Wednesday Night Racing Update
April 30, 2009
I’m not afraid to say it – it feels pretty darn good. Tonight Team Dakota Girl went out and won their class in the weekly Annapolis Yacht Club Wednesday Night Racing series. The win has put us in first place for at least the next week. This team earned it and they deserved it.
Tonight’s race was punctuated for me, by how important thinking ahead is for successful racing. The J35 class starts with the BIG boats (Farr 40’s, B44.7’s, Farr 395’s, etc.) and can really get punished coming off the starting line if they try and mix it up.
The wind direction made the pin end of the start line quite a bit favored, so it was clear with minutes to go that it would be crowded on that end of the line. With that in mind we opted to let the big boats have that end, look for clear air and a good lane in the middle of the line and escape to fight our fight on the course.
Additionally we identified that all the boats would flop to port tack shortly after the starting gun, and that shortly after that we’d be looking for a lane to come back on starboard (avoiding the Horn Point Shoal) tack and looking for clear air to get out to the rest of the course. So what sets this race apart from most others is that is EXACTLY what happened.
As expected the big boats fought hard for the pin end of the line, and fortunately so did most of our J35 competition. We escaped the starting line with great speed and good position as the majority of our fleet suffered in disturbed air and restricted maneuverability.
At that point we extended to the windward mark (Hackett’s Point) and set ourselves up to execute a jibe set. We pulled it of with aplomb and sped for home and our first Wednesday Night Racing win of the season.
That was fun.
I’d like to give special thanks to Grady Byus (pictured above) for sailing with us tonight. It is always a pleasure to sail with you my friend.
The Whisker Pole
April 30, 2009
I am so excited to announce that the Dangerfield Island Sailing Club has started sending in their racing and rules questions and have dedicated a bit of space on their site in order to share my answers. Sort of a “stump the chump” segment, that I think will make for some great blog material. Here is an example of the sort of question I am looking forward to fielding:
“As a general question, are whisker poles permitted in the non-spin fleet? This is typically not permitted, but if DISC allows it, are there any specifications on the pole that can be used, ie. does it need to be a whisker pole vice a spinnaker pole being used as a whisker pole?
What is the rule on “human whisker poles”. Can a crew member hold the clew of a genoa out away from the boat at arms length?”
Whisker Poles – a pole of some kind used to hold the clew of a the genoa or jib in position when sailing wing-on-wing – are often used on boats that race non-spinnaker. It can dramatically improve your downwind speed by allowing you to gain maximum projection of the headsail and “vang” the sail and reduce twist.
To my knowledge there are rarely restrictions on their use except during winter time Frostbite races, when crew is restricted to the cockpit. PHRF assumes that the maximum length of the whisker pole is equal to the boat’s “J” length (“J” is the base of the foretriangle measured along the deck from the headstay pin to the front of the mast.)
So a whisker pole and spinnaker pole could be the same thing – but more often than not whisker poles are more lightly constructed. The only restriction is that that whisker pole cannot be longer than the J length of the boat – and if it is longer, that must be reported to the PHRF rating committee.
Sailors who are sailing out of the Washington Sailing Marina are in luck, because you’d be hard pressed to find a group of sailors who know more about whisker poles than the local Albacore Fleet. But for anyone who is curious to know more about whisker poles I’d suggest reading what Forespar (a whisker pole maker) has to say about it. If you are interested in adding a whisker pole to your boat…contact me!
As far as being a “human whisker pole” the only restriction on holding the sail is found in the rulebook. In the case of the crew position it is addressed in Part 4 – Other Requirements When Racing, Rule 49 of the rules. Rule 49 states:
49 CREW POSITION
49.1 Competitors shall use no device designed to position their bodies outboard, other than hiking straps and stiffeners worn under the thighs.
49.2 When lifelines are required by the class rules or the sailing instructions they shall be taut, and competitors shall not position any part of their torsos outside them, except briefly to perform a necessary task. On boats equipped with upper and lower lifelines of wire, a competitor sitting on the deck facing outboard with his waist inside the lower lifeline may have the upper part of his body outside the upper lifeline.
So if you are going to “wing out” the headsail, I would suggest that you keep most of your body inside the lifeline most of the time, but holding the sheet at arm’s length seems legal – and is probably fast!
Rules Question of The Week
April 29, 2009
A new series here on the Gale Force Sailing site: The Rules Question of the Week!
Reader feedback and comments are the lifeblood of any good blog, and I can’t thank some of you enough for the content you’ve helped to provide. I am working with several clubs in the region as a rules resource and plan on going through the rules – rule by rule – to help drive a better understanding of the rules and their application.
The basic rules of racing are pretty easy to understand and all you need to get out and start competing. But there is more to it than just the basics, and continuing to learn about the rest of the rules that govern our sport will make anyone a better sailor.
So here is the first Rules Question of The Week:
“As someone new to racing, I wouldn’t mind having a rules lesson of the week, even if no one asks a question, just to learn. However, this week I do have a question. We were wondering if there are restrictions on how racers hike out. Are we allowed to be outside the lifelines?”
And here’s the answer:
Fortunately almost any question you might have about racing can be found in the rules. In the event that it isn’t addressed in the rules you can check the Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions, or class rules. It is all there. In the case of the crew position it is addressed in Part 4 – Other Requirements When Racing, Rule 49 of the rules. Rule 49 states:
49 CREW POSITION
49.1 Competitors shall use no device designed to position their bodies
outboard, other than hiking straps and stiffeners worn under the
thighs.
49.2 When lifelines are required by the class rules or the sailing instructions
they shall be taut, and competitors shall not position any part of
their torsos outside them, except briefly to perform a necessary task.
On boats equipped with upper and lower lifelines of wire, a competitor
sitting on the deck facing outboard with his waist inside the lower
lifeline may have the upper part of his body outside the upper lifeline.
If you would like to use any of the material found on this site, or have a suggestion for a rules question for the week, please feel free to contact me for more details.
RULES QUESTIONS
April 29, 2009
This week I have been running through a bunch of rules conversations with folks who were racing last weekend or already this week. While the rules always seem to elicit discussions – with the so-called new rules in place there are all sorts of great questions popping up. Sadly, one of the things that I’ve been discussing quite a bit is how often people are not doing their penalty turns for their fouls. I guess some things never change. Remember: the most important thing you have in your sailing bag is your reputation.
This morning I fielded a question about a common rules scenario that happened yesterday on the Potomac River. Here is what the email said:
Boat A overlaps Boat B – A is westward and behind of B.
As both boats approach the downwind mark, Boat A’s boom is over to starboard, Boat B’s boom is over to port.
The wind is from 200 degrees, while the course is 360.
Boat A requests room from Boat B as they approach within 3 boat lengths for the downwind mark. Boat B informs Boat A that Boat A has no rights, because A is port while B is on starboard.
Boat A gibes about to avoid hitting the mark.
Question: Was Boat B correct?
First and foremost it is really important to frame any rules situation using the racing rules definitions. They can be found in the back of your rules book. Often times the definition will clarify a situation simply through the words themselves. Moreover, if you are going to file a protest it is imperative that your description be clear and concise, with out contradiction.
Based on the description I had a few follow up questions for the writer. I wrote:
Thanks for sending this along – I need to ask a few clarifying questions before I answer.
Boat A is or is not overlapped with Boat B? The first line is contradictory – a boat is either overlapped or it is ahead/behind.
Are the boats in the zone or not? As they approach and within are contradictory.
After boat A gybes – where does she go? Does she hit B? Does she go astern of B and then round?
Based on my questions here is what the author wrote back:
Boat A is overlapped with B.
Boats are in the zone.
Boat A didn’t hit B.
B turns to port and goes around and doesn’t hit A in this maneuver (see above). Oh … B tacks, doesn’t gybe (just noticed that, looking at the diagram).
They included the following diagram:
The diagram helps to clarify a lot in this situation. I suggest before you file a protest you make a diagram, make sure you have consensus with your crew and then read the rule that you think pertains to the situation.
In this instance the author realized that they had not gybed – but rather tacked at the mark. This sort of disagreement would lead some protests committee members to be more than dubious of the fact being presented.
The other important thing that is missing here is where – if ever – the boat that tacked away protested by saying protest and immediately flying a red flag. I would diagram the situation like this:
Ok, working with what we have I think the situation is fairly clear. Two boats enter the zone. STOP! Right there we know we are working with Rule 18 MARK ROOM. Rule 18.1 states that Rule 18 applies between boats when they are required to leave a mark on the same side and at least one of them is in the zone. That seems to be the case here.
The boats are overlapped. STOP! Here is where a definition is pretty darn important. Boats that are not on the same tack cannot be overlapped according to the definition of Clear Astern and Clear Ahead; Overlapped. The DEFINITION reads:
One boat is clear astern of another when her hull and equipment in normal position are behind a line abeam from the aftermost point of the other boats hull and equipment in normal position. The other boat is clear ahead.
They overlap when neither is clear clear astern. However they also overlap when a boat between them overlaps both.
These terms always apply to boats on the same tack. They do not apply to boats on opposite tacks UNLESS rule 18 applies or both boats are sailing more than ninety degrees from the TRUE wind.
It is that last part that is the kicker, eh? They are clearly on opposite tacks, but because they are sailing downwind they are overlapped. Because Rule 18 applies – they are overlapped.
So they are overlapped – big deal. Well it is a big deal, because reading a little more into Rule 18 we find that Rule 18.2 states:
18.2 Giving Mark-Room
(a) When boats are overlapped the outside boat shall give the inside boat mark-room, unless rule 18.2(b) applies.
(b) If boats are overlapped when the first of them reaches the zone,the outside boat at that moment shall thereafter give the inside boat mark-room. If a boat is clear ahead when she reaches the zone, the boat clear astern at that moment shall thereafter give her mark-room.
(c) When a boat is required to give mark-room by rule 18.2(b), she shall continue to do so even if later an overlap is broken or a new overlap begins. However, if either boat passes head to wind or if the boat entitled to mark-room leaves the zone, rule 18.2(b) ceases to apply.
(d) If there is reasonable doubt that a boat obtained or broke an overlap in time, it shall be presumed that she did not.
(e) If a boat obtained an inside overlap from clear astern and, from the time the overlap began, the outside boat has been unable to give mark-room, she is not required to give it.
So the bottom line here is that the OUTSIDE boat (regardless of what tack she is on) is required to give the INSIDE boat mark-room if they were overlapped at the zone. In this case the outside, starboard tack boat (Boat B in the original discussion, the yellow boat in the first diagram, and the green in the second – sorry for the confusion) needed to give the inside boat (PORT TACK) Mark-Room. She fouled and should have taken a penalty.
Tactically what this means is that the downwind race isn’t to the mark… it is to the ZONE! If you are behind, but can get an inside overalp at the Zone… then you get to go on the INSIDE of the track. What a cool way to pass!
Of course…what is mark-room? Leave a comment with your thoughts and keep the questions coming!
SAILING FINALLY HAS A HOME
April 29, 2009
by Gary Jobson
In 1998 I emceed a skipper’s forum on the Annapolis (Md.) City Dock, hosting
the skippers of the Whitbread Round the World Race. Paul Cayard, skipper of
the victorious EF Language syndicate, was on the panel, explaining to more
than 1,000 people in the audience what it was like to sail in the Southern
Ocean. Dennis Conner, whose Volvo 60 Toshiba sat nearby, was another panelist,
and as he compared the Whitbread to the America’s Cup, the crowd hung on his
every word. It was at this moment I realized the sport of sailing needed a
Hall of Fame to celebrate the accomplishments of these great sailors and many
others.
I had no idea then that in 10 years time the very place where the forum was
taking place would soon be sailing’s permanent home. It’s long overdue.
Many of our sport’s greatest moments are chronicled on film, on plaques and
trophies, and in logs, yearbooks, magazines, and websites. But sailing has
never had its own unified “place,” a physical space bearing the history that
reminds us what sailing, in its many forms, is about. Sailing needs a home
that trumpets its achievements and inspires generations to excel on the water,
and to serve the sport.
The desire for such a home was the easy part; finding the best place to hang a
shingle, however, was a challenge. There are many cities and towns worthy of
the National Sailing Hall of Fame, but Annapolis, Md., emerged for many
reasons. — taken from Sailing World, read on.
Sailing in the NOOD Equals High Pressure
April 24, 2009
Sailing in the nude is dangerous, but sailing in the NOOD is really fun. The Annapolis National Offshore One Design (NOOD) regatta kicks off tomorrow. This annual event is the first big event on the Annapolis racing calendar and attracts a huge number of one design racers. I am sailing the event with the venerable Dakota Girl Team and look forward to some great big boat one design racing.
I am a firm believer that most races are won on sound strategy (sailing to the expected shift, sailing in better pressure, avoiding adverse current) and therefore it pays to start collecting data early so that an initial game plan can be developed.
Last night, shortly before the start of the first Annapolis Yacht Club Wednesday Night Race, high pressure arrived on the Chesapeake. It signaled its arrival with a brief squall, big Northwesterly breezes, bright clear skies and cooler temperatures.
Now that High has established itself as the major influence this weekend, will move offshore and bring light southerly breezes which should be reinforced by the sea breeze – if the temps kick up.
Atmospheric or Barometric pressure is the pressure exerted by the atmosphere at a given point. Its measurement can be expressed in several ways. One is in millibars. Another is in inches or millimeters of mercury (Hg). It is a good indicator of the weather to come. The pressure is on the rise – so I am optimistic.
Here is what the NOAA Marine Forecast has to say about the next few days:
ANZ532-231945- CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM SANDY POINT TO NORTH BEACH- 351 AM EDT THU APR 23 2009 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING TODAY NW WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. GUSTS UP TO 25 KT... INCREASING TO 30 KT THIS AFTERNOON. WAVES 2 TO 3 FT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS THIS MORNING. TONIGHT NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT WITH GUSTS TO 20 KT... BECOMING W 5 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WAVES 1 FT. FRI S WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. WAVES 1 FT. FRI NIGHT S WINDS 10 TO 15 KT WITH GUSTS TO 20 KT. WAVES 2 FT. SAT S WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. SAT NIGHT SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. SUN SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. WAVES 1 FT. MON SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. WAVES 1 FT.
Sail Trim and Balance Documents
April 23, 2009
Here are some documents that I like to use whenever I am discussing the topic of sail trim and balance as I did on Tuesday, April 21st with the Balitmore Downtown Sailing Center.
How Sails Really Work by Arvel Gentry
The Aerodynamics of Sails by Arvel Gentry
Sail Trim and Balance Slide Show (regularly updated – email for the most recent!)
Steering with balance by Frank Bethwaite
I am constantly writing new presenations and blog posts about all sorts of topics, so if there are questions that you have please send them along. I will use them as the foundation for a post or presentation and do my best to answer any questions you might have.
Wednesday Night Racing
April 22, 2009
It is Wednesday. If you live in Annapolis (or just about any other sailing town in America) that means that it is race night. Tonight happens to be the first Wednesday Night Race of the season – and I am excited. Casual beer can racing is fun. Great comraderie and a chance for most folks to blow off a little steam and hone their skills mid-week. It is great!
There are some tricks to doing well in a beer can race. Because the courses are often around government marks knowing the course is imperative to doing well. Several marks many miles away from one another may make up the course, and there is no promise that the course the last group to start is using is the same course you are doing. Fortunately the race committee provides everyone with the necessary information. But it is up to each competitor to read and use it.
In the case of the Annapolis Yacht Club they have published their Notice of Race (NOR) sailing instructions (SI’s) and amendments online. Results will be available there too!
So there aren’t any excuses for not knowing where to go, but it takes more than an understanding of the course to win on Wednesday. Smart sailing that keeps the fun quotient high, preserves crew, boat and sails for the more serious racing and a positive attitude are as critical to winning (and winning with a smile) as perfect tacks. I am certainly ready to have some fun and look forward to sharing stories from the first WNR later.
Sail Trim and Balance For Baltimore’s Downtown Sailing Center
April 22, 2009
Last night I was fortunate enough to speak before Baltimore’s Downtown Sailing Center (DSC). Special thanks to Maria Grotz and all the friendly faces in the crowd. I had a great time talking about Sail Trim And Balance and look forward to speaking to the group again in the future.
In the theater room of the Baltimore Museum of Industry more than 60 racing, cruising and casual racers listened to me go on and on about how cool I think sail trim is and how fun I think it is to effectively steer a sailboat with weight and sail balance.
If you were part of the audience and are interested in any of the materials I presented last night, or would like to discuss any of the concepts in more details please contact me or even better – leave a comment on this or future posts.
