pole is level (as it should most always be) the weight of the pole will be carried on the topping lift, and not on the sail itself. In other words, the natural position of the spinnaker clews when lifted by the wind will determine the best approximate height of the pole. In light winds, when the spinnaker will not lift, the pole should be lower -- considerably. Then the sail will fill fairly well in the light air without having to lift the entire sail."   
-Harry Sindle

Q. Does it pay to adjust the mainsail foot tension?

A. "Yes! It is essential to set your F.D. mainsail properly, and a lever to tension and release foot pressure is an extremely important fitting. Here is my idea -- I have a lever on the forward end of the boom which is connected with the clew of the sail by a wire running through a tube around the end of the boom. The clew is fastened to a 5" piece of saiI track. I have two positions of maximum length and a released position, which gives 3-4" of slack.
Going to windward the mainsail foot is stretched to maximum length by throwing the lever to "on" position. When reaching and running I pull the lever, releasing the tension and giving more bag -- especially when the vang is on. The crew operates the lever at all times. In real drifters it sometimes pays to release the lever for more bag going to weather, too.

-Frank Levinson