Tuesday June 3, 2014
HEADERS LIFTS AND OTHER FACTORS
Summer is
finally here, and with it, other activities and vacations can get in the way of
sailing on Tuesdays. I only had one of
my usual crew members show up and was a little late getting out of the
harbor. We arrived on the scene: about
12 knots of a steady breeze from south west.
Pacific Spirit called the course to be course 6: start to Mile and
finish at Gov. We had six boats out for
a great evening of sailing and it was nice to see Diver Down back out after a
few months off.
With a
starboard tack start being favored, everyone was in a parade at the start with
Makani leading followed by Pacific Spirit then Pair A DIce and Diver Down just behind and a
little to windward to us. It seems we
were all early for the start and we were all stalling. Since I was just to leeward of Pacific
Spirit, and wanted to get to windward of them, I stalled by luffing up and
setting myself up so I was just behind them and a little to windward of them.
As we crossed the line, Makani was leading,
followed by Pacific Spirit, Pair a Dice and Diver Down. I found myself sandwiched between Pacific
Spirit to leeward and Diver Down to windward.
Diver Down was being lee-bowed by us and with the disturbed wind was not
able to roll us and finally tacked over.
Not wanting to “sail to the corner” we tacked over shortly after while
Makani and Pacific Spirit sailed further out.
We watched as Diver Down sailed way inside as we kept tacking toward the
first mark (Mile). On the first and second crossing with Makani, we had to take
their stern. As we approached Mile to
round, we were astounded that Diver Down had taken quite a lead and was ahead
of us. Both Makani and Pair a Dice
overstood Mile a little, and Pair A Dice rounded mile just ahead of
Makani. Alas, we were never able to
close the gap with Diver Down so Diver Down took honors for the night. Pair a Dice was second followed by Makani,
Pacific Spirit then Andiamo and Aeolian.
With as many tacks as it took to get to Mile, it seems that it was
proper reading and use of headers, lifts and other factors that declared the
winner. In retrospect, I think the long
tack Diver Down took inside let them take the waves at a better angle and this
gave them their lead. Good job Vance and crew!
After the
race Mark Barshay found the perfect venue for dinner: The Crows Nest deck
facing the ocean. It was far enough from
the band and they had space heaters which made it very cozy. We had great discussions on tactics and
conditions we faced on the race course
The Dance of
the start:
The start is
one of the most difficult and critical parts of racing. So how do you consistently get a great
start? From my experience, the best
starting sailors are the ones that have a keen judgement of time and
distance. How long will it take to cover
a certain distance in the wind that is available? Of course getting out and practicing starts
greatly improves judgment of time and distance.
Once you have this skill, you must learn to dance with the other
boats. The end of the line closest to
the wind is the favored end of the line, so you can bet, the favored end will
be crowded with boats. Dancing with
other boats is having the ability to think quickly and know how to make a bad
situation advantageous for your boat.
Other boats do something; tack. Jibe, luff you up, what are you going to
do to counter their move? This only comes with experience and our Tuesday
nights are a perfect time to develop this skill.
One other
observation I have made about starts. It
is a known fact that the lighter the boat, the quicker they can
accelerate. Lighter boats will usually
pull up to the line and luff up stopping their boat, knowing they can
accelerate quickly. Catalinas are not
light boats and take a long time to accelerate.
As usual, clear air is critical, but I would think that crossing the
line at full speed even a little late for the start is better than slowing the
boat in the last 30 seconds before the start.
See you next
Tuesday.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair
A Dice
Barry,
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blow-by-blow race reports. It helps me to relive the ecstasy, and the agony, of Tuesday night racing on a cruising boat. I was in town this week and was privileged to be invited to crew with Pacific Spirit. We had a great time and afterwards, we found the perfect venue for our debrief: the saloon aboard Pacific Spirit, as per a long-standing Tuesday-night tradition. If you can imagine the saloon on a Catalina 32, you might enjoy thinking about the image of eight crew members jammed in there, crowded around the groaning board, with all the food and wine, having a great, and very cozy, party. Thanks again to Skipper Diana and Party Captain Cathy, and all the Pacific Spirits, for another memorable evening in Santa Cruz. As for me, my sailing season starts in earnest the minute I get home to Birch Bay, Washington this Saturday afternoon.
Fair winds to Catalina sailors everywhere.
Chris Doutre, s/v True North, Catalina (Bénéteau) 33