Another good race last night in a strong North Easterly. Congratulations to Jamie for edging me out despite the extra 4 kilos of rust he was carrying. Perhaps he should turn out for windy stuff more often eh?! It was a thoroughly engaging race. The general principles for getting round in good shape included massive amounts of kicker in the windy bits and sailing free to keep the boat moving on the beat. Offwind, Just trying to line yourself up with the breeze. The other factor was a very high work rate. I think its the most tired I've been after a single race in a long while!
Looking back at the race highlighted a few things to me. Firstly, the importance of staying in touch (engaging the boat ahead). Wherever you are in the fleet, being close to a boat in front inevitably applies pressure. Seen as I'm used to showing a clean set of heels to the fleet, having to constantly defend a narrow lead prevented me from dedicating my efforts to my own race. It had a surprising effect on my ability to be a smooth operator in the boat too. Rushed tacks, dropped sheets, hasty decisions and poor anticipation were just some of the areas under attack, all becasuse the pressure was on. All of which shows that staying close enough for long enough as an attacker can really unravel your opponent. Boo
Secondly, always try to sail the longest tack first on a one sided beat..... Unless sailing at Beer in a North Easterly! In which case do the shortest bit first and then utilise random 20 degree lifts like Jamie. Ha Ha ;-)
Finally, always let out the frustration immediately after the race in order to pacify yourself! Must do better next time.
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Thanks for the advice on Sunday. Now I really need to know what you mean by massive amounts of kicker. I'm not sure I'm using enough as I still feel overpowered in a blow and don't seem to be able to keep the the boat as flat as some lighter sailors. I'm a bit worried something will break if I use too much kicker. so what is too much?
ReplyDeleteSee what James says but if everything is sound nothing breaks no matter how hard you put it on. If the rivets are loose, or holes corroding fittings will pull out. If the boom or mast is corroding under the fittings then they will eventually break but they will sometime any way - use the anti-corroding paste unde the fittings and check/re-rivet fittings each year. Mega breeze and not enough Big Macs pull it on as hard as you can
ReplyDeleteAnd the Cunningham as hard as you can - to counter extrN weather helm from kicker pulling the mast and rig back
ReplyDeleteCome and check out my boat on thursday and I'll show you what serious kicker looks like. I've never broken a boom, only top and bottom sections. And always on the fixings where corrosion has weakened them over time.
ReplyDelete