I have been racing on a j-30 against other j-30's and we seem to be getting beat downwind, mainly in light air. Downwind, should the halyard be eased more than usual? Or is there anyhting you change for the downwind leg? I would appreciate any tips at all for downwind as well as light sailing in general on a j-30.

Downwind in light air? Gee, I wish I had an answer for you.

Yes, we do ease the main halyard when we turn downwind, maybe an inch or so... but don't ease more in light air.

Anybody out there who happens to be good downwind have suggestions? Dan??

Well, there's the basic stuff: backstay off, release cunningham (or main halyard), ease the outhaul. You should have the mainsail plastered on the shrouds. Let the vang out until the boom is horizontal. Keep your crew weight centered over the keel to keep the stern of the boat out of the water. Keep the clews even on the spinnaker by adjusting the pole height, etc, etc.

But most importantly, dont go dead down wind. The polars for the J30 show that the true wind direction should be about 160 degrees. From the polar diagram on the J/Boats website, at 8 kts true wind speed and 160 degrees true wind angle, the boat speed is approx 4 kts. Doing the math results in an apparent wind speed of 4.5 kts at an angle of about 140 degrees. So, keep that wind indicator slightly more than halfway aft of the beam. If you feel like the boat is getting sluggish, heat it up to build speed then come back to the target.

We would like the answer too!!!!!!!.
As Alan said - don't sail in a straight line. Keep pressure on the sheet and constantly trim both the sheet and guy and pole height. Find a lane and stay in clear air if at all possible. Obviously, play the puffs - if there are any.

ok we used the downind tips given, and they helped. But how should the skipper be steering downwind in light air? should we try to surf the bigger waves? and what about easing the spinnaker halyard? Also, where should the weight be? Should everyone who doesnt have a job be on the keel? And what about upwind? all weight down below on the keel, or heeling the boat? ok guys thanks a lot, hope u can help us out with these ones too!

More good questions.

Downwind steering: tell your helmsman to try not to turn the rudder. Rudders should be thought of as brakes and the one on the J30 is a big one. Steer the boat downwind by shifting crew weight from side to side. More weight to port, boat turns to starboard, etc. This shifting weight idea can be used in any wind condition.

Surfing: its usually hard to get a J30 to surf in light winds (under 8 kts). But you can always try. Have a spotter watch behind the boat for waves. As one approaches, turn the boat up to gain speed (pole goes forward, main comes in a little). When the wave gets to the stern, turn down and ride the wave. As you approach the trough, turn back up again to avoid burying your bow in the back of the wave ahead of you.

Crew weight: in light wind, keep the crew forward over the keel. The idea is to lift the stern out of the water giving you less wetted surface and therefore less drag. The same applies going upwind as down. Some diehards like to put the crew down on the cabin sole to reduce pitching moment going up wind. IMO you gotta be pretty desperate to subject your crew to sitting below. But to each his/her own. If you do put your crew below going upwind, they can still help to heel the boat if needed. Heel the boat about 5 degrees to leeward to reduce wetted surface and help the sails fall into there designed shape.

I dont know what is to be gained by easing the spinnaker halyard. Anybody else want to try that one?

Easing spin hal: pretty sure one of your competitors will speak with you if you lower the hal too much. Most sailmakers recommend easing the hal approx 4" (+/- 2") in various conditions to shape the chute. In light air, I can see your point - ease the halyard and thus allow the spin to float away from the mast, with the potential for cleaner air. I will say this - we J30 guys are at a real disadvanteg in the light stuff - all the decent wind in these conditions is off the water and the guys with masthead rigs can benefit (even slightly) from the air higher off the water. Lowering the spin hal will decrease the amount of cloth in this "zone of better air"... but would it make a difference?

Lately, on hull 477, we have been trying hard to make the boat go in light air since it the condition most prevelent in our evening series. We have been experimenting and experiencing some inconsistent success. Once I see a pattern, I will share my findings.

We get plenty light air in Annapolis, but not with surfing conditions. I agree with most of the above on steering, weight, etc. The spin halyard ease was once popular, but I can’t remember doing that in the past 10 years—that may have something to do with better sail designs. We don’t plaster the main against the shrouds until it is so light that heating up doesn’t help. That would be anytime heat won’t get you at least up to 3 knots of boat speed. In that case, point your bow at the mark, over square the pole, and sail dead down wind, or by-the-lee to try to get some reverse flow over the main. Vang may need an ease to open up the leach a bit. Crew leans against the boom to keep it out, while helm adjusts sheet to course. On the kite, use light air sheets, tied with a bowline on the sheet side or both if they don’t stretch. Pole height is critical; the leach should go close to straight up from the pole. Beware of overtrimming on a droop, that is when the wind shifts aft and the main blankets the kite. Helmsman should be watching the sail and be ready to head up. Trimmer maintains a running dialog with helm: ‘good pressure, press it down; heat it up, we’re slow’. Helm always advises trimmer of a course change: ‘heading up here to clear our air here’. Never cleat the afterguy. Keep the foreguy tight to stabilize the pole. In the super light air have the trimmer take both sheet and guy or let the helm play the guy.