Sydney Hobart veteran shares downwind heavy-air sailing knowledge

The event was held in response to recommendations from the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Incident Report.In addition to having competed in an impressive array of international offshore races, the panelists Adam “Brownie” Brown, Jack Macartney and Mike “Greenie” Green, have collectively started in 80 Rolex Sydney Hobarts. CYCA Commodore Sam Haynes moderated the 90 minute event where the panelists shared their knowledge of and opinions on a range of offshore-sailing focused topics and answered questions from audience members.

Meet Brownie

Brownie is an offshore racing specialist, with three Overall Sydney Hobart victories (1992 – Ragamuffin, 2008 – Quest and 2015 – Balance). He crewed on board Geoffrey Hill’s Santa Cruz 72 Antipodes in the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart.He was on board the Reichel Pugh 44 Sword on Orion in the 1998 Sydney Hobart which underwent a 360-degree roll and, as a result, dismasted en route to Eden. One crew member, Glyn Charles, tragically died. The Summer 2025 edition of Offshore magazine captured the highlights from Brownie’s conversation with Sam Haynes — and there were many.

Feedback loop between crew members

Sam Haynes: What does the feedback loop look like on a boat in strong wind conditions?

Brownie: Constant feedback. There should always be communication between the helmsperson and the trimmers. The trimmers will, by default, always feel the pressure before the helmsperson does because they are on the end of the sheet, so they can talk to the helmsperson. But if the boat’s overpowered, it is up to the helmsperson to communicate that back to the trimmers.

Physics of sailing and how to recover from a broach*

One of the things we forget in sailing is the fundamentals of the physics of what we are trying to achieve. We are trying to achieve foils [sails] and aquatic foils [rudder] to work in harmony with each other to balance out the high and the low-pressure cells within that configuration. So, if sailing is hard, well then it shouldn’t be.

The automatic response is to turn the helm against that low pressure, which means you are exacerbating another low pressure in the aquatic sense with the rudder turning hard. Suddenly, you are fighting the situation.

Try and sail the boat as if it is on railway tracks where everything is parallel. I see so many people with the helm hard over trying to get themselves out of a broach. But if you straighten up the rudder, let the water flow over the rudder equally on both sides, the boat will speed up and you can pick your time to bear away.

How to prevent a death roll*

The reason for a death roll in boats with symmetrical spinnakers, is that the air travels faster around the outside of the sail than on the inside of the sail. By flattening the spinnaker out, it slows the speed of the air away from the outside of the sail and makes it more balanced with the inside of the sail.

The best way to try and reduce that roll is with tweakers. Tweakers down [on], spinnaker sheet on, pole back will flatten that sail and all a sudden you will end up with some control.

Sam Haynes: How do you get a boat ready for a gybe?

Brownie:

1. If you have just changed watches, it takes a while for crew to settle into a trim and steering zone before they feel comfortable. On the 52 footers, there is upwards of seven or eight people that change watches at a time. I would suggest that a proper handover is completed.
2. There is a tendency for everyone to start talking and it breeds complete confusion. There should be straightforward processes that the boat follows on a regular basis. For example, if you are going to pull a spinnaker down, it should be done the same way each time, do not reinvent the wheel.
3. Make sure crew are in their roles. The higher the risk, the more I encourage people to go back to what I call starting positions. Own those roles because that is your area of expertise. I would also make sure that your lead helmsperson is steering the boat through the gybe.
4. There are lots of things to consider outside of sail trim, like torches on deck and to check that crew are tethered on.

The gybe

1. Pick the appropriate wave. If you pick a wave and you surf down it, you have decreased the power and apparent wind* in the sail, therefore the boat should be unloaded.
2. Bring the mainsheet in. Quite often there are two winches on a mainsheet. There is no reason you cannot use two mainsheet winches so that the main sail comes in at twice the speed.

The most dangerous section of the gybe is when the mainsheet is only a quarter of the way in, and you have not got enough helm grip to hold the boat, and she gets a bit unstable. So, when you go to decide to gybe, the mainsheet must come on.

• Make sure the traveller is centred and locked off. It is all very well to centre the mainsheet, but then suddenly, the traveller swings across.
• Through the gybe. Refer to the Windex [wind indicator on the mast], let the leach [back edge of the sail] fall through/ come across and then let the mainsheet out [after the gybe].

Sam Haynes: How do you stop unexpected gybes?

Brownie: I recommend to scull* the waves. To go straight down a wave is to go into the mine. To go straight up a wave, you are potentially going to launch the boat straight through it.

To scull the waves is to put the bow down to increase your apparent wind speed. That will help balance the boat out and you won’t fight the rudder as much. It’s all about feel.

In the 1998 Sydney Hobart, we [Sword of Orion] were small in our sail area. Eventually we just had a storm jib up. What we found was there was no wind at the bottom of the waves. We did not have enough horsepower to go up the wave and then scull the boat off the top of the wave. I am not telling you what sail to have up, but it is that fine balance between the horsepower to get up the wave and then being able to peel off the back of the wave. And small, displacement boats are quite characteristic of those issues.

Boom preventers*

Brownie: If the preventer is coming in at mid-boom and you have a boom that’s designed for end boom sheeting, you have doubled the load on the boom and run the risk of breaking it. Just be aware of that.

Audience member: There was at least one Double Handed yacht which retired from the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart due to fatigue. Have you ever gotten to a stage where you thought – maybe we should not keep racing?

Brownie: This is a subject that’s very dear to my heart because in the 1998 Sydney Hobart, this is exactly what happened.

We had over 120 years of Hobart experience on the boat [Sword of Orion]. A very talented crew. We were doing well. But the crew was fatigued, and in some cases, seasickness had crept in.

We looked at the weather for a considerable amount of time and tried to work out what the best solution was. We had only just entered Bass Strait and knew that in those conditions we were up for another couple of days of this. And that was the telling point of why we made the decision [to retire].

We went through the process. We spoke to the owner. We consulted the whole crew to make sure that everybody was on the same page. We went through a formal briefing process as to how we would turn around – engine on, sails ready, all crew up on deck, ready to go.

We started to sail towards Eden on NSW’s South Coast. There was a fair bit of stress relief on board – humour, laughter, lots of talks about smokes and beers at the Eden Hotel.

We will never know, but it [retiring] was probably one of the worst decisions we could have made because we took our eyes off the ball.

The crew members who were fatigued and seasick helmed because they wanted to feel better.

“Sure enough, through a combination of fatigue, unluckiness and probably lack of planning, we got sideways on a wave and rolled the boat…

So, when you make those decisions – sail back to port just as you would sail in a race. Do not go into cruise mode. Do not worry about the kettle until you are back at port. You are not out of trouble until you close the heads.”

Glossary of terms

• Death roll – during a death roll, the boat rolls from side to side, becoming gradually more unstable until either it capsizes or the skipper reacts correctly to prevent it.
• Broach – an abrupt, involuntary change in a vessel’s course, towards the wind, resulting from loss of directional control, when the vessel’s rudder becomes ineffective. 
• Apparent wind – the wind you feel when the boat is moving.
• Sculling – sailing more of a scalloped horizontal course that matches the vertical shape of the seas.
• Boom preventer – a device that limits the boom’s ability to swing unexpectedly across the boat due to an accidental gybe.

The reflections shared by Brownie are based on extensive personal experience and insights. Ultimately, safety decisions should be made by the owner or skipper, considering the specific circumstances of each yacht.