Ask Rick

Sailing and Racing expert Rick Dominque will answer your questions about the sport.

E-mail your questions to Rick at rickdominique@optonline.net and they'll be posted on this page.

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I've been trying to sail my laser full rig in heavy winds with the sail wrapped around the mast, but the foot keeps coming unwrapped,
How do you reef the darn thing?
Since I am a lightweight but enjoy the performance of the full rig, and can't afford a radial rig... is it possible to have a sail cut, designed for mast- wrap reefing?(class legal)
Someone gave me the boat, and got a free sail and love buzzing around in it, but dammit, I don't want to pay $175 for the vang upgrade,
Any used one's out there?

Thanks, Ward Brooks 114284

Ward,

It sounds like you do not have the cunningham rigged through the grommet in the tack of the sail and pulled fairly tight before wrapping the sail around the mast.  Try this, it will hold the luff taut from tack to head, then put 2 wraps of the sail around the mast (you may need to remove the top batten to do this) and go have fun!  I love your attitude that 'too much' wind will not stop you!  Have a blast (reach, that is!)

P.S. I have a solution to your vang problem.  We use this setup at the Merchant Marine Academy:  Look at the 8:1 vang set up diagrams from the old vang days, but instead of looping the line through a bowline, tie a Harken micro block there.  Buy a cheap $12 vang swivel, and it's a huge improvement to the old system's friction problem.

Rick

Hi!

Its Cat Chimney ( you might remember me). I got your e-mail from the "Ask Rick" thingy on District 8. After being cooped up in a dorm room for 3 months I'm ready to start racing. I have a regatta coming up in a coupleof weeks and I was wondering if you have some suggestions for gaining back some arm muscle that nap time and laziness may have borrowed.

Thanks,
Cat

Hello Cat.
Nothing replaces time actually sailing, but in the gym you can do any rowing motion exercises, preferably using a rope grip as opposed to a bar, as this will help your wrist muscles as well as your biceps, deltoids (shoulders) and lats (sides of your back).  It helps to do this with weight for strength training as well as with low weight and quick repetitions for endurance training.  I get this exercise done by hauling marks 20 times a day! 
True fitness dictates that you also exercise the muscles on the opposite side of the joints, in this example, triceps and pecs (chest).  An imbalance in muscle strength around a joint almost always leads to injury.  Make sure when exercising these obvious muscle groups (left column) that you also exercise the opposing muscles (right column):
Biceps and triceps
Abdominals and lower back
Quads and hamstrings
Rear and front of shoulders (rowing motion and bench press for example)

A great book on sailing fitness, I highly recommend "Sail Fitter!" by Dr. Michael Blackburn, 5-time Australian Nat'l Champ and Olympic bronze medalist.

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