We sailed a little further out than usual today. Being able to see sidmouth put us in a slightly different breeze than we're used to. Previously the windward mark may have been further in to Seaton giving us an array of shifts coming off the caravan site and out of Beer. Going that bit further exposed us to a more consistent breeze coming down the coast in well defined bands. Combined with the strong tide under our transoms, things usually felt better on the left (seaward side) of the course.
However, there were plenty of holes (some of which were unavoidable) and some patches of breeze on the right coming out of Beer. Because they were coming out of Beer I felt that they probably wouldn't last as long despite the favourable headings because of the shelter of the cliffs. As ever, it was pressure that was king. If you could pick the darkest side of the course early on and called it right, generally things were ok. Generally, if I couldn't decide what was looking good when I came round the leeward mark I went left looking for pressure.
On the speed side of things, the increased chop in the exposed course area meant that a bit of leeward heel was quite quick in the worse bits, especially when the wind dropped! Making use of the waves to get low on the reaches was only really possible when the breeze filled in. So when it did, I wasn't afraid of steering big angles to get going down the front and then heading up as soon as the ride ran out. The only other ingredient was a bit of luck when it got tricky!
Monday, 7 June 2010
Saturday, 5 June 2010
My calender
With the worlds in Hayling and sail for gold in weymouth looming in August I thought I could offer up some of my thoughts on how I approach these kind of regattas. Sail for gold is up first, a top level grade 1 event on the world tour. I plan to use this as a major training regatta for the worlds which is always the hardest regatta (reputedly of any class) in the year. Tiny mistakes are punished instantly and harshly at these regattas so a good deal of planning is required.
In my opinion you can peak your physical performance 2-3 times a year. I started the year by blitzing 2 months of training both on and off the water in time for the qualifiers and I reaped the rewards. Having backed off a fair bit since then, I'm now starting to wind it up again through June and July so I arrive in August in the best possible shape. After the worlds, Southampton boat show will give me a short break before I need to perform at the Autumn qualifiers. This plan has been loosely in place since the Laser nationals last year (which was the last time I trained hard for a result at a regatta). Its now time to firm up the plans... More to follow.
In my opinion you can peak your physical performance 2-3 times a year. I started the year by blitzing 2 months of training both on and off the water in time for the qualifiers and I reaped the rewards. Having backed off a fair bit since then, I'm now starting to wind it up again through June and July so I arrive in August in the best possible shape. After the worlds, Southampton boat show will give me a short break before I need to perform at the Autumn qualifiers. This plan has been loosely in place since the Laser nationals last year (which was the last time I trained hard for a result at a regatta). Its now time to firm up the plans... More to follow.
Sunday funday
Ok, so I've been a quiet over the last few days. Unfortunately the breeze just didn't materialise in the bay on Thursday and the 6 of us who made the effort to get out were left to float about for a bit. Ah well. The forecast for this sunday looks remarkably similar to last sunday so I think we can expect similar conditions. Some fairly wild shifts.
Looking back at Dad's comments from last week, I'll now be looking to see if we do have any sea breeze influence on the westerly. It seems like quite a reasonable hypothesis. It also makes due to the influence getting stronger through the morning. i.e. the biggest left shift at around half past 12. This week it looks like there will be a fiar bit of low and medium cloud cover in the morning so it'll be interesting to sea how much sea breeze influence there is, especially as the breeze is due to freshen from mid day onwards.
I'm likely to stick to my reduced leverage plan so as not to sail myself out of contention on the first leg. After that, I'm just looking to start another run of results. Getting another chance in the conditions which saw me undone is a good place to start. However, I'll certainly be more wary of complacency.
Looking back at Dad's comments from last week, I'll now be looking to see if we do have any sea breeze influence on the westerly. It seems like quite a reasonable hypothesis. It also makes due to the influence getting stronger through the morning. i.e. the biggest left shift at around half past 12. This week it looks like there will be a fiar bit of low and medium cloud cover in the morning so it'll be interesting to sea how much sea breeze influence there is, especially as the breeze is due to freshen from mid day onwards.
I'm likely to stick to my reduced leverage plan so as not to sail myself out of contention on the first leg. After that, I'm just looking to start another run of results. Getting another chance in the conditions which saw me undone is a good place to start. However, I'll certainly be more wary of complacency.
Sunday, 30 May 2010
Why sail a laser?
The reason I sail a laser is for days like today. An awesome breeze and good turnout followed by a good cup of tea and a large slice of humble pie. I've dominated most races this season and today I was taken to task. Step up Dad, awesome race. I just couldn't match him for smart sailing despite being quicker in a straight line. I stuck gamely to my plan and never wondered to far from the 'safe' area of the course and was duly beaten by someone who was more confident in what he was doing.
Commiserations must go to Ron who suffered gear failure that ended up sending him home. You're gonna need a cunnigham in 15 kts in a full rig let alone a big Rig!
As for my thoughts on the day, it was a very unstable breeze, perhaps even more so than Thursday. And bloody windy at times too. If you were able to make good use of the the big pressure then you were always going to have a good day. Overall, a good days sailing with some glam reaches and more than enough shifts to keep you guessing.
Commiserations must go to Ron who suffered gear failure that ended up sending him home. You're gonna need a cunnigham in 15 kts in a full rig let alone a big Rig!
As for my thoughts on the day, it was a very unstable breeze, perhaps even more so than Thursday. And bloody windy at times too. If you were able to make good use of the the big pressure then you were always going to have a good day. Overall, a good days sailing with some glam reaches and more than enough shifts to keep you guessing.
Saturday, 29 May 2010
Westerly or north westerly?
Won't get a chance to to write anything tomorrow morning so I thought I'd get it in early. It looks like more of the same for sunday. The low pressure system centred over Ireland today should move off to the north sea and drag the current southerly breeze round to the north west by late tomorrow. Therfore, I'm guessing we'll have racing very similar to Thursday. Shifty breeze with significant variations in pressure.
Predicting my first beat is very tricky and has so far proved as futile as it should be! Instead, today I'll offer up my general theme for my first beat on days like Thursday and tomorow. Up the first beat, I will generally stay somewhere in the middle of the course area. If I think one side is favoured then I will try to stay to that side of the bulk of the boats to gain some 'leverage'. ie I think right will pay, I will stay to the right of the majority of the fleet. Where I end up on the course is then ditated by where the fleet chooses to go. So, if the fleet heads left I will probably end up just left of middle. If the fleet stays in the middle, I will go right of middle etc. This principle ensures that if I am correct, I will gain a small advantage but equally, if I'm wrong, I will only make a small loss and still be in contention. As the race moves on through the rounds, I try to build up a better picture of what works and will then get more confident of going my own way, seeking to make bigger gains. This is a 'safe' way to build a race. However, It doesn't always work like that! Sometimes, events at the start force you away from the group to gain clear air (which is paramount in anything other than 20knots), just remember the further you go, the more you'll be looking over your shoulder and worrying about tacking back!
There are times when you need a big gain to get back in the frame so I don't want to discourage people from taking risks and going for glory. After all, it is part of the fun. So, expect me to hit a corner on sunday! ha ha
Predicting my first beat is very tricky and has so far proved as futile as it should be! Instead, today I'll offer up my general theme for my first beat on days like Thursday and tomorow. Up the first beat, I will generally stay somewhere in the middle of the course area. If I think one side is favoured then I will try to stay to that side of the bulk of the boats to gain some 'leverage'. ie I think right will pay, I will stay to the right of the majority of the fleet. Where I end up on the course is then ditated by where the fleet chooses to go. So, if the fleet heads left I will probably end up just left of middle. If the fleet stays in the middle, I will go right of middle etc. This principle ensures that if I am correct, I will gain a small advantage but equally, if I'm wrong, I will only make a small loss and still be in contention. As the race moves on through the rounds, I try to build up a better picture of what works and will then get more confident of going my own way, seeking to make bigger gains. This is a 'safe' way to build a race. However, It doesn't always work like that! Sometimes, events at the start force you away from the group to gain clear air (which is paramount in anything other than 20knots), just remember the further you go, the more you'll be looking over your shoulder and worrying about tacking back!
There are times when you need a big gain to get back in the frame so I don't want to discourage people from taking risks and going for glory. After all, it is part of the fun. So, expect me to hit a corner on sunday! ha ha
Friday, 28 May 2010
Best yet!
Great to see 13 on the water. I think thats a seasons best for any day, brilliant. Cheers to Jamie and mike for the course in testing conditions for both us and them.
