The last race of the summer series had good winds from the south south west. The crew included Chris and David, as well as replacements Dave and Dan. We had an excellent start. Victor approached on port and had to tack away. We were ahead of the other boats in our start with good speed. I could see that Jack Rabbit was stalled in traffic by the committee boat. Jack Rabbit was the only other boat in our fleet. Their start left them well behind. We just needed a loose cover. The course was skewed so we mostly sailed on starboard upwind and port downwind. I slowed down my tacking to be sure we got set up on the new tack. Our hoists were flawless. At the leeward mark we did windward takedowns, once again flawlessly. After the second leeward mark rounding Jack Rabbit hit a hole and stalled, while we still had good air. Our finish was 11 minutes ahead of their's! The only downside was that the traveler cleek released and the boom gave David a bad knock before the start.
After dinner Alf, Jack Rabbit's skipper, came over for a chat to explain what happened. In addition to the bad start and no wind he had cut his hand. We both acknowledged that we had had an enjoyable season competing against each other. (The fall series does not count as part of the overall season standings.) They won if we just looked at the two boats; not fleet placings. We won the spring series and they won the summer series. I tried to figure out the overall fleet standings for the season but I am not sure how many races will count. If 9 plus races are counted then we will win; 8 or less then Jack Rabbit wins. It was close and it was fun.
The crew really performed well. Clearly we have improved over the course of the season. We worked well together. That made it a lot of fun for me and I think the crew enjoyed it as well. The competition with Jack Rabbit meant we had to stay focused; we were always racing. A hard fought success is more rewarding than an easy win.
Summer maybe over but we still have lots more sailing to do!
Thursday, 30 August 2007
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Losing your marbles
Does participating in a J24 race mean you have lost your marbles? Sometimes!
Dan asked whether or not I would go to a regatta this year. OK, but we need some experienced crew. Dan was; and Jaimie impressed me as a very competent sailor/racer. Emi was trying to do windward sheeting and had good weight. The fifth would be a problem but it wasn't a deal breaker. So we were going to the EYC Open. I could rely on Dan to find a good candidate for the fifth, with his racing connections? As it ended up Dmitry was a last minute addition and worked out well.
The "get together" sail, i.e. our first sail together as a crew, was on Thursday. Everything went well until the traveler broke! We had time to repair. A "McKean" repair means one has to repair the repair. I spent Friday afternoon rotating the traveler. I decided to rotate the car as well. Oops. As I removed the car from the track the bearings spewed out. Traveler mechanics were obviously something new to me. I tried to reload the "marbles" back into the car. It never quite worked and each time I lost a few more "marbles". Eventually it looked OK. We left the dock for a pleasant sail over to Etobicoke. As pressure was placed on the main sheet, the traveler disassembled again. For the next two hours Emi and I searched for a replacement "marbles" while trying to figure out how the damn thing worked. At our last stop, a Canadian Tire Store, we were told that they didn't sell ball bearings but our sample "marble" looked like shot from an air gun. We motored over to EYC and did most of the repair repairs. Did I say Emi was a great crew? Well without him there would be no regatta.
There were other mechanical challenges. On Thursday I tried to replace the windex (with Uri's help!) but only manged to completely brake off the fitting. During the race on Sat. the compass came out of its bracket and was lost. The main sheet cleek broke and was replaced by one of the toe rail cleeks during a pause in racing.
So the regatta itself was a bit anti-climatic. We had good starts but our tacks were too slow. In one race we were OCS. The J's use colourful language when advising one on boat handling. On one start we were the only boat to start at the pin. Good call since all the biggees came over to the pin for the next race. In another race we were second to the first windward mark rounding only to finish second last. Our tactics weren't the best. On a downwind leg, we tried to head up a boat so we could overtake after a gybe. The wind had shifted so much that, when we tried to complete the manoeuvre with a gybe, we were heading way off course. We lost one boat on that. At one windward mark rounding we arrived on port. I ducked half the fleet trying to get a spot on the starboard layline queue. Our regatta result: 16/18.
We had a good crew. Even with our experience and skill level we were only at the 'entry' level for the fleet. Perhaps a good base but we will see.
Life lesson: You can temporarily lose your marbles and still have a good time.
