[Santana 22] Tuna Tune-up March 22, 11 am, Treasure Island

Santana22 San Francisco santana22sfbay at gmail.com
Wed Feb 25 18:26:34 EST 2015

Dear Tuna Skippers,

Frank Lawler is organizing our annual start clinic to get everyone in gear
for the race season. This event is geared towards both novice and
experienced sailors. Please sign up by replying to this email or on
Facebook. Please indicate if you would like some crew and feel free to sign
up if you would like to crew for this event to get to know the fleet and
its skippers. In the past we've also had experienced skippers come out to
coach newbies which has been great fun.

S-22 Annual Start Clinic

*When**: *            Sunday*, *March 22 at 11:00 hours



*Where**:           *Treasure Island Cove



*What**:             *A series of timed starts, each followed by a short
beat to windward and a downwind finish. Included is a potluck dockside
lunch break and a discussion of starting strategies.



*How**:               *To enable more starts, we will use only a 3-minute
countdown. The sound signals will be at:            3:00

                                                2:00

                                                1:00

                                                0:00



                        Boats will be notified approximately 60 seconds
before each impending start on Ch. 71. *Tackful* will be the committee boat.



*Pertinent Rules: *

Besides the obvious port/starboard, it is suggested that the rules
governing an overlap and windward/leeward be reviewed.



*Suggestions for a successful start:*

*1)      *Stay close! If you begin your final approach from two minutes out
and your timing is off by 20%, you will be 24 seconds late for the start.
>From one minute out you would be 12 seconds off, but from 30 seconds out,
only 6 seconds late.

*2)      *Time the line! Know how long it takes your boat to sail down the
line from committee boat end to the pin end. If, for example, it takes 30
seconds, then should you pass by the committee boat with more than 0:30
remaining on the countdown, you will know that you must slow down so as to
not run out of line (pass beyond the pin end) before time expires.

*3)      *Review and understand the rules regarding overlap and
windward/leeward. Before the start there is always the danger that a boat
below you could head up and force you above the line. In this situation you
want to be very clear about when boats are overlapped and when they are
not. All this is leading up to the importance of keeping your leeward
quarter clear. Try not to let a boat coming up from below gain an overlap
and luffing rights.

*4)      *A port tack start should only be attempted by experienced sailors
who are confident in their boat handling skills. This is where having timed
the line is most important. As in our earlier example, if the line is 30
seconds long and no starboard tack boats have reached the committee boat
end with 0:30 remaining, you then know that at 0:00 the pin end will be
clear. I recommend that you be on starboard near or at the pin when you
make your decision so that you need only a well-timed tack onto port to put
you back at the pin when the gun goes off.



What if you see boats at or beyond the committee boat at 0:30 and you have
to give up on a port start and go to Plan B? You still have enough time to
tack onto port and sail back down the line, looking to tack back to
starboard when you find enough space between approaching boats to do so.
Definitely not for the faint of heart.



*Questions: *Feel free to contact me at tackful at hotmail.com or at
415-331-5578.



We have done this for several years now and it has always been fun as well
as instructive. Please join us!


Cheers,

Frank and Anna
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