Sunday was another light air day. My priorities were: 1) being on the line at the start with clear air 2) keeping the boat moving at all times, and 3) staying as still as possible in the in the boat. This was especially true with races 1-3. At the start of the afternoon, the current was coming up the river fairly strong. Conditions were not unlike the PRSA Fall Frostbite regatta a couple weeks ago. I didn’t think there was too much variation in the current velocity across the river, with the exceptions being that it was faster in the main channel to the east of the course, and in the WSM channel to the west of the course. Strategically, I thought that the Virginia side of the course was a bit better, mainly because it seemed like the breeze was a bit more consistent over there. And during race 3, when the wind died completely, it ended up filling in from the Virginia side first. Having said that, during the first race, I started toward the pin end of the line and had boats to windward that kept me from tacking, so I ended up sailing out to the left, which worked out OK too. I think that for races 1-3, staying towards the sides of the course (especially the Virginia side) put you in marginally better breeze. Everyone who hasn’t should read Dave Perry’s Winning in One Designs. Very early in his chapter about light air sailing, he advises staying away from large groups of boats in the middle of the course when sailing in light air. A large clump of boats in the middle of the course will make the wind go up and over the entire group. In those cases, you’ll probably find more wind on the edges of the course. Upwind, I tried to concentrate on keeping the boat moving, and was sometimes sailing 20 degrees lower than other boats. It takes excruciatingly long to get the boat moving if you lose forward speed. I botched up one tack and probably lost about 8-10 boatlengths while slowly accelerating back up to speed. Both upwind and downwind, get your weight placed properly in the boat and then stay still. When you start to get uncomfortable and feel like you have to re-adjust your position, don’t. Continue to stay still. Any movement of the hull will be amplified in the sail, and disrupt whatever airflow you have. Proper weight placement in light air mean far enough forward to get the transom just clear of the water. Conditions for raced 4 and 5 were fairly different. By then the wind had filled in a bit (now from the southeast), and the current had slacked off some. In addition, the start line was extremely skewed. Starting at the favored end was everything. The races were just too short to make up any ground after a poor start. I spent too much time looking for the reset marks before the start of race 4. When the starting line was finally set with less than a minute and a half to go, I found myself in a poor position to get up to the pin end in time, and had to settle for a mid-line start and my poorest finish of the day. Having learned my lesson, I managed to get a better start in the final race, was able to get clear air shortly after coming off the line, and managed to place third. See you next week Lars |
||||
Join the PRSA Laser Fleet Email List
Contact the PRSA Laser Webmaster at: