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PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:15 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 05, 2010 8:28 am
Posts: 791
Location: Clinton Lake, KS
And had a blast! What a great bunch of sailors there are in div 7


Now. I got my butt kicked, and not completely certain why
I have been working hard on starting tactics and timing, and that paid off big. When I wanted to start at the committee boat. I was able twice to get the spot of spots with a hole dug under me and full speed. I was pretty proud of myself, for a few fleeting moments anyway.

I managed a couple times to not only be in the top half of the tough fleet at A mark, but in the top four boats a couple times.

After that it seemed to fall apart. A big wind shift I didn't see after round the C gate put me heading up wind going down the course (so much for 'follow the leader mentality')

I think my biggest problem was my communication with my crew. For the first time this year I was able to sail with my wife. I failed to communicate as well as I would with other crew, creating undue stress on the boat when she was unable to read my mind, or understand what was happening and why.


Then the boat just didn't feel right. Puffs wouldn't accelerate the boat. It felt bound up all day with more weather helm than normal. Basically my H16 felt like I was sailing a getaway. I played with rig tension, downhaul. It just couldn't find the zone. Part of it I have to blame on my mast which has a small but visible curve directly forward. If I put much downhaul on at all it will often counterrotate and misbehave, but the wind was light, it shouldn't have been any need for extra downhaul. I just couldn't get the boat to feel right. Thinking I should have let the rig tension way off as I was mostly adjusting from tight to really tight which generally seems to work for me in those conditions.

But oh well.


I'll just have to focus on the successes I had in the race hoping sooner or later it will pay off in the results.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:34 am 
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Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2003 7:21 pm
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Location: Thunder Bay,On
Too much rig tension and over sheeting in light air will bound up a 16 and make it feel and sail slow.
BTW Ted Jagger,and Jim Sohn (1 and 2 in the regatta) are guys that have been doing this a long time and are both not just great div. 7 sailors,but rank up in the top have of the N.A. Fleet.


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 9:28 am 
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Joined: Wed May 05, 2010 8:28 am
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Location: Clinton Lake, KS
Yeah... I am thinking I had to much rig tension on... I used to have a problem over sheeting the main... Now I probably if anything go a little to far the other way.

And I know they are all great sailors... but geez.....


One thing I struggled with... and all of my new crew struggles with... When I gybe.... for whatever reason they sheet in tight... Then I have to have them let it fly... each time explaining what I am looking for..... I have no idea why.. We can sort it out on one downwind leg... then the next time down... :x Heck... I even went as far to mark the jib sheet... I figured she could just set it to that point and I could drive off from there.. or at lest make the fine tuning happen from there... but nope...... :? I am getting better at communication with the crew... but still... I obviously could do better... I guess I am just not there yet myself, having to think to much still about what I am doing to devout enough attention to new crew...

We were also sailing at nearly 340lbs... (typical for me as I weigh 210-215lbs) So I knew full well in light air I wasn't going to be on Jim or Ted's rudders.(who both had small kids as crew adding weight to make min)

Although... I think Ted drank some of the weight he was supposed to be carrying? does that count??? :lol: :lol: :lol:



At our early Point for Points regatta I was never in a position at the end of a race to beat Jim Sohn.. But I did beat him to A mark a couple times.. and was always behind at the end.. but just not that far behind.. In the unlikely event he had made a mistake of any kind I might have been able to sneak by..... And I guess I shouldn't be to upset because even my worst finishes I wasn't really but one or two good mistakes behind the middle/front half of the pack at the Saylorville regatta... I just didn't sail as well as I have been all summer... and it was a bit frustrating...

Its weird though... I don't really lose that much ground downhill, often picking up a place or two..... Mostly it happened on the second or third time up... Oh well...


I wasn't planning on going to Clear lake.... but I really want a second chance at this group again this summer. :D

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 3:14 pm 
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Location: Clinton Lake, KS
Does this explanation make sense for my slightly more than usual weather helm?

To much rig tension flattened the jib, depowering it.

Then running minimum amounts of downhaul allowed the deepest part of the pocket on the main to move aft..

????

A very little bit more downhaul (wrinkles were just barely pulled out sail if at all) and less rig tension would have balanced the sail plan a little better improving the feel of the boat?


Are there any failures in the plan or the logic?

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 11:07 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 2:15 pm
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Location: Oakland, CA
ronholm wrote:
Are there any failures in the plan or the logic?
Yeah, a failure to lose weight will lose races. Getting as close to class minimum weight (crew and boat) is as important as good strategy.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 6:34 am 
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Location: Clinton Lake, KS
Skipshot wrote:
ronholm wrote:
Are there any failures in the plan or the logic?
Yeah, a failure to lose weight will lose races. Getting as close to class minimum weight (crew and boat) is as important as good strategy.


:mrgreen:


That was my excuse... but I tried not to think about it more than I had to on the race course as it was something out of my control... Besides I was very happy to be sailing with my wife..

I ain't losing any weight, and she isn't either. I am 6'5" 215lbs.. Softer than I used to be but still very fit.... and she is 5'9" tall and fit as a fiddle... For now it is just something I have to deal with... 70lb crew is hard to find.. Hopefully by the time my boy hit that weight my skills will be good and..........


Over the weekend wind conditions at our lake were very similar.. and since I wasn't racing I went ahead and played with things (like I should have done) and found a much happier place on the boat.

At the regatta for whatever reason I didn't want to drop off to much jib halyard tension to keep the boat powered up... The air was light enough that was a mistake.. If I had to do it over again with that crew weight I would have popped the shrouds up a couple more holes and ran just a bit less rig tension. I don't think that change would have put me in the top half of the fleet.. But I durn sure wouldn't have been frign last place..


Really hoping I can do Clear lake this weekend... but it isn't looking good....

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 4:51 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2012 2:28 am
Posts: 23
Not sailing / racing with your regular crew makes racing completely different! The same happened to me last year. I sailed with a new crew and felt completely lost when we had to tack and gybe. The coordination just wasn't happening. It got slightly better towards the end of the regatta though!


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