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Key West Race Week – Part Three – Sailing Instructions
December 27, 2009
I love the Sailing Instructions (SI’s). I think I love the SI’s because by simply reading them you are often better prepared than many of your competitors. I know this, cause on a few occasions I haven’t read them; and almost always been burned because of it did not read them, or read them well enough.
Now thanks to the internet many regattas pre-publish the SI’s and therefore there is NO excuse for not being armed with all the information you need to go racing. Key West Race Week 2010, Presented by Nautica, is no different, and in my first reading I found a few things of interest that should be kept in mind while racing.
Rules
I find section 1.2 a little interesting, only because I don’t know what it means. I’ve made the mistake in the past of saying, “Well if I don’t know it couldn’t be all that important.” I’ll be doing some reading to learn more.
Changes to Sailing Instructions
Well, we know that someone will need to be tasked with checking the board at 0830 every morning to see if there are any changes or announcements.
As well, the RC will make an effort to announce changes on the water (3.2). My experience is that what the RC will say is that the will be running the racing according to the notice posted. Not much help if you didn’t send someone to check it out.
Signals Made Ashore
If the RC hoists the AP flag ashore, which they will announce at 0830 and/or at 0900, then racing cannot start before 90 minutes after AP comes down. Usually it is 60, so this is a “good to know” note that may make the AP down scramble a little less severe.
Schedule of Races
The first start sequence in each circle is scheduled to begin at 1030. The maximum number of races on each day is three. WHEW!
Class Flags/Stickers/Numbers
No numbers for the J80 class, but we will have event stickers to put on.
Courses
There will be leeward gates and windward offset marks. They intend to set the windward offset between 150 and 200 feet from the weather mark, which means that for J80’s there is plenty of time (probably about 10 seconds) from the time we pass the weather mark to the offset that overlaps can be made or broken.
Marks
Windward and leeward marks are tetrahedrons. The offset is an orange ball.
The Start
Any buoy attached to the committee boat should be considered part of the committee boat.
The line will be a line between flags on the two ends of the start line. Meaning they will have line callers at both ends and they will be pretty good at calling OCSs.
Changing the next leg of the course
If the course to the windward leg has been changed, the new mark will be a yellow tetrahedron, unless it is the final leg. In that case the course board will note the course to the finish.
The Finish
The finish line for downwind finishes will be on the opposite side of the committee boat. Upwind it will be well above the weather mark.
Penalties
You can, at the time of the incident, take a 20% by following rule 44.3. You can also do a one-turn penalty, unless it was in the Zone. Then it is the two turn penalty.
In my mind this means that downwind in big breeze you’ll fly your yellow flag for fouling. Upwind – you will likely spin. At the zone…you’re spinning.
Protests
Because we are moored at Stock Island our time limit for delivering a protest is 90 minutes from the time our signal boat docks. Which I would guess is 45 minutes after we finish the last race.
Arbitration
There is arbitration – that’s a good thing.
Scoring
No throw-outs for our classes.
MOB
We are required to conduct an Man OverBoard – that’s a person in the water rescue – procedure in order to comply with ISAF/KWRW regulations. This is also a good idea – but I wonder who else will really do it. (we will)
Radio Communication
We are on channel 74.
OK – this is basically the “Spock” notes for the SI’s. Meaning, when I read the SI’s my eyebrow did the Dr. Spock thing. So I included it. Let me know what you found that was interesting by posting a comment or sending me an email.
Key West Race Week – Part Two – A Response!
December 27, 2009
Thanks to everyone for the great responses! There were some great offline conversations and the responses I’ve included some of those conversations below. I’ve also included two images. The first is The First Cross Visualization and the second is representative of what where I think the windward danger zones are.
NOTE: There was an error is the original visualization. Our heading is not 055M, but rather 305M. That makes a big difference in the thought process. The good thing is that most folks either realized I had made the mistake (the compass makes more sense if you are just ADDING *sigh*) or made an in interesting conclusion that was a good conversation starter.
In the last visualization I asked seven questions;
1) Should we change our set up? 2) What information can each person (helm, spin trimmer, bow) communicate in this situation to help the boat make the right call? 3) What should the two forward positions be concentrating on? 4) Should we tack? 5) Why or why not? 6) In the event that we decide not to tack, if we are in a close crossing situation with another boat, what should we call them across or make them tack? 7) If we do tack, where should we tack?