Dan asked whether or not I would go to a regatta this year. OK, but we need some experienced crew. Dan was; and Jaimie impressed me as a very competent sailor/racer. Emi was trying to do windward sheeting and had good weight. The fifth would be a problem but it wasn't a deal breaker. So we were going to the EYC Open. I could rely on Dan to find a good candidate for the fifth, with his racing connections? As it ended up Dmitry was a last minute addition and worked out well.
The "get together" sail, i.e. our first sail together as a crew, was on Thursday. Everything went well until the traveler broke! We had time to repair. A "McKean" repair means one has to repair the repair. I spent Friday afternoon rotating the traveler. I decided to rotate the car as well. Oops. As I removed the car from the track the bearings spewed out. Traveler mechanics were obviously something new to me. I tried to reload the "marbles" back into the car. It never quite worked and each time I lost a few more "marbles". Eventually it looked OK. We left the dock for a pleasant sail over to Etobicoke. As pressure was placed on the main sheet, the traveler disassembled again. For the next two hours Emi and I searched for a replacement "marbles" while trying to figure out how the damn thing worked. At our last stop, a Canadian Tire Store, we were told that they didn't sell ball bearings but our sample "marble" looked like shot from an air gun. We motored over to EYC and did most of the repair repairs. Did I say Emi was a great crew? Well without him there would be no regatta.
There were other mechanical challenges. On Thursday I tried to replace the windex (with Uri's help!) but only manged to completely brake off the fitting. During the race on Sat. the compass came out of its bracket and was lost. The main sheet cleek broke and was replaced by one of the toe rail cleeks during a pause in racing.
So the regatta itself was a bit anti-climatic. We had good starts but our tacks were too slow. In one race we were OCS. The J's use colourful language when advising one on boat handling. On one start we were the only boat to start at the pin. Good call since all the biggees came over to the pin for the next race. In another race we were second to the first windward mark rounding only to finish second last. Our tactics weren't the best. On a downwind leg, we tried to head up a boat so we could overtake after a gybe. The wind had shifted so much that, when we tried to complete the manoeuvre with a gybe, we were heading way off course. We lost one boat on that. At one windward mark rounding we arrived on port. I ducked half the fleet trying to get a spot on the starboard layline queue. Our regatta result: 16/18.
We had a good crew. Even with our experience and skill level we were only at the 'entry' level for the fleet. Perhaps a good base but we will see.
Life lesson: You can temporarily lose your marbles and still have a good time.
Sunday, 19 August 2007
PHRFed!
AHMEN II was on Sat. and I was crew challenged. Chris was the only confirmed crew member and he phoned from the middle of Lake Ontario to report that he had experienced more "Joys of Boat Ownership" and would not make it. The winds were supposed to be light so I thought it was OK to go with 3. Emi, who has sailed with me on Wednesdays, and Jamie. We had a brief crew meeting before launch and we agreed that Emi would do pit and Jamie was good for foredeck.
The wind was from the north so no problem getting out to the Start. We had another good turnout of boats. Jazz joined our fleet. They were the only participant in last week's AHMEN. The course was designed as a panhandle: south, then east all the way to the eastern Harbour entrance, then west to Gibraltar, north to Dufferin, south to "3", and then east to Gibraltar. The start was set for a beam reach point of sail to the first mark. (The first mark was west of the start.) We had an excellent start and were ahead of the fleet. However as we approached Centre Island we elected to drop the chute while others didn't. This allowed us to sail a more direct course. We were more inshore and the winds died while those that stayed more offshore gained. As we approached the eastern Harbour entrance buoy, the wind started to fill in from the south. We took off and by the time we got back to Gibraltar we had caught up to the fleet. Heading north the winds became increasingly light and patchy, however we were able to stay on port all the way to the western mark. Unfortunately we were now lead boat and my GPS was wrong! OOPs. A crowd rounded together. We were able to sort through the traffic and had a great run to the finish. I think we were one of the first boats to finish. It felt great. We handled the boat well and worked well as a team.
We ended up with a 4th !!. The first place finisher was 12 minutes behind, 2nd was 11, and third was 8. I feel we have been PHRFed. We appeared to do really well; the PHRF reality was a bit of a shock. An important lesson: perception is not reality?
