2004-2005 InterClub Results, Day 8, January 16

Annapolis ICers,

Finally, after a few weeks of painfully light air, we had a beautiful day of sailing. Winds were moderate from the NE at 6-12 knots, and the seas were flat. Once again, no AYC boats out to mess up our course. It was pleasant sailing, and certainly not cold by frostbite standards.

RC Jon Guth set a pretty long line, so favor had to be considered, both starting and finishing. The long line also made it easy to get a good spot, so there shouldn't have been any excuses for crowding. I started about a 1/3 of the way from whichever end I thought was favored - sometimes pin and sometimes boat. Not having Wayne there to mess with me made it even easier to pick my spot. After that it was a simple matter of staying in the puffs and on the lifted tack. One tip here - in puffy conditions, it pays to stay on the edges of the puff, where you get a favorable shift and the velocity is greatest. If you are on port tack saiing towards a puff, the right outer edge (looking upwind) of the puff will almost always be a lefty, and you will get lifted. Sailing on starboard tack, the left outer edge will almost always be a righty. Try and "connect the puffs" upwind by sailing one to the other. Keep you head out of the boat to see them coming!

Alex had a decent day sailing with Anita, scoring a win, and a near win after a killer battle down the run and up the final beat. Paul fell victim to the oldest trick in the book in one race - the "fake" crash tack when I dropped the tiller during a leeward mark rounding. It was just the ticket for scoring the favored left side. Bryan and Jill found themselves with an early lead in race 3, but pounded the right corner up the beat and missed a few shifts.

Whenever I sail with a new crew, I try and get them to focus on different things that I think will help us perform best. By far the most important thing for a crew to learn is the art of anticipation, and I try and direct their focus to learning this skill. The best crews can anticipate the next move, so they are always one step ahead, and adjustments come at just the right time. For instance, experienced crews will know the tactical situation, and when we are likely to tack/jibe based where we are positioned with other boats. Are we fighting for an inside overlap near a mark? Perhaps we are laying a tight cover on a boat going to a finish. Like with the sailing yesterday, the best crews have a feel for wind heading, and know when we are likely to tack, and are therefore ready to roll into it. You know that feeling, when the boat gets headed suddenly, and rolls a bit to weather, which may be just the right time to initiate the "best roll tack ever" (right, Katheryn?). So, keep your crew focussed on anticipating the next move, and doing this will help you stay focussed as well. (Hmm, I think I feel a Sailing World article coming).

Daily and series scores posted. If you had at least three sailing days, you are scored overall. If you had at least 4, you are scored with 4. Next week we will use these series scores for handicaps. The person who outperforms their handicap by the most % points will win a prize!

--Jesse

Day 8                                                 
        Races =         6                                                                                 
        Boats =         7                                                                                 
        Points =        48                                                                                 
                                            Low High         
Pl Skipper  Crew     Bow  1  2  3  4  5  6  Pt  Pt  % 
1  Jesse    Katheryn 802  1  1  1  1  2  1  7   47  0.979 
2  Alex     Anita    699  2  4  3  2  1  2  14  40  0.833 
3  Paul              508  3  2  5  6  3  4  23  31  0.646 
4  Bryan    Jill     801  4  5  2  3  5  5  24  30  0.625 
5  Greg     Betsy    527  5  7  4  4  6  3  29  25  0.521 
6  Ian      Jason    705  7  6  7  5  4  6  35  19  0.396 
7  Russell  Jessica  614  6  3  6  7  8  8  38  16  0.333

Season Totals to Date