APRIL 10, 2018 SPRING WIND

April 10, 2018

SPRING WIND

Checking predict wind and Sail-flow in the morning, I could not believe they were actually calling for 20 knot winds at 6pm.  When I showed up to the harbor, the winds were obviously ramping up for a beautiful evening sail. We had about a dozen boats out and, after we set the start line buoy, we called course Whiskey 4.  Homer on Equity was the sheriff and he sounded the five minute horn and the start horn.

On Pair a Dice, we came off the line on starboard tack to get into the stronger wind outside, but tacked over a short distance out.  There were just too many waves stopping us on starboard tack and the wind was a little strong for the sails we were using.  We tacked over and Pacific Spirit tacked over to cover us.  We all sailed in on port tack and one by one we tacked over to get outside.  Homer and Pacific Spirit were really showing the way on this night and rounded Wharf well ahead of the rest of us. 

 

On Pair A Dice, we thought we had overstood the mark when we tacked over for wharf mark.  If we had watched closely, there were 3 boats ahead of us at the mark that had to throw in another tack to round. All of the boats were getting a header at the mark.  We had set our sail for sailing directly to the mark and we got caught in the same trap.  We had to tack to get around the mark.  Doug on Avatar expertly sailed right by our stern and easily rounded and was ahead of us

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We all marched off toward Gov and finally to the finish mark.  It is amazing to me how very little changes in standings after rounding the windward mark.  It seems like all gains on the race course are made during the beat to weather.

We had a great get together at the Crow’s Nest with a lot of discussions on sailing and boat performance.

RACE QS:

I cannot say enough good about Race QS.  In previous blogs, I have encouraged boats to use this app.  We are at the point where EVERYONE must use Race QS in order to be recognized.  This FREE app is one of the best things you can do to improve your sailing.  Have you ever wondered why some boats are always leading?  Race QS and studying the tracks after the race can show you how to improve your sailing ability.

Since we will not incorporate PHRF ratings in out Tuesday Night Sailing, Race Qs is one of the best ways we can compare our performance to much faster boats.  We now have a 40 foot boat and several very fast boats.  They are certainly going to finish ahead of you, but checking the distance of the course and getting the time they crossed the line and you cross the line, you can see how you would have done if sailing similar boats.  I watch several parameters when examining my tracks on Race Qs:   How tight are the dots in front of the cone showing how steadily you are steering?  How consistent is your angle of heel?  How are our tacks?  You can get all of this information from Race QS.  Download the app and use it!

I am looking forward to our next Tuesday night Sailing!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice