// BLOG
What a long, strange trip it’s been.
February 17, 2010
St. Pete NOOD Regatta
After 47 days on the road; a trip of racing, teaching, coaching, team building and more is over. For at least three days. I am back off to the British Virgin Islands on Friday. No rest for the wicked.
Most recently I coached and raced in the 2010 St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta. This is one of my favorite events because of the venue and because I think the NOOD series is well managed. Sure, you can gripe about a few things; but on the whole these are some of the best events in the country.
Over the next few days I’ll be posting thoughts and commentary about lessons learned at this event. These events are so much fun and challenging because as a coach I am trying to balance my need to both teach my clients new skills and coach my clients’ skill to a higher level, and then try to compete. That is no easy task when there are more than a dozen other boats trying to beat you on the race course, and you just met your team a few days before. But we try to cover all that.
Every time I am reminded of the fact that it is exceedingly hard to do all that in the heat of battle. But, at the same time there are no other programs, that I do, where clients get that full excitement and experience. I think it comes down to being able to articulate exactly what are reasonable expectations for each event and each client. That clients can expect to improve every day and learn experientially. I guess what I am saying is; we put learning first.
On top of all that, I like to think of the final debrief I do with my clients as the start of our racing relationships rather than the end. So I write. I write down my lessons learned, what I think they team improved on and areas where I think they can improve. Here is the first email to my St. Pete team, taken from an email sent to my them this morning:
Well the aches and pains are really starting to set in. And the “I wish I was still racing” blues are definitely in full effect.
One of the first things I like to do after these events is review the pictures that the photographers take. First it is fun, but second there are lots of analysis that we can do about sail shapes, body weight positioning and more. Here is the link to Tim Wilkes’ site that has several pics of our boat from the St. Petersburg NOOD regatta. Fortunately, there is a series of images from one of the upwind legs with Christe (a good boat to gauge off of). There is also a decent series of our lighter air downwind set up on Day Two.
Take a look and let me know if you see anything interesting. I know I did. There are some pretty neat shots there, and Tim is a great guy. So buy a pic while you are at it.
Much much much more to come.
kb
You’re sick of hangin’ around and you’d like to travel;
Get tired of travelin’ and you want to settle down.
I guess they can’t revoke your soul for tryin’,
Get out of the door and light out and look all around.
Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurs to me, What a long, strange trip it’s been.
Truckin’, I’m a goin’ home. Whoa whoa baby, back where I belong,
Back home, sit down and patch my bones, and get back truckin’ on.
Key West Race Week – Part Five – A Response
January 8, 2010
Sorry that it has been so long since I’ve written. After celebrating the New Year holiday Jeff Jordan and I zipped a J80 to Key West from Annapolis in a 48 hour 2500 mile round trip blitz. I don’t recommend it, but it can be done. Unbelievably I am headed back down there right now. I’m in Florida and will be back in Key West late tomorrow afternoon.
So, the question was basically, we are coming to the first windward mark, the wind is blowing 16kts from the same direction, we still have current moving left to right and the slight geographic left hand shift DID come in as we sailed to the left. So where do we tack?
Well, I would argue that there are three places where we might tack: (diagram two)
Position One, would be to tack RIGHT NOW. With the current pushing us toward the layline we should be able to get to the mark, and with the boats to windward of us not quite fetching the layline they are likely to continue on and give us enough clear air to make the mark. If we were interested in being inside at the weather mark then this might be a good move. Is that what we want? Likely we’ll have to pinch up to make the mark, we’ll be slow, but we’ll be inside. It is even possible that we will “catch” a piece of those boats on our hip (the port tackers) and force them to tack shy of the layline. It is RISKY. But, it could move us up quite a few places. 
Position Two, would have us tacking on the leebow of the lead starboard tack parade boat. Again, we should initially have clear air, and given this position we should have no trouble making the mark and likely maintaining much of our speed. Given that the boat that is just to windward of us is being controlled by the boat to windward of her, we may well get an inside overlap at the weather mark, and possibly be able to hold that overalp going to the offset mark. This has potential benefits regarding our position, but we’re likely to be slowed significantly by the other boats. A pack of boats always travels slower than a boat alone. 
Position Three, would have us tacking well past the layline on the outside of the the bulk of the group. Usually we’d like to avoid being on the outside of the pinwheel due to the extra distance that is forces us to sail. But, I would argue that in this case it is a safe place to tack, guarantees the clearest air, and given how crowded this rounding is going to be, might give us the opportunity to sail our own rounding. Furthermore, we are sailing to the windward mark on a port tack lift, which suggests that we want to do a bear away set and continue on starboard tack after the mark, so being outside initially could be to our advantage. 
Three viable choices. But just as when we started there are elements of a great mark rounding. Having ALL of these elements if very difficult to do, and therefore we often have to compromise and prioritize. For instance, in the absence of all other boats I would want to:
Round each mark close enough to touch it – without touching it.
Treat the rounding as the set up for the next leg.
Steer aggressively with body weight and sails.
Sail fast.
Be able to immediately know whether I am lifted or headed to the next mark.
In this instance I would go with number three in this instance. I can make arguments in favor of all three, but I feel pretty strongly that tacking outside the parade is in this case a good move. It is the first rounding. So let’s be fairly conservative. We have to be looking ahead; this tack is not about where we end up at the weather mark, but rather where we are positioned for the spinnaker set. The strategic factors indicate that we want to initially head to the same corner we just came from, so sailing to the outside of this pack should give us a clear lane around both marks and the ability to continue on after the spinnaker set without fighting for clear air.
So in this case I would go outside of the pack, and hope for a dog fight that we aren’t a part of. We are now clear to really focus on our spinnaker set, rather than fighting for positioning. We are overstood slightly and can sail fast, possibly past boats that are slowed by the pack or their own efforts to clear the mark. For this first mark, I am satisfied to be very conservative.
I think you can argue for anyone of these positions (and more), but for me the take away here is to look at where we want to be, not necessarily where are. I also want to really make my “move” when I’ve got a bigger advantage, and if I don’t then I will focus on the simple things (go fast for instance) and put myself into a situation that limits the chance for mistakes.
Key West Race Week – Part Five
December 29, 2009
You are the green boat. Where do you tack? What is your strategic thinking? What is your tactical thinking? Is this a good place to “push” a tough maneuver? What are your rules considerations? Is there a “safe” option? Let’s hear your thoughts. Post them to the comments section or email them to me.
Visualization First Windward Mark
Check Out This Fresh Spinsheet Article
December 29, 2009
Key West Weather – Let the pattern begin
December 29, 2009
December 28, 2009 10:00 pm EST
Location: 24.46N 81.88W
Wind Direction: N (360°)
Wind Speed: 15.9 knots
Wind Gust: 17.1 knots
Atmospheric Pressure: 30.21 in (1022.9 mb)
Pressure Tendency: +0.05 in (+1.6 mb)
Air Temperature: 66.4°F (19.1°C)
[ Observed at Sand Key station. ]
I have started my weather data collection for Key West Race Week, presented by Nautica. And I was sitting here writing a weather briefing for Key West Race week, and while I was searching the interweeds for some supporting data for my anecdotal diatribe. Fortunately the good people (they really are) at North Sails have put together a great reference. Check it out below or go to their website. Here is what they have to say and, for what it is worth; it is pretty close to what I would have written, and interestingly the current conditions are almost EXACTLY the conditions we are using for our visualization. I love being lucky.
From the big brains at North Sails:
Very consistent sailing conditions are frequently experienced during Key West Race Week. Often nailing subtle wind shifts is the key to success. The typical Key West weather in January follows a relatively simple and predictable cycle lasting between five and seven days. Predicting individual shifts is difficult, but a general understanding of the weather patterns can be a big help in defining what shifts you will experience.
To understand the cycle, let’s say that the first day of racing finds a recently passed cold front stationary or dying south of the racing area. At the same time, a high pressure center would likely be building in the northern Plains and sweeping toward the southeastern U.S. coastline. This weather pattern often brings cool temperatures and a cloudy sky to Key West. Winds would be northerly with gusty and shifty conditions. The wind speed will normally start the day fresh, say 15 to 20 knots and maybe more, but decrease with time.
On the next day of the cycle, the high would move to the southeastern U.S., positioned almost directly north of Florida. The high in this position weakens the northerly wind, veering it to the northeast. The breeze can be gusty and shifty, but there is a clear easing trend. Big directional swings to the right are often possible, especially during the afternoon.
Days 3 and 4 find the high lingering over the Southeastern U.S and spreading east off the Georgia or northeast Florida coast into the Atlantic. The wind continues veering to the east and sometimes southeast with speeds slowly starting to increase, especially on Day 4. These are the most consistent sailing days, with smaller, oscillating shifts. Temperatures are often seasonable and humidity increases with few clouds in the sky.
Toward the end of this period and moving into Day 5, the high moves off the Southeastern U.S. coast. The wind veers further into the southeast bringing warmer and more humid air. Trade wind cumulus clouds containing isolated showers may pass through the course causing larger oscillations and shifts.
By the end of the cycle, the high moves farther away from Florida to the east. The cycle begins to repeat itself with another cold front possibly threatening Key West from the northern Gulf. Ahead of cold fronts, watch for winds veering farther right and increasing in strength. The weather becomes less stable and there is even the possibility of some squalls and thunderstorms in this pattern.
Keep in mind that there are always exceptions to this cycle and the timing can change. However, the accompanying wind rose graphic shows how this weather cycle relates to historic wind conditions. The wind rose shows historic wind speed and direction frequency near the racing areas during the race period. Notice the N/NNE wind often found during days 1-2 of the cycle is more frequently fresh to strong. Winds tend to moderate when veering to the NE on day 2. Increasingly fresh speeds are apparent as the wind frequently veers from the ENE to ESE on days 3-5. The cycle often repeats after day 5 so the moderate to fresh SE/S winds on a cycle that extends to days 6-7 are less frequent.
If you are planning to race in Key West, you better start watching the weather now! You may be able to see this cycle and become more familiar with it before the race. Also, any unusual weather patterns may give you some hints on how things can vary from the typical weather pattern. Monitoring the Key West weather is easy in the North Sails Weather Center – simply visit www.na.northsails.com and navigate to the North Sails Weather Center. Look specifically at the current and forecast surface weather maps in the weather charts section of the North Sails Blue Weather Center. You can use these charts to see the movement of systems around the region and where you are in the cycle outlined above. Also, use the North Sails Blue Weather Center to monitor wind conditions reported near the race course area. Mostly importantly, sign up for complimentary race weather outlooks and race day forecasts issued by the North Sails Blue Weather Center.
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