We had another great racing night last night. We did our Time Trial Course #2 as a fleet race with 11 boats. We got the start off and everyone reached to G “5” then jibed and broad reached to R “6”, it was a run to R N “8” and that’s when the fun started.
The first three boats around all tacked as soon as they rounded the mark. While starboard tack was the favored tack to the next mark – G C “7” – it wasn’t favored by
much. This is what they were staring at as they rounded the mark:
8 boats coming dead down wind taking all of their air.
I coached Orange boat to sail wide, keep up their speed and stay on port tack until they were well clear of the mess developing around the mark. The first three boats all ground to a halt in the disturbed air from themselves and the boats coming downwind to the mark. Orange boat rounded G C “7” in first place. Here is a diagram of the mark rounding:
When we got into the sail shed I wrote four things on the board and Mike brought up another:
- Don’t follow the leader – It is very hard to pass by following the boats ahead of you. You will always be sailing in their dirty air. You need to get away from them so you have clean air. This is doubly important in light winds. Also, on navigational challenges like we had today boats miss marks and get disqualified. There is a reason the course is called “Ian’s Folly”. Read the sailing instructions and charts with care and make sure you round all of the marks.
- Keep your air clear – Don’t sail into a place with dirty or disturbed air.
- Give other boats dirty air – Put covers on the boats behind you. Make it hard on them.
- Don’t overstand – Once you’ve done all the work to get free don’t sail past the laylines and sail extra distance.
- Have a plan – As you approach the mark think about what you want to do on the next leg and position your boat accordingly. Last night coming out of rounding R N “8” footing with speed to get clear of the massive pileup was the fastest way to get to the next upwind mark.
Remember to Be Safe, Have Fun and a distant third Be Competitive!