A spinnaker is a special sail used solitarily for sailing boats “downwind,” or with the wind 75 to 180 degrees of the bow of the boat. The spinnaker is hoisted from the inside of the boat to the top of the mast and comes in two types: symmetrical and asymmetrical depending on the cut of the sail and its panels (usually made of a thin, lightweight material like nylon).
Origin of the Spinnaker
The origin of the spinnaker is not agreed upon by the sailing community but can be boiled down to two different stories about two different racing boats during consecutive years.
“Niobe” – 1865
In 1865 William Gordon, owner and skipper of the racing yacht Niobe, hoisted the first spinnaker to be used during a race. Tom Diaper, a crewmember aboard the boat, wrote in his memoirs in 1950 that one of the crew remarked on the sail, “that’s the boat that’ll make her spin.” Gordon flipped the comment and dubbed the sail a “spin-maker,” later to be confused with today’s word—spinnaker.
“Sphinx” – 1866
In 1866 the yacht Sphinx (mispronounced by the general public at the time “spinx”) set a spinnaker by the coast of the Isle of Wight. The crew dubbed the sail a “spinker,” after the boat itself—or rather the mispronunciation of. The word would later be pronounced spinnaker due to time and misconceptions.
Asymmetrical and Symmetrical Sails
The two different types of spinnakers vary depending on the class of the sailboat and it's rigging. Asymmetrical spinnakers function like a large jib and are used for "reaching" (sailing 90 to 135 degrees off the wind). The lift and speed generated from an asymmetrical spinnaker is more, compared with a symmetrical spinnaker. The symmetrical spinnaker is used to sail the boat directly downwind, on a "run" (135 to 180 degrees off the wind).
Rigging the spinnaker and flying it takes much hard work and practice. Raising the spinnaker is often times down while directly downwind so as not to have the sail catch the wind before it is raised to the top of the mast.
Rigging the Spinnaker
Usually the two different types of spinnakers are stored in their own bag or compartment on the boat called the "turtle." The spinnakers three corners are called the clews (two bottom corners) and the head (the top corner). The halyard, or the line used to raise the sail, is attached to the head and the sheets, or the lines used to adjust the sail are attached at the two bottom corners. Once raised the sheets are adjusted to tighten or loosen the sail to better catch the wind pressure.
Sailing the Spinnaker
When sailing the spinnaker one adjusts the leeward (the side of the sailboat closest to the water) sheets according to the wind direction. When the front of the sail begins to curl the sheet is pulled tighter, when the sail is full the sheet is let out until it begins to curl. The person sailing the spinnaker should fly the sail just on the edge of curling. This way of sailing the spinnaker is used for both types of the sail.
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