5 EXPERT TIPS ALAIN SIGN ON MAINSAIL TRIMMING

As a mainsheet trimmer you are the engine of the boat, as Alain Sign explains to Andy Rice

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Experienced sailor though he may be, Alain Sign has had his hands full getting to grips with the role of mainsheet trimmer in a fleet as competitive as the Cape 31. Alain sees the mainsheet trimmer's role as the hub, the central nervous system which is connected to every other role on the boat.

“I'm having a conversation with pretty much everyone else on board,” he says. “With the trim you're looking to guide the helm to where they're going, and I'm taking my cue from what the tactician is saying. Then I'm talking with the runner trimmer, looking for power-on or power-off.

“And then there's maintaining the right relationship between main and jib trim, working together through the gusts, lulls and shifts.”

Data analysis is another trend creeping into Cape 31 racing, with an analyst back on shore looking at when the boat was fast or slow and feeding the details back to the team before the next day's racing.

Through the wind range, different elements of the multiple array of sail controls take on different levels of importance. Here are Alain's five best tips for keeping your mainsail – and the overall boat speed – at the highest level of performance through different wind speeds. Allain Sign raced for Great Britain in the 49er at the Rio 2016 Olympics and was a 49er European Champion before switching to professional coaching and big boat sailing. This season he is mainsheet trimmer on the Cape 31 Jubilee

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