Some thoughts on racing yesterday as well as how I approach racing in breeze. I apologize for the length, but hopefully people will find it helpful. * Racing took place in the cove. Outside the cove, it was pretty solid whitecaps. Inside the cove we were a bit more protected. The breeze was from the south, about 12 - 20, with strong, short lived puffs. Coming from the south, it was very shifty, with lots of little shifts of 10-15 degrees. High tide was right around noon, allowing us to have a pretty big course (still a bit tight with the windward mark only 2 boatlengths off the dock). Great view for the spectators. * Looking up the racecourse, it seemed that there was more breeze on the left side, particularly closer to land. Further downwind, it was a bit more even. On the final beat, going left and right paid equally well. * The first race was pretty skewed and a small course, but the course was a lot squarer once the marks were moved after the first race. The leeward mark was also dragged quite a bit downwind, meaning that the first beat was pretty short (less than 2 minutes) while the beat back to the finish probably took 5-7 minutes. * Starts: Boats were consistently not on the line, leaving big gaps for those who wanted them. For those who got themselves in position, this was huge, and Sam and Robert were consistently getting off cleanly and heading to the port layline. There was a bit of an issue with the channel marker being right along the port layline, so I found it was better to try to tack a bit early in the beat and setup on the beat to the windward mark about 3 boatlengths beforehand. In one designs, the start is roughly 50% of the race, particularly in boats without spinnakers -- there really isn't any other time when the boatspeeds differ that much between competitors. As such, my philosophy is at start in Lasers is to really concentrate and make sure I get off the line cleanly. (Even being at the wrong end of the line isn't that big a deal so long as you can get some clean air). One race I was over, cleared myself, and tacked out right, got some air, and still did alright. Some thoughts I keep in mind during the sequence: At around the 2 minute mark, I force myself to go upwind for a few seconds, just to make sure my hiking strap is properly set up -- not being able to hike right at the start is trouble, as you won't be able to point and you'll slip sideways into the boat to leeward. I'll try to get my vang and cunningham set for just that amount of pressure and then will loosen them up a bit (just so I have a few horizontal wrinkles when properly trimmed). The reason is threefold: (1) I'd like to be a bit more powered up than normal so I can get off the line cleanly, (2) having the vang looser makes quick maneuvers a bit easier (having the vang cranked on when trying to quickly turn downwind is pretty tough), (3) Having the boom a bit higher also allows you to be have a better view to leeward as well as do emergency tacks and jibes. One other comment about starts in breeze: During the 30 or so seconds when the fleet is just luffing on the line, the breeze tends to push boats downwind a bit more than most people expect, meaning that the boats don't sheet in early enough, resulting in not many boats getting up to the line. Just something I've noticed in most fleets. * Shifts: There were some pretty decent shifts in the puffs. Off the starting line, about 4 boatlengths out, I seemed like I hit a little righty in most of the races. Further away from the shore, the puffs would roll in and bring a shift along with them. Being ready to tack quickly was very helpful. When it's that breezy (and I'm hiking out most of the time), my mantra is "90% fast 100% of the time" meaning that I don't want to be so hiked out / dialed in that I can't move my weight fast enough (i.e., dive inboard if I hit a big header and then quickly tack or quickly head down). This was particularly true since you never spent that long on an individual beat (there was a fair bit of tacking). If I'm sailing in much more open venues (like out in the Bay) I'll want to be dialed in and moving fast for the long beats. * Vang: The vang is a crucial control upwind in a boat with a bendy top mast. In a Laser, you need to have the vang on upwind in breeze. Otherwise, when you go to ease the sail, instead of the sail going out and the top of the sail being flat (thus spilling the air), the sail will actually fill up more and power up the boat (I'm referring to the 3-5 inches of easing from when the main is two-blocked). If you've never seen this in action, while on land, try it out and you'll realize that you need to have the vang on upwind or otherwise, easing just won't be effective. * Downwind: The course was long enough and wide enough that it was helpful to consistently look back upwind and try to "attack" the puffs (i.e., moving your boat laterally on the course so as to try to get into the bigger puffs when possible). Getting open air (a lane) is also key. One issue with always looking back in this much breeze is that it can be hard to keep the boat under control (hit a small wave, etc.). I tend to try to keep the board down a bit more than usual when it's really breezy; being out of control too much is draining (energy wise) and capsizing (of course) is a disaster. One other thing that I do as soon as I round the windward mark is to tighten up my hiking strap. This is useful for both reaches (it's easier to keep the boat on a plane with a tight hiking strap) and downwind -- here I wrap my back leg around the strap and kneel on that leg, as this keeps the boat "more tied" to my weight and movement. If you don't have an adjustable hiking strap tied up either look online or come look at my boat; it's really a useful thing to have and can be done with just one line. The leeward mark roundings tend to be good opportunities to pick up a boat or two; you should aim to round "wide then tight." It's often better to stop the boat (trim the main all the way, even hold onto the boom to keep it from jibing) so as not be rounding on the outside of a huge pack -- you'll be behind those boats and in a bad position (unable to tack to get clean air and perhaps pinned out to the right) -- and just wait until you can get the inside lane. Trimming the cunningham & vang earlier is helpful for being able to get going upwind. * Gear: My drysuit neck gasket is completely blown out, so I went with a spray top and neoprene. I managed to stay warm enough. I was amazed by how much more easily I could get around the boat not wearing my drysuit. Ali Meller (SSA) once told me that he never wore a drysuit while frostbiting in a laser, just a spray top and enough fleece. Moving around kept him warm enough. I'm now inclined to agree, but yesterday was quite a bit warmer than usual. I need to fix the gasket asap. Let me know if you have any questions, Mike |
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