I had never heard of a Super Zero – a Code Zero, yes. A Code Zero is a huge downwind sail. But a Super Zero….

Now I think it is just the most wonderful thing on the boat. It is an enormous lightweight sail made of some high-tech plastic*, set on a short bowsprit inside the pulpit. But unlike a Code Zero, it is an upwind sail (although, of course, it can be used downwind too. The essential point is that in light airs, when the boat used fall off her course and stop, the “Big Fella” seems to hang in the still air and somehow generate movement.

Back in 1987, when I was preparing for the Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, I went to Paul Lees at Crusader Sails and asked for a “ghoster” (an enormous lightweight sail to get the boat moving in a calm).

He supplied something that did exactly that. The only trouble was that it was made of Mylar and needed to be flaked carefully after every use. This would occupy a crew of three – four if there was any wind (which by now there was – why do you think I took it down?)

However, I didn’t have a crew of three. I just stuffed it in the bag. It lasted one season.

The 2023 Super Zero does not suffer from this problem – it’s on its own furler. Pull the string, and it rolls away. You just have to remember to take it down before the wind reaches 35kts, or the top half unravels. When that happens, getting it down will be a nightmare (and getting all the holes repaired will be expensive).

The Super Zero is an upwind sail – cut flat as opposed to the Code Zero which is a full downwind sail – but, of course, it can be used downwind (whereas a Code Zero cannot be used upwind).

All the same, where it really comes into its own is sailing dead downwind. This is where your Code Zero gets blanketed by the main. What I do is set the headsail good-winged on a pole at the same time as the Super Zero is set behind the main. Normally, being behind the main would mean it would be blanketed. This way, the wind spilling out of the headsail feeds directly into it.

Effectively, I now have an enormous sail area forward of the mast – 90%, in fact, of what I used to have with the old symmetrical spinnaker.

However, that could take 15 minutes to set – also, it had to be doused in good time before getting into congested waters. That little picture at the top was taken from the heights at the entrance to Baltimore in Ireland. I didn’t roll it away until I was coming into the anchorage. I just pulled the string.

*The material is CZ30 from the German company Dimension Polyant