Media Sailing to the Starting Line, Masters MidWinters East at Clearwater 2006
- Thread starter Merrily
- Start date
rock steady
New Member
Great pics Janet, nice water colour!
Merrily
Administrator
rock steady said:
Thanks, Chris! I stayed up all night coloring it.
sailor327
New Member
Your husband takes some good photos.
Merrily
Administrator
I'll tell John you like his photos.
There were four women sailing in the regatta. The one in the middle picture is me, so thanks for the "cool" comment. Sue Holt, an accomplished sailor from Canada, was also in the regatta, as well as Michelle, a member of the forum here. We 3 sailed Standard. The fourth woman, Maureen, was a tiny 115 lbs and she sailed Radial. Standard and Radial sailed together, and at any time a sailor could go ashore and switch rigs. That wouldn't have been practical, though. We were a couple of miles out in the Gulf and had only a few minutes between races. You could switch if it got really windy the next day, though--a nice concession to us older folks.
There were four women sailing in the regatta. The one in the middle picture is me, so thanks for the "cool" comment. Sue Holt, an accomplished sailor from Canada, was also in the regatta, as well as Michelle, a member of the forum here. We 3 sailed Standard. The fourth woman, Maureen, was a tiny 115 lbs and she sailed Radial. Standard and Radial sailed together, and at any time a sailor could go ashore and switch rigs. That wouldn't have been practical, though. We were a couple of miles out in the Gulf and had only a few minutes between races. You could switch if it got really windy the next day, though--a nice concession to us older folks.
I am no where better than your friend, Maureen. I am 110 lbs sailing a radial. I am already in full hiking position in over 6 kt wind. Beyond 10 kt, that is it! That is why I find women cool and super being able to race in a standard rig. I would have *fainted*...
Standard and radial race together... will it be unfair to radial cos the bigger sail would have 'stolen' wind away from the smaller ones??... be it at the start line or along the various legs.......
But I have been 'secretly' wishing for Laser 4.7 rig to be popular for adults (who enjoys simplicity and stability of lasers)... Right now, it is like specially catered for kids and youths....
Standard and radial race together... will it be unfair to radial cos the bigger sail would have 'stolen' wind away from the smaller ones??... be it at the start line or along the various legs.......
But I have been 'secretly' wishing for Laser 4.7 rig to be popular for adults (who enjoys simplicity and stability of lasers)... Right now, it is like specially catered for kids and youths....
Merrily
Administrator
mee168 said:
Well, I think that it is the idea for every boat to "steal" the wind of the others in strategy. The Radial is at a disadvantage because it is slower anyway, except on a reach. Even with that, Maureen did not come in last.
Georg W.F.
Member
Great pictures! Can't wait till summer is back!
By the way, the radial is not necessarily slower and the rig has some good pointing ability, also in medium and lighter winds. Yes, bigger is not always better!
GWF
By the way, the radial is not necessarily slower and the rig has some good pointing ability, also in medium and lighter winds. Yes, bigger is not always better!
GWF
Hey... back again.. cos I saw this thread has the words 'Sailing to the Starting Line...' and it triggered my thoughts... on strong current during starting.
I took part in a 2 day regattas just last weekends in radial. On the first day, the wind was beyond 10 kt, highest at 15 kt. Waves were choppy. It is our NE monsoon season.
Needness to say, my mainsheet wasn't sheet in totally (downhaul and outhaul both tightened) cos I was focusing on keeping the boat flat and at least my 2 telltales were flowing correctly. Thanks goodness, my boat still moved reasonably ok.... Everything was manageable except on downwind leg... I couldn't go into run... my hand on the tiller extension was struggling and at the worst instant, I decided to go on broad reach and maintain it... did a gybe and all the way round the downwind mark. I tried to go on run but when the strong gust blew... my boat pointed and I reacted by sheeting in and I became in beam reach... So, broad reach I went and I found myself diverting so far away from the group... 'It's alright' I told myself... just stay afloat.. but I still capsized twice.
No matter what, it seemed like a suicidal performance but I completed all the 3 races for that day.
On the second day, we started in the morning with light wind in the first race... I did ok and happy with the outcome... But the wind built up again for the 2nd race onward... Around 11-12 kts (not as bad as day 1) cos I could go on run.