The problem with PHRF on long races is that when the wind dies you basically restart but the rating will be for the full race. In this case we meet a wind well about an hour before the finish. All boats sailed to the "well" and stopped, waiting for the wind to fill before "restarting". We drifted together about an hour before the finish so our 12, 11, and 8 time difference should have been for a 60 min. race and not a 3 hour one. Ah, so perception is not reality?
The wind was from the north so no problem getting out to the Start. We had another good turnout of boats. Jazz joined our fleet. They were the only participant in last week's AHMEN. The course was designed as a panhandle: south, then east all the way to the eastern Harbour entrance, then west to Gibraltar, north to Dufferin, south to "3", and then east to Gibraltar. The start was set for a beam reach point of sail to the first mark. (The first mark was west of the start.) We had an excellent start and were ahead of the fleet. However as we approached Centre Island we elected to drop the chute while others didn't. This allowed us to sail a more direct course. We were more inshore and the winds died while those that stayed more offshore gained. As we approached the eastern Harbour entrance buoy, the wind started to fill in from the south. We took off and by the time we got back to Gibraltar we had caught up to the fleet. Heading north the winds became increasingly light and patchy, however we were able to stay on port all the way to the western mark. Unfortunately we were now lead boat and my GPS was wrong! OOPs. A crowd rounded together. We were able to sort through the traffic and had a great run to the finish. I think we were one of the first boats to finish. It felt great. We handled the boat well and worked well as a team.
We ended up with a 4th !!. The first place finisher was 12 minutes behind, 2nd was 11, and third was 8. I feel we have been PHRFed. We appeared to do really well; the PHRF reality was a bit of a shock. An important lesson: perception is not reality?
The problem with PHRF on long races is that when the wind dies you basically restart but the rating will be for the full race. In this case we meet a wind well about an hour before the finish. All boats sailed to the "well" and stopped, waiting for the wind to fill before "restarting". We drifted together about an hour before the finish so our 12, 11, and 8 time difference should have been for a 60 min. race and not a 3 hour one. Ah, so perception is not reality?
Thursday, 16 August 2007
It's never over till it's over
The forecast was for light winds but when I arrived at the dock the wind was blowing about 10 knots. Chris was still in Kingston due to an engine problem. My plan was to go with 4 crew. I anticipated light winds. As it ended up this was the correct call.
There was a temporary replacement as PRO. He threw in a variation on the delayed start. There was a one minute gap between 1 start and 2 warning and a two minute delay between 2 start and 3 warning. That was easy to figure out. The other problem was figuring out the start line. The pin was the yellow mark? Shouldn't it be red? Or is it fixed "0" mark? A lot of boats were confused by the timing and/or marks. There were a lot of individual recalls. We got it right. The pin was very skewed; we were almost able to lay the mark on port. The winds were now light and variable.
On our second upwind leg the wind died. Most of the boats bailed and we got out some munchies waiting to see what JR would do. we were well ahead of them. We were within hailing distance of Victory Dance. Victor wasn't going to retire. JR did so we did as well. Victor admonished me back at the club. The wind eventually filled in; they finished.
I hope that doesn't blow it for us. We would've had a first. The boat and crew performed well and that should build confidence. Victor was of course right; it's never over until it's over.
There was a temporary replacement as PRO. He threw in a variation on the delayed start. There was a one minute gap between 1 start and 2 warning and a two minute delay between 2 start and 3 warning. That was easy to figure out. The other problem was figuring out the start line. The pin was the yellow mark? Shouldn't it be red? Or is it fixed "0" mark? A lot of boats were confused by the timing and/or marks. There were a lot of individual recalls. We got it right. The pin was very skewed; we were almost able to lay the mark on port. The winds were now light and variable.
On our second upwind leg the wind died. Most of the boats bailed and we got out some munchies waiting to see what JR would do. we were well ahead of them. We were within hailing distance of Victory Dance. Victor wasn't going to retire. JR did so we did as well. Victor admonished me back at the club. The wind eventually filled in; they finished.
I hope that doesn't blow it for us. We would've had a first. The boat and crew performed well and that should build confidence. Victor was of course right; it's never over until it's over.
