HOW TO ... 'letterbox drop' an a-symmetric spinnaker
Spinnakers scare you? Nail the drop and unlock your power!
“As long as we know how to drop it, we have nothing to be afraid of.”
As a coach, I say it to the crew. But really, it’s not just their nerves I’m soothing. It’s a good reminder for me too.
On a recent day spinnaker training just south of Antigua, one of my amateur crew members said to me:
“So, do we actually fly spinnakers in this much wind on the race itself?”
It was blowing 20 knots, gusting 28 and we were on our fifth of six hoists and drops that day. We had surfed at over 15 knots boat speed in a 40 footer. It’s fair to say, it was sporty. An excellent - if quite full-on - test for a crew who were entirely new to spinnakers.
And an even better test of my grit.
“Yes. Absolutely.” I said to her. It was honest. But not too honest. If I hadn’t been so aware of my role as an instiller of confidence in my crew, I would have probably added, “But, I get it. This is … a lot.”
Why voluntarily go out in 20-25 knots to spinnaker train? With a crew of amateurs? And play at the limits of the sails, the boat and the expertise? Because, the more you practice, the more confident you feel.
After that day, I knew unequivocally that I had a team that could drop a spinnaker in close to 30 knots. And, not by fluke. They did it four times.
Confidence in dropping a spinnaker is inversely related to the fear of flying a spinnaker.
In other words, if you know you can drop a spinnaker you won’t be afraid of flying one. The drop is your ‘get-out-of-jail’ card; your ‘escape’ button; your safety net.
I reminisced with a friend recently, on a race I led from Seattle to Panama. It was a leg of the Clipper Race in 2018. It was night one, or two perhaps. And it started to blow.
On competing boats, we were both flying an asymmetric spinnaker. The wind had increased to over 30 knots. Then 35. Then touching 40. ** We laugh in horror at the situation one can find oneself in, where it feels easier to keep the spinnaker up, than to drop it.
How could we push a boat so very hard in that scenario? Well, because we both knew that if we called it, we had a crew who could get it down safely.
** I don’t recommend this.
A few important notes about the ‘letterbox’ drop:
Even if you have a sock on your spinnaker, you need to know how to do this. If the sock doesn’t pull down, you will need a ‘plan-b’ for getting the spinnaker down. This is your safest option.
Letterbox drops are the safest type of drops. They don’t require anyone to be on the foredeck. The letterbox compresses the spinnaker and reduces the likelihood of it re-inflating.
Please take extreme caution of the boom during a letterbox drop. You are sailing downwind and working in close proximity with the boom. When in doubt, keep your head lower than the boom. And be conservative with your course choice to steer clear of a gybe. Particularly if you have a large following sea state.
If you have lazy jacks, you will have to pull these forward and hook them on the gooseneck for this drop. I recommend doing this whenever sailing with a spinnaker up.
Ropes
Outhaul
An a-symmetric spinnaker
x2 spinnaker sheets
x1 halyard
x1 tack line
x1 sock line (if you have one)
Method
1. Preparation
Prepare as soon as you are sure there will be no need to gybe before you will need to drop.
For anyone ocean sailing, I’d recommend that this step is just part of ‘the hoist’. It’s more likely you will need to emergency drop, than emergency gybe. Knowing that you are all set up to get it down will help you sleep soundly off watch.
Ease outhaul generously. Sometimes this isn’t possible. Don’t worry. It’s not a game changer.
‘De-rig’ the lazy sheet. Pass it straight from the clew of the sail, aft of the shrouds, and through the ‘letterbox’ - i.e. underneath the foot of the mainsail, but on top of the boom.
If possible, put the Tack Line onto a winch. Take up the load off the clutch/jammer, and open it. Coil it, and leave it ready to release.
Put the spinnaker halyard onto a winch. Take up the load off the clutch/jammer, and open it. Coil it, and leave it ready to release.
Ready any halyards / furling lines, and headsail sheets for a headsail unfurl/hoist.
1a. Optional prep
The greatest risk during a spinnaker drop, is that the spinnaker re-fills with air during the drop and launches itself back up into the sky; or worse, into the water. This is amplified with more wind.
So, in windier weather, I take extra precaution to ensure we do not entirely lose control of the spinnaker by using a winch to ‘pin’ down the clew.
Rig a snatch block on the windward side of the boat from a ‘d-ring’ or point on deck that is designed to hold load. Then run the lazy sheet from the clew, through this, and to a winch or cleat.
2. Steer a deep broad reach
This is similar to the hoist.
You are looking for a course:
Deep enough to blanket the spinnaker by the mainsail.
Not so deep that you backwind the spinnaker and risk getting a wrap or twisting it.
A good ‘go-to’ angle would be the deepest angle you can keep your headsail filled downwind. This is typically between 155 and 160 degree TWA.