Crewing (Rabin)

North American Champion Dan Rabin on Crewing --

Fundamentals of Collegiate Crewing
A brief outline by Dan Rabin


I. Tacking
a. Light Air

i. FJ
1. Roll late and as hard as possible
2. Maximum roll is easier with a forwards tack for most people
a. Forwards Tack - crew initiates roll
b. Backwards Tack - skipper initiates roll
3. Lock front foot under centerboard trunk or strap, cross with back
foot (forwards tack)
4. As skipper settles to the new windward tank, dive hard to leeward to
prevent over-flatten

ii. 420
1. Roll late and as hard as possible
2. Lock front foot in strap, catapulting outwards to a hiking position -
ideally, back should hit the water
3. Above 2 knots of wind, skipper will usually need momentary help
flattening - flatten off the trunk with your weight on the inner part of
the tank and shoulders square to the boat, then immediately dive hard to
leeward
a. If skipper does not need help flattening, you didn't roll hard and/or
late enough!!
b. Crews who cross the boat slowly usually do an insufficient "hip
flatten" - they do not get their weight up to the tank with their
shoulders square which results in the boat staying loaded too long as
the skipper has to bear too much of the flattening burden

iii. Lark
1. Roll late but not too hard
2. Roll off the seat, not the rail
3. Front shoulder should almost hit the shroud - weight needs to be
forward to keep the stern from dunking
4. Less roll means less flatten, communicate with skipper about how much
help is needed on the flatten

b. Medium Air

i. FJ
1. Once you are on the rail it becomes easier to backwards tack - figure
out what works best for your boat but always be prepared to cross the
boat in either direction (you never know where you'll find the jib
sheets during 4 consecutive tacks in team racing)
2. Roll hard enough for an aggressive flatten off the trunk, this
flatten is done by locking the front of your foot under the ridge along
the top of the centerboard trunk and "pulling" the boat down right over
the board
3. Over-flattening is the result of rolling too early and/or not hard
enough

ii. 420
1. Still roll as hard as possible with your back hitting the water
2. Initially flatten off the strap and slide in as skipper settles

iii. Lark
1. Same as light air except initiate roll sooner
2. Give more help on flatten, remember the lark doesn't benefit from
being loaded up for long - you want a quick and smooth tack


c. Heavy Air

i. FJ
1. You're going strap to strap and backwards tacking is the fastest way
to do this for most people
a. Backwards Tack - as you come off the rail, turn your front shoulder
in to the boat so you face the skipper, and kick your back shoulder out
for a mini-roll so that you have some momentum for crossing the boat
b. Forwards Tack - exact opposite to backwards tack; unlike lighter air
you only roll with one shoulder out, instead of square to the boat
2. Flatten straight into a full hike, make sure you trim the jib 90%
just by dropping your shoulders down to a full hike instead of pulling
it in with your arms

ii. 420
1. Do not roll off the strap; As the boat turns into the wind, slide in
and do a mini-roll with your shoulders to provide momentum for crossing
the boat
2. Same flatten as an FJ

iii. Lark
1. Out of one strap and into the other, no time to waste


II. Jibing
a. Light Air

i. FJ
1. Roll as hard as possible, try to go off the strap
2. Flattening should not be necessary
3. If you creep back into the boat during the maneuver, dive hard to
leeward as the skipper settles

ii. 420
1. Same as FJ except at the upper range of light air a momentary flatten
might be required
2. If you flatten, dive back down hard to leeward immediately

iii. Lark
1. Similar roll to the light air tack
2. No flatten required

b. Medium Air

i. FJ
1. Roll hard but not off the strap
2. Should have to help a bit with the flatten

ii. 420
1. Roll hard, might still need the strap at the bottom range of breeze
2. Definite help with flattening required, if not, you rolled too early
and/or not hard enough

iii. Lark
1. Same roll as light air but not as late
2. Very slight flatten required usually


c. Heavy Air

i. FJ
1. Roll but not hard; do not leave the seat, simply put your weight into
the windward tank
2. Begin flatten move as the boom crosses centerline

ii. 420
1. Light roll, at lower range of breeze you still need to roll on the
tank
2. Very aggressive flatten; begin flatten as boom crosses centerline,
may even have to flatten on the tank in "sitting" position (like a tack)

iii. Lark
1. Just enough roll to initiate turn
2. Immediate flatten
3. Watch the bow, get the weight back if it digs!!
d. Flattening Technique
i. Hip-flatten - most flattening done for a jibe is done with the upper
body, as opposed to coming up all the way onto the tank and squaring
your shoulders to the boat. Usually the only part of your body, if any,
to hit the windward tank is your hip. Plant one foot against the
centerboard trunk and lean as much of your upper body to weather as you
need to flatten. The more breeze, the quicker you want to flatten.


