By Doug
 |
| On a rare day that was not windy. |
At the 2018 Laser Master
Worlds, we met again to do battle. My GGM fleet is one of the smallest with just
16 competitors but between them they have won 22 world championships in
4 different classes.
I trained hard for this Worlds,
spending a total of 157 hours on the water and more than 7 hours on my hiking
bench. The best part of my training was attending Brett Beyer’s downwind clinic at
the ISA, and that part paid big dividends.
But most of the other
training was on my own on a small Dallas
The decision to attend
Brett’s pre-worlds clinic was a good one as it helped get a feeling for
practicing with other good sailors, but the conditions for the actual Worlds
were very different.
Day 1: The forecast was
15-25, but it maxed out over 30. Like all of the days that followed, the
temperatures rarely got to 60F (15C).
Race 1: Pam was on the
finishing boat and when she was leaving the harbor it was gusting up to 25. Once
on the course, the race committee apparently considered sending us in. The GGMs
were the last to start and I missed the shift and was at the wrong boat end and
not the pin. Ouch. Tried to play shifts to catch up but left paid. Wolfgang
Gerz (GER) was leading at the first mark but could not quite round it
(current?) and stalled out, losing several places. Mark Bethwaite (AUS) took
the lead while I rounded 8th. We’re sailing the inner trapezoid and are
close to shore, so it was playing survival vs. playing the small waves. I chose
the former. The positions did not change until the second run when the gusts
started to hit 30. At the bottom of the second run I jibed, lost control and
flipped. Finished 8th. Mark has been training for several months in Europe and won in his usual impressive style.
Race 2: Pin favored and a
good start there and surprisingly I rolled Mark as we went
left. It was close at the first mark with Wolfgang again leading. Rounded 3rd. On the run, we were hit by a monster puff and I dared not bear off but just tried to stay
upright. Ended 200 meters off the rhumb line which cost several places as
others were better at managing the hard, cold breeze. At the bottom mark,
Wolfgang had a good lead going left and I again tried to play the shifts to
move up. On one tack my boat stalled because of really tight vang and I went
into irons. I jumped into the water to swim the boat around onto port but it slowly tipped
on top of me. Lost more places (note to self – in irons, let the vang off). On the
top reach and run things for me were survival conditions, and several of the leaders
tipped on the run (Mark once and Wolfgang four times). Pam was watching from
the finish boat taking videos and lots of people were tipping just trying cross
the line. I finished a poor 9th just behind Mark. On the way in getting
to the ramp was challenging with the offshore breeze and I tipped two more
times in the harbor. It was cold and Mark said that he was close to being
hypothermic. Many seasoned sailors commented that this was the toughest
conditions they had sailed in. And there was lots more wind in the forecast.
Day 2: The temperature
remained in the 50’s and the wind built from the forecasted 15 to one gust that
was recorded at 35. My GGM fleet was on the water for 5 hours.
Race 3: Being close to
shore, there were some pretty big shifts and the wind went right just before
the start, so I squeezed between Mark and the committee boat to get away
cleanly. Played a few shifts but had problems tacking with the really tight
vang (note to self, let the vang off
before tacking in a gust). The GMs were on the same course and we had to thread
through the 62 boats coming down the run and many were out of control, so it
was crazy. My speed was about the same as Mark with him footing and me pointing
a little higher in the waves. Rounded in 5th with Wolfgang again
leading. The positions were unchanged until the bottom of the second run. Where
we rounded in a hard gust and I did not have time to get set up with tighter
controls for the bottom reach. It was a screamer and being way over powered
allowed John Dawson-Edwards (CAN) and Alan Keen (RSA) to pass below me, so I finished
7th just behind Mark, John and Alan. Being better prepared could
have saved me 3 points.
Race 4: It was now very pin
favored so I started 3 up with Wolfgang and Mark below. There was no line sight
because the open North Sea and clouds were all
gray, so it was one of those hope-I-was-not-over starts. We went left until
Wolfgang below said “let’s tack” so the three of us led the fleet on a long
port tack to the mark where Mark, Wolfgang, and I rounded in a tight group. On
the run, Wolfgang caught a few more waves and rounded in the lead. The wind was
still left so it was a long port tack to the second windward mark. Our
positions were unchanged. The top reach was another screamer and I buried to
bow to fill up the cockpit which allowed Michael Hicks (GBR) to catch up. On
the run, he was still gaining and went left so, trying something different, I
jibed to sail by the lee. Our speed was very similar and he got me on mark room
at the bottom of the run. I tried to pass but he defended well, so it was Wolfgang,
Mark, Michael, and then me at the finish.
Day 3: Groundhog day with
the same conditions – temperatures trying to reach 60F (15C), gusts in the
30’s, and Wolfgang wining 2 more races
Race 5: The leaders chose to
start at the boat but I was sure that the pin was favored so I headed there. It
was strange to start so far away from the best sailors in our fleet. Started at
the pin and waited for the 2 on my hip to tack before tacking onto a big lift. Saw
the rest of the fleet in the window of my sail… life is good so far. We weaved through
the other fleet coming down on a run and I rounded a close second behind
Charles Campion (GBR). Using the technique I learned at Brett’s downwind
clinic, I passed him to take the lead, but the series leader Wolfgang pulled even
with me (he too was at the downwind clinic). He took the right gate and I took
the left. Playing the shifts, I crossed Wolfgang and he tracked to cover me on
starboard. His speed was better and at the mark, Wolfgang, Charles, and Michael
Hicks (GBR) were ahead at the top of the second beat. We stayed even on the top
reach and I used Brett’s downwind techniques on the final run to pass Michael
to finish 3rd, my best race of the event.
Race 6: Pin favored this
time with the entire fleet, started 5 up with Mark and Wolfgang at the pin. I
seemed to be out of phase compared with others and rounded 7th. On
the run, had really good speed and passed both Alan and Mark. At the bottom of
the run with big waves, people were taking the right gate to avoid jibing. Mark
was close behind and inside, so I called “you have room” and prepared to round quite wide. But there was no Mark, just a loud sailing term that
starts with the letter “f” (later learned that he buried the bow, filled with
water, and had an unplanned jibe). On the long starboard tack to the left, I
tried something that Brett suggested – hard vang and footing through the waves
but for me it did not work and I could not point. At the top mark, was even
with Alan and he led at the end of the top reach. Still in 6th. On
the second run, things got hairy – in one gust, a wave hit me and I was knocked
out of the boat. With my toes still in the hiking strap, I was dragged in the
water trying to get back into the boat. Neither bearing off to get speed nor
pulling in the mainsheet to head up gave me enough pressure on the centerboard
to get in. After several gulps of sea water and what seemed like about a
minute, I was able to get going again. Exhausted and in second to last, I took
it easy to the finish. Still in 8th place overall, dragging my butt
cost me 3 points and 2 places in the standings.
Day 4: A little sunnier and
the top gust was just 30.
Race 7: With two minutes to go, I pulled really hard on the downhaul and… it broke. It took 5 minutes to fix so I got to watch this race.
Race 8: Was pin favored with
Mark, Wolfgang, and me starting there. After a few minutes, Jorge Abreu (DOM)
started to roll me, so I tacked. The long port tack took us close to the mark
and the boats that went left rounded ahead, so I as in 7th. On the
run, I pulled even with Mark who took the left gate while I took the right.
Half way up the second beat, he would have crossed me but instead tacked onto
port in front. We were slamming into the waves and Mark, according to Brett, is
one of the best at steering through them. So I watched as he pulled about 8 boat
lengths ahead. At the starboard tack layline, he tacked and I followed. And
then something happened that neither of us could later figure out – I out
pointed him so that he had to put in two additional tacks to round just behind
me. We stayed even on the top reach and then he tried to pass on the run by
going to windward of me and then carving back to the right. Using some of the
techniques learned from Brett, I was able to hold him off on the run and then
bottom reach. Finished 5th but back on shore learned that I was over
the line at the start and was scored UFD. Normally I’d be disappointed with a
DNC and UFD for the day, but I’m not in the running and am pleased with my new
downwind speed that Brett taught me.
Day 5: Rain and then
clearing, top gust 28
Race 9: Started close to the
pin, went left, and hit the first shift. As with most races, the fleet stayed
together. I played some shifts and took the lead on the port tack layline with
a tight group rounding just behind. On the run, Wolfgang pulled even and was
heading straight for the downwind gate. Looking upwind, there was pressure on
the left and the tight group was going to miss it, so I moved downwind of the
pressure and Mark followed. But as we learned several times, some of the
pressure never comes and we both lost 7 places!! Note to self – stay with the
leaders! We tried to catch them but they had too much speed in these
conditions.
Race 10: Started again close
to the pin and started to get rolled, so tacked. Worked the middle of the
course and got even with the front row. But being tired with the really tight vang, my life
jacket caught on the boom and I tipped again. Once up again, was 50 meters
behind the front row that had good speed and stayed in phase, so was unable to
catch them. Finished 10.
Day 6: Very light conditions
from the south and not offshore. Lots of current.
Race 11: The fleet started
at the committee boat, tacked, and went right. I footed under Mark to take the
lead and then he tacked onto starboard. The fleet followed and Mark had a huge
lead as we fought the current in a dying breeze before the race was abandoned.
There was a long delay and
the current was taking us from the race area back to the harbor where we would
have to de-rig, return our charger boats, have them inspected, and then prepare
for the closing ceremonies. As the 3:00 deadline approached, there was one more
fleet before us and it got away a few minutes before the deadline, so most of
us decided to keep heading back to the harbor. We later learned that our fleet
had in fact started after 3:00 with just 5 boats on the line. Mark, Wolfgang,
and I were not one of them.
With a breakdown, UFD, and
DNS, this was not one of my best Worlds, but there was lots to
learn from. What worked:
- Attending Brett’s downwind and pre-worlds
clinics really helped with downwind speed and race planning.
- Pam had been well-prepared for the cold weather.
- The equipment, help launching, and event management were all excellent.
- My conditioning was good, that was not the
problem.
Areas for improvement:
- Practicing a few hours each week on Dallas lakes
will no longer work. This may sound obvious, but the best practice is in
the conditions of the event. Those that did had the best finishes in our fleet.
- My upwind speed use to be good, but needs a lot
more work.
- Relying on the compass rather than sticking with the fleet was a mistake. I also think that it’s time to switch to one of the new digital compasses.
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