To sail with three or four, that is the question. J/22 sailors have a dilemma that faces them before every regatta - namely, crew weight. The current weight limit of 605 lbs. makes it a bit of a challenge to find crew combinations. Big people need to find small people; small people need big people; and medium-sized people just need to fit somewhere.

This article is meant to aide those who may sail their J/22 at less than maximum weight. I decided a few years back that I could not sail the J/22 with four people. This decision was probably irrational because there are many people who sail the boat with four very successfully. Perhaps I am too uncoordinated to move around with four people. Whatever the reason, I have found myself sailing with three people at crew weights that hover around the 540 lb. mark. We have been pretty successful using this system, so I thought it would be a good idea to explain some of the tings we do to help our performance when sailing light, especially in heavy air.

The 1993 Midwinters was probably the most challenging regatta I have had to sail with three people. The breeze averaged about 15 knots. There were several races sailed in 18-25 knots where weight could play a big part in performance. We had to make up for our weight disadvantage by depowering, steering, positioning our boat and sailing downwind in a way that utilized the weight we had. Depowering the J/22 is absolutely critical when sailing in heavy air whether you sail with three or four. You must keep the boat flat at all costs. If the boat heels eight degrees or more, you will go sideways almost as fast as you go forward. Following is a list of things to do when sailing light in big breeze:

• Tighten backstay turnbuckles to maximum.
• Sail with rig at 450 uppers, 500 lowers. This allows the top of the mast to fall off, helping to keep the boat upright by dumping air off the top of the main and opening the slot.
• Pull the backstay on maximum.
• Move the jib lead back to position six or seven on the North Tuning Guide or as per your sailmaker. This also opens up the slot.
• Tension the vang to maximum.
• Outhaul to maximum.
• Main cunningham to 3/4 to maximum.
• Jib halyard tension so wrinkles are just gone from jib luff (in flat water, wrinkles can still just show).

This will set the boat up for heavy air. Now you have to concentrate on trimming the sails and steering the boat given your light crew.

Because of your light weight, you will notice that the boat wants to heel over quickly and head up at the same time. Your goal should be to maintain about two to six degrees of heel with a neutral helm. This is pretty hard to do in over 15 knots, but it is possible.

The key to going fast is to be very active on the main sheet, the jib sheet and the tiller. The tiller should be used quickly to maintain heel angle. When a puff hits or you are sailing in big breeze, simply head up and feather the boat as much as necessary to keep your angle of heel around five degrees. Your jib trimmer should ease the jib four to six inches when a big puff hits and sheet the jib consistently three to four inches further out than normal.

The most noticeable sound on a heavy air race course is that of the main luffing in the puffs. The J/22 jib is big and sends a lot of wind back toward the main. If you do not ease the jib in heavy air or puffs, the main backwinds. This makes the jib the primary force on the boat, causing the bow to head down, hurting your pointing and causing you to heel over. You need the main full to keep your bow headed upwind. The vang should be on maximum. This will keep your leech tight and will also help flatten your main by helping to bend the mast down low. Utilizing vang sheeting, jib ease and feathering to keep the boat flat and fast. Your traveler car is about three to five inches below center. If you let it down anymore, again the main sheet will be backwinded by the jib, and you will not be able to keep it full. If a huge puff hits and you ease the jib but still feel overpowered, ease the main two inches and let it luff or "break up" for an instant. When you regain control or the puff subsides, trim back in. If the main is breaking up no matter what you try, ease the backstay slightly. This will straighten the mast and allow the main to fill. Then, play the mainsheet as needed.

The main sheet, jib sheet and tiller must be in constant motion. Usually in heavy air, it is puffy. You must take advantage of every lull by trimming in and going fast. Then you must be alert for every puff.

So what is the difference between sailing with three or four people given what is said above? Well, two things are different. First, sailing with three, you will notice that you are depowering quite a bit earlier than the four-person boats. Usually, I go to my backstay and start to depower around 12 knots. In addition, you will have to execute your gear changes faster than a heavier boat. You will find that you will be sailing about two to three degrees higher than the four-person boats. This makes it critical to position yourself on the race course to take advantage of your positioning ability. It may be that you cannot tack directly abeam of a four-person boat because even though you are able to point, the four-person boat will have a slight edge in speed and will roll over the top of you. When you do tack under someone, make sure you are slightly ahead, and then you can force them over by coming up underneath them. You have to sail the boat to the strengths you possess - in this case, pointing ability.

Finally, you will have an advantage downwind and during maneuvers. You should be able to sail lower and faster than a four-person boat downwind. You should also be able to tack and gybe faster than a boat with four people. This can be of great advantage around the race course. Finally, you will have the advantage both upwind and downwind in breeze under 12 knots. As long as you can get by in heavy air upwind, you will be in good shape for just about any regatta in our hemisphere.