What a nice day! If you missed it you missed out. The day started out with rain and as I drove up to the marina I saw one lunatic on the bike path. I thought “what is this guy doing its raining and rather cold out to be biking” but his purpose was not to bike. He was going frostbiting…now that was some motivation for the rest of us. The day brought light to medium winds and shifty (I guess that goes unsaid). The shifts seemed to come from both sides of the course but the course was slightly skewed so the port tack was the longer tack. I started near or at the pin almost every race. I favored the left side of the course but that was secondary to looking for wind pressure. I almost every race I tried to stay away from the laylines. Since it was shifting so much, one minute you could be on the layline and the next way above so I tried to favor the middle-left. Playing the middle also allows you to tack on every shift. I would say the shifts were in 45 second intervals or less…I didn’t time them. I just tack when I get headed. But going back to the pressure, when I was tacking on the shifts I was trying to “connect the puffs”. That is tacking when I got headed but if the was more wind ahead then staying a little bit longer and going for the breeze instead. Constantly trying to sail in the puffs. Wide and Tight One thing that I have noticed for a while now is the leeward mark rounding maneuvers. Geoff took a good video last week of a leeward mark roundings. The time frame is around the 2:40-3:20, 4:18-5:15 and 6:32-7:28 minute marks. The first thing that I do even before entering the two boat length circle is to put my centerboard down first. This allows you to maneuver. Then I adjust anything else. If I am jibing for the mark I try to jibe as far away from the mark as practicable, not at the mark (this might not be possible). So when I say wide and tight, I mean on your entrance to the mark take it wide (If there is no one overlapped with you) about a boat to a boat and a half length distance from the mark and then turn it tight (not fast a gradual turn). This allows you to set up on the high lane from the mark. If you take it tight you end coming out wide and in the low lane in the bad air. I have caught a lot of boats doing this, including this weekend. If you end up in the high lane from the mark you end up controlling anyone to leeward and having the option to tack away if need be. So when it is possible take it wide and tight. Thanks to Jim for running the races and Happy Holidays! See everyone in ’08! Erich Hesse |
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