Monday, 13 August 2007
AHMEN I: First
The first race of the 2007 AHMEN series was on Saturday. Chris was still on cruise. Mike filled out the crew and Janet did foredeck. We had to do a bit of spinnaker repair before leaving. With the wind from the south we were able to sail most of the way and arrived in lots of time. Balance and Kokomo were back and there were a couple of new additions to our start. A good turnout. The forecast called for very light winds. However, we had good winds for the start. I had a set of SIs, a diagram of the marks, and a GPS. There was enough time to enter a route for the course. Charles observed that a race is not a good time to figure out a new GPS! We are a slow boat in our start and we are 4th start so observing the lead boats is perhaps the best way to navigate an AHMEN course.
The course took us west and south (mark '3') and then on a beam reach to Gibraltar, a seemingly long leg. Gibraltar becomes a phantom; we are anxious to find it but can't. From Gibraltar we went to Dufferin, which was our only spinnaker leg. I found myself apologizing to David for the micromanaging of spinnaker trim. Next, we went back up to '3', then to Gibraltar then finish. We had wind but it was light and Mike spent most of the three hours to leeward. I was almost sure that with PHRF we would get first.
After the race we had a nice snack provided by the crew. Janet helmed. We hoisted the chute but the wind finally died. A good start for the AHMEN 2007 series.
The course took us west and south (mark '3') and then on a beam reach to Gibraltar, a seemingly long leg. Gibraltar becomes a phantom; we are anxious to find it but can't. From Gibraltar we went to Dufferin, which was our only spinnaker leg. I found myself apologizing to David for the micromanaging of spinnaker trim. Next, we went back up to '3', then to Gibraltar then finish. We had wind but it was light and Mike spent most of the three hours to leeward. I was almost sure that with PHRF we would get first.
After the race we had a nice snack provided by the crew. Janet helmed. We hoisted the chute but the wind finally died. A good start for the AHMEN 2007 series.
Thursday, 9 August 2007
Holiday Replacements
Unfortunately three crew had plans for this week. Charles was on vacation to NotL, David was hosting a rehearsal dinner, and Chris was cruising the Thousand Islands. Fortunately, I was able to get good replacements: Emi from Topaz and Dan from Chicone. We did a few drills on our way out to the start. We had a good practise, which was needed for the new crew.
The wind was from the north north west (340) and seemed to be more intense closer to shore. The pin end was favoured. Jack Rabbit and Platypus were the only boats in our fleet. This being Peter's week as PRO, we had a 5 minute delay between 2nd start and 3rd warning. The course was shortened from 3 X to 2 X.
We had a good start but Jack Rabbit was better, i.e. we were behind and windward. We followed them on the first leg; neither gaining nor losing. We had a good mark rounding and hoist. At the leeward mark I opted for a windward takedown while Jack Rabbit was once again too conservative. I commented that JR was being kind to us. Were we going to give it back by screwing up the takedown? Nope. We had a great windward leg and almost caught up to them at the windward mark. There was a little bit of confusion at the offset mark, I wanted to do a quick gybe onto port. We never did catch JR and the screw up on the gybe put us back a bit more. The main problem was that new people were not familiar with the boat and weren't able to do things as fast as needed. (After the race the crew commented about my cool but focused commands; which may say more about other skippers than my racing temperment.) At the finish the wind had shifted enough that the chute could not be flown properly. We doused just after JR. However, JR was confused by the course change and headed up for another circuit. We were able to pass and finish ahead of them, before they realized their mistake. It was not enough with PHRF. We were 1st but got a 2nd.
The race was close and we had to be ready for quick manouvres. Everyone did a good job, especially given that we had a 50% replacement crew. We had a great time!
The wind was from the north north west (340) and seemed to be more intense closer to shore. The pin end was favoured. Jack Rabbit and Platypus were the only boats in our fleet. This being Peter's week as PRO, we had a 5 minute delay between 2nd start and 3rd warning. The course was shortened from 3 X to 2 X.
We had a good start but Jack Rabbit was better, i.e. we were behind and windward. We followed them on the first leg; neither gaining nor losing. We had a good mark rounding and hoist. At the leeward mark I opted for a windward takedown while Jack Rabbit was once again too conservative. I commented that JR was being kind to us. Were we going to give it back by screwing up the takedown? Nope. We had a great windward leg and almost caught up to them at the windward mark. There was a little bit of confusion at the offset mark, I wanted to do a quick gybe onto port. We never did catch JR and the screw up on the gybe put us back a bit more. The main problem was that new people were not familiar with the boat and weren't able to do things as fast as needed. (After the race the crew commented about my cool but focused commands; which may say more about other skippers than my racing temperment.) At the finish the wind had shifted enough that the chute could not be flown properly. We doused just after JR. However, JR was confused by the course change and headed up for another circuit. We were able to pass and finish ahead of them, before they realized their mistake. It was not enough with PHRF. We were 1st but got a 2nd.
The race was close and we had to be ready for quick manouvres. Everyone did a good job, especially given that we had a 50% replacement crew. We had a great time!
Saturday, 4 August 2007
Coburg
At dinner after the Wednesday race, Chris asked me to sail with him over to Coburg in his C&C36. It was short notice; I would have to be up by 6. The trip would be over ten hours. Did I have anything planned? Hmm. I decided to go. I set the alarm for 6 but actually woke up at 6:23, as per usual. I had packed the night before and after a quick shower, I loaded up the car. At 6:50, as I walked over to Starbucks, I called Chris to say that I wouldn't make 7:00. We left the dock at 7:22.
The winds were light from the southwest. According to sailflow it would be about 10 knots from the southwest by noon. We got the sails up and motor sailed south of Centre Island and the Spit. There were few other boats. However they did seem to be sailing. We decided to try hoisting the chute.
Chris has a sock for his spinnaker. We got the sock out, hoisted it, and set the sheets. The chute got twisted and wouldn't launch. After a few tries (3?) we eventually got it up and it filled. Motor sailing we were doing 5 knots but with the chute our speed went up to 7 knots. Very pleasant. The auto helm was put on and Chris did his project, installing the cockpit table. After three attempts, he got it right; just in time for lunch. If I had a complaint it would be the provisioning; lunch was an apple and chips!
We had a great day. The wind died just south west of Port Hope. We doused and sat on the bow. Chris was somewhat concerned about Peter's Rock. There is a cardinal buoy to mark the location and we easily missed it. We arrived in Coburg about 19:15. Chris docked to get fuel and I grabbed a cab to catch the 19:48 train back to Toronto. The train was about 12 minutes late. I was in lots of time. People in Coburg are perhaps too friendly(?).
So that was a 12 hour sail? We spent a lot of time talking about sailing. I enjoyed hearing about Chris's adventures and his boat owning experiences. It is good to be on other people's boats (even if you would never buy one like it!). The spinnaker was a good experience and I think a bit of a learning one for both Chris and myself. I really liked being on the water.
The winds were light from the southwest. According to sailflow it would be about 10 knots from the southwest by noon. We got the sails up and motor sailed south of Centre Island and the Spit. There were few other boats. However they did seem to be sailing. We decided to try hoisting the chute.
Chris has a sock for his spinnaker. We got the sock out, hoisted it, and set the sheets. The chute got twisted and wouldn't launch. After a few tries (3?) we eventually got it up and it filled. Motor sailing we were doing 5 knots but with the chute our speed went up to 7 knots. Very pleasant. The auto helm was put on and Chris did his project, installing the cockpit table. After three attempts, he got it right; just in time for lunch. If I had a complaint it would be the provisioning; lunch was an apple and chips!
We had a great day. The wind died just south west of Port Hope. We doused and sat on the bow. Chris was somewhat concerned about Peter's Rock. There is a cardinal buoy to mark the location and we easily missed it. We arrived in Coburg about 19:15. Chris docked to get fuel and I grabbed a cab to catch the 19:48 train back to Toronto. The train was about 12 minutes late. I was in lots of time. People in Coburg are perhaps too friendly(?).
So that was a 12 hour sail? We spent a lot of time talking about sailing. I enjoyed hearing about Chris's adventures and his boat owning experiences. It is good to be on other people's boats (even if you would never buy one like it!). The spinnaker was a good experience and I think a bit of a learning one for both Chris and myself. I really liked being on the water.