The Downtown Sailing Center is an 11-year-old, award winning, non-profit, 501 (c)(3) community sailing center offering area residents sailing instruction and access to sailing without the cost of private ownership and boat maintenance. They have a very clear mission:
To make the joy of sailing accessible to everyone, regardless of age, income, ability or disability.
DSC does this by:
- offering the community affordable access to quality sailing programs and event;
- providing education in sailing and water safety skills at all levels for all ages and abilities; and
- sponsoring both recreational and racing opportunities
The DSC’s many sailing programs include junior sailing day and overnight camps, outreach programs for Baltimore City youth and disabled individuals, adult lessons, open recreational sailing, charters, and racing. This is just the sort of grassroots community based program that sailing needs to grow in the future. Check them out!
First things first – The Keys To Winning
April 20, 2009
Sunday April 19th the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron hosted their annual spring regatta, an event that acts as a kick off for many Annapolis area racing teams.
Sunday was one design day and eight J105’s and nine J35’s hit the water for two races. I was onboard a J35 that is fairly new program with outstanding individual talent, but relatively little time sailing together on the boat.
The day started off with little to wind, and with arrival of a low pressure system the wind speed jumped to full on breezy conditions in a very short period of time. Of course, that short period of time was in the final minutes before the start. The overpowered conditions quickly highlighted how important boathandling is to racing success.
With all the boats traveling nearly the same speed, and few major shifts, the racing came down to who could execute the basic boathandling maneuvers best. With large overlapping head sails tacking becomes a chore and a challenge – but a necessary one.
On any given race it is likely that your tacking to gybing ratio is 3:1 – maybe more. Meaning that you may tack 5 times per beat and only gybe once or twice. Add to that ratio that the best tacks slow the boat quite a bit (maybe a three boatlength loss) – and you quickly realize that your tacks have got to be good. There not easy either. So even though the maneuver is fairly simple it must be practiced to perfection.
For instance on the first windward leg of both races yesterday we rounded about eight boatlenghts behind the leaders. If we lost one boatlength per tack to the leaders or did just one more tack than the leader right there is the difference between first and fourth. That’s pretty good incentive to work on your tacking technique.
The best part of about boat handling practice is that it can happen just about anytime. With or without a full crew compliment. Until you are perfect I suggest practicing with your smallest sails. It makes it easier on the crew and lets the initial focus be on the driver’s turn. When you are at compliment let the focus be on the trimmers choreography, and if they boat is really doing well with the smaller sail then you can take the technique and timing up to the bigger headsails. When it is light, and you’ve got the whole crew aboard, work on having the forward crew members roll the boat aggressively.
A very simple drill is to find a long runway, set a repeating countdown timer to 2:00 and tack every time the watch beeps. Do this for an hour. That’s 30 tacks. If possible it is great to mount a video camera either at the mast looking aft, or at the stern pulpit looking forward. The camera will provide great feedback for everyone on the boat.
The point here is that if you are going to get the crew together to practice focus on your boat handling until it is absolutely perfect. Boat speed and tactics won’t mean a thing until then.
Here are the scores from yesterday’s races:
Division: J/35 (9 boats) (top)
| Pos | Sail | Boat | Skipper | 1 | 2 | Total Points |
Pos |
| 1 | 40738 | Maggie | Scheidt, Peter | 3 | 1 | 4.00 | 1 |
| 2 | 40248 | Bad Company | Moss, Barry | 1 | 4 | 5.00 | 2 |
| 3 | 73000 | Medicine Man | Kohlerman III,IV, Charles F | 2 | 3 | 5.00 | 3 |
| 4 | 53408 | Aunt Jean | Christofel, Jerry | 5 | 2 | 7.00 | 4 |
| 5 | 41870 | T-Bone | Artman, Bruce | 4 | 7 | 11.00 | 5 |
| 6 | 33785 | Tiamat | Downes, Buck | 7 | 6 | 13.00 | 6 |
| 7 | 97864 | Dakota Girl | Reuer, Stephanie | 9 | 5 | 14.00 | 7 |
| 8 | 53427 | WINDEPENDENT | McGonigle, Masci- | 6 | 8 | 14.00 | 8 |
| 9 | 73425 | Rebel Yell | Hamburger, Joel | 8 | 9 | 17.00 | 9 |
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