Feb 20 - Dorian Haldeman

What a great day for frostbiting! There was a smaller ILCA 6 fleet this week but as always the sailing was very competitive. I am surprised to be writing this report after my dramatic capsize in the last race (more about that later). I joked when we landed that I intentionally capsized in the last race to avoid writing this report. At that time I did not think I had won the day because I did not realize that I had won race three. Matt White crossed me on port right before the finish so I thought he won that race. I guess the boat end was favored more than I realized. It must have been a very close finish! Special thanks to the race committee for doing an awesome job. It is so helpful to keep the wait time at a minimum between races in those conditions so everyone can keep warm as possible.

I started at the boat end all day. With a smaller fleet there wasn't ever anyone crowding the boat end at the start so I was able to cross the line with speed every start. I liked the boat end because I thought the right side of the course was favored for three reasons. First, I liked being able to tack out to the right early to avoid the wind shadows of the ILCA 7s coming downwind and the AYC boats. Second, I thought the water was smoother on the right side of the course and I was able to sail faster avoiding the bigger chop in the middle of the river. Third, I often found a right shift/ geographic header coming out of Back Creek. The shift was large enough that it was easy to overstand the weather mark which I did a couple of times. Downwind I worked the waves and tried to do my s-curves. The waves in the middle of the river were surfable and I tried to keep the boat planing as much as possible. At the leeward mark I tried to set most of my upwind control settings before rounding, so all I had to do after rounding was fine tune the vang. This allowed me to focus on hiking and keeping a clean lane on the last beat after a wide and tight rounding. As I mentioned earlier, the boat end of the finish was a bit favored.

I have the unique experience to write in a winners report "what not to do." As the wind piped up the last race I got in a tricky situation rounding the weather mark. I had eased my vang part way before the rounding like I always do but evidently it was not eased enough. Because of that I had trouble bearing off and found myself reaching directly towards a Catalina 38 sailing downwind. I panicked a little but managed to eventually make the turn but it wasn't pretty. As I was reaching up to ease the vang the rest of the way I bowed into the back of a wave filling the cockpit with water. That was followed shortly by an accidental gybe where the mainsheet got caught on the transom and deathroll. I made the quickest possible recovery, including an intentional dunk under the boat holding on the centerboard so I could get on the weather side of the boat. (For you newbies that maneuver is nicknamed the California/ San Francisco roll - see Rooster video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htTSf22vR1g). Of course full submersion is not pleasant this time of year but I always find it saves time to avoid swimming around the boat. I often decide to go in immediately after a capsize like that but I was having so much fun I decided to finish the race and I am glad that I did. I did not realize several boats had already retired so my last place finish was a fourth and I was able to win the day. I always learn something so this week's lesson is to ease the vang more before rounding, don't panic and if you capsize stay in the game! The racing was so competitive that I edged above Natalie on the second tie breaker and Matt was only one point behind us. It was a blast sailing with you all and I look forward to next week.

Charlie Anderson

This past Sunday was a blast. The breeze was a fun southerly that brought out a lot of good sailing. For me the whole day was about boat speed. If you could have a clear start and sail fast for the first couple minutes of the line, it would guarantee you a top three finish at the windward mark. To do this I found that managing the chop was key. On starboard it felt like I was pounding through the waves. I managed to keep my speed up by working the boat hard with body weight, to find a groove that could flow through the waves. Hiking really hard and using my shoulders and hips to punch through bigger wave sets. My sail set up was pretty typical; cunningham was pulled hard, outhaul was at a comfortable level that let me power through some waves, my vang was the main control I played through the day. As a larger puff hit I would crank vang to let myself settle into a low mode. This let me sometimes plane of a couple waves and keep the speed up and pointing towards the mark.

Downwinds were always the fun part of the day. Working to keep the boat on a plane was critical. I would transition from by the lee to a broad reach, while in time with waves. Enabling me to keep speed high.

Otherwise tactically playing the shifts worked well. I tried to not overcomplicate anything in my decision making. I would ask myself, "Am I pointing towards the mark? If not, tack.”

March 13 - Ted Morgan

To start, a big huge thank you to Henry, Kat, Bryan and Mark for running the races for us! Sunday was tricky, with the breeze shifting significantly for the first half of the day. Looking upwind, before the day started, I got the sense that the shifts were not lasting long, which played a role in where I started. For a few of the races, the boat was favored at the 2 minute horn, but my gut told me the shift would kick in shortly after the start, so I favored the pin. Hitting the line, with speed, at the gun, got me out in front so that I was able to tack immediately when the next phase/shift rolled down the course. This definitely paid dividends early in the day. Having said that, there were folks who came in hot from the right.

Downwind I didn’t feel exceptionally fast during the first half of the day, so I concentrated on keeping clear air (no one hovering behind me), staying out of trouble and getting a clean spin around the leeward mark. I would occasionally look upwind before rounding to get a sense from the Radials and the AYC fleet, where the next big puff was coming from. That would usually dictate how I played the last upwind leg. I felt like it was important to stay alert to the angle of the breeze. It wasn’t always dead downwind, so by the lee sailiing wasn’t paramount early in the day. In many cases it was more of a reach, which means a) absolutely no windward heal b) 6 to 8 inches of vang on and c) heating the boat up to keep the speed up in the lulls. When you got enough speed, pop off those 6 inches of van, ease the sail and bear off. Later in the afternoon, we got some true runs in, with good breeze, which means sailing by the lee … don’t let the main out any farther than 90 degrees (perpendicular) to your hull and if the breeze kicks up, that angle gets tighter. My board was up maybe 3 inches downwind. No more. Keep tension on that mainsheet so when the leach starts popping in the waves, you transfer that energy into the boat. It’s super fast.

In terms of boat settings, I mentioned to someone early on in the day that I was going to burn my clutch out, given how often I was changing gears. Upwind, my usual set up is the two block the main, take the slack out of the vang, and put on just enough cunningham to eliminate the luff wrinkles. When the puffs would hit, I would vang on hard. The opposite was true in the lulls, blowing the vang off, dropping the bow down, all in order to keep the boat powered up while waiting for the next big shift.

For the second half of the day when the breeze was up and more consistent, I was putting on a crap ton of vang upwind. I do not play the outhaul upwind, but will let it out about one inch downwind if I felt slow. One move that worked for a number of people coming out of the leeward mark was footing off and sailing lower and faster coming, especially when port tack was the predominate tack for that final leg. I saw people tack away onto starboard (headed tack) which was simply the kiss of death. They should have sucked it up and drove down lower. Look at the angles before making that call. That one tack could cost you 3-4 places in a tight fleet like we had today.

Closing thoughts: sail clean, minimize risks, fight for clear air off the starts, even if that sends you in the opposite direction of the fleet; hydrate between races. Don’t get amped up. Eat something before you launch; breakfast alone isn’t going to cut it. Have fun!!!

March 20 - Scott Williamson

We saw big puffs and shifty conditions all day, which made it tough to commit to fully hiking. I focused on keeping my speed up and the boat flat. If a puff came that was too much, I just eased the sheet to keep the boat flat and my weather helm under control.

I tried to start at the boat each time and cross the line with speed. Sheeting in a the right moment can be tricky, especially on a breezy day. Most of the time I did it well, but I was definitely OCS on one race and needed to clear before continuing. After clearing, I looked up and saw I was well behind the leaders. Seeing no other option to catch up, I pulled a Hail Mary and tacked away to look for a lift on the right side. I found one and caught up a little. I caught up a little more downwind, but really made the most of the finally beat. After a tight rounding I found a lift to make the final needed gains to catch three boats to win! What was at first my worse race, turned out to be my best. A little luck and some full-out hiking made the difference.

Final Thoughts: Good starts are very important, go the right way and keep that boat flat and upright. Round those marks tight while keeping your speed! Doing this better than the next guy makes a difference.

Mar 27 - Scott Williamson

To start, thank you Eric Reinke, Lisa-Marie, Eric Johnson, Kim, JR and Luca! It was a cold day to be out there on RC. Thank you!

Our final Sunday was truly a repeat of March 20th: big puffs and shifty conditions all day. Most of us capsized at least once. I managaed to avoid it until the sail in. I once again focused on keeping my speed up and the boat flat. If a puff came that was too much, I just eased the sheet to keep the boat flat and my weather helm under control.

I tried to start at the boat each time and cross the line with speed. Sheeting in a the right moment can be tricky, especially on a breezy day. I pulled off good starts each time and only had to play catch up once after getting stuck at the weather mark one time in a wacky shift not in my favor.

Final Thoughts: Good starts are very important, go the right way and keep that boat flat and upright. Keep that boat moving on the downwind. Reaching is faster than dead downwind. If you caught those puffs right on the run, you made huge gains! Finally, round those marks tight while keeping your speed! On a big breezy day, I like to avoid pulling that vang in at all until I round. This keeps that boom high when rounding and prevents a capsize. If at all possible, I also like to jibe before rounding to make the return upwind even less dramatic (easier). Those leward mark roundings can make a difference of a position or two, especially if the fleet is tightly grouped.

Results!

Part 1 Highlights!