There has been a request from the American Association for notes on "How to sail a 5-0-5 in heavy weather" so your Editor has been observing the tactics of local identities and the Newsletter has a first hand scoop which may stimulate much argument and discussion in the front bar where the wind blows hardest of all.

Firstly � let us consider the least important item � the boat.
The obvious thing is that the boat must be properly rigged to be able to stand the stresses of heavy weather sailing. The highly developed modern racing dinghy is light but it must have sufficient strength in the places where it counts.

One of the first things to go seems to be parts of the rudder, such as gudgeons, tiller extensions and rudder blades. Now two techniques emerge � some thrash up and down for a few moments to get their eye in � so to speak � and the others sail around quietly with jib rolled, waiting for the five minute gun, putting off the evil moment of exposing the boat to the full force of the wind. Whatever technique is employed here, is soon cut short by the five minute gun and it is here where your preparations are made for the start.

There is a temptation to spend too much time keeping the boat afloat and neglecting to pick the best position, but even in these conditions with our crew having decided that they are going to win, they are also going to attempt to make the winning start and make a sprint right from the jump to take a commanding position and thus gain not only the initiative but the psychological advantage of the extra confidence of taking the lead early. Bang goes the gun and our heroes are away.

Now it is important to sail your very hardest for the first five or ten minutes and this could bring you into a leading position which will stimulate you enough to continue sailing your hardest until the race ends. If you get a poor start or take it easy at this stage, the race is surely lost.

The crew must have the jib in as tight as he can get it, � either with a winch or with a cam cleat of some sort which he can flick out if the boat becomes over pressed, for this will be the sail which gives the power and must be in extremely tight. Many yachting writers recommend moving the jib leads out as far as possible, but the 5-0-5 seems to go just as well with the jib in anything up to 8' from the gunwale under these conditions. As far as the mainsail is concerned it is not necessary to give much of a thought to this.

With the jib hard in and the jib kept full and drawing, never luffing, and the boat perfectly upright, the skipper must concentrate on sailing the best course across the waves. If he is Super man and can do this as well as lean, then the mainsail can be pulled in a bit, but if he is normal and can do his best job of helming by only half leaning this should be sufficient. Provided he doesn't get over-anxious and try to pull the mainsail in, the boat will go like a bird if he keeps the jib full.

The best results seem to be with the mainsail turned completely inside-out and sailing on the after leech, even if it is only for the length of the battens. The main boom is then over towards the edge of the transom and with the centre sheeting the block should be trimmed amidship and not let out more than 2 or 3 inches, otherwise the power of the leech curving back will be lost and the drive is gone. Most important, though, is to keep the boat as upright as possible, even if the crew goes through every other wave.

If the skipper starts to luff for the more savage gusts, all is lost. Simply let the mainsail out further and keep sailing at the same angle with the jib full. This will require tremendous concentration and use of the tiller to keep the boat pointing at the right angle, and as the boat is thrown about by the waves, anticipation is necessary to avoid the jib fluttering or the boat being pulled away too much and being over-pressed and causing the crew to have to let the jib go and then go through the business of getting it in again.

The crew should move further aft under these conditions and be standing almost amidships in the boat. He must resist the temptation to come in from anything else but flat out because if he can come in, � the main sheet should have already been pulled in a little. Most of the leaning straps of the skippers are too low in the boat and if they are raised to the correct height the skipper should be able to fall back over the gunwale with his behind dragging in the water and his weight as low as possible. The crew will need to have his legs a little wider apart than usual because the violet motion of the boat could cause him either to disappear forward or aft in the graceful arc which will cause disaster.

The centreplate can be raised a few inches, which will ease the steering somewhat. The going about is a bit tricky and should be pushed up quickly as the boat has just come over a wave, so that it starts to turn and the next wave gives it a bit of an extra shove. The thing to avoid here is an excessive heeling shortly after the about so the crew must do two things � that is getting on the trapeze smartly at the same time pulling the jib. If he is too late with the latter he goes into the water and if he is too early he goes into the air. The next would appear to be booms and the manner in which they are attached to the gooseneck.

Centreboards also need special attention and these can split at awkward moments and what holds the mast up is beyond us.

All gear must be first class. Cleats must he properly positioned and operating well and low trapeze wires are the order of the day. As regards the sails, there would appear no advantage in having two sets of sails for a 5-0-5 and full sails are no handicap whatsoever in the strongest breezes that a 5-0-5 can stand up to.

By far and above the most important aspect of heavy weather sailing is the attitude of mind that the crew adopt. When standing on the beach before the race, looking at the waves breaking over the breakwater, the sand blowing across the beach and the boat flogging and jumping up and down like a frightened horse.

Anyone but an idiot is extremely apprehensive, in fact downright frightened at this stage. It is a mixture of concern for the poor old boat, the excitement of a large scale battle against the elements, which is generally coupled with a desire to be on an inland tour to Alice Springs at that very moment.

Nevertheless, the crew, after having prepared their boat properly to see that all is in order must adopt the confidence and attitude that, come what may, their boat is going to win � not to participate but to win.

The Race Committee, having decided that it is an ideal day for small boat racing, as they only have to sit in a box, which probably won't blow away, take up their position while the crew lift their shuddering boats through the blowing sand which means at least 25 to 30 miles an hour and prepare to tackle the generally cold water.

Whether the water is cold because the temperature is lower, or because the crew can imagine themselves swimming around with the boat upside down is another matter, but as soon as they push off from the shore they must be prepared to gently thrash the guts out of the boat. Then passes an agonising 1/4 hour, while the boat jumps and leaps and you feel sure that the mast will part in two before the event starts.

By BRIAN PRICE