Finding Something Positive to Say

By Doug

Larry Ellison was interviewed this week and he proudly called the America's Cup boats the fastest in the world being sailed by the best sailors in the world.  

Before the series started, I predicted here and here that the America's Cup could be won by the team that does not have a major problem. In the Louis Vuitton final, the first three races have been won because the other boat failed to finish. Let's hope my prediction does not continue to be correct.  So far, the total lack of tactics and winning margins of minutes (when a second boat is able to finish) makes it pretty boring even for sailors.

Australia put its winner in a museum, but it's safe to say that this year's winner will not fit in a museum. While you can still see 12-meters being sailed on Newport and Sydney harbors, it's unlikely that any of the AC72's will ever be sailed again (hey team, let's rig up and go for a sail... who's got a 150' crane?) So they'll be mothballed after the series is finished.

In the interview, Larry Ellison admitted his disappointment from the lack of competitors. He even mentioned a preference for a return to the AC45's next time around. So it's easy to get a little cynical about the current series, the financial bath that San Francisco is taking, and especially the death of Bart Simpson.

So where is the positive? This is a very special moment in sailing history because we may not see anything like these boats again. It's a once-in-a-lifetime pinnacle in our sport, so enjoy because they're probably not coming back. 

An unbelievable sight of the team I think will easily win the Cup.

Sailing in the Middle of the Fleet - Windward Mark Strategies

By Doug

So you've had a good start, stayed in clean air as much as you can, and have tried to stay with the leaders. And you may notice that if the first leg is one mile long, then half way up the leg it's also one mile wide. So the fleet often spreads out to give you more room to find clean air. But then something terrible happens - in the second half of the leg the fleet comes together to round the windward mark. And then all hell can break out.

Think about it - the starting line might be several hundred feet wide, but all of those boats have to squeeze through a space only 10-20 feet wide. From up to a mile wide to just 10-20 feet! And some of the leaders will make things even worse because they'll round the mark and then head downwind straight at you screaming.

Here's what a middle-of-the-fleet sailor has to consider. And as an example, we'll take the worst-case scenario of rounding onto a run with no offset mark (rounding with an offset or onto a reach are easier).

Firstly, recognize that a plan is needed, and this graphic may help:

There are 4 boats in 4 positions:

1. is on starboard tack approaching the mark.
2. is on starboard tack and has rounded the mark.
3. is on port tack approaching the mark.
4. is on port tack and has rounded the mark and jibed.

Secondly, know that each boat has well-defined rights:

1. always has rights and can head straight for the mark.
2. has rights over 3 and 4 because they're on port, but if 2 jibes like 4 then it has no rights.
3. only has rights over 4 because 4 is to windward.
4. has no rights at all and must keep clear from everyone.

Thirdly, understand the rules of thumb:

• The ideal path to take is shown in green - starboard into the mark area and starboard out of the mark area.
• Avoid port-tack approaches to the mark. A boat rounding the mark is permitted to cut right in front of you because that's its proper course, so you have to anticipate this and stay clear.
• When you round the mark and would want to jibe, sail by the lee instead to stay on starboard. This way, you'll at least have right of way over the boats approaching the mark on port.
• If you round the mark and must jibe onto port, realize that you have no rights.

Don't forget to verbalize what you're doing. Saying things like "I have room coming up" or "I'm bearing off" or "hold your course" avoids confusion and is appreciated by those around you.

I've sailed against people who are very aggressive at marks and do things like bear off to head straight downwind knowing that there are boats on port tack going upwind that have no chance of avoiding them. This is quite selfish because they really would not lose any distance by sailing on a broad reach until there's a place to bear off. It's much more fun sailing with people who try to cooperate. The managed chaos can actually be really fun.

With a good mark rounding, middle-of-the-fleet sailors now prepare for the part of racing where the big gains (and losses) occur - downwind.

Look Who Just Turned 50!

By Doug

Question: what do you get when you have original old maps of the Pacific Ocean and add sailing items like pieces of old compasses, an old sail, canvas, part of a mainsheet, ring dings, wet & dry sandpaper, and a Zhik bag? You then add a little silk, coins from the US, Canada, and Spain, and some feng shui. You then give it to Erika Iris, an extremely talented artist who inspired a music video that has been seen over 700 million times. And what do you get? A portrait of Pam for her 50th!

The background of the Pacific Ocean is because that's our background too - we both have distant relatives whose paths crossed many, many years ago. Pam's relative actually discovered the Pacific and my relative was the most traveled person in the Pacific in the 1700's (on all of Captain Cook's voyages as well as the Bounty). So sailing is very much in our blood. How cool is that!

Update from Pam: My 50th was something I was hoping would just sneak by without notice. Doug, on the other hand, wanted to make sure it was celebrated, commemorated and never forgotten. Mission accomplished.

It’s very flattering for Doug to have put so much thought and planning into his gift and it has such meaning to him which makes it even more special. First, it was done by his favorite artist who is quite selective in the projects she takes on. Getting her to do it was his first hurdle. After she agreed, the project took on a life of its own and pushed the artist way outside of her comfort zone since most of her art has a simple white background. Second, it is made entirely of materials that have special meaning to us and celebrates how our history (and destiny) has crisscrossed and stretched back hundreds of years.

The picture doesn't do the portrait justice. There was no ‘ink to paper’ on any part of this portrait. The white of my face is made from an old Butterfly sail and the features of my face and hair is made from the material and netting of a Zhik bag with a little gray wet/dry sandpaper mixed in for texture. The highlights in my hair are both from the cord of the Zhik bag and well as a piece of Doug’s main sheet that he used when he won his first Laser Master Worlds in Chile (in the Pacific Ocean). My earrings are ring dings. The background is sprinkled with history and symbolic items that range from maps of the Pacific, Texas, and Canada to compass parts facing my best feng shui directions and includes sail canvas cut into bread fruit leaves (symbolic of the Bounty), scores from the Chile worlds and coins of significant year and origin. The silk ribbon at the top is intended to come off but Erika added it as ‘gift wrapping’ and silk is the traditional gift for 4^th anniversaries which Doug and I just celebrated a few weeks ago.

Well played dear Doug. Yesterday, as Doug sat and watched the video of the foiling Laser on the 100 Races blog he was grinning ear to ear and drooling and said he’d picked out his Christmas present. Coincidence?

Many thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. 

To highlight the talent of the artist, this is the picture Doug sent her and the first sketch she sent him. I rarely like any picture of me but a sketch that removes wrinkles, dark circles and all signs of age is just plain cool.

 

Bob Saltmarsh

By Doug

Bob on the left hamming it up at the 1992 US Masters at Lake Moosehead.

Very sad news - we have lost another gentleman from the sport of sailing. Bob was one of the most gracious and fun people I have even met. RIP my good man.

Sailing in the Middle of the Fleet - Staying Clean Air

By Doug

Even with a good start, middle-of-the-fleet sailors have to deal with boats in front of them. It's really important to stay in clean air, especially on the first windward leg when the boats are more bunched up. There are two ways to do this. The first is visual.

If you're green and red is between you and where the wind is coming from, then you might think that you're sailing in bad air. This would be true if you're not moving (in which case you have other problems!) But when you're moving, the apparent wind shifts forward so you're probably OK for now.

You'll get the best reading if red has a wind indicator at the top of its mast.

You'll be surprised by how long you can hold this position. This is especially important when sailing in a group, and being able to do this is called "holding your lane."

It's like a get-out-of-jail-free card because holding your lane as long as possible helps you stay with the leaders as the rest of the fleet thins out behind you.

As mentioned, there's a second way to tell when you're sailing in bad air and that's by feeling. You'll feel your boat hesitate and slow down. You can also feel a slight turbulence on your face. When this happens, it's time to look at your options: bear off to get a little speed and clear air or tack if you can. If you want to stay with the group, putting in 2 tacks to get clean air is better than sailing in bad air.

Sailing in the Middle of the Fleet - What to do With Clean Air

By Doug

So, you've got clean air off the starting line... what's next? We'll look to see if there are clues about which side of the course is favored. This will depend on where you are sailing, and there is good news.

The top sailors tend to sail in open water where the top events are held. Most events for middle-of-the-fleet sailors are on lakes where there are lots of clues because the wind is not as steady. And the less wind you have, the more clues you'll see because the wind has less momentum and changes direction and strength more often.

In the last post, we looked how the good sailors starting at the favored end of the line can get trapped going the wrong way. But middle-of-the-fleet sailors who get clean air are more likely to be able to tack when they want. Consider a pin-favored start but where there is better wind in the middle or on the right.

Pin favored, but wind on the right... many good sailors will miss this.

In this example, middle-of-the-fleet sailors have a great opportunity to have the line bias clear the unfavored end of the line. This permits them to get a good start at the committee boat, get clean air right away by tacking, and head for the dark patches. Many boats at the pin will be unable to do this and will go the wrong way for enough time to negate their pin-favored start.

In these conditions, the golden rule is to stay in the pressure where there is more wind. I'd rather be conservative, go for clean air, and then head for the pressure knowing that sailing in pressure in light air is more important than on being a lift. It's pretty simple: dark patches = more wind = more speed. For me in these conditions, wind strength is more important than wind direction or line bias.

Here's a more interesting example where the patterns show exactly where the pressure is. If it's pin favored, this wind pattern might be wasted because very few in that group will be able to tack. 

I'd much rather start where I'm able to tack. Here's why. Look at the wind as an obstacle course - where do I need to go to avoid the dead patches and stay in the wind?

Planning the route is simply connecting the dots, and the first dot is off to the right so I'll need to tack ASAP.

In this extreme example, four tacks keeps me continuously in the pressure. I'd much rather have the chance to do this at the committee boat end of the line than risk being trapped going the wrong way at the more favored pin end of the line. Only clean air and a more conservative start will give you the chance to do this. Advantage to middle-of-the-fleet sailors!

Split Vote for Oman

by Pam

I’ve been on the fence about going with Doug to the Laser Master Worlds in Oman in November. My bucket list has a lot of places I’d like to visit. Oman has not been one of them. In fact, when they announced the location I had to look it up and do some research and we even had a guest post about all the things to do and see in Oman. It sounded interesting. I was intrigued and leaning towards going.

Then we heard about MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) which is causing concern with a 50% mortality rate and I was back on the fence. Then Doug pointed out the lead story on CNN this weekend about a Norwegian woman who was jailed in Dubai for reporting a rape. It’s the most backwards story I’ve ever read and just to make sure tourists know it isn’t an isolated incident, they say it also happened to two British women and an Australian woman. And Dubai is supposed to be one of the more progressive Middle Eastern countries!  I’m just not feeling the love for that part of the world.

Of course, I would have been traveling with Doug which isn’t comforting because he has a really odd sense of humor which some people don’t get. When I ask him to hold my purse so I can look at something in a clothes store, he gladly takes it and when I take it back, he feigns shock and loudly tells anyone nearby ‘that woman just stole my purse.’ Now how’s something like that going to go over in Oman? Heck, I don’t even have the same last name as Doug. We just didn’t bother with rings, name changes, or merging anything. I’d have a hard time proving I’m not a single woman and I don’t even know if they’d let us stay in the same hotel room.

Doug thinks it’s all quite backwards and pointed out a comment on the news post that said: No Arab country that has these types of laws should ever get world events. That means no Expo for Dubai, no world soccer, no Olympics. Nothing. They want to stay this backwards, they can forgo modern world recognition.

So, I remind him that in the United States former slaves were given the right to vote 50 years before women were. In Texas, in my lifetime, “women were considered affirmatively retarded” and a married women was classified with “infants, idiots and felons” and “could not buy or sell their own property, sign contracts, make decisions for their children, control their own paychecks, or open their own bank accounts,” until Louise Raggio changed all that in 1967.

So, the Middle East isn’t really all that backwards, but I live in the US and I don’t have a need to experience being anything but treated as an equal. I definitely won’t miss the Master Worlds in France in 2014 and Canada in 2015.

Sailing in the Middle of the Fleet - Using the Unfavored End

By Doug

Getting back to thoughts about sailing in the middle of the fleet, we looked at getting clean air at the start, doing circles before the start, and judging whether the pin or a person is behind or ahead. In doing this, we can see which end of the starting line is favored and which end is not.

If the line is square, there is usually a crowd near the committee boat. If it's boat favored, there will definitely be a crowd there. If it's pin favored, then the pin will be crowded. Rarely will the boats be evenly spread along this line. In most cases, boats will be drawn towards the favored end of the line as though pulled there by a magnet.

Most sailors put too much emphasis on which end is favored. For example, if it's pin favored, they start there and often end up going left in a group. Tacking on a shift or into better pressure is often a group decision, and many good sailors get trapped going the wrong way. The closer they are to the pin, the more dependent they are on others tacking before they can. The sailor who wins at the pin can sometimes tack and cross the fleet, but this is risky and rarely will more than one be able to do this. Definitely a low percentage option.

I personally do not like starting at the pin because there are lots of sailors who are more skilled there than me, and there are few options unless I get a really good start. Why waste a good race with a bad start? I'd much rather be more conservative, go for clean air, play the shifts, and use boatspeed. For me, this is a much higher percentage option.

And this is where middle-of-the-fleet sailors actually have an advantage. If they start at the unfavored end of the line and get clear air, they do not have the problem of getting trapped. So, if it's pin favored, start near the committee boat or in the middle of the line.

The same is true if it looks like the crowd will be at the committee boat end - there will be places further down the line where there will be clear air. But remember that your tacking options are not as good there because the boats starting at the committee boat will block your chances of tacking onto port tack.

So next time you see a line that's really favored at one end, be grateful because it will pull the good sailors off to one side and clear the way for you to have good start and clean air.

Prediction: The America's Cup Will Be Won By... Take II

By Doug

I wrote a post predicting that the America's Cup could be won "not by the fastest or by the smartest, but by the country that does not fall over." With the Cup competition about to start, here's another example of how (very) slow but steady can win a race.

The announcers make jokes in this, but I feel that it shows the true Olympic spirit - how competitors from every country are encouraged to compete, even if they have no chance of winning a medal.

2013 Butterfly Single-Handed Championships

By Doug

Pam's favorite class is called a Butterfly, and she has one that has been in her family for more than 40 years. A Butterfly is a small scow designed in the early 60's that is actually pretty neat. Its rounded bottom makes it very responsive and its over-rotating mast makes the mast bend to windward to give the sail a 3-D curve, so the rig is more powerful than a Laser/Torch. There are two things I do not like: 1) its name [and Pam sometimes makes me wear a t-shirt with a big Butterfly on the chest when I race against the Dallas Laser Fleet] and 2) the rudder is a metal plate that stalls out very easily. Scows are sailed mainly on lakes because they do not handle waves well.

Their national championship this year was in Spring Lake, Michigan which was on my way home after the Canadian Laser Masers, plus I had won this before, plus it's always a fun event. So I dropped in, borrowed a brand new boat from Windward Boatworks and was able to defend my title.

I wore my hat cam for some of the races and made three videos that Laser/Torch sailors may enjoy. The first is about starting:

The second is a race that shows the tactics needed to win a race. This was on the second day when the wind increased with gusts of 30 mph according to the local paper:

The third shows a series of bonehead mistakes that I made on the first leg and how I was able to come through the fleet once I got my act together.

Update: at the end of this last video when describing how I caught the leader on the final leg, I ran out of time because of YouTube's 15 minute limit . Here's more detail: I tried to get him to choose between covering me tacking on the shifts/pressure and his preference of staying close to the favored right shore. At one point, I went way close to the shore, he covered, ran aground in the sand, and lost his speed trying to tack away. I think this is where he slowed down enough for me to catch him. Another example of the perils of covering!

This is a really fun class that is a good training boat for Laser/Torch people who live near a lake. And the people it attracts enjoy good competition without the sometimes intimidating intensity of the Laser/Torch class.

Laser Sailing at Age 74

Pam:  In response to my 'Am I Too Old For This?' post, we received an email from Joe who sailed in the recent Canadian Laser Masters Championship with Doug.  After an incident on the water many years ago in which Joe wondered if Doug had eyes in the back of his head, these two have been sneaking up behind each other all over the world, covering the other's eyes, disguising his voice and asking 'guess who?'  Joe sent us an excerpt from his personal journal which we asked if we could share.  Clearly, he didn't do as well has he expected, but under the circumstances, he's a winner in my book. From Doug's cryptic messages, I understand that they 'never get those conditions' and everyone struggled to string together a consistent series.  In 3 days they had huge shifts (Doug claims one was 90 degrees), 1 mile legs against the current, and wind that really picked up for several races, plus it was cold and wet. Challenging conditions for any age, let alone age 74. We all hope that we'll still be sailing a Laser at that age ... Joe is living the dream.  Thanks for sharing!

by Joe van Rossem

Home Monday morning after the Canadian Masters in Beaconsfield Quebec. Sitting on the sofa in my house coat with my coffee reflecting on the last four days.

What happened? Well let me tell you, S#!+ happened! However, there is no one to blame except me, for sailing a bad regatta.

Maybe, I'm getting too old!  And my memory is fading as well, if I can't even put my finger on what went wrong! All those thoughts come into my head as I sit here reflecting on the past weekend. Then, a thought came to me, why don't you write it down and maybe learn a bit from all this. Then again (at seventy four) if I don't know it all by now, I'll never will. However, hence this writing.

Friday, first race, started at the pin end, and wanted to sail the first leg in the middle right side of the course and ended up doing the exact opposite. Fighting bad air and lifted the wrong way and trying to catch up.

Second race. Same as the first.

Third race. Started at the committee boat, approached the line on port and saw an opening and just continued, worked the middle right   Ended up in front at the top mark with no air, however, after rounding, the wind picked up again nicely (now from the North), half way down the leg, the mark boat greeted us with the checkered flag, calling off the race. Miller time? Swenson would say.

Learned what?

If before the start, you have decided to sail the fist leg in the middle right, you should at least try to start in the middle right of the line? Right!

Saturday's racing started with a nice breeze that did not hold leaving us with waves and little wind. Then the wind came back but the struggle remained, the old '78 Laser I was using for this regatta was groaning and moaning in the short steep waves like saying enough is enough. Never mind my legs. Back to the bike (maybe twice a day for an hour each, starting today). The whole day was a struggle that's all I remember.

Sunday's racing, umm? Dressed light, for light air prediction. However the wind pick up nicely at starting time. Picked the port end again, nobody there and started on port way too late. If you attempt a port start, at least be on the line on time. Ha ha, you old fool, I screwed that start! Anyway, got to the top mark deep with no chance to catch up, in any case, the race committee shortened course to just two and a half legs. After the finish, we drifted around in the rain for quite some time and got really cold. The committee boat, after a while, moved close to shore. Assuming they were going to can it for the day, so I sailed in and packed up only to find out that there was another race on the way and I missed it.

So, shit happens to us all from time to time. If we were perfect, we would win everything and that would be disastrous. It is always easy to blame someone else for your problems but that just would not work. To be critical of a race committee who are there for you and volunteer their time freely for the sailors, is not very productive for anyone. Although, I must admit that, at times, race management leave a lot to be desired and can get you down before racing even starts.

Final thoughts: Never too old, going to lose some weight, going to work a little harder on my fitness.

Am I Too Old For This?

by Pam

A friend recently asked me if I thought that she might be too old for sailing? It’s a recurring theme I’ve seen lately. A recent post by Broadly Reaching wondered if the Laser was still for him. Tillerman recently pronounced that he’s come full circle and traveling to regattas has lost its appeal. The post contained a comment with a copy of a recent rant on the Sailing Anarchy forum of a sailor who was tired of the entire ‘Regatta Rat Race.’

If you sail long enough, at some point, maybe several, you will likely ask yourself if you’re too old for this boat, this wind, the traveling, the regatta routine, or, worse, sailing altogether. If you’re asking the question, then the short answer is, YES, you’re too old for it. After all, you wouldn’t be asking the question if you didn’t already feel too old for it. I live with a man who is a daily reminder that asking if you’re too old for something is the wrong question.

The real question is do you want to feel too old for it? Because really, it’s a slippery slope. If you give in, before long you have a long list of things you’re too old for and life becomes boring, your body goes to hell and your mind to mush. Nobody, and I mean nobody wants to feel too old for something, unless, of course, it’s a stupid, self destructive something.

It is an undisputed fact that the weather conditions at the back of the fleet are far worse than the weather conditions at the front. It’s hotter, colder, windier, choppier, shiftier, wetter, dryer, calmer and it’s no where near as much fun. The statistics must show that the largest percentage of sailors that leave a particular class or the sport of sailing come from the back or middle of the fleet and not the front. Doug always says that being fit makes sailing a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable. I mean, really, who enjoys a good ass-kicking?

Well Doug is off traveling for various regattas. I’m at home in the hot Texas summer and the lawn had to be mowed. We cancelled our mowers last year and got a reel mower because Doug wanted the workout to keep him fit for sailing. A reel mower has no motor and is the old fashioned push mower. It’s a strength and cardio workout all in one and you have to have a little momentum to even get it to cut. We have a big corner lot with slopes. I’ve watched Doug run back and forth mowing the lawn. Heck, I’ve even talked with him on the phone while he’s mowed the entire lawn. How hard can it be, right? Well, I spent the entire day alternating between pushing that dang mower, laying in the grass panting like a dog and crawling into the house to get into the air conditioning. If it doesn’t kill me first, I know it will be good for me but if he ever tries to take away my electric weed-eater/edger, I’m calling a lawyer.

Doug is a little over a decade older than me in years. After today, I’d guess he’s at least two decades younger than me in health and fitness. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Doug ask if he’s too old for sailing. I, on the other hand … am going to have to mow that damn lawn once or twice more before Doug gets back. I might be too old to be a homeowner, but I’m definitely not too old for sailing. And if that man keeps traveling and I keep mowing, you probably won't ever hear me asking if I'm too old for something again. I bet he planned this.

2013 Canadian Master Laser Championship

by Pam

Overall results
Group results

Doug held his 2nd place.  Woohoo!  Now he's headed to the Butterfly Nationals in Spring Lake, Michigan, then he flies home and without so much as a full night's sleep, he will drive straight to Houston for a Laser circuit stop.  The man is addicted to sailing.

Apparently, there are some really good pictures and the conditions were fairly challenging.  I'll post a link when I can figure out where they are.

Beaconsfield put on a great event. 

With Joe and his Pam.

By Doug: OK, here's what happened.

Day one had a crazy first leg in race one with the wind shifting right 90 degrees by the time the last 10 boats rounded. Many good sailors got caught on the left including me. Thank goodness for drop races.

Day two started light and built to the 20's with some wild rides downwind. Rob, Tobin, Philippe, Richard, and others were great, especially on the one mile downwind sailing by the lee. For a light person, Nigel had awesome speed in the breeze but his boom vang tang broke. My speed was mediocre at best and I missed too many shifts.

Day three had Rob showing great speed upwind in the light chop in the first race. The committee kept us on the water as the cold rain killed the wind. When it reappeared from the east, we had lots of shifts for the final tricky race.

Rob won easily with good speed when it counted. For me, it was a wake-up call - too much rust and an urgent need to practice with people who are faster and smarter than me.

2013 Canadian Master Nationals - Day 2

by Pam

Doug is in Montreal for the Canadian Master Nationals. He had a horrible first day, and exhausting and non-noteworthy second day but when the guy walked by the the scores (which I can't find online anywhere), he snapped a picture and sent them to me. Tomorrow is expected to be light and variable. The first day was like that and he claims he got caught on the wrong side of a 90 degree shift.  

I'm going to post the scores while he's in 2nd place because I don't have high hopes that he'll be able to hold that position. 

Trivia question - there are two sailors who list their home club as NOMAD. Who knows what that stands for?

Malcolm Eggins

By Doug

It's a sad day for Aussie sailing with the passing of Malcolm Eggins. I met Malcolm in 1972 at my first NS-14 regatta at the NSW State Championships. He won the event in a way that I will never forget. 

Every high-performance dinghy can trace its roots back to this class that was started by Frank Bethwaite. As a development class, it's rules were simple - 100 square feet of sail, no spinnaker, and no trapeze. You could build your own hull and sails in any way you want. And the innovation and refinement resulted in the speed that has been passed down to all high-performance classes. 

I had just built my first NS-14 based on a Mark II kit designed by Frank and it was launched at this state championship. Being brand new to the class, I was not competitive. Malcolm's boat was memorable for two reasons: it was the most beautiful woodwork that I had ever seen, and it was the first boat to plane upwind in the conditions at Jervius Bay that weekend. Remember - 1972, no trapeze, just 100 square feet of sail, and planing upwind! Malcolm won in a really competitive fleet on pure boatspeed - it was a pleasure to watch. 

It was great to hear Frank's comments on Malcolm's design. While whey had worked independently, their resulting designs had many similarities. They were true sailing pioneers that, in my opinion, helped put Australia on the sailing map.

Sailing in the Middle of the Fleet - When is Someone Behind or Ahead?

By Doug

A good question from Tillerman: My problem is that I never know whether a boat in a position like that on the same tack would be behind or ahead of me (unless it's very extreme like I can see him through my window.) What's the trick to judging that?

A Laser/Torch tacks through 90 degrees in almost all conditions. So, put some tape along the deck that's at a 45 degree angle to the center of the boat. Start near the CB and have the tape go up to the gunnel beside the mast.

I'm at the committee boat close-hauled. The pin is behind the red line. Boat favored.

In this example, the boat end of the line is favored. If I was racing and a boat was where the pin is, that boat would be behind me. If it's on the line then we're equal.  If it's ahead, then it's ahead - how much ahead will help you prepare for a port-starboard possibility. These angles will change when you get lifted and knocked. For many people, this is much easier to understand than a compass.

After a while, remove all but the last 3" of tape at the gunnel for a quick reference. Pretty soon, you'll have a good feeling from the angles alone and won't need the tape.

Pam: When Doug recently told me about the tape thing, I wasn't sure it was right so I told him to take a picture and show me.  When he put up this post, I didn't know he'd done it and thought the middle of the fleet title wasn't appropriate because probably lots of middle of the fleet people can tell if they're ahead or behind.  When I saw the picture I thought that pin was favored and Doug said the boat was favored by about 4 boat lengths.  Then he blew up the picture to full screen and covered the red line portion and asked me if it was easy to tell if the pin was favored ... then I realized he was right ... again. 

Teach Me How to Dougie

by Pam

Tillerman of the Proper Course blog recently posted that he's thinking about doing a Prancercise routine as his warm up before sailing.  While that might be the "proper" thing for old folks to do, at ImproperCourse we're thinking the Dougie is more our style.

Lyrics (clean) - Canada and Dallas - go figure.  I think it was indeed named after Doug.  

We spent some time practicing this.  Here is Doug's version and here is Pam's version. 

How Long Can Someone Survive Under Water?

By Doug

This is something from this morning's news. When I learned CPR we were told that there was little hope for someone after just 6 minutes. Hopefully news like this will help save lives. 

Sailing in the Middle of the Fleet - Do Your Circles

By Doug and Pam

Lots of them... before the start.

I see lots of sailors doing something really strange. They sail up to the starting line, go head-to-wind, and then take a look along their boom at where the wind is coming from. Sure, it's accurate to see how the wind is shifting in relation to the weather mark. But I've never understood this because (1) any head-to-wind reading is useless unless you're in the middle of the course and (2) you cannot use this type of wind reading when you most need it - when racing!

I much prefer a compass reading and looking at the angles of the boats around me. But that takes years of practice.

So, what's a really simple way to get a feeling for the wind direction before the start if you don't have a compass? It's something that I thought pretty much everyone did until Pam told me that I'm the only one. Here's how it works.

Pam:  Maybe everyone does it, but Doug is the only one who ever explained what he was doing so he's the only one I see doing it.  It is Doug's basic starting routine ... and now mine.  

When I first met Doug we were at a regatta and he was on a Laser and I was on a Sunfish. He saw me struggling before the start and sailed past me going the opposite direction and said the wind had just changed and to follow him. I tried to turn around and promptly when into irons. He looked back and thought I had ignored his generous tip and decided that was a wasted effort. I eventually sculled my way around and followed him to the other end of the line and all the way around the course as far as I could and it was my best race of the day with a 2nd or 3rd.  

I had never been able to detect a wind change while in a starting sequence and wondered how he did that. He, of course, can feel it, but his starting routine also constantly tests the wind and even someone like me can use it to detect a wind shift before the race. 

Begin by coming up beside the committee boat and pull your sail in to close hauled as though you are racing.  As you cross the start line, look down the line at the pin and imagine another boat starting with you on the same tack at the far end of the line. Would this boat be ahead of you, equal to you, or behind you? This tells you which end of the line is favored. Now tack, sail around the committee boat, and kill some time. Then repeat again every 2 minutes and keep asking if the other boat would now be ahead, the same or behind? Any change means a change in the wind direction. For example, if the boat was ahead and now would be even, then the breeze has gone right.

Repeat this until the final 2 minutes and you'll have a good idea of (1) what the breeze is doing, (2) which end of the line is favored, (3) where you want to start, and (4) a line-site of where the line is if you're not beside the committee boat. If you're aggressive, then you'll head to the favored end of the line. If you're more conservative then you'll probably head for the other end or the middle of the line.

Pam:  It is also a great way to get warmed up and get a feel for things and practice a few starts before the real deal.

Of course, if you foul someone, you need to do the other type of circles.

Sailing in the Middle of the Fleet - Clear Air Right After a Start

By Doug and Pam

First summer - getting huge lift from her centerboard.

When Pam and I first started sailing together, it was in the evening with no other boats around. With light to medium flat-water conditions, it was straight-line boatspeed stuff. She was new to Lasers but a quick leaner learner. And for me it was really frustrating. Or should I say humbling. You see, she was so fast that I had to keep asking her to drag her leg in the water to slow down. And no, that's not what you do when racing.

So with this much speed in those conditions, why to this day does she not consider herself competitive? The answer is simple - intimidation. Sometimes it's sailing with two dozen kids who are experienced way beyond their years, sometimes it's the weather, but most of the time it's knowing that the Laser/Torch is the most competitive dinghy in the world. You don't win races, you lose races. When you screw up, absolutely no one waits for you. It's competition at its purest.

Pam:  The intimidation is from the boat and the wind and the people who know what they're doing.  Doug takes a nap between races when it's blowing 20+. I'm white knuckled between races trying to maintain control, not run into people and stay upright. I'm getting better at it all the time. I do tend to want to stay away from ultra aggressive sailors though.  We're on the course for very different reasons.

Here's a typical race for the Pam's of the world: second row start, no clear air, no real game plan, and no hope of being anywhere near the front. So with the encouragement of Tillerman, Keep Reaching,  and others, we're going to share more about the rules of thumb that Pam and I talk about.

The first and perhaps most important rule is pretty obvious - clear air. Sailing in dirty air is like sailing a Radial when everyone else is sailing a full-rig. Not fun. And the most important part of the race for getting clear air is, of course, the start. My definition of a good start is not being at the correct end of the line, or being on a lift, or even going the right way. For me, it's having clear air 10 seconds after the gun. This means that starting in the second row at the boat and being able to tack is still a good start. Starting near a favored pin end but being boxed in is, for me, a much worse start.

Pam:  For me that means knowing which side of the line is favored and which side of the course is favored and where the bulk of the experienced sailors are going to be at the start and planning to be somewhere else.

Suppose the pin (or boat) is favored by 10 boat lengths. If you start at the other end of the line in clear air, you're just 10 boat lengths behind the person who won the start (assuming they're not boxed in) and you've got the rest of the race to catch up. In a good fleet, that's better than 80% of all other competitors. Not such a bad start! So, don't be intimidated on the starting line - just go for clear air.

Pam:  I get tripped up more often than not when trying to be on the start line so I hang back, get a little speed going and find the last minute holes without a crowd.  It works much better than fighting for a place on the front row and getting pushed over.

So, where's the clear air? There's an interesting phenomenon in sailing - on the first beat the boats tend to go left and on the other beats the boats tend to go right. So, clear air is right in the first beat and left in the others. But I don't mean hard right or left, but just far enough to get, you guessed it, clear air. You can then tack and go with the leaders, play the shifts, look at the wind patterns, etc. We'll look at each of these later. For now, just think about your recent races and what you could have done to get clear air right after the start.

Now here's something for more experienced sailors: it's tempting to start beside a beginner, and even call these people "marshmallows." But your great start pretty much assures a bad start for someone trying to learn our sport. If you must be selective, pick on someone of equal skill to hone your skills. Or do what I do which is ignore who you start beside and sail your hardest, while still trying to encourage others whenever you can. That's way more important than just winning.

Pam:  And just remember, if you must screw up my start and Doug is on the course, plan to be wearing him for the rest of the day.