Interesting day today. Started off very cold, in the upper 40s, but sun was shining and it wamed up nicely. Wind was light around 5-8 knots as we sailed out, and then sat around for 2 hours waiting for the wind to fill. If this was the Chesapeake, we would have completed three races during the postponement, as there was at least 5 knots almost all the time. and it was a relatively steady direction. Of course, nobody else thought that it was racing conditions. Finally around 2:00 the wind filled into 10-12 and they started racing. First time this regatta, the boat was favored, so I set up on the right side of the line. At about 40 seconds to go, a Swedish boat sailed right into me on port, and forced me to tack to port and back to starboard, totally ruining my start. Not fun, but it was right in front of the judges. I started second row, and immediately tacked to the right side, and worked the right side shifts. It paid off pretty well as I was in top 10, but I made the fatal mistake of hitting the starboard layline too early, I got tacked on, and tacked on, and tacked on, and so on, until I was so far outside and overstood, I lost at least 10 boats. Silly mistake, I also hit the mark and had to do a turn, and lost 3 more boats. I was able to work the boats back on the downwind leg, and then worked the shifts on the next upwind. There was a point I made out very well, but went back left and lost all my gains. I rounded the weather mark in the 20s and worked well downwind, and on the reach, I was able to just get an overlap at the last mark on Nick Place, and passed another boat on the upwind, ending around 20. Not bad.
After a couple of general recalls in the first two fleets, we finally started our second race. For the first time, the line was square, so I started in the middle, and shortly after the start the wind started to die down to around 5 knots. There were 6 boats that went hard to the right side and made out well. I worked the shifts, roll tacking well, and managed to latch onto the boats that went right, and rounded the weather mark in 7. Once again, I hit the mark, did my turn and lost one boat, and started on the reach in very light air. I passed one boat on the reach, and another on the run, and rounded the leeward mark in 6, with 3 boats close behind and then a huge gap to the rest of the fleet. Lots of shifts on the next upwind leg, and I worked them with the other leaders, gaining and losing from time to time. Then about 100 yards from the weather mark, the wind filled in at 20 knots, yes, from 5 to 20 just like that. Once again, my size got me as the boats I was working with passed me just before the mark. I rounded the weather mark in 8th and didn't get my vang eased quickly enough while bearing away, and capsized. I managed to get on the board without going in, and righted her hopped back in and immediately started planing downwind, I didn't lose a boat, good job. Screaming plane downwind, around the leeward mark, screaming reach to the last mark, and then hike hard for the short upwind, covering the Swiss boat. I finished just ahead of the Swiss boat in 8th place. Nice race, but it just shows what a light wind wimp I am, or to be nice, what a Chesapeake Bay saliior I am.
Fantastic reach to the club in about 20 knots, dolly waiting for me as I was first to my tally point, and even had a hose to myself. Nice day but only because of the light air I am sure. Tomorrow looks like 20 knots all day, so another tough one for me, but hopefully with the breeze we will get in a little earlier than today.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
My Rental Car is a Six Speed
After a week driving my rental car, I just figured out today that it is a 6 speed transmission and not a 5 speed. Winds today started around 10-12 for the first race and around 14 for the second race. Wind was very shifty today with very big shifts, some as much as 40 degrees. First start, pin favored, and I won the pin easily only to find out that we had a general recall. Ah well, next start, and 1 minute before the start, 40 degree left shift, sailed hard to the pin, tacked and would have crossed the fleet, but postponement because of the shift. Then a very long delay to wait for the fleets that had started to finish so the course could be changed. Finally got a start off on a square line, started in the middle, and worked to the left side of the course. Picked up a nice left shift, and got to the weather mark around 20. Held on the reach and took back a boat on the downwind leg. Looking at the shifts, I was sure we would see a right shift on the secind upwind leg, so worked the right side. The shift came in, and it was big, turning the fleet inside out. Since I was closer to the middle, I held my position, and finished in 19 overall. Better race but on the last tack to the finish, my mainsheet block shackle blew out, I have no idea why. Luckily it happened right at the finish. Luckily John Bertrand's girlfriend was out in a RIB and she had the tools I needed to repair the block, very lucky and appreciative to both of them.
Second race, wind has increased and started to work right, no more left shifts. Of course the line was very pin favored, so how to start on the favored end and go right. At a minute to go, I had the entire pin side to myself, everyone else was on the boat. I got a great pin end start, tacked over and crossed everyone except for the few boats that went right at the boat. It was kind of funny, even the guy on the pin boat cheered on my start, I told him I was lonely by myself on that end of the line. Going well, worked right and rounded the weather mark in 18th. I slightly overstood, so was able to reach over several boats at the mark, launch onto a plane and passed four boats on the reach. Nice, then took another boat on the downwind, and rounded the leeward gate in 13th. Good stuff, I rounded the right gate and went right looking for a small right shift as the wind continued to clock. The right shift came in, but it was not anything like small, it was huge, and there I was well overstood on the right side, and last to the weather mark as everyone worked up the leg inside me. Very frustrating. I passed 2 boats on the downwind leg and another two in the reach leg, and held them off to the finish. Not good finishing 34. Ah well, some very good things happened today.
It was great to pass boats on the reach, I think it was borderline planing conditions, and being the lightest guy on the course, I was able to plane just a little easier than the rest. Still more reason to sail Radial. Second, on one upwind leg, I tacked 3 lengths to leeward of another boat. I was able to work up on him until I was right next to him to leeward, then I pulled on hard vang, eased a little mainsheet, and hiked extra hard, and sure enough just pulled away from him, onto his lee bow, killing him and forcing him to tack away. That felt good, especially since we were on the layline, and when he tacked back, he was 10 lenghts behind me. When one is doing poorly in a regatta like I am at this regatta, small victories like this are cherished.
Second race, wind has increased and started to work right, no more left shifts. Of course the line was very pin favored, so how to start on the favored end and go right. At a minute to go, I had the entire pin side to myself, everyone else was on the boat. I got a great pin end start, tacked over and crossed everyone except for the few boats that went right at the boat. It was kind of funny, even the guy on the pin boat cheered on my start, I told him I was lonely by myself on that end of the line. Going well, worked right and rounded the weather mark in 18th. I slightly overstood, so was able to reach over several boats at the mark, launch onto a plane and passed four boats on the reach. Nice, then took another boat on the downwind, and rounded the leeward gate in 13th. Good stuff, I rounded the right gate and went right looking for a small right shift as the wind continued to clock. The right shift came in, but it was not anything like small, it was huge, and there I was well overstood on the right side, and last to the weather mark as everyone worked up the leg inside me. Very frustrating. I passed 2 boats on the downwind leg and another two in the reach leg, and held them off to the finish. Not good finishing 34. Ah well, some very good things happened today.
It was great to pass boats on the reach, I think it was borderline planing conditions, and being the lightest guy on the course, I was able to plane just a little easier than the rest. Still more reason to sail Radial. Second, on one upwind leg, I tacked 3 lengths to leeward of another boat. I was able to work up on him until I was right next to him to leeward, then I pulled on hard vang, eased a little mainsheet, and hiked extra hard, and sure enough just pulled away from him, onto his lee bow, killing him and forcing him to tack away. That felt good, especially since we were on the layline, and when he tacked back, he was 10 lenghts behind me. When one is doing poorly in a regatta like I am at this regatta, small victories like this are cherished.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Finally Two Races Under my Belt
Well the most I can say about my performance today is that I got two races under my belt, and that is a good thing. I hate to keep harping on the weight issue, but it got me again today. Even though it was only 15 with much lighter spots, on the reaches I was hiking as hard as I could and was still getting passed. I spoke with Steve Cockerill today and he is the same height and weight as me, and is sailing Radial. He said he is just too light for standard now.
For some reason this Race Committe is setting a very skewed line for all races, with the pin always being favored. I got a good start in the first race, pin third of the line, tacked to port, hit first shift and tacked back to Starboard, all in clear air and in a great position to the boats on both sides of me. It was very shifty, and I worked the middle, tacking on the shifts, I was looking solid, top 15 with about 200 yards from the mark. I had to take two hitches, and believe it or not, I lost about 15 boats in those two tacks. Very frustrating. I was able to pass a couple boats downwind, went for the left gate, and went back upwind. Tacked on the first shift and worked to the right side, which was a mistake. Rounded the weather mark around 30th and promptly lost two boats on the reach. Held on the downwind, and reach then on the short upwind, I thought was able to cross a Swedish boat, but no such luck, he tagged my starboard quarter and I had to spin two turns and finish, losing even more boats. Ending around 37 or 38.
Second Race again line skewed, started well on pin third of line, but for some reason could not find a clean lane. After several tacks to clear my air, I was hung out on the left side, not where I wanted to be. And sure enough, in comes a massive right shift, and with the boats on the right side making the mark on one tack, I was very deep. Naturally the RC was unable to change the trapezoid course, so we ended up with reaches instead of runs, a run instaed of a reach, and a one tack to the weather mark. This made it impossible to fight my way back into the fleet, and ended up deep once again. Not what I wanted, but I did get in two races today, and had a wonderful reach into the club planing all the way.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday are looking like lighter days, which should help me, although the lulls with the chop and waves today was frustrating. I hope it flattens out a bit if it does drop. Now that I am firmly entrenched in the silver fleet, it is time for some fun for the next three days. Let's see how I can do in the light stuff.
This will be my last major (heavier air) regatta I will sail standard rig. I will be moving to Radial after this, mostly because I would rather lose a little weight than try to bulk up. Unfortunately with all the light air we get on the Chesapeake, practicing with the Radial is difficult. I will do frostbite in a Radial this year.
For some reason this Race Committe is setting a very skewed line for all races, with the pin always being favored. I got a good start in the first race, pin third of the line, tacked to port, hit first shift and tacked back to Starboard, all in clear air and in a great position to the boats on both sides of me. It was very shifty, and I worked the middle, tacking on the shifts, I was looking solid, top 15 with about 200 yards from the mark. I had to take two hitches, and believe it or not, I lost about 15 boats in those two tacks. Very frustrating. I was able to pass a couple boats downwind, went for the left gate, and went back upwind. Tacked on the first shift and worked to the right side, which was a mistake. Rounded the weather mark around 30th and promptly lost two boats on the reach. Held on the downwind, and reach then on the short upwind, I thought was able to cross a Swedish boat, but no such luck, he tagged my starboard quarter and I had to spin two turns and finish, losing even more boats. Ending around 37 or 38.
Second Race again line skewed, started well on pin third of line, but for some reason could not find a clean lane. After several tacks to clear my air, I was hung out on the left side, not where I wanted to be. And sure enough, in comes a massive right shift, and with the boats on the right side making the mark on one tack, I was very deep. Naturally the RC was unable to change the trapezoid course, so we ended up with reaches instead of runs, a run instaed of a reach, and a one tack to the weather mark. This made it impossible to fight my way back into the fleet, and ended up deep once again. Not what I wanted, but I did get in two races today, and had a wonderful reach into the club planing all the way.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday are looking like lighter days, which should help me, although the lulls with the chop and waves today was frustrating. I hope it flattens out a bit if it does drop. Now that I am firmly entrenched in the silver fleet, it is time for some fun for the next three days. Let's see how I can do in the light stuff.
This will be my last major (heavier air) regatta I will sail standard rig. I will be moving to Radial after this, mostly because I would rather lose a little weight than try to bulk up. Unfortunately with all the light air we get on the Chesapeake, practicing with the Radial is difficult. I will do frostbite in a Radial this year.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Racing Postponed Again Today
All racing was postponed today due to the nasty sea state. Wind against current along with leftover waves from the gale yesterday. Winds were 22 - 25 with gusts to 30, which in an of itself is not so bad, but combined with the sea state made it impossible to get any races in. The RC boat reported taking waves over their bow while at anchor, and that is a pretty big boat.
Tomorrow and Friday look like 15 with Saturday dropping even lighter. Then Sunday, perhaps another day of big breeze.
Had a great Ploughman's lunch at the Maypole on Hayling Island, along with a couple pints of Seafarer's Ale. Nice to have a proper English Pub lunch. Check back tomorrow hopefully for some sailing reports.
Tomorrow and Friday look like 15 with Saturday dropping even lighter. Then Sunday, perhaps another day of big breeze.
Had a great Ploughman's lunch at the Maypole on Hayling Island, along with a couple pints of Seafarer's Ale. Nice to have a proper English Pub lunch. Check back tomorrow hopefully for some sailing reports.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Gun Wharf and HMS VIctory
Since I had the day off from racing today, I decided to take some time to visit the Gun Wharf and the HMS Victory. The Victory is still a commissioned Royal Naval Vessel and even though she is in dry dock permanently, she is still manned by naval personnel. I had the opportunity to chat with the night Watch Captain, which was very interesting. It took 10,000 English White Oak trees to build the Victory and she is a triple deck line of battle ship. I have seen the Constitution (the oldest floating naval vessel in the world), and what I noticed is that the Victory is not much longer, but is much bigger than the Constitution. She has massive amounts of free board, and draws 21 feet at her waterline. The rudder is absolutely huge, and is at least 2 feet thick with approximately a 6 foot cord. The rudder has to be 15 feet deep as well. A fine entry is not something this ship can boast, as she seems to reach her maximum beam just a few feet from the bow. It is incredible how big a hole this ship makes in the water.
The watch Captain informed me that there were 6 Americans on board at the Battle of Trafalgar. Apparently, when the Victory was on the way to the battle, they encountered an American Sloop of War, sunk her and took the 6 surviving crew members on board, and they remained on board throughout the Battle of Trafalgar.
I also got to see the HMS Warrior (circa 1860) which is a sail/steam frigate. Also quite impressive, she is probably a little longer than Victory, but still not as big in all other aspects. While eating at a nice Indian restaurant, I noticed three very tall black carbon rigs across the harbour. I could see the hull of one boat, and it looked like some sort of maxi race boat, impressive. The other two rigs were taller and I could not see the hulls. I wonder if those were America's Cup boats.
Good news is that I was able to walk around the Gun Wharf without limping, which tells me my back is well on the mend. I realized today that the injury is the same injury I gave myself goofing around on the little powerboat the week before I left on this trip. One of the passengers on the boat had his shoulder in the water when it happened. I really must be more careful, but I do enjoy having fun. Forecast for tomorrow is for winds around 25 and quite chilly. I wonder if they will send us out tomorrow.
The watch Captain informed me that there were 6 Americans on board at the Battle of Trafalgar. Apparently, when the Victory was on the way to the battle, they encountered an American Sloop of War, sunk her and took the 6 surviving crew members on board, and they remained on board throughout the Battle of Trafalgar.
I also got to see the HMS Warrior (circa 1860) which is a sail/steam frigate. Also quite impressive, she is probably a little longer than Victory, but still not as big in all other aspects. While eating at a nice Indian restaurant, I noticed three very tall black carbon rigs across the harbour. I could see the hull of one boat, and it looked like some sort of maxi race boat, impressive. The other two rigs were taller and I could not see the hulls. I wonder if those were America's Cup boats.
Good news is that I was able to walk around the Gun Wharf without limping, which tells me my back is well on the mend. I realized today that the injury is the same injury I gave myself goofing around on the little powerboat the week before I left on this trip. One of the passengers on the boat had his shoulder in the water when it happened. I really must be more careful, but I do enjoy having fun. Forecast for tomorrow is for winds around 25 and quite chilly. I wonder if they will send us out tomorrow.
All Racing Postponed for the Day
I woke up this morning to very overcast skies and blustery winds. My back was still sore, but it does feel like it is on the mend. I went to the club, and sure enough, the conditions offshore were incredibly rough. 30 knot winds, waves breaking and it looks like rain to top it off. The Race Committee made the decision to postpone all races for the day, I did not see a single competitor complain about the decision. The plan is to come back tomorrow and see what the conditions bring. Unfortunately the forecast for tomorrow looks very much like today, so there is a significant chance that races will be postponed tomorrow. That being the case, we will race on the lay day (Thursday) to make up for the lost day.
Forecast for the remainder of the week looks like the wind going a little lighter on Thursday, but with rain. Then nice and sunny for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, however the lows will be in the 40s with highs only around 60. It will be interesting to see what the wind dows on those days. Any time anyone says anything about the weather here, the response is "welcome to England." I can imagine that it can get quite depressing here not seeing the sun for such long periods of time.
Since I have the day off today, I am going to the Gun Wharf here in Portsmouth to visit the HMS Victory as well as the newly recovered Mary Rose. I have been looking forward to seeing the Victory for some time, I have never seen a true Line of Battle Ship, The Victory is a triple decker with around 300 guns. Compare that to Old Ironsides (the Constitution), which is a single decker frigate with less than 100 guns, and that is as big as it got in the US. I have visited the Constitution and the Constellation (small frigate or sloop of war), and I imagine the massiveness of the Victory will be something to behold.
Forecast for the remainder of the week looks like the wind going a little lighter on Thursday, but with rain. Then nice and sunny for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, however the lows will be in the 40s with highs only around 60. It will be interesting to see what the wind dows on those days. Any time anyone says anything about the weather here, the response is "welcome to England." I can imagine that it can get quite depressing here not seeing the sun for such long periods of time.
Since I have the day off today, I am going to the Gun Wharf here in Portsmouth to visit the HMS Victory as well as the newly recovered Mary Rose. I have been looking forward to seeing the Victory for some time, I have never seen a true Line of Battle Ship, The Victory is a triple decker with around 300 guns. Compare that to Old Ironsides (the Constitution), which is a single decker frigate with less than 100 guns, and that is as big as it got in the US. I have visited the Constitution and the Constellation (small frigate or sloop of war), and I imagine the massiveness of the Victory will be something to behold.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Big Winds....Big Waves
Good news, I found a little computer shop just around the corner from the hotel, and he had the power supply I needed for my laptop. Super nice man, and I think 26 pounds for the power supply and cord is quite a fair
Unfortunately that was the extent of the good news today. I went to the club with a forecast of 10-12 increasing to 16-18 in the afternoon with gusts no more than 20. Sounds good, boat rigged, hit the water, and already it was well above the forecast, with the breeze around 20 when we went out. Of course by the start of the race, it had increased to 25 steady with gusts to 30, a guy at the Yacht Club said it was blowing 23 steady, but I still say 25 ;-). Ok, quite windy, and the waves were really big and steep with a relatively short wavelength. I drew the red fleet for the first day, which meant the second start, and I got off the line, about mid line in very good shape. The RC had set a massively long line, so there was no problem finding space and being on the line. I started out left, took one hitch right to clear air, and then worked back left. It seemed to pay off as I approached the weather mark in the top half. So far so good, exacly an 18 minute beat, just like last year. Then as I reached the weather mark, released vand and went to the offset (we had the inside loop), I hit a huge wave, biggest one all day, launched off the back of the wave, completely airborne, and when I hit the trough, extremely hard, I did something to my lower back on the left side. It hurt really badly, and I immediately knew that I had no chance to finish out the race, let alone the day. I went further upwind past the mark and sat there to let the fleet by so I would not interfere with anyone, seeing as I was retiring, then started to head downwind. I had to go downwind all the way to the club, and it was incredibly hard especially with a bad back. With the huge waves, the cockpit seemed to always be filled with water. If my back was not hurting, it would have been an amazingly fun ride downwind, but trying to avoid a deat roll with a bad back, is hard and painful. Only two death rolls later, I made it to the entrance to Chichester Harbour and flew in on a screaming reach to the club. The helpers at the club were great, pulling my boat up the beach for me.
I was not the only boat coming in at that time. There were several Radials and a few Standard rigs that were also coming in with me, and by the time I had packed the boat, even more boats were coming in, as the conditions were worsening. Here is what I figured out today, I am just too light for a standard rig now in heavy air. I am afraid that 170-175 is just too light. The last time I sailed in winds like this was the Laser No Coast Championships in 2008 on Lake Lanier. It was flat water there though, and I was about 30 lbs heavier then. There were many Radial sailors I saw that were bigger than I am, so perhaps I should have picked the Radial for this regatta. I don't really want to gain more weight now, so I think that I need to drop about 10 lbs more to be a full time Radial sailor. I am also at a disadvantage because I am shorter than most, being light and short is just not a good combination for a Laser.
I went to the race office to tell them I had retired for the day, and there was a gentleman from the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), who seemed very concerned about my back. He informed me that there was a Physio available to help if he could. I went to see the Physio, and after checking me out, seemed confident the problem was muscular and not skeletal, which was really good news. I have the back iced right now, and hopefully with racing possibly being canceled tomorrow, I may very well be ready for Wednesday, I am hopeful.
We know the conditions were really hairy because there were New Zealanders and Australians coming in early as well, and those guys just love the heavy stuff. When I came in, I met a guy from New Zealand who was quite a bit heavier than me sailing a Radial, and even he decided to come in early.
Tomorrow looks like it will be heavier than today, and the word is that they probably will not race tomorrow. That's really not good, because with a lay day on Thursday, that means only two more races for the qualifying round, which means I have no chance of making the gold fleet. Time to just relax and enjoy the rest of the regatta. I will keep the blog going, so please check back.
Unfortunately that was the extent of the good news today. I went to the club with a forecast of 10-12 increasing to 16-18 in the afternoon with gusts no more than 20. Sounds good, boat rigged, hit the water, and already it was well above the forecast, with the breeze around 20 when we went out. Of course by the start of the race, it had increased to 25 steady with gusts to 30, a guy at the Yacht Club said it was blowing 23 steady, but I still say 25 ;-). Ok, quite windy, and the waves were really big and steep with a relatively short wavelength. I drew the red fleet for the first day, which meant the second start, and I got off the line, about mid line in very good shape. The RC had set a massively long line, so there was no problem finding space and being on the line. I started out left, took one hitch right to clear air, and then worked back left. It seemed to pay off as I approached the weather mark in the top half. So far so good, exacly an 18 minute beat, just like last year. Then as I reached the weather mark, released vand and went to the offset (we had the inside loop), I hit a huge wave, biggest one all day, launched off the back of the wave, completely airborne, and when I hit the trough, extremely hard, I did something to my lower back on the left side. It hurt really badly, and I immediately knew that I had no chance to finish out the race, let alone the day. I went further upwind past the mark and sat there to let the fleet by so I would not interfere with anyone, seeing as I was retiring, then started to head downwind. I had to go downwind all the way to the club, and it was incredibly hard especially with a bad back. With the huge waves, the cockpit seemed to always be filled with water. If my back was not hurting, it would have been an amazingly fun ride downwind, but trying to avoid a deat roll with a bad back, is hard and painful. Only two death rolls later, I made it to the entrance to Chichester Harbour and flew in on a screaming reach to the club. The helpers at the club were great, pulling my boat up the beach for me.
I was not the only boat coming in at that time. There were several Radials and a few Standard rigs that were also coming in with me, and by the time I had packed the boat, even more boats were coming in, as the conditions were worsening. Here is what I figured out today, I am just too light for a standard rig now in heavy air. I am afraid that 170-175 is just too light. The last time I sailed in winds like this was the Laser No Coast Championships in 2008 on Lake Lanier. It was flat water there though, and I was about 30 lbs heavier then. There were many Radial sailors I saw that were bigger than I am, so perhaps I should have picked the Radial for this regatta. I don't really want to gain more weight now, so I think that I need to drop about 10 lbs more to be a full time Radial sailor. I am also at a disadvantage because I am shorter than most, being light and short is just not a good combination for a Laser.
I went to the race office to tell them I had retired for the day, and there was a gentleman from the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), who seemed very concerned about my back. He informed me that there was a Physio available to help if he could. I went to see the Physio, and after checking me out, seemed confident the problem was muscular and not skeletal, which was really good news. I have the back iced right now, and hopefully with racing possibly being canceled tomorrow, I may very well be ready for Wednesday, I am hopeful.
We know the conditions were really hairy because there were New Zealanders and Australians coming in early as well, and those guys just love the heavy stuff. When I came in, I met a guy from New Zealand who was quite a bit heavier than me sailing a Radial, and even he decided to come in early.
Tomorrow looks like it will be heavier than today, and the word is that they probably will not race tomorrow. That's really not good, because with a lay day on Thursday, that means only two more races for the qualifying round, which means I have no chance of making the gold fleet. Time to just relax and enjoy the rest of the regatta. I will keep the blog going, so please check back.
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