Crew Position | Location aboard | Job Responsibilities |
1 - Bow man | Foredeck, mast area, mid boat, rail | Anticipate problems. Call starting line, communicate with helmsman, mast man, pit man, tailer, trimmer, main trimmer and tactician Organize headsail setup, fair led sheets, and deck leads. Direct headsail hoists and takedowns. Trim spinnaker. Look for and fix fouled fairleads. Watch breeze, sea state, and competitors. One hand for the ship, one hand for yourself.
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2 - Mast man | Mast area, mid boat, rail | Anticipate problems. Assist bow man, jump halyards at hoists, be ready to run and clear clews during tacks and gybes Gather sail and push it below during takedowns. Look for and fix fouled fairleads. Watch breeze, sea state, and competitors. One hand for the ship, one hand for yourself.
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3 - Pit man / tailer | Forward cockpit, halyard locks, secondary winches, sprit controls, mid boat, rail | Anticipate problems. Tail halyards during hoists, ensure all halyards are kink-free and ready-to-run before takedowns, look at sails, watch and listen to bow man and mast man, quickly unload halyards when directed to during during takedowns. Ensure kink-free and ready-to-run spinnaker sheets before hoist. After spinnaker takedown, below deck run spinnaker luff and leeches, and prep for next hoist. Look for and fix fouled fairleads. Watch breeze, sea state, and competitors.
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4 - Tailer | Cockpit primary winches, mid boat, rail | Anticipate problems. Have winch handle ready, wrap clockwise 2 or 3 turns of the new sheet onto new primary winch before the tack begins. Use your body weight and legs against cockpit surfaces for most stable, efficient and ergonomically safe fast tailing. Look forward to see the headsail and other crew on deck throughout the tack. Listen to helmsman. Overhaul the sheet with smooth fast side-to-side strokes to bring the sail in to 80% of proper trim. Don’t over trim. Quickly put 1 or 2 additional wraps (depending on the load) before a final turn through the self-tailer before trimmer takes over. Organize spaghetti. Go to the weather rail. Look for and fix fouled fairleads.
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5 - Trimmer | Cockpit primary winches, mid boat, rail | Anticipate problems. Clear entire length of current headsail sheet to ensure kink-free release. Cleanly release sheet as the boat passes through the wind. Pivot to the new sheet, trim remaining 20%. Organize spaghetti. Go to the weather rail, unless continued trimming is necessary. Look for and fix fouled fairleads. Watch breeze, sea state, and competitors.
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6 - Mainsail trimmer | Main sheet, traveler, aft cockpit | Anticipate problems. Anticipate wind direction and velocity changes. Communicate with helmsman, ease and trim mainsail, control sail shape and traveler on all points of sail. Clear mainsail leech from backstay during gybes. Organize spaghetti. Look for and fix fouled fairleads. Watch breeze, sea state, and competitors.
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8 - Navigator / tactician | Cockpit, mid boat, rail | Anticipate problems. Know sailing instructions and race rules, communicate with bowman, sail trimmers, navigator and helmsman. Monitor boat position and mark locations, obstructions, non-racer traffic. Monitor competitors, assist with starting strategy, assist with tactics on all points of sail, at mark roundings. Communicate with other racing boats, protests, have protest flag ready. Look for and fix fouled fairleads. MOB tracking and retrieval.
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9 - Driver / helmsman | Helm | Anticipate problems. Know sailing instructions and race rules, communicate with navigator, tactician, bow man, sail trimmers. Overall boat handling, avoid collisions and high-risk maneuvers, ensure crew and yacht safety. MOB tracking and retrieval.
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