Ambitions Found

Ambition is now of course, to acheive some learning goals which will take me further to winning more races in future I think this is in three : Boat Handling Starts Wind Patterns , shifts, geographical wind and bends Bias lines and courses and the right side Tidal vectors These are kind of in a logical order Handling, I need a lot more finesse 1) Tacks - coming out correctly - I used to be able to but I guess it is practice 2) Getting into and staying in-the-groove 3) Reacting to fluctutions I think my gybes are good! Just pay attention to final angle. Starts? Nerves, ego, nerves then stress I have to learn how to line up and use burn time. I just find there is a sense of 'shit, I am in the wrong place and going at the wrong speed' It isnt rocket surgery. I think I should just go out and sail up to some marks from different angles on my own first. Then put the clock on it. Then try it with incidental cruising or motor boats milling around Then go and race or group train in a dinghy or something. I keep on putting a bloody threshold of fleet dinghy racing, when there is a lot to learn from any boat I step into! I guess also, first and foremost, an apprecitaion of what I am doing wrong 1) Way too far back from the line. ( knowing where you are!) 2) Often way too ' left ' of the line, getting rolled 3) In danger of being forced high of the line at the boat end 4) sitting dead in what looks like a controlling position but getting sailed circles round 5) Lack of speed 6) thrashing around too much speed 7) NOT KNOWING THE EXACT START TIME! 1) too far back - this is related to No7 !!! It is a dead non man's land of three tacks to get up where you should be but 30 secs to do it all This is cured by an understanding of a) burn time, go! b) Where is advantagous to luff about These both are influenced by variables, most of all wind stregnth. Also 'fleet behaviour' plays in here, as with the Grimstads, they tend to fetch in at speed and round up. This means you can block for both boat and pin end, but you are going to be slower off the start line as they avoid you and go up at speed. So in this case, you want to hunt with the wolves and be very, very aware of a fast burn time from the fetch in, and where to pick a good lane, or slot to charge in on. Maybe that is it, to drop down into a slot infront of other boats rather than choosing a lane In a tighter, better behaved fleet you want to choose that lane, and it will be much nearer a beat than a tight reach. It is then a case of tacking into it, or luffing at a controlling position nearer the pre-line build up, the line behind the line in fleets like the Snipes or Sigma 33s. It is a bit of a risky strategy to try and 'educate the fleet' by standing off near the committee boat in a nice blocking position, because if they charge in on you, they can just duck and dive you. In lighter winds though you can sit in a position around 7 o clock from the CB to the right of the bouy, and bow on it, making a block, and the same can be done in a parallel situaion/ position, to the right of the pin end if you feel that will pay on a bias or going left is gonna pay. In a charging fleet you can either run-with-the-bulls or apply a lhs strategy because a high blocking , or drop-in position is going to be a sitting duck for. On the LHS you can beat on burn time all the way with a bull-charge going on at the boat end. You have to rely though on damn good burn time and allowing for a boat or two to drop on you, hardening up as they reach you, so you cant have a boat under you or too little space to slide along towards the pin. A classic point up from the half way along the line, then you are a third of the way along at the time the charge is on and can either hold on, or bear away sharply to get away from roll overs having forced them to luff. If two or three boats do this, then in fact you educate the fleet ! They meet you and are forced into luffing or diving this 'block vote' as it sweeps towards the line with a good burn time In a bull fleet then you need to determine what your burn time will be: will it be tight reach in along the line and go as near to the line as poss? Or is it going to be reach in, then beat up on a lower line under some 'early looking' boats? So here is a main cause of my weakness. Not quite knowing where I am, having thought out a start tactic, but not being where I want to be because I have paniced and lost sight of where I am. Stay in the Groove There are two things at play here- steering and gear changes For a given sail setting or 'gear' you have a lattitude of steering to follow the wind as it fluctuates, or to press on the jib to hold speed in a lull or after getting knocked by a wave. At some point though you have to forget steering ad get the crew to change gear. For me the big issue is when the wind lulls - I think I need to be able to spot this and get the sails out a little while steering down a tad. The other thing is knocking into waves, and this too needs more sail depth and falling off. Both are a to a large extend unavoidable unless they are spotted 10 secs ahead. A press on the jib alone in a major lull will only stall the boat more, and not bearing off enough in waves, or until you smother the jib with too much press, will also stall you. Gear changes break down like this in order of 1) "global" : Head sail Change or Reef; Shroud and forestay tension 2) Travller : down and up as the wind goes, a rough adjustment 3) Sheeting : in for more wind, out for less - more subtle 4) Backstay: to reduce heeling ( or in light winds to stabilise the rig) 6) Kicker 7) outhaul main / Barber haul jib 7) Cunningham / inhaul main ( jib) I am not talking about involving these in the major course manoevres , but rather while on a beat, a run, a reach IN a dinghy kicker / Gnav takes the role of the back stay, but both are a nice adjustment in the first place because releasing them brings on the power of the leech on the main sail higher up in the sail, where as pulling them on opens and twists the upper half of the sail thus depowering and reducing heel. On a good number of rigs, the back stay will in the first place, when off, take up slack in the rig and thus make for more rake and a tighter forestay. Some boats like a slack set up for light airs when deep sails work. But rake is a major determinating factor for pointing so it must go on once the need for a little speed is over, and it is blowing enough for a true beat. The traveller is often abused in bigger racing boats, it is a very rough control when dumped as it literally 'closes the door' on the slot - you may want to try a seemingly brutal hike on the back stay and kicker, with a small slide of the traveller next time! Steer first, ask questions later - but do ask them rather immediately - Do I also need a gear change ? Do I have enough depth in the front of the jib to allow for this variation in angle? Shall I slip something out liek the kicker? Can I get more wind up in the rig to work by slipping the back stay, or maybe inducing more twist for drive on the traveller? Or is this transient and I can steer through it and up again on the wind. The reverse is easier, as the gust strikes. This is because the boat's own speed is in a negative situation, slower realtive wind speed rather than faster, so it is more obvious if both steering and a gear change are needed. -