Dear Tuna Skippers,
Please let us know if you are planning to come to the start clinic.
Indicate if you would like some crew (a few people will come without their
boats) or if you would like to crew for someone else. Please bring some
food and drinks to share for the potluck lunch, probably at Treasure Island
Sailing Center, as the docks of the marina are in sorry shape.
Hope to see many of you on Sunday!
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
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://myfleet.org/pipermail/tuna/attachments/20150318/120fcfca/attachment.html>