III. Transitioning

a. Reach to Wing

i. Communication
1. Call the pressure - give constant feedback on the pressure in the jib
so the skipper can evaluate whether to work low, work high, or wing
2. No pressure - just because the jib collapses does not mean it wants
to wing, do not call for a wing if the pressure cannot support it

ii. Skipper Calls for the Wing
1. As you stand up, reach in front of the mast with your inside hand and
snap the jib into a wing in one motion - bring your shoulder over hard
to induce a weather heal and help set the wing. You need to hold the
boom with your other hand at the same time.
2. Transfer the jib sheet with one hand to the outside of the shroud and
into the skipper's waiting hand
3. Block technique - some crews wing by pulling the weather jib sheet
through the block. This usually takes longer though and transferring
the sheet outside the shroud to the skipper is not as smooth.

iii. Standing vs. Sitting
1. Try standing when on the wing - in light and medium air you can drop
straight down onto the tank for an aggressive roll jibe (not necessary
in a lark)
2. Weight adjustments for weather heal can be done a bit quicker and
smoother in a standing position (more upper body, less butt)
3. Effective kinetics can be done in either position

b. Un-wing
i. Board down at least half-way
ii. Dive hard to leeward into trimming position


IV. Feeding Information

a. Starting Line
i. Time

ii. Breeze
1. Significant shift within 1 minute to start
2. Closest pressure off the line

iii. Distance to Line

iv. Leeward Hole

1. The skipper needs to know about boats that could potentially take
your hole so he/she can drive down to close the hole
a. Call any boats approaching your stern before they are overlapped to
leeward
b. Call the boats on port approach

v. Immediately after Start
1. Guard your lane
a. Give a play-by-play of your progress vs. the immediate leeward and
windward boats
b. Call the need to foot or to pinch (speed vs. angle)
c. Call the first lane to tack for or the consequences of bailing out
(how many boats to duck)
b. Upwind
i. Breeze
1. Change in pressure or direction (don't call breeze that you cannot
get to)
2. Count down the time to the approaching puffs (more critical in heavy
air)
ii. Waves
1. Call them early enough that you can tack if skipper wants to

iii. Lanes
1. Call a lane whenever there is one - it doesn't mean you should tack,
but it gives the skipper an option
a. Look past the next tack - an apparent lane can close very quickly
when an impending tack is obvious (big shift, layline, etc.) and you
have boats in front of you

iv. Boats
1. Call the starboard tack boat(s) early - call the number of "problem"
boats behind the 1st one so the skipper can make the best decision
(leading back vs. ducking)
2. Call the port tack back boat(s) early - just because your starboard
doesn't mean you do not want to tack and lead back the port boats; also,
you might want to wave the port boat across so you do not get nailed by
a lee-bow

v. Layline
1. Don't wait until you're on layline to call it - make a call 3-5 boat
lengths out (call "approaching layline"), the skipper might want to
short tack the layline if you're far out in anticipation of a shift
and/or not wanting to sit in dirty air on a long approach

c. Off-wind
i. Lanes
1. Big Picture vs. Small Picture
a. Immediate concern is the closest boat behind - give regular feedback
on their angle: high, low, even
b. Watch out for the fleet - don't get pushed super high or low by your
neighbor, give regular feedback on your angle compared to the "fleet"
2. Separation
a. Give feedback on your speed - are you getting closer to those ahead
or those behind?
3. Jibes
a. Call a jibe that any nearby boat, ahead or behind, does - especially
if they're overlapped
i. If possible, make the call as soon as the jibe maneuver is initiated

V. Wrap Up
The finer points of crewing are not addressed here intentionally. These
are the points that define a crew's particular style and include
distinctive moves tailored to their particular skipper. No two people
drive a boat the exact same way and therefore, no two people can crew a
boat the exact same way. The weight make-up of a boat is a big factor
as well. The boat-handling for a 170/110 combo differs from that of a
150/130 even though the overall weight is the same. There are often at
least 3 different ways to accomplish the same goal, and you need to
decide what is best for your boat. The most important thing for all
boats is to have as high a level of skipper/crew communication as
possible. Talk about things like what made one tack great and the next
one horrible, and at what moments the boat feels the best in terms of
weight positioning. Good luck!