Headsail Changes
By:  Larry Costa

As I advanced from a raw beginner to a novice sailor I found myself 
stretching the boundaries of my abilities almost every time I went 
Pottering.  The more familiar I became with P-15 #555, Otter, my first 
Potter, the more I was willing to keep the sails up when the conditions 
worsened. I was continually scaring myself but after each fright I would 
look back and think, that wasn't so bad.  When I started sailing my P-19, I 
discovered a whole new set of challenges but one remained that I had never 
overcome on Otter, changing the headsail in rough conditions.  

On Tomales bay, where I do a lot of my sailing, the conditions can go from 
great to lump-in-the-throat in less than a half hour.  This is due to the 
shallowness of the bay, and because the bay is a natural funnel for the 
afternoon winds of summer.  The nice thing about Tomales, as a training 
area, is that it is only a mile wide so if conditions became heaver than I 
felt I could handle I was never far from a protected cove where the sails 
and my anxiety level could be lowered.  The down side of Tomales was that I 
never had to learn to change the foresail while underway.

One day, after a club sail at Tomales Jerry asked me why I had beached Happy 
Camper when the wind came up.  When I told him it was so I could make a sail 
change he asked me why I didn't do it under way.  I told him that I had 
tried to hove to before but had little faith in that maneuver as the boat 
would not hold a steady course while I climbed forward.  He then explained 
the following method to me which I have now tried many times in different 
conditions and have been amazed at how straight a course HC can maintain 
while I am playing deck monkey.  My description is as I do it on my P-19, 
Happy Camper, but Jerry has used the same method (modified of course) for 
many years on his P-15, Breezy.

First you need to fall off the wind until it is on the beam, or 
perpendicular to your direction of travel.  Then drop your Lapper or what 
ever large sail you have hanging on the forestay to the deck. (You have 
installed a down haul, right?)  adjust your main until the leading quarter 
to third of it is luffing.  Tie down your tiller and watch for a minute to 
make sure that your boat holds course. Go into the cabin, untie the hatch, 
and place the standard jib on the bunk under the hatch.  Climb back out into 
the cockpit and check to see that your Potter is still on course, then 
loosen the down haul and jib sheets, and climb up on the foredeck.  Of 
course you are wearing your life jacket and are tethered to the boat when 
you leave the cockpit.  

On deck, unclip the halyard from the sail head and hook it to the down haul. 
 Unhook the tack from the stemhead fitting.  Unhank the sail and wad it into 
a small enough shape to fit through the forehatch.  Open the hatch and shove 
the large sail in.  Unclip the sheets. (Of course you have installed a snap 
on the sheets and on the tack so you can make these quick sail changes. 
Right?) Clip the sheets to the small jib, pull it unto deck and close the 
hatch.  hook the sail tack to the stemhead fitting, hank the sail onto the 
forestay (remembering to run the downhaul through the hanks), and attach the 
halyard.  After climbing back into the cockpit you can raise the jib and 
then head back onto your original course.  

As with all new techniques, please practice this in calmer conditions before 
you find yourself with your Genoa up, down wind from your destination, miles 
from shore, and the wind climbing above 30 Knots.  I hope this helps you as 
much as it has helped me.