A NYC RC first?
Very hot for Toronto but we are still having good winds. Jazz reappeared after a long absence. We had two competitive boats in our start. The winds were from the south at between 5 to 7 knots. I was worried we might not have enough wind to complete a race. Winds from the south/southwest tend to get offset by an offshore breeze in late afternoon. Pre launch, I had loosened the rig to a very light wind condition setting.
Our start was good. We were on our own and in clear air on the left side of the course. The wind might have been a bit better and more consistent on the right. The problem with being the farthest on a side is that we have to wait for boats to tack over before we can tack. I eventually decided to tack and duck Jazz. Jazz continued to go left. Jack Rabbit was on the right side of the fleet and quickly tacked, so we took separate courses to the windward mark. Everyone arrived at the windward mark about the same time, Jack Rabbit just ahead of us. The rounding went well and we gybed shortly after rounding. We didn't have to gybe again and stayed on port gybe to the mark. Jazz stayed on starboard gybe and sailed hotter angles; a strategy that kept them in contention. Prior to the start I demonstrated a windward takedown. In light winds I thought it would be worth the risk. We did a windward takedown and it went well. Jack Rabbit took the other gate so we separated. They seemed to be more conservative on their takedown and were slower.
On the second upwind we crossed ahead of Jack Rabbit. However by the time we got back to the leeward gate we rounded at the same time. We went inside but were not able to hold and had to tack away. That was pretty well the race as Jack Rabbit then held their lead. Perhaps the foot was too loose on the main; I had deliberately bagged it out for the expected light wind conditions. We just followed them around the remaining part of the course. The winds were too variable and we did not want Jazz to beat us on time. In a strict match race we might have tried a different course even though it wouldn't have been the best course. I was pleased with the crew. The lead went back and forth between JR and us. We were able to do two windward takedowns without a problem at the leeward mark. Very well done!
After the race, John, Jazz's skipper, informed me that the RC screwed up when they shortened course. Apparently one of the third start's boats had rounded the leeward mark and was away from the RC boat when sierra was hoisted. Also, the shark was "finished" when they were a leg behind the rest of the fleet (!). The results on the website had the lead finisher marked DNF. Another NYC RC first? Later Chris reported that we got a second with (Jack Rabbit, first) on the bulletin board posted results.
Our start was good. We were on our own and in clear air on the left side of the course. The wind might have been a bit better and more consistent on the right. The problem with being the farthest on a side is that we have to wait for boats to tack over before we can tack. I eventually decided to tack and duck Jazz. Jazz continued to go left. Jack Rabbit was on the right side of the fleet and quickly tacked, so we took separate courses to the windward mark. Everyone arrived at the windward mark about the same time, Jack Rabbit just ahead of us. The rounding went well and we gybed shortly after rounding. We didn't have to gybe again and stayed on port gybe to the mark. Jazz stayed on starboard gybe and sailed hotter angles; a strategy that kept them in contention. Prior to the start I demonstrated a windward takedown. In light winds I thought it would be worth the risk. We did a windward takedown and it went well. Jack Rabbit took the other gate so we separated. They seemed to be more conservative on their takedown and were slower.
On the second upwind we crossed ahead of Jack Rabbit. However by the time we got back to the leeward gate we rounded at the same time. We went inside but were not able to hold and had to tack away. That was pretty well the race as Jack Rabbit then held their lead. Perhaps the foot was too loose on the main; I had deliberately bagged it out for the expected light wind conditions. We just followed them around the remaining part of the course. The winds were too variable and we did not want Jazz to beat us on time. In a strict match race we might have tried a different course even though it wouldn't have been the best course. I was pleased with the crew. The lead went back and forth between JR and us. We were able to do two windward takedowns without a problem at the leeward mark. Very well done!
After the race, John, Jazz's skipper, informed me that the RC screwed up when they shortened course. Apparently one of the third start's boats had rounded the leeward mark and was away from the RC boat when sierra was hoisted. Also, the shark was "finished" when they were a leg behind the rest of the fleet (!). The results on the website had the lead finisher marked DNF. Another NYC RC first? Later Chris reported that we got a second with (Jack Rabbit, first) on the bulletin board posted results.
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