Hi,
Earlier this year I posted
http://www.sprint15.com/forum/viewtopic ... 469#p19809, which pointed out the additional rigging and de-rigging hassle of sailing Sport Mode at a Traveller Event, but as I also have clearly enjoyed sailing Sport Mode (as seen from my past Travellers record) I also challenged Sprinters to sail Sport Mode in this year's summer traveller events; Kevin Dutch has told me that he and Paul Grattage have been sailing Sport Mode this year to take up my challenge.
If Paul sails well in Sport Mode at Grafham he may become the first Sportster to win the Overall Traveller Series this Millenium.... I think that finishing ahead of both Paul Craft and Stuart Snell and in no lower than 7th place would mean he would win the Series on countback from Kevin Dutch and then Paul and Stuart if Kevin won at Grafham. I think that such a win by Paul might be just what is needed to encourage more Travellers to sail Sport Mode.
For Liam, I would point out that when I last won the Sport Mug (2011) I was older than Erling is now, so Erling can't possibly be old enough yet to be classified as elderly......
For Kevin Parvin and others thinking of taking up Sport Mode, I recommend getting a little trapezing practice crewing on a 2 man boat (so that getting out and in on the wire becomes something you are comfortable with in a more controlled and less demanding environment).
Then, when there's a decent breeze sail your Sprint 15 without a jib (either not rigged or furled) and trapeze your Sprint15 with less string around! Get comfortable with moving forwards and backwards to trim the boat fore and aft, and moving aft after you bear away from a beat to a reach and vice versa - you'll also need to let out the trapeze adjuster as you move aft and shorten it as you go forward, and you need to get comfortable with this. It helps to have the grippy tape that Robert recommends (I got mine from Steve Sawford).
As you go out on the wire, I have 3 key recommendations :
1 ALWAYS push out harder with the front leg - you can even push out with just the front leg and then put the aft leg on the side of the boat when you're well out - just to prevent you being flipped back into the boat sideways!
2 NEVER grip the tiller extension - let it slide through your hand so you don't bear away, but retain enough friction to prevent luffing.
3 Before you go out on the wire, set the Traveller roughly where you think it needs to be, with any depowering of the rig managed by the twist in the main from a less than fully pulled-in mainsheet. Hold the mainsheet in a hand as you go out, initially letting it slide through the hand but gripping it firmly as you are getting towards "right out on the wire" - this will power up the mainsail and balance the boat better against your weight - this ties in with the usual Sprint15 advice on tacking - let out a foot or so of main as you tack, get the boat moving on the new tack and then harden up the mainsheet and luff marginally at speed on to the new beat. You can then adjust the Traveller if necessary - it should be easy to flip the traveller sheet out of its cleat and adjust the traveller car to where you want it; do the trickier bit of cleating it by catching the traveller sheet in front of one of your feet, toes angled forward so that the sheet is so low across the trampoline that it has no alternative but to cleat.
Sail quite a lot unarig on the wire so that you can do all this "comfortably" before adding the complications of trapezing and handling the jib as well.
Meanwhile, on calmer days when you wouldn't need to go out on the wire you should sail with the main and jib (and that long tiller extension!), to develop a routine for handling both the jib and main. My tip is to get the jib roughly right as quick as you can but a bit loose, get the main right and then the jib. Try to develop a routine which you can also take out onto the wire.
Then with the confidence that will come from the competence you'll have already developed you use the full Sport rig in a decent breeze. As you go out on the wire, take the jib sheet out with you (as well as the mainsheet which you're going to pull in a bit as you go out! - see above). Get the main set first, then the jib and away you go - it really is so much more exhilarating than sailing Unarig Standard Mode. To adjust the jib, the blocks must be set so that you can easily uncleat the jib sheet, and cleat the sheet by pulling the sheet in around a foot with the toes sticking up over the deck and angled aft.
You'll still have a lot to learn, absorb, hone your skills, develop more skills - especially sailing off-wind and more so in strong wind conditions. Yes, you'll make mistakes, have capsizes (including pitchpoles and cartwheels); if you persist, the mistakes happen less frequently - but there will still be those moments when keeping it up will be in doubt.
For the sceptics who have noticed I haven't sailed Sport Mode much recently, the wear and tear of my advancing years exact a toll that limits my physical activity. Will I be able to sail any 2014 Traveller Event, in any Sprint 15 Format? If I'm lucky!
. Solution: chuck it on the tramp but leave a loop (can be touching the water) dangling over your front leg so it is easy to control. Don't worry too much about the jib sheet, just try and keep it towards the front of the tramp, away from the main if you can. If you are really good, leave some dangling over the windward side so you can reach it to adjust if necessary. If not just carry on regardless 
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). I leave the main cleated and bear away a bit; some prefer to pull the sheet in as they go out. I'm not good enough for the latter but you might prefer it.
