2000-2001 InterClub Results - Series 1, Day 5
December 17, 2000
At 12:15 yesterday I was finishing a garage door installation at my new place in Mayo having already admitted to myself that it was going to be too windy to sail. With Gale warnings posted, and a nasty storm having gone through early in the morning, I just didn't think sailing was in the cards. I suppose may of you thought the same thing, which is too bad because it was very sailable. Fortunately for me, Alex called from the club and told me they were heading out.
(Editor's Note: Damn, I knew I should have waited ANOTHER 10 minutes to call. I figured one DNS would be enough to ruin his day; Oh well, even slackers have their 15 minutes).
With only 45 minutes before sailing time, I gathered up my stuff in a frenzy, and proceeded to get caught behind every @#$% Sunday driver up Rt 2 and into Annapolis. Luckily, my celebrity crew, JoAnn, had the boat ready to go. Thanks to the aforementioned Sunday drivers, we missed race 1 by about 2 minutes. No biggie, I thought. With Alex's "improved" scoring system, all that matters is that you do well for the day, so sailing every race to get a better winning percentage doesn't matter.
I counted 8 boats as we got to the course, but Phil mysteriously disapeared and the Simonds bailed after race 1.
Day 5 was a classic "ease, hike, trim day". I was sailing fastest when I was keeping the boat flat, and we didn't have much of a problem doing just that when I had the energy to get my fat butt over the rail. It was also a day to be patient for the shifts and to watch the water. I made a few mistakes tacking on what I thought were good shifts, but the oscillations were just too quick. If you weren't careful, a quick shift, followed by a tack, and another quick shift can put you into irons and the accompanied reverse gear to get out.
So, we came back with a 2,1,1 in the last 3 races to win the day. JoAnn was great, and it was so easy to just get in the boat with her and sail for the first time, even in the breeze. We gave up the inside and a nice lead in race 2 to let Wayne and Karen plane by us downwind. Yes, Wayne, IC's do plane! How much do you guys weigh? Hmmm. It was pretty close at the finish, with JoAnn and I almost doing a pass-back upwind after a 40 degree righty. Race 3 was tight again with Eric and Kim breathing down our neck downwind. The last race was crazy as the breeze continued to build to over 20. Eric and Kim had a comfortable lead downwind after I fudged a shift on the beat. However, one of those quick shifts and a mongo puff put them in irons on the final beat. Wayne, now sailing with Phebe, passed them on the right, and we came together at the finish. We had to duck Wayne near the boat, but held the starboard advantage going to the boat end.
So, it was fun to get out in the breeze. I wasn't really grooving myself, and I don't think anyone was really. When I am sailing well in the breeze, here are the things I try to do:
1) Keep the boat moving as fast as possible (duh). Actually, this is a very important thing to remind yourself of when sailing. If you are going too slow in an IC when the breeze is on, the foils can't work against the side force of the sails, and you go sideways. Also, if you hit a wave going slow, you can stop and go into irons. Pick your course through the waves carefully. Dive off if a particulary big wave will hit your bow square on. I keep telling myself to sail faster, and it worlks for me. Burn off some speed in the flat water by pinching once you are going fast. I did this a lot at the start.
2) Keep the boat flat (duh again) - Too much heel only adds to the unruly helm. Ease, Hike, Trim!
3) Add more forestay so you can sheet harder w/o overbending the mast. Let your traveller down and vang sheet. Have your crew play the vang in and out (vang on in puffs, and off in lulls). Ease the outhaul in the chop - especially upwind!
4) Get on the lifted tack (big duh) - Too many people tack off a lift when they are getting gassed. In heavy air, you can sail right behind someone in an IC and not feel it at all because there is less disturbed air coming off an IC sail that can't sheet to the centerline. Stay in phase, and you will always be in the game on a beat with an average of 6 shifts (my estimate of the number of shifts on the average IC leg).
So, Happy Holiday's everyone! I hope to see a better turnout in the new year, including some of you boys and girls who have yet to get your boat to the club.
--Jesse
Thanks to Aden and Phebe for running safety boat and bringing the Clam Chowder!
Pl Sail Skipper 1 2 3 4 T
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1 802 Jesse Falsone 7/DNS 2 1 1 11
JoAnn Jones
2 705B Wayne Pignolet 5 1 6 2 14
Karen Furst
3 911 Jon Guth 1 5 5 4 15
4 491 Eric Reinke 2 6/DNF 2 6/DNF 16
Kim Couranz
5 235 Mike Mergethaler 6 3 4 3 16
6 675 Alex Pline 4 4 3 5 16
Jonathan Lange
7 804 Rhett/Celeste Simonds 3 6/DNF 7/DNS 6/DNS 22
8 672 Phil Grotheer 7/DNF 6/DNS 7/DNS 6/DNS 26
Jen Millar