I think the following conversations should help illuminate most of these questions (responses from readers are italicized)
I do not see a reason to change setup. Btw, what are all the items considered in this category?
I would agree. The differences in the angles is probably due to the left shift that we’ve gotten, and the boats to leeward of us have gotten even more of. Speed and angle the same – so let’s make a note of what our settings are so that if we do make changes we can always come back to our “base” and at the very least match the other boats.
Items in the set up category would be Angle of attack, draft, twist for both sails as well as crew weight position.
I’m expecting everyone to update me on shifts, puffs, waves, traffic, other boat performance above, below and ahead or behind.
I think you are asking for the right information, but I would suggest that you assign information to individuals so that the information you want/need at any given time is always available and you know who to go to for it. If all of the info is up for grabs I find that teams can very easily distract themselves with one thing and the other information gets lost or isn’t available when you need it. I think I said it before, but I have my bow person talking about how we are doing performance wise on the boats to windward, as well as helping track heading info and big picture strategy. Then my spinnaker trimmer (next position back) is calling puffs and lulls as well as waves. What naturally occurs is the puff and lull info is communicated more easily to the helm due to being closer.
Unless we see something desirable to leeward or we get lifted I would tack a few boats above the last to cross to stay with the pack and have clean air.
Interesting. To get lifted here would be a really bad thing. After 8 minutes we are pretty far to the left hand side of the course.
In the diagram to the right, you can see that in the corners we are LOOKING for reasons to tack away from the layline.
Also, we were expecting there to be a left shift – a header. So a lift here, as we near the layline would mean that when we tack (and we WILL need to tack) we will be sailing on a header and all those boats that went right (or we forced to the right) would be gaining – and probably gaining big due to the leverage we built.
But I DO like where you are going with the stay with the pack with clear air thinking. Now what gets important is how do we stay connected with with this fleet.
This is a long race. We want to stay in contact with the majority, pick off boats one by one, and limit our risk. The left shift has come in. We see it on our compass, and we see it in the fact that the majority of the competition is cashing in on the shift. So in order for us to gain on the boats that are slightly ahead of us, we would need to realize MORE left shift beyond the competition. Nothing that has been presented (which we could interpret as nothing that we KNOW) says that there is more shift to the left. In fact 3/4′s of the pack we are racing think there’s little left to tap in the left. So I think there are a lot of factors that are screaming tack. But tack BEFORE the fleet crosses us rather than after.
Where are we on the course? After eight minutes we’ve probably sailed pretty far into the left hand side of the course. In fact, we’ve probably sailed about 4800 feet. In the simplest (and often the best) tactical thinking you want to sail the tack that takes you closer to the mark. At this point the other tack is pointed more directly at the mark. Simple racing principle – sail AT the next mark.
By allowing the majority of the fleet to cross us here, we put ourselves closer to the layline than our competition. Generally, we want to herd our competition towards the laylines and save the middle for ourselves in order to keep our options open. So if we duck here, then we are allowing the competition to sail to the middle while we sail to the edge. Simple racing principle – avoid the laylines.
By ducking, we’ve conceded to the other boats that they are ahead. We’ve committed to going away from the other boats in an effort to get ahead of them. So now we are gambling and every second we separate we are building risk. Conversely if we tack, we stay with our competition, if later, we decide that the edge really holds the pot of gold; we can head to it later. Simple racing principle – stick with the competition.
Monitor and adjust – We are luck to have the bulk of the fleet going the way we want and just a couple of boats going the other way. It is early, in the race, so this is one of those great opportunities to see who gets paid in this situation without risking our own bacon. By watching where the other two boats end up at the weather mark we can make an informed decision on the next weather leg.
So with all of that added up, I’d say that we tack.
Also, one of the questions was if we are going to tack, where should do it? Well, I would argue that this is a time to execute the safe leeward tack. In other words we want to tack ahead and to leeward of the boats to the left. We want to maintain a clear air “lane” and maintain the ability to tack back if we choose to. We also don’t want to tack so early that there is a lane between us and the fleet we are sticking with. That’s just too attractive to the boats we might have to duck who are coming out of the right hand corner.
OK, more to come this week.
Key West Race Week – Part Two
December 21, 2009
Less than a month from now I will be pushing off from the dock at Old Island Harbor Marina on Stock Island. Just off of the Key West’s south shoreline the race committee will be waiting to start the 2010 Key West Race Week.
With only a few short weeks to go, I am continuing to try and get my clients as prepared as I can for what will certainly be an battle; both physically and mentally. Here is the most recent visualization email that I wrote my crew.
Team Willy T -
I shared my first visualization scenario with some of the other coaches and boats that I know are going to be headed to Key West this year. It was great to see the enthusiasm and range of answers. It will be even better to see it played out on the race course in a few weeks. There is snow, piled 20 inches high outside my door right now, so today I hope to have plenty of time to just sit back and think about our racing this January. Fire, cocktail and some racing thoughts.
As I mentioned before I am using past mistakes as the foundation for most of these visualizations. I have been coaching these programs for years now and simply digging into my “gripes” list of what we didn’t do is providing some rich material. I figure we’ll just keep going around the race course in our minds, so in the coming weeks you can expect visualizations in the following order:
Start – Done
First Windward Leg
First Windward Mark
Spinnaker Set and Escape
First Leeward Leg
Leeward Mark/Gate
Second Windward Leg
Second Spinnaker Set and Escape
Finish
Post Race Procedure
10 Minutes to our startVisualization Scenario Number 2 (First windward leg)
Same race/same conditions
We are sailing along on starboard tack about 8 minutes into the first windward leg. Our COMPASS reads 305M. Our boat speed could improve relative to the other boats, but our pointing has been better than those boats to leeward of us, but we don’t really look to be doing as well as the boats on our windward hip – although our speed is still just fine. Should we change our set up? What information can each person (helm, spin trimmer, bow) communicate in this situation to help the boat make the right call? What should the two forward positions be concentrating on?
Of the eight boats that were to leeward of us, six have just tacked and are very likely to closely cross us. In other words, they are just slightly ahead. Two of the eight boat pack are continuing further into the left and the rest of the fleet (six boats) is to our right, apparently even or just behind us. Should we tack? Why or why not? In the event that we decide not to tack, if we are in a close crossing situation with another boat, what should we call them across or make them tack? If we do tack, where should we tack?
This scenario, I call it the first cross, is one that we will likely see every single race. How we handle this situation is often key to salvaging a top half of the fleet rounding from a bottom half of the fleet rounding. Can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
I have also CC’d the other members of the JWorld Racing Team staff so that they are up to speed on what we are doing. With luck, all of this will make us all more competitive on the race course.
kb
ps – Here are the questions in order.
Should we change our set up?
What information can each person (helm, spin trimmer, bow) communicate in this situation to help the boat make the right call?
What should the two forward positions be concentrating on?
Should we tack?
Why or why not?
In the event that we decide not to tack, if we are in a close crossing situation with another boat, what should we call them across or make them tack?
If we do tack, where should we tack?
Got answers? Want to add your own visualization to the list. Post a comment or send an email!
What are you doing on this snowy day?
December 19, 2009
Key West Race Week – Part One – A Response!
December 19, 2009
So I have received several responses to the first visualization exercise and I wanted to post some of the thoughts. The great thing about sailboat racing is that there are almost always more than one way to skin the cat. Of course each team can make there scheme work so long as they are all on the same page, and that’s what these exercises are intended to do for the team I am coaching in Key West. Get us on the same page. Below is an example of how I responded to one of my teammates thoughts (his comments are italicized)
First, if we knew left would be favored , why are we in the middle of the starting line???
Great question. Because EVERYONE knows that the left hand side of the course is favored, and in the given conditions being able to continue to the left is at the top of our priority list. There are seven elements to a perfect start:
1. Full Speed
2. On the line and on time
3. Clear Air
4. Clear Lane
5. Freedom
6. Favored end
7. Having a plan
Getting all seven on any start (including a start where you are the only boat there) is really difficult. Add 15 boats and you have to start prioritizing your elements for what is the most important for you in this start. In this case, as you identified, going left is what we must do, but being in the dog fight where few (if even more than one) will be able to retain the other elements by over-prioritizing the favored end is a risky strategy. So by being in the middle, we concede a small portion of left hand advantage (assuming the left comes in – if not we’re even – or even ahead) to sail faster and longer towards the advantage than the MAJORITY of our competition.
With 16kts wind and 4 ft waves I would think we would already be in footing mode; open slot
and a little twist in main with enough power to keep our speed in big waves. I would keep going left,
wanting to be the first to the header.
