On our video shoot yesterday for a new series starting next year we were looking at gybing asymmetric and symmetric spinnakers and how to do that short-handed.

To help out we had with us Hannah Jenner (above left). Hannah, 31, was a skipper in the Clipper Round the World Race and has raced 35,000 miles offshore so she’s an expert in sailing offshore with a large crew. She’s also getting to grips with two-handed sailing, as she and German sailor Anna-Maria Renken prepare to set off in September in a Class 40 yacht on the two-handed Global Ocean Race.

Together with Pip Hare our video series editor and a professional sailing coach and solo sailor (top right) she was able to gybe and drop both the A-sail and the 184 square metre symmetric kite. The keys to the procedure, they illustrated, were careful preparation, methodical execution and tidying up straightaway afterwards.

Hannah also give us some tips on effective skippering from her experience leading a team of 16 novices. One of her top pieces of advice was never to get sucked in by crew enthusiasm into hoising a sail, making a manoeuvre or indeed doing anything else about which you feel uncomfortable.

“After a while everyone thinks they don’t need a skipper, but when something goes wrong everyone looks to you to sort it all out,” she observes.

She gave us some good examples of how to keep communication on board clear, confident and concise, and avoid the shouting on board that puts so many family, friends and racing crew off for good.

All that and more in the video and feature series coming up at the end of the year…