There were plenty of shifts and big variations in wind strength. Predicting the shifts was pretty difficult so I opted to sail for pressure first then worry about the heading second. The wild starboard lifts in the top half of the beat combined with bigger patches of sustained pressure coming out of seaton further down meant we spent a lot of the beat on starboard. For this reason I tried to put in the lion share of the starboard leg work in early, this allowed me to pick a couple smaller port hitches later in the beat to work my way over to the right side near the top. The key was to predict the gusts ie track them from further up to windward than the mark and try to intercept them. If you sail to where the pressure is , it'll be gone by the time you arrive. Downwind I sailed radical angles to intercept the pressure. On the reaches though, pot luck. Some you win some you lose! Some you gain massively (as I found on round 3), you gotta love private breeze!
Its fair to say the breeze turned out a lot different to the forecast so I'm hoping I can be forgiven my plan. In the end though I stuck reasonably close to my plan, middle left for the most part but with a crossover to the right for the final approach! You just can't always trust Windguru.
Sail setting wise, when the breeze is up and down a lot I reckon I adjust the kicker more than any other control. Probably between 20 and 30 times per beat, 3-5 times per reach or run. The cunningham and outhaul, 5-6 times a beat, once or twice per reach or run. Two reasons for this. Its the easiest control to adjust as the cleat swivels to look at you and it has the best purchase, plus, it controls the largest amount of power. I try to have the loop close to hand so I can pull it on just before a gust hits (dropping it in time to concentrate on keeping the boat flat by feathering and playing the sheet) and ease it immediately when the pressure fades.
There were plenty of shifts and big variations in wind strength. Predicting the shifts was pretty difficult so I opted to sail for pressure first then worry about the heading second. The wild starboard lifts in the top half of the beat combined with bigger patches of sustained pressure coming out of seaton further down meant we spent a lot of the beat on starboard. For this reason I tried to put in the lion share of the starboard leg work in early, this allowed me to pick a couple smaller port hitches later in the beat to work my way over to the right side near the top. The key was to predict the gusts ie track them from further up to windward than the mark and try to intercept them. If you sail to where the pressure is , it'll be gone by the time you arrive. Downwind I sailed radical angles to intercept the pressure. On the reaches though, pot luck. Some you win some you lose! Some you gain massively (as I found on round 3), you gotta love private breeze!
Its fair to say the breeze turned out a lot different to the forecast so I'm hoping I can be forgiven my plan. In the end though I stuck reasonably close to my plan, middle left for the most part but with a crossover to the right for the final approach! You just can't always trust Windguru.
Sail setting wise, when the breeze is up and down a lot I reckon I adjust the kicker more than any other control. Probably between 20 and 30 times per beat, 3-5 times per reach or run. The cunningham and outhaul, 5-6 times a beat, once or twice per reach or run. Two reasons for this. Its the easiest control to adjust as the cleat swivels to look at you and it has the best purchase, plus, it controls the largest amount of power. I try to have the loop close to hand so I can pull it on just before a gust hits (dropping it in time to concentrate on keeping the boat flat by feathering and playing the sheet) and ease it immediately when the pressure fades.
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Reaching. Boat to boat tactics: attack or defend?
On the first reach (on starboard usually). Attack: to windward if you think you can get past and break the overlap before the gybe mark. Attack to leeward if you don't have time to get past and hopefully establish an overlap in time to get the inside line at the mark.
Defend: Difficult to defend on a reach, just sail as fast as you can! Once most of the reach is over try to keep faster boats on your windward hip and keep the inside line.
On the port reach. Attack to windward to get an over lap. If you're very fast it may be worth going low, but you have to be 50 yards or more lower to avoid a wind shadow. Sailing low is far riskier but potentially rapid. To defend, sail high to stop people gaining overlaps and force them below you.
Obviously your course is also dictated by other factors but those are my simple thoughts. Boats overtaking to leeward have no luffing rights and must stay clear of the windward boat whilst sailing a reasonable course. Boats overtaking to windward must stay clear.
Defend: Difficult to defend on a reach, just sail as fast as you can! Once most of the reach is over try to keep faster boats on your windward hip and keep the inside line.
On the port reach. Attack to windward to get an over lap. If you're very fast it may be worth going low, but you have to be 50 yards or more lower to avoid a wind shadow. Sailing low is far riskier but potentially rapid. To defend, sail high to stop people gaining overlaps and force them below you.
Obviously your course is also dictated by other factors but those are my simple thoughts. Boats overtaking to leeward have no luffing rights and must stay clear of the windward boat whilst sailing a reasonable course. Boats overtaking to windward must stay clear.
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