<div dir="ltr">For those of you doing Huntington Lake later this summer, here's a nice guide that the local Laser fleet sent around:<br><div><div class="gmail_quote"><br>
<a href="http://fresnoyachtclub.org/files/2013/10/Racing-Primer.pdf" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://fresnoyachtclub.org/files/2013/10/Racing-Primer.pdf</a><br>
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Message: 5<br>
Date: Thu, 19 May 2016 09:49:25 -0700<br>
From: "Mike Gillum" <<a href="mailto:mike@gpsawnings.com">mike@gpsawnings.com</a>><br>
To: "'Stephen Aguilar'" <<a href="mailto:sailsteve55@gmail.com">sailsteve55@gmail.com</a>>,<br>
<<a href="mailto:laser-class-d24@mailman.stanford.edu">laser-class-d24@mailman.stanford.edu</a>><br>
Subject: RE: Huntington lake.<br>
Message-ID: <001e01d1b1ee$67a38ec0$36eaac40$@<a href="http://gpsawnings.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">gpsawnings.com</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"<br>
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Stephen,<br>
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I have several things to add to Charles Witcher?s outstanding thoughts on sailing at Huntington Lake;<br>
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1. Lake level is 7,200?+/- which means the air is very thin so the puffs that appear menacing don?t really pack the same punch as those at sea level. Doesn?t mean you don?t hike out rather don?t waste a lot of time messing with the cunningham only to find out that puff is now 100 yards astern of you and you didn?t feel it. Hike and sheet.<br>
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2. Huntington Lake is being filled with recent snow melt so dress accordingly! It may be 80-85 in the Launch Ramp Parking Lot but the water is in the low 40?s.<br>
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3. Lots of Sunscreen, long sleeves, and a good hat are the ticket as you?re nearly a 1-1/2 miles closer to the sun.<br>
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4. Drink lots of water even if you don?t think you need it as dehydration is a problem.<br>
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5. Long start line with south pin usually favored as there?s a geographical starboard tack lift into the Boy Scout Camp but the Committee pin can also work from time to time.<br>
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6. Place your hand palm down on a table and spread your thumb and pinkie as far apart as you can. That?s pretty much what most puffs on Huntington Lake look like when they hit the water and why you?ll often see boats going up the lake on the same heading but opposite tacks. Middle of the puff isn?t the place to be unless you?re going downwind!<br>
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7. Act like Rambo and forget about the compass! Get your head out of the boat to look for puffs and the direction of the other boats on the lake to get an idea of what evil might be lurking up ahead!<br>
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8. If you?re not going up the lake you?re going across the lake! You always want to be going up or down the lake at all times!<br>
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9. Good rule of thumb is if you?re bow up relative to the boats around you stay on that tack and if you?re bow down you want to tack immediately unless there?s a really good reason not to.<br>
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10. If the boat you easily crossed a minute or two ago is now crossing you and sailing in a huge lift accept defeat and tack to leeward knowing that the next shift you should be back ahead of them again.<br>
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11. Miss a shift going upwind? Be prepared to eat the next shift to be able to get back into phase! Sailing from side to side of the lake chasing shifts is very slow and I know all too well from past experience.<br>
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12. As you go up the lake the wind velocity slowly drops so controls need to be eased to power up and the direction starts changing quicker and quicker the closer you get to the ?Damn? Dam.<br>
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13. If you?re already heading straight up the lake on either tack the next puff that?s heading your way probably isn?t another lift so as soon as the main starts to break immediately tack otherwise you?ll lose most all of the benefits of the lift on the new tack!<br>
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14. From the ?Damn? Dam up to Mark 5 anticipate tacking on anything that remotely looks like a header as the new lift will not last more than 15-30 seconds and if you sail into a header/header combination then make sure your roll tacking skills are up to snuff so you don?t lose any more ground. Remember risk/reward!<br>
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15. Avoid the North Shore like your life depends on it! Most often you?ll get lulled by a huge port tack lift along the shore which allows you to sail up the lake but rarely is there a starboard lift to exit stage right and sail back out on. I?ve seen a few old-timers (think 50-60 years of sailing there) in Thistles and Day Sailers make it pay but they?re the exception to the rule.<br>
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16. Remember how shifty it was upwind? It?s just as shifty downwind so there?s really no time to relax so anticipate looking astern and gybing a lot if you want to sail down the middle.<br>
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I?ll be racing a Day Sailer wearing my large straw hat so let me know if you have any questions.<br>
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Mike Gillum Laser #131139<br>
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