Thank you Jeff, that does help a lot. I have a 135 jenny that does round up in the puffs, and luffs a little at the top in light winds. I'll just play with my sheet blocks when this happens. As for the cocktails on board, I've got 100 drink holders on the boat, so I'm not worried about them slipping off the deck. But if the heel gets to be too much where I'm afraid of spillage over the rim, I just empty some of the beverege out of the glass (glug glug).
Jib car position on the so-called "drinking leg" is dictated by the amount of heel that can be tolerated without spilling your cocktail. Start with your leads in your usual up-hill position, and experiment with a variety of rum-based drinks (Mai Tai, Mohito, Rum Runner). As you determine the unique spill tolerances of your glassware and individual drinking skills, adjust the leads accordingly.
I'm not sure if Turk's comment is regarding depowering in heavier air or not. If so, I much prefer depowering the main first. The main accounts for most weather helm in most cruising boats due to it's generally larger sail area. It is also easier to "play" in the puffs. When cruising, a low-set traveler is often employed, but when you are racing your cruising boat, having someone play it down in the puffs and up in the lulls is faster. Train your crew to watch for puffs and lulls by watching the chop on the water and attending to what's happening on boats around you and to communicate this aft. Your main trimmer needs to anticipate the round-ups based upon the feel of the vessel with each puff. Early response is critical. If dropping the traveler is inadequate to stop the round-ups, you may need to consider a reef or, if you have it in your inventory, a smaller jib. If you are approaching a rounding where you want to keep more power (run or a reach), consider hand tightening the vang, centering the traveler, and playing the sheet in and out with the puffs as you would the traveler. This will often require a larger amount of line going in and out, and therefore a quicker reaction. An option we have employed when racing cruising or non-spin classes is to run the reefing lines aft so that reefs can be put in and shaken out quickly and easily. On breezy days, you can reef for up hill and shake it out for the reaches and runs, then put it back in before rounding the leeward mark.
Regarding jib lead position, the way it was best explained to me when I was first learning is this. The jib sheet controls the trim on the bottom of the sail and the jib lead controls the trim on the top of the sail. Pulling the lead forward will tighten the leech of the sail, thus closing or trimming in the top of the sail. Easing the lead aft will allow the top of the jib to spill, essentially easing the top of the sail. You'll see these changes reflected in the break of your inside telltales from the top to the bottom. On a reach, if your lower telltales are streaming nicely, but your upper telltales are luffing on the inside, you essentially need to trim the top of the sail in. Do this by moving your lead forward until the upper telltales stream. As you are further off of the wind (i.e. lead further forward), you will note that the leech of the jib will be hooked inward close to the clew. This is your indicator that it is time to rig a barber hauler (outboard sheet). This is accomplished by attaching a snatch block on the rail and running a second sheet from the clew, outside the lifelines, to a secondary winch. This moves the sheeting angle outboard and will eliminate the back-eddy coming off of your jib into the slot and will keep the slot open, thereby accelerating the flow through the slot. In choosing a position for the barber hauler, start by attaching it immediately outboard of the jib car in the position where the upper tell tales started to come in line. You may need to play with this position on a practice day until you find the ideal spot for your boat for different conditions, as well as the point of sail on which it is best employed. Always remember to note your initial lead position for upwind so you can reset prior to turning the mark.
Finally, a trick that has worked for us at times is to use the whisker pole on the jib to pole it out on the same side of the main to hold the clew outboard. This can work when you are not quite going down hill enough to go wing on wing, though the benefits of this configuration vary from boat to boat, as many smaller boats can go wing on wing with the wind significantly forward of the tabs.
When reaching,which is what Sarah was doing,you you want the lead a little bit forward and outboard(on the rail if possible.)This creates more twist in the leech creating more power and also opening up the "slot" between the main and genoa.
