No, The Lothian Sky has not been taken over by MI6.  A Code 0 is a particular type of sail that is officially designated as a downwind sail but performs really well between 40 and 70 degrees off the wind in light winds.  It was developed initially in the Volvo Ocean Race  and has now been adopted as a standard for even casual sailors.  In theory it should work well with the gennaker which is a downwind sail that can be deployed effectively between 80 and 150 degrees off the wind.  In heavier winds the self-tacking jib should come into its own.

The ideal solution would have been to have a 130% genoa but the maximum that Hanse will do is 105% and, as Henry said, that would make little difference to the performance. Its all to do with the rigging.  The shrouds are attached amidships at the gunnels which means that any upwind sail that passes the shrouds could not be fully sheeted in.  Hanse don’t point that out when they market the yacht.

You might recall my complaining about the handicap in last year’s race.  I was penalised for the gennaker and the self-tacking jib was not powerful enough in the lighter winds that we experienced.  So bringing a Code 0 on board might help with that problem …. in theory, which by the way I do not understand!  It will be deliver on 5th September, so we are cutting it fine.  Training starts on 4th September.

The other modification that I have added is a top down furler for the gennaker.  You may recall my moaning about the effort of hoisting and gybing the gennaker in the last post.  I am hoping the furler will reduce the effort and make gybing smoother.  Ann will be happy about that.  No doubt Henry will want to take the purist position and stick to the old format.  We will see!

Anyway see below the design of the new sail.  I have tried to create a stylised representation of the Scottish Saltire.  It sort of works …

Code 0

If you would like to see the furler in action go here.