Tradecraft topics: Spinnaker windward gybe set (sambuca)

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Next in a series of postings concerning sailing tradecraft topics is a technique tip: spinnaker windward gybe set, commonly known as the "sambuca".  This is a good "tool" to have in the arsenal. When do you need to use it?  In a buoy race, when the upwind mark is offset right of the wind direction, or you experience a significant windshift to the right.  In those circumstances, a bear-away set to starboard tack takes you in the wrong direction toward the leeward mark.  You want to be on port tack instead.    

This simple explanation from Ullman Sails describes a bear-away set and a jibe (or gybe) set.  In the figure below, the blue boat performed a bear-away set and the red boat performed a gybe set. 

There are 3 ways to quickly sail on port tack after the upwind mark: 

• Bear-away set to starboard tack and then gybe to port.  This is reasonably safe (that is, risk for errors is low), but unless the gybe is performed well and very soon after the set, you are sailing too far in the wrong direction.
• Conventional gybe set to port tack.  That is, gybe the main and jib immediately after turning downwind at the mark, then set the spinnaker on starboard.  Assuming we are set up for a bear-away set, this involves, before reaching the upwind mark: moving the spinnaker bag to the starboard rail, transferring the spinn halyard around the forestay from port to starboard side, re-running the tack line to starboard, disconnecting the sheets, pulling them around the forestay, and reconnecting on starboard side.  A lot of time is spent on the bow doing this, and the chance for mis-rigging a line is somewhat high.
• Windward gybe set during hoist. This involves setting the spinnaker from the port side forward of the boat, and gybing it to starboard side during the hoist - sort of a combination of a bear-away set and a gybe set.  

Thanks to expert input from our friend Anson Mulder of Quantum Sails, here are the steps to performing this windward gybe set effectively...

1. Start with spinn halyard, sheets, and tack line hooked up for normal bear-away set and the spinnaker bagged on the port rail or in the forward hatch. 
2. Keys crew extends the bowsprit and pre-feeds the tack to the end of the sprit.  Foredeck crew guides the tack out of the bag/hatch.
3. Foredeck crew takes the spinnaker clew out of the bag or hatch and pulls it forward of the forestay.  This is a key step.  Spinn trim crew helps by trimming the starboard side spinn sheet.
4. At the upwind mark and just after turning downwind, mainsail crew and jib trim crew gybe the main and jib.  Jib trim crew keeps the jib over-trimmed so it is out of the way of the spinnaker deploying.  Helm steers to approximately 170 TWA on port tack.  
5. Foredeck crew pulls material from the foot of the spinnaker forward and ducks under the foot to port side, to avoid getting draped with the fabric.  Mid-deck crew helps pull the fabric out of the bag or hatch onto the foredeck. 
6. Spinn trim crew pulls the clew aft along starboard side with the active sheet to separate the foot corners, and keys crew pays out the windward spinn sheet to let it run free.
7. When the spinnaker clew is about halfway aft to the shrouds on starboard side, mid-deck crew starts jumping the spinn halyard at the mast, and keys crew tails it.  Helm steers to about 155 TWA on port tack to avoid an hourglass. 
8. When the spinn halyard is at full hoist, spinn trim crew eases the sheet to let the spinnaker fill, then trims.  Keys crew furls the jib.  Helm steers up to proper course for the run. 

Quite a complex dance step for the entire crew, I think, and great fun to see it work smoothly!  This might be the fastest way to get the boat gybed at the windward mark.  Done efficiently, I think we could manage to get the spinnaker up and drawing on starboard side within 3 boat-lengths of turning downwind.  Do you think we should practice this once or twice to execute it well?!  ;) 

Update: Amazingly coincidentally, I came across this video footage of a Quantum TP52 grand prix race with the crew performing a port-side windward spinnaker gybe set!  Check this out, starting at 3:40.  Very fast and efficient.  Later, they perform a bear-away set at apparently the same upwind mark, starting at 7:40.  Interesting comparison between the two spinnaker sets.  The beginning of the video has some exciting pre-start maneuvering, too!

Another update: I have created a new row item in the Crew Positions and Duties Guide for this windward spinnaker gybe set.  The February 9, 2025 version is current.  Also, I created a slide on the Transitions Technique presentation for the windward gybe set.  The January 5, 2026 version is current.  Get those documents on the Resources page, under the heading CREW DUTIES. 

Yet another update: Little did I know when I wrote this post - the spinnaker windward gybe set is a well-known thing!  It has a name - sambuca!