MAY 14, 2019
A CRAZY, MIXED UP
SAIL
I got to the boat around 3:30 and there was definitely wind
as I got the boat ready and talked to dock members who had sailed earlier. They had come in early because of the rough
conditions. As we talked, I looked at
the Crow’s Nest flag as it hung limply showing no wind at all. Where was the predicted 10-16 knot breezes
predicted for this evening? By the time
we left the harbor at 5:30, it looked like a South or East wind was
developing. As we approached the start
mark the bearing of the wind was from 250 degrees. We were going to have a crazy mixed up sail
tonight!
We set the start line mark, called for course M2 (start,
Mile, start/finish) and gave a 5 minute horn.
We had 11 boats out for the fun or frustration, depending on which boat
you were on. As the 5 minutes counted
down it seemed the wind was dying where we had set the start line. There was still adequate wind outside but how
to get to it with a healthy South swell rolling through? On Pair A Dice, I wanted to avoid all of the
boats on the outside end of the line (with more wind). My plan was to cross the line on starboard,
closer to shore and quickly tack over to avoid the dirty wind of multiple boats
further out. As we got closer to the start time, the wind seemed to die with
multiple boats in close quarters with some declaring “I have no steerage”.
Other boats were pushed into the mark by the motion of the ocean.
Finally we all got far enough from other boats to actually
sail in the whisper of a breeze. Some boats accomplished clear air and got
outside where there was more wind. On Pair A Dice, we were in the unenviable
position of watching ALL of the boats sterns sailing away from us. Finally we got into some wind and made our
way outside noting that there were frequent 30 degree shifts in the wind. We noticed boats that followed the normal
path of tacking toward mile sailed back into the lighter wind. We saw a lot stronger wind way outside and
sailed out to get into it. It sure felt
good to be actually sailing again in a steady breeze.
We all rounded Mile and started back inside into the lighter
wind. At the finish it was Tusitala
33:02, Pacific Spirit 37:14, Perfect 36 44:45, Avatar 46:48, Makani 47:24,
Kicks 48:03, Pair A Dice 48:30, Dusk till Dawn (Sweet Pea) 51:47 and Aeolian 54:15.
Course distance was 2.17 miles and times are elapsed.
To see the race QS track for this night, click on this link.
With the congested start in light wind and multiple massive
wind shifts along the way, it truly was a crazy mixed up sail.
STARTING STRATEGY:
Races are often won or lost by how your start compares to
competitors. It is a common axiom to
strive for clear air at the start with room to leeward so you can fall off a
little and squirt ahead of the pack to keep your air clear. Achieving these
goal in normal wind are desirable. When
the wind at the start is minimal, attaining these goals become critical. On this
night Tusitala got a clean start and was able to find a gap to sail through at
the start line and soon was in more wind romping off ahead of everyone. Being a larger boat, maybe there was more
wind higher up to propelled them through the other boats achieving an excellent
start.
Most boats will start on starboard and try to sail right on
the line and harden up at the start time.
This often leaves a gap on one end of the line since everyone wants to
be on the line for the start. Perfect 36 used this phenomenon to their
advantage on this night, coming down the line on port and hardening up into the
gap on the line left by the starboard tackers.
They did well capitalizing on this excellent start for a great finish.
STARTING RULES:
For the start, all boats are sailing at close quarters, so
it is critical to know and abide by the rules regarding right of way. My crew
knows to always apprise the skipper of every boat that needs to be dealt
with. With all the blind spots behind
sails and the work of sailing a boat and having a small crew, it can be a
daunting, but still critical a task to keep an eye out for other boats.
One rule commonly employed at the start is the windward vs
leeward positions. Leeward boat has
right of way over windward boats and if overlapped on the line, the leeward
boat can luff the windward boat and force them over the line early. This gets to be quite a game in team racing
as everyone strives to avoid “getting hooked” by a leeward boat. Windward/leeward
positions are used to also close the door on a boat attempting to barge at one
end of the line. Since we have no race
committee for our Tuesday nights and no protest room, it is critical to follow
the rules. We are all on the honor
system.
See you next Tuesday.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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