I think you’ve got a pretty good setting in mind – especially for the open course. With the waves, we will be reaccelerating (maybe a little different than keeping our speed) often . One thing I would point out is that the main and the jib need to be in similar modes, so if we are twisting the mainsail we should likely be twisting the jib as well. Right off the line – we may need a little something different. A different gear for our desired outcome – but I like where you are going with the set up for the general conditions.
I would ignore windward boat on our hip, if he foots off also we can always take him up and keep him off of us, however the boat above him, if he is faster, could be a problem If he is footing also but faster, we want to keep as much separation as possible to stay in clean air, and we want separation when the wind goes left, so we may want to go deeper to maintain our position. Our footing may hold him off long enough, and it sounds as if we can roll the boat to our left (or keep even ) even if he is footing also.
So back to the elements of a perfect start. Immediately after the start we would like to reclaim or salvage or maintain as many of our elements as possible. It is why we take clearing tacks when we don’t have a lane, or why we foot off from the pin to regain any speed we sacrificed in our efforts to win the pin on time. Or even when we return to the line because we were OCS. We are always trying to get back to all seven elements in the first minute or two of the race.
So with that in mind I would argue that we actually have the helmsman keep the boat as high as he can – while still maintaining enough speed to keep us rolling along. The man on our hip is REALLY important to us – in so much as he controls our freedom to tack. There is a thin lane to leeward that must be maintained, and by going a little high off the line we should be able to force the boat on our hip back or into a tack. When we’ve established that controling position, or established that we aren’t going to get it, THEN we can shift back into our footing mode. So how high? High to maintain our lane (if not grow it), and high enough to pinch off the guy on our hip, but not so high that we park the boat. This puts a real premium on helmsmanship and feel. The net gain being that we’ve opened up a bigger lane that we can actually foot into without being impacted by our neighbor to leeward, and with luck we’ve opened up the freedom to go right if needed.
Finally, I think it is really important to remember that this is a one design start. Rolling the boat to either side of us should (in theory) be really hard to do, so we have to imagine we are all traveling at nearly the same speed. This is yet another reason why keep our lanes open is a pretty high priority.
The wind is only ” slightly” favored on the left side but the 1/2kt tide boost is a big reason to go left( even bigger if the wind lightens up). HOWEVER, (always a however) the contrary wind and tide could cause some speed killing chop. Both tide and wind say go left, left left, unless waves are killing our speed.
Left left left is right. In the scenario I presented the current (lateral water movement, rather than tide which is vertical water movement) is running ACROSS the wind. So you are right that the left is important because the current makes starboard the long tack due to the shifting layline. All the more reason to push our competition onto port whenever we can and defend our starboard tack as hard as we can.
Telltales?? Outside should be flicking a little if we are footing.
OK, so I would argue that the leeward telltale should NEVER EVER EVER bounce. That telltale is showing how the airflow is attaching along the leeward side of the sail. If it bounces that means we are starting to stall the airflow – which will quickly rob the sail of power and shift us from PULL MODE into PUSH MODE. Bad news. Rather, given that we are trying to sail high, we want to the INSIDE telltale to LIFT. Moreover the jib sheet should be active when we do move into the SPEED or WAVE (likely more appropriate) mode you described earlier. In a future visualization we’ll discuss telltales a little more specifically.
Communication
(1) Bow calling wind puffs and looking for large or out of sequence waves
(2) Trimmer – how are we doing against the fast boat and other boat positions
Alright, so there was more to this question than just communication. First and foremost these two positions must be at MAX HIKE. To get the boat to sail the mode we are talking about those two positions must be doing all they can to get the boat flat. AFTER they have done that, I like to have the forward position (bow) communicating TACTICAL data. How we are doing relative to the other boats to windward of us (point/speed/net). The reason for this is that this information is important to the tactician who is sitting forward of the helm. So this allows this info to not incumber the helmsperson but get communicated to the tactician. Then the next person back, our Spinnaker Trimmer is responsible for the environmental data of waves, puffs and lulls. This info gets communicated directly to the helmsperson, and because of their relative positions should be able to be done so in a clear way.
All that said – HIKE FIRST, talk later.
Love the challenging questions, keep’m coming , along with your evaluations.
Makes me want to be on the water now !!!!!
Thanks! Me too.
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