Oops... I got a bit diverted.. my objective here is to share the start line experience for the 2nd and 3rd race for day 2. Current was strong and against boats moving towards start line. After the 1st race, I stayed somewhere where I could see the committee boat and where I thought I would reach in time. So when the 5 min start signals horned... I tried to sail toward the line but I had a hard time... So, when the race started, I didn't cross on time... I wasn't aware of current effect on start line... got to know after I discussed with other sailors when back ashore... Anyway, I again completed these last 2 races where I repeated my startline mistakes twice.
Phew... what a lesson to learn...
Just a lesson to share...
I took part in a 2 day regattas just last weekends in radial. On the first day, the wind was beyond 10 kt, highest at 15 kt. Waves were choppy. It is our NE monsoon season.
Needness to say, my mainsheet wasn't sheet in totally (downhaul and outhaul both tightened) cos I was focusing on keeping the boat flat and at least my 2 telltales were flowing correctly. Thanks goodness, my boat still moved reasonably ok.... Everything was manageable except on downwind leg... I couldn't go into run... my hand on the tiller extension was struggling and at the worst instant, I decided to go on broad reach and maintain it... did a gybe and all the way round the downwind mark. I tried to go on run but when the strong gust blew... my boat pointed and I reacted by sheeting in and I became in beam reach... So, broad reach I went and I found myself diverting so far away from the group... 'It's alright' I told myself... just stay afloat.. but I still capsized twice.
No matter what, it seemed like a suicidal performance but I completed all the 3 races for that day.
On the second day, we started in the morning with light wind in the first race... I did ok and happy with the outcome... But the wind built up again for the 2nd race onward... Around 11-12 kts (not as bad as day 1) cos I could go on run.
Oops... I got a bit diverted.. my objective here is to share the start line experience for the 2nd and 3rd race for day 2. Current was strong and against boats moving towards start line. After the 1st race, I stayed somewhere where I could see the committee boat and where I thought I would reach in time. So when the 5 min start signals horned... I tried to sail toward the line but I had a hard time... So, when the race started, I didn't cross on time... I wasn't aware of current effect on start line... got to know after I discussed with other sailors when back ashore... Anyway, I again completed these last 2 races where I repeated my startline mistakes twice.
Phew... what a lesson to learn...
Just a lesson to share...
Michelle
New Member
Mee168,
There is a great opportunity to get an awesome start when the current is pushing boats away from the line. Get a good line sight and take advantage of the 'midline sag' . You can reach right over the other boats if you notice they've drifted one or two boatlengths below the line, and they can't head you up. Sheet in and go at the gun. Much better situation than the opposite, with current pushing boats across the line before a start. Then it becomes one general recall after another.
Bearing off in heavy air is tricky; the vang has to be loosened a bit or it won't happen. Getting through dead downwind to by the lee is scary but once you're by the lee, you're actually more stable than DDW. Be sure the boom never goes out beyond 90 degrees, and if you get ovewrpowered in gusts sheet it in to 75 or 80 degrees; whatever gives you control. Use surfing on the chop/waves to your advantage; the speed of the boat down a wave reduces the pressure of the wind on the sails. The best time to gybe is during that moment when you catch a good one and your sail almost hangs limp as you take off surfing.
Have fun!
There is a great opportunity to get an awesome start when the current is pushing boats away from the line. Get a good line sight and take advantage of the 'midline sag' . You can reach right over the other boats if you notice they've drifted one or two boatlengths below the line, and they can't head you up. Sheet in and go at the gun. Much better situation than the opposite, with current pushing boats across the line before a start. Then it becomes one general recall after another.
Bearing off in heavy air is tricky; the vang has to be loosened a bit or it won't happen. Getting through dead downwind to by the lee is scary but once you're by the lee, you're actually more stable than DDW. Be sure the boom never goes out beyond 90 degrees, and if you get ovewrpowered in gusts sheet it in to 75 or 80 degrees; whatever gives you control. Use surfing on the chop/waves to your advantage; the speed of the boat down a wave reduces the pressure of the wind on the sails. The best time to gybe is during that moment when you catch a good one and your sail almost hangs limp as you take off surfing.
Have fun!
mee168 said:
I am a newbie, but I gather from reading the Pros that what you ended up doing is OK. Reaching and gybing can be faster than running dead downwind. And, as you know, the Laser is particularly unstable when going downwind in big air. Your speed will be higher reaching which can more than make up for the greater distance travelled. And spending time in the water isn't fast; I can testify to that...