3 Windward Leeward Races
4 
to 7 knots of breeze
Key Takeaways:
Tacks are costly in low wind so try to start on the favored tack at the favored end of the line
When you are the stand on vessel do so and if you feel the need to bail out, head up not down
When you are trying to round inside a boat that took a wide rounding you have to drive the boat into the hole with conviction – be confident.
We had light wind that turned non-existent once we got on the race course. A wind delay ensued, then a northerly filled in, but only long enough for the Race Committee to move the windward mark and then have the breeze go back to the south, so he had to move it back where he just had it. It was a shifty night and the RC would be moving the marks for almost every race.
Good starts, staying on the lifted tack and clean tacks were paramount tonight. Evyinder did the best at that, going 1,2,4 for 7 points. They were followed by Williwaw (6,3,1) and Scirocco (3,5,2) who both tied with 10 points.
We had a couple of collisions tonight. The first was a port / starboard in the pre-start. When two boats are reaching at each other it is imperative for the Starboard boat to stand on as long as possible. If they feel the port tack boat is not going to avoid the collision the need to turn up into the wind. If Starboard tries to duck Port and Port makes a late duck to avoid Starboard it would be a head on collision – the worst kind. In this case the Port boat tacked and it wasn’t a bad collision.
The second collision was at the windward mark. Two boats rounded wide and a third came in and started to turn into the space they left next to the mark – a smart move. About half way through the turn they got nervous and stopped their turn and went right into the stern of the other boat. They either needed to fully commit to going close to the mark or take the long way around on the outside. You can’t change your mind halfway through. They would have been better off over turning and clipping the windward mark.
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