MAY 9, 2017: POSITIONING FROM BEHIND

MAY 9, 2017

POSITIONING FROM BEHIND

As I approached the harbor, I got excited as I saw the flag flying briskly from a strong Easterly breeze.  We got our crew sorted out again and headed out.  We decided on course B4 to keep us inside where the Easterly would not die.  There was talk of a transition zone right at the start buoy, but we started the 5 minute count down anyway.  As can be expected, the wind started dying as soon as we blew the horn.

Any start in light wind is challenging and this night was no exception.  Somehow, Equinamity and Pacific Spirit had a great start  and were charging off for Blacks moving into an increasing wind as they approached the mark. At the mark Pacific Spirit and Equinamity rounded very close to each other with Perfect 36 and Rosie right behind. After we all got around Blacks the wind seemed to be getting better as we sailed to Gov. 

  Pacific Spirit and Equinamity and Perfect 36 had built up quite a lead by this time.  But wait!  There was a hole (an area of no wind) right at Gov and all of the boats were compressing with the leaders.  Pair A Dice rounded with the leaders and started back to start mark.   Pacific Spirit and Equinamity still had quite a lead on us as we all trudged to the finish mark.

While Pacific Spirit and Equinamity tangled with each other trying to steal each other’s wind, we sailed further out and Pair A Dice rounded Start first with Equinamity and Pacific Spirit following. Aeolian, Perfect 36 finished.  Andiamo edged out Rosie at the finish, followed by Kicks.  Right after we finished the race, the wind filled in with 15 knots of northwesterly breeze for a wonderful sail.

PAYING ATTENTION:

We all love to sail!  It is hard to concentrate on racing when nature is displayed so beautifully around us.  Paying attention to every detail helps to improve your standings.  On this night, we were way behind the leaders. I was settling in enjoying the sail and the evening (and accepting our position), when the skipper snapped me out of it with “what is happening at Gov?”  I looked and there was obviously a hole at Gov.  We noticed that there was a little more wind outside of the mark so we sailed high of the mark and used the waves to keep our momentum around the mark.  There is no way to predict that a hole will develop, but you can see the hole if other boats ahead have sailed into it.  Always avoid sailing into a “no wind” area, it could turn into a “no win” situation!  On the way back to start we could see that there was a little more wind further outside.  Though it was a little further to sail than Equinamity and Pacific Spirit were sailing we went for the more wind outside and prevailed.

The skipper can only do so much. A lot of winning depends on the crew paying attention.  If a boat is attempting to roll you to windward, apprise the skipper of the situation! Are all the telltales flowing as they should? What is happening with the other boats?   How did they set their sail on the downwind leg?  How is this working out for them?  Where is the wind the most? Are your Outhaul, Vang, Backstay, Cunningham, Fairleads all set appropriately? As each of these are adjusted, check the results on your boat speed by checking your GPS (assuming the wind is consistent).  There are a multitude of fine tuning adjustments that can be made on a boat that if done correctly can make a difference in the results of the race.

Looking forward to next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice