Pre-nationals 2006 was a fun regatta with winds ranging from about 12 to
25+. Unfortunately we never got to experience light, puffy & shifty, sadly,
rarely a part of sailing on San Francisco Bay.
Gear shifting, wave surfing, starting on a short and crowded line, heavy air
crew work (and keeping crew aboard), avoiding wipe outs, and boat on boat
tactics were all part of the game.
The starting line was short and pretty square. It proved most important
have a nice hole below and not to have an over-early boat sitting on your
face off the line.
The left side of the course seemed to consistently pay, probably due to
greater wind. I would have thought that when the ebb was in force it should
have paid to go right to get into stronger current, but maybe the course
wasnt far enough west to be touched by the ebb flow around angel island.
There did not appear to be many wind shifts.
Driving these pointy boats upwind in steep ebb-tide waves is tricky. It
works well to have the driver focus on driving and have a tactician that she
trusts look around and help with strategy. (30 years is a good amount of
time to build this trust)
Keeping the boat flat can be tough in 25+ breeze, but flat is fast. Maybe
we should consider re-upping the weight limit so that we don't have to rag
the crap out of our mainsails... or perhaps a trapeze or two should be
added. (Sutter, do you think that would be in keeping with Carl's design
intent?) In lew of these changes, a flattening reef in the mainsail helps a
lot.
Downwind, surfing is key, and as soon as the conditions warrant, it helps to
move weight aft. Don't let the spinnaker clew past the fore stay and choke
it off if you feel a death role coming. Sailing by the lee can be
dangerous. Gybe on a wave and get the boom across quick!
Round the leeward mark wide, then tight, don't let anyone sneak inside.
Get Happy wins the Best Death Roll Prize for the regatta.
See you all on Friday,
Sarah
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