I'm not a spi sailor (although I hope to remedy that deficiency soon). I've read that most people nowadays feel that downwind under spi is the way to go even in higher winds. I always thought that the trickiest part of spi sailing in higher winds is setting the spi. So my question is: how do you do it? Do you just bear off close to DDW (while centering the traveller and sheeting the main) and hoist the spi letting the clew flap ahead (until the hoist is completed), then begin slowly sheeting in and heading up? Do you sheet in and head up together or do one before the other?
Thanks for the input,
Jerry