I haven’t stopped sailing

I’ve just been working all hours so not had the time to write up latest adventures!

More next week when I am back from Berlin (work!).

Video of Topper Xenon

At last a Topper Xenon video! You would have thought Topper would have promoted a few more of these. Anyhow here are some chaps in New Zealand sailing a Topper Xenon. They don’t know how lucky they are not having to negotiate mud banks and deal with tidal flows. It looks like they have awesome conditions down there - my only comment is – keep the boat flat! (but hey I’m in my study with a glass of wine…)

Topper Topaz and Safety Boat

This weekend I was doing my bit for the Sailing Club and was helping out with the safety boat and the Club’s cadets.

We had 2 of the safety boats out, a Rib with a 50hp motor on and something called a Viking which looks to me like it was once a fishing boat or a very large tender; it gives us that stable base and a platform we can anchor on the river (Colne).

I probably found the cadets more amusing than any sailing I did on the day. There is a real mix of girls, boys, those that can, can’t sail, will continue to progress and will become, given the chance, very good sailors. Half way through the afternoon, I transferred from the safety boat to sailing one of the cadets on a Topper Topaz ; an 11 year old who informed me about his previous 6 girlfriends, his current 2 year old relationship and how he is one of the strongest in his class – all completely and very innocent!

Topper Topazs are great fun to sail and incredibly easy compared to the Xenon. It is light and goes into irons very quickly when pointing into the wind. They are extremely manoeuvrable and great fun when learning to sail.

Xenon real Handicap

So just what is the handicap of a Topper Xenon??

Being a good citizen I registered it at the club when I arrived as PY1070 – just like the booklet tells me.

The Lasers which I race against are ‘officially’ PY1078 and there has been some comment in the club that the handicap PY1070 is perhaps a little low ….(or we have very good Laser sailors, or I am particularly rubbish). It has even been suggested that Topper might promote low handicaps to make their boats faster!! <gasp!>

So officially at Wivenhoe Sailing Club, Topper Xenons are now rated as PY1075. This by co-incidence is the same handicap as Brightlingsea Sailing Club uses.

In my quest for the truth, I looked at a couple of other club websites and had a laugh at Erith Yacht Club who has gone totally the opposite way and has given their Topper Xenon class a local handicap of 1035!!

I suspect that a major issue is that when we race, the Barman and I are both quite heavy fella’s and this might cause some of the apparent slowness. Read here for the weight guide lines!

That said, last Sundays race went extremely well for the Barman and I. Despite the spinnaker detaching itself from the bow sprit and the forestay accidentally not been undone when the jib was rigged, we crossed the finish line a credible 2nd just behind the lead Laser. Lessons described in the blog posts below are working.

Close Haul Tips

In my previous post I gave some hints about how best to using the cunningham to adjust tension in the luff to help point the boat - especially in light winds; it's also critical to beating the Laser sailors. On the Topper Xenon this is controlled by the helmsman so naturally I would take most interest in it.

Just to complicate things there is another rope called the outhaul and this is controlled by the crew as it is cleated off under the boom by the mast. Todate when sailing we have not touched it - just made sure it was tight - well it is my first year learning to sail after all. Guidance from Topper is as follows.....

When sailing upwind you will nearly always have the outhaul pulled quite tight but you may wish to loosen it for the downwind legs. You can pre-set the "off" position by tying a large knot (or use a ball) about an inch from the cleat when the foot is pulled tight. This means you simply have to uncleat at the windward mark and it will be in about the right place for downwind sailing. Remember to pull it back on before rounding the leeward mark!

 So next time we go out I will put 2 knots in it and report back how it works.

Sailing with a Cunningham

In an earlier post I highlighted that the Topper Xenon has a cunningham in oppose to a downhaul. This is not just another rope and is extremely useful when racing and of course sailing in general.  If you have a Xenon you have got to learn how to use it. In our last race the Barman and I noticed a significant improvement.

The cunningham adjusts the tension in the luff extremely quickly and easily. By hauling it in or easing the line, the tension in the luff can be changed, thereby shifting the point of maximum draft forward or aft so as to optimize the sail shape.

I have found the greatest impact is when you are trying to point upwind on a close haul. If the cunningham tension is on, you don't point very high.

This bit from the Xenon manual starts to now make a bit more sense....

For a medium wind (crew sitting out hard, but able to sheet the mainsail to the centreline) you should be able to use maximum power. Use very little or no cunningham. The outhaul should be set so that there is about a 3in (7-8cm) gap between mainsail foot and boom at the point of maximum chord. Try to keep the boom on the centreline, provided that the boat remains flat.


The jib can be eased about 1-2in (5-10cm) from maximum tightness for optimum performance. As the wind increases, reduce the power in the mainsail by pulling down on the cunningham progressively until the boat feels comfortable and balanced again. If you have tell tales on the leech, use enough gnav to keep them flying.

For very windy conditions flatten the main by tightening the outhaul, tensioning the cunningham further (with a fully-battened sail this has the effect of flattening the sail without pulling the fullness forward and can therefore be used much more than with a conventional mainsail). Sit out hard and sail free.

In light airs, use little or no gnav to allow the leech to open.