MAY 29, 2018: IN'S AND OUT'S

MAY 29, 2018

IN’S AND OUT’S 

By the time I got to the harbor, my crew had already swapped out the 135 jib for the 155 with a nice easterly filling in.  As we left the harbor, there were about a dozen boats out for the fun.  We set the other end of the line mark (Thanks to Todd for the bigger mark buoy).  We called for course B4 like, before we can eat we have to do B4!  We set up as sheriff boat for the night and blew the 5 minute horn.  I had Fred on the helm and he nailed the start just crossing the buoy as the prestart 5 minutes expired.  No boats were OCS and the race was on. 

Everyone was rushing toward Black’s buoy and most boats had to tack over to make the mark.  The rounding was very crowded with many boats screaming for room at the mark.  After rounding Blacks, everyone’s strategy diverged. 

Everyone knows that an Easterly is stronger toward shore and most know that there is a westerly current flowing along shore.  What everyone knows does not always pan out. On this night there was a stronger river of wind right on the rumb line to Gov.  As the “boats in the know” battled for the lighter wind toward shore, some of us enjoyed undisturbed wind sailing directly for the mark.  Homer rounded just ahead of PAD and we all charged toward the finish line with the fleet chasing us. 

At the finish it was Homer, well ahead of us.  PAD crossed at 37:11 elapsed time, Tusitala 38.26, Pacific Spirit 38.54, Patricia J 39.00, Nidaros II 41.00, Perfect 36 42.5 and Aeolian 43.5.  The course was 2.43 miles long.

Strategy vs Tactics:

Employing strategy is sailing a course as if no other boats were on the course. Using Tactics is using racing rules to gain an advantage over other boats.  Unless you have a crystal ball to tell you where the stronger wind is, it is usually a crap shoot.  You can attempt to observe where the most wind is, but it is difficult to call.  Sometimes your best call will pay off and other times you get left behind.  On this night, the old rules that “always work” did not pan out for the boats that went inside.

Estimating Lay lines:

One boat got caught at the windward mark dead in the water right in the middle of all of the boats trying to round the mark.  We have all been in this position.  To prevent this from happening requires close examination of everything that is happening around the mark.  Are other boats getting headed at the mark? Is there an adverse current at the mark (check which direction kelp is streaming)?  Do you know the laylines for your boat?  

Every boat has it’s unique layline.  It takes practice to learn this for your boat.  You are sailing on port tack and want to tack onto starboard to clear a mark.  When do you tack onto starboard?  This is what your layline is and you will learn with practice and observation. On some boats you sight the bulkhead, some you sight the traveler. To complicate this, laylines will change when you change your sails. It also helps to tack efficiently (Use race Qs to evaluate this).

We had a great barbecue at the yacht club and we attempted to show everyone the benefits of using Race Qs.  

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice