I was very impressed with the skill level exhibited at the recent Roadrunner Regatta junior hosted by Austin Yacht Club. I had a chance to watch some of the racing from a race committee boat on the first day and was on the Laser, 4.7 and Radial course along with a 18 boat fleet of Flying Juniors.
Here are a few observations:
The starts were very competitive and as a rule, most of the sailors did a great job of being aggressive and hitting the line with speed at the gun. After the start though, it seemed like too many would be content to sail in bad air and the less experienced sailors would tend to hold starboard tack for too long and automatically sail to the left side of the course upwind.
I would have liked to have seen the sailors be more aggressive with clearing out and cutting the grain after a bad start. In small, maneuverable boats, it doesn't take much room to bear off a few feet to create separation from the windward boat and do a quick tack to port and duck to get clear air. I wrote a piece called the "Great Escape" last year that elaborates more on clearing tactics after a questionable start.
I really like to get on to port tack quickly and going against the grain if I have had a bad start. I am not advocating banging a corner but just using this as a tool to quickly get clear air. Once you are on port tack, you will likely be moving much faster than the fleet that is still stacked up in bad air and chop on starboard. I think there may even be a slight lift effect that you get when ducking behind starboard tack boats while on port tack. Often, after such a clearing maneuver, I am able to cross many of the boats that I had previously ducked once I tack back.
I also noticed a tendency for boats to go out to the lay lines instead of staying inside the imaginary cone of the weather mark. Too many boats were sailing in bad air on the lay lines instead of aggressively playing the shifts between the lay lines as the fleet approached the weather mark.
Boat handling was on the whole very good! I think the crews and skippers on the double-handed boats could be more in sync with one another at the leeward mark rounding. It seemed that the jib was often trimmed much too quickly as the boats would round the leeward mark. It was rare to see the skipper and crew using their weight together to steer the boat around the mark. Often, the boat was too flat or even heeled to windward as the boats would try and round which forced the helmsman to use too much rudder to get the boat to head up to close hauled. Both skipper and crew need to create leeward heel as they approach the rounding to encourage the boat to round up tightly on the downwind side of the mark.
I was very impressed with the skill shown on the Laser Radial course. Several of the top Radial sailors competing in the event are ranked in the top 10 in North America. They definitely know how to handle their boats and it is easy to see the benefits of the coaching that several of the more established programs in Texas have adopted.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
AYC Road Runner Regatta---This Weekend!
The Texas Junior Road Runner Circuit makes its stop in Austin this weekend. The top Junior's from around the State of Texas will compete this weekend on Lake Travis and we are expecting a great turn-out of Laser radial, Laser 4.7, Opti's of all skill levels and a fleet of the AYC owned Flying Juniors.
The weather forecast is for strong southerly breezes for the whole weekend. The southerly wind looks like it will slowly try to clock to the southwest in advance of a front that will come through Austin next Monday.
Here are a few things to think about in preparation for the regatta.
Boat Preparation: How are your control lines? Any worn or frayed lines? Are they the right size, length, stretch? No need to have a lot of excess line laying in the bottom of the boat soaking up water. Have you tightened down all of your fittings? Are all ring-dings taped and secure?
How is your boat bottom? All scratches sanded smooth and the hull polished? No road grime or grung! Make sure your hull is clean and smooth!!
Clothing? Have you tried on your foul weather gear this season? Does it still fit? Life jacket in good shape? No need to be running around at the last second trying to buy gear. The water temperature is still pretty cool on Lake Travis. Even though the air temps will be in the high 60's, you need to wear gear that will keep you warm and safe if you go for a swim.
Lake Travis Racing Tips: From my experience sailing in a southerly wind direction on Lake Travis, the wind will tend to oscillate back and forth. The favored end of the starting line at 1 minute before the start could totally change by the time the starting gun goes off. It is important to look up the lake for clues as to the direction and wind strength of the next puff. Look for cruising boats or the boats in the fleet that started before you to get tips as to what the next puff will be doing.
When the wind is strong, the puffs and shifts tend to come through the course pretty quickly. In this condition, I tend to try and figure out what I need to do on the starting line to enable me to be able to tack on the first shift and get in phase with the oscillations. I generally will avoid starting at the pin end of the starting line unless I have convinced myself that I will be able to tack and cross the fleet within the the first 30-45 seconds after the start. Otherwise, it is possible to get pinned and forced to go left and inevitably, you will miss the first couple of oscillations and be out of phase with the wind shifts for the rest of the beat.
I would try to position myself on the starting line in such a way as to be able get a safe lee bow position on the the boat to the windward of me, and hopefully, by sailing fast and pointing high, I can force the windward boat to tack off quickly which should open up a lane for me to tack when the first header comes.
I typically don't try to pick a side of the race course to go to. My experience is that going up the middle of the race course usually works best. As a rule of thumb, just try to stay on the tack that points you closest to the windward mark and everything else will take care of itself. In fact, the wind shifts can be so extreme, it may look like the whole fleet is point right at the windward mark on both tacks on the same beat. This usually won't last for the whole beat and eventually, a wind shift will come in from the other side of the course that will make you look like you can lay the windward mark on the complete opposite tack you were on previously.
When these big shifts come through, it is more important to be pointing at the mark than having clear air. If you tack away in pursuit of clear air, often, you will end up hopelessly out of phase with the wind shifts. So...if you think you are on the right tack, sail high, sail low...do whatever you must to maintain some hope of clear air so that you can at least go the right direction.
Also...be patient! Don't try and chase wind shifts on the other side of the lake. Stay with what you have and don't ever, ever...sail across the lake on a header to try and get to a puff on the other side. The odds are that it won't be there by the time you get there and you will likely be forced to sail a header when you come back accross.
On Sunday, the forecast calls for a slight shift in the breeze to the right (Southwesterly direction) which often occurs prior to a front coming through. In this condition, the right will generally be favored with the wind blowing out of the coves on the right shore line. There will still be shifts from the left but it is important to watch the right and use those left (southeasterly) shifts to work back to protect the right side. This tactic usually works when the average wind direction is right of 180. If the wind direction is in the 165 average range, playing the shifts up the middle usually is the best way to go.
Best of luck to everyone and we look forward to putting on a great regatta for you all!!
The weather forecast is for strong southerly breezes for the whole weekend. The southerly wind looks like it will slowly try to clock to the southwest in advance of a front that will come through Austin next Monday.
Here are a few things to think about in preparation for the regatta.
Boat Preparation: How are your control lines? Any worn or frayed lines? Are they the right size, length, stretch? No need to have a lot of excess line laying in the bottom of the boat soaking up water. Have you tightened down all of your fittings? Are all ring-dings taped and secure?
How is your boat bottom? All scratches sanded smooth and the hull polished? No road grime or grung! Make sure your hull is clean and smooth!!
Clothing? Have you tried on your foul weather gear this season? Does it still fit? Life jacket in good shape? No need to be running around at the last second trying to buy gear. The water temperature is still pretty cool on Lake Travis. Even though the air temps will be in the high 60's, you need to wear gear that will keep you warm and safe if you go for a swim.
Lake Travis Racing Tips: From my experience sailing in a southerly wind direction on Lake Travis, the wind will tend to oscillate back and forth. The favored end of the starting line at 1 minute before the start could totally change by the time the starting gun goes off. It is important to look up the lake for clues as to the direction and wind strength of the next puff. Look for cruising boats or the boats in the fleet that started before you to get tips as to what the next puff will be doing.
When the wind is strong, the puffs and shifts tend to come through the course pretty quickly. In this condition, I tend to try and figure out what I need to do on the starting line to enable me to be able to tack on the first shift and get in phase with the oscillations. I generally will avoid starting at the pin end of the starting line unless I have convinced myself that I will be able to tack and cross the fleet within the the first 30-45 seconds after the start. Otherwise, it is possible to get pinned and forced to go left and inevitably, you will miss the first couple of oscillations and be out of phase with the wind shifts for the rest of the beat.
I would try to position myself on the starting line in such a way as to be able get a safe lee bow position on the the boat to the windward of me, and hopefully, by sailing fast and pointing high, I can force the windward boat to tack off quickly which should open up a lane for me to tack when the first header comes.
I typically don't try to pick a side of the race course to go to. My experience is that going up the middle of the race course usually works best. As a rule of thumb, just try to stay on the tack that points you closest to the windward mark and everything else will take care of itself. In fact, the wind shifts can be so extreme, it may look like the whole fleet is point right at the windward mark on both tacks on the same beat. This usually won't last for the whole beat and eventually, a wind shift will come in from the other side of the course that will make you look like you can lay the windward mark on the complete opposite tack you were on previously.
When these big shifts come through, it is more important to be pointing at the mark than having clear air. If you tack away in pursuit of clear air, often, you will end up hopelessly out of phase with the wind shifts. So...if you think you are on the right tack, sail high, sail low...do whatever you must to maintain some hope of clear air so that you can at least go the right direction.
Also...be patient! Don't try and chase wind shifts on the other side of the lake. Stay with what you have and don't ever, ever...sail across the lake on a header to try and get to a puff on the other side. The odds are that it won't be there by the time you get there and you will likely be forced to sail a header when you come back accross.
On Sunday, the forecast calls for a slight shift in the breeze to the right (Southwesterly direction) which often occurs prior to a front coming through. In this condition, the right will generally be favored with the wind blowing out of the coves on the right shore line. There will still be shifts from the left but it is important to watch the right and use those left (southeasterly) shifts to work back to protect the right side. This tactic usually works when the average wind direction is right of 180. If the wind direction is in the 165 average range, playing the shifts up the middle usually is the best way to go.
Best of luck to everyone and we look forward to putting on a great regatta for you all!!
Monday, March 1, 2010
It's That Time!!!
Sorry for the long Blog hiatus! I am back and ready to start focusing on my sailing goals for 2010. I will start with my first and most important goal which is getting my 50 year old body ready for battle. I have been nursing a nagging left big toe injury which has surprisingly, really been preventing me from pursuing many of the exercise hobbies that I enjoy so much. I am now painfully aware now how your feet really are the foundation for good physical health!
I probably need to get it operated on but I am going to see if I can keep it going through this spring and summer and if necessary, get it worked on next fall. In the meantime, this winter I have been exploring the amazing connection between nutrition and good physical and mental health. I am becoming more convinced every day of the necessity of eating the right kinds of food to maintain youthfulness and vitality. Good nutrition coupled with good exercise habits can completely change the landscape of health and health care in our country. I for one and am going to do my best to "cheat the nursing home" and I plan to compete in the Laser Class and to continue to enjoy all of my other water sport pastimes for a long time to come.
My racing goals this summer are going to be fairly limited. Amy and I will have our six kids going many directions so time will be limited. My biggest goal will be to give the kids the opportunity to explore their interest in sailing further and to give them the chance to spend a lot of time on the water having fun. My kids have not really taken to racing on their own and it is always difficult to know how much to push...or not. So far...I haven't pushed and they seem to be getting more excited to get out on the water....and maybe just maybe, the racing bug will get started for them this summer.
I also plan to spend a lot of time working with kids at Austin Yacht Club and to see if we can take our junior training program to another level and to see if we can create some long-term sustainability as the programs at Houston Yacht Club and Lakewood Yacht Club have done so successfully.
On the racing front, I will race the Annual Laser Easter Regatta here in Austin in early April and I hope to compete in the Laser Master's Nationals in Charleston SC in May and plan to race in the Laser Master's North Americans in Long Beach, CA in August. I hope to have the chance to race against my childhood idol, John Bertrand as he makes his come back in the Laser Class.....that would great fun!
I would also like to make a big J-22 event this summer or fall and maybe even do the Mallory Cup again in September. Hopefully, there will be time to sail with Glen Darden and his Team Hoss on his NYYC 42 in Newport, RI which is always a blast!
All in all, not a lot of racing planned this year but the quality of the sailing should be excellent.
I probably need to get it operated on but I am going to see if I can keep it going through this spring and summer and if necessary, get it worked on next fall. In the meantime, this winter I have been exploring the amazing connection between nutrition and good physical and mental health. I am becoming more convinced every day of the necessity of eating the right kinds of food to maintain youthfulness and vitality. Good nutrition coupled with good exercise habits can completely change the landscape of health and health care in our country. I for one and am going to do my best to "cheat the nursing home" and I plan to compete in the Laser Class and to continue to enjoy all of my other water sport pastimes for a long time to come.
I also plan to spend a lot of time working with kids at Austin Yacht Club and to see if we can take our junior training program to another level and to see if we can create some long-term sustainability as the programs at Houston Yacht Club and Lakewood Yacht Club have done so successfully.
On the racing front, I will race the Annual Laser Easter Regatta here in Austin in early April and I hope to compete in the Laser Master's Nationals in Charleston SC in May and plan to race in the Laser Master's North Americans in Long Beach, CA in August. I hope to have the chance to race against my childhood idol, John Bertrand as he makes his come back in the Laser Class.....that would great fun!
I would also like to make a big J-22 event this summer or fall and maybe even do the Mallory Cup again in September. Hopefully, there will be time to sail with Glen Darden and his Team Hoss on his NYYC 42 in Newport, RI which is always a blast!
All in all, not a lot of racing planned this year but the quality of the sailing should be excellent.
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