Double the fun
When I crossed the Atlantic in a 25-footer in 1968, double-handed (DH) sailing was a very different game. We had no electronic instruments or VHF radio. A Seafarer echosounder, handheld RDF, streamed Walker log, transistor radio (for time signals) and sextant had to suffice.
We also had no self-steering gear. So we resorted to a twin headsail set-up and led the sheets aft to the tiller; which worked (erratically) downwind. Otherwise we hand steered all the way, splitting the night into two lengthy watches. Hours pass peacefully on a moonlit night as you surf down white-crested waves!
Sail handling also took a lot longer. Instead of furling the jib from the cockpit, we stumbled to the foredeck, hanked a new sail onto the forestay, un-hanked the old one as it came down, chucked it through the forehatch then rushed aft to sort out the sheets.
Fast-forward to recent times and DH sailing is a different game. Sophisticated autopilots are commonplace. Roller furling headsail systems remove the need for sail changes on pitching foredecks, although many DH racers prefer ‘slab-reefing’ jibs (soft hanks or in a foil) because a better sail shape is maintained.
“Rig and sail design have come a long way,” says Nigel Colley of Jeanneau distributors Sea Ventures. “Asymmetrics can now use top down furlers that don’t compromise sail design. Code sails (also on furlers) transform light airs performance and can be carried higher up the wind range. Jibs often have a reef which can be operated from the cockpit.”
The Royal Southampton Yacht Club (RSYC) led the DH
