Do you race your boat?

C

chasfrank

.
Sep 25, 2019
38
CATALINA C27 Lk Norman NC
Terry,
Square riggers back then :) My father had aTown Class he wanted to race, but couldn't find enough around to race with....( and that was in the town where they were built .....) { we kept the boat in winter at Pert Lowell's shop }
 
JRT

JRT

.
Feb 14, 2017
2,060
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
Yes, and hope for more this year. I ride motorcycles and learned that racing was a excellent way to improve and really loved it. Kids and a few more trips around the sun had me hang up my racing hobby. Sailing racing should help me scratch that itch I still have, but with less potential for physical injury...
 
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Ward H

Ward H

.
Nov 7, 2011
3,795
Catalina 30 Mk II Cedar Creek, Bayville NJ
Crewed for @Scott T-Bird last season, our first season racing. Learned a lot and really enjoyed it. One race I was able to join a very experienced boat and crew on a C30. Learned some great lessons that day that I've been use while sailing my own boat.

No interest in racing my C30 but am looking forward to crewing for Scott again this season.
 
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DArcy

DArcy

.
Feb 11, 2017
1,773
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
I haven't raced my own boat in several years but I crew regularly on a C&C 115 and occasionally on other boats. I still enjoy racing, just not paying for the new sails ;)
 
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danstanford

danstanford

.
Aug 2, 2010
530
J-Boat J/88 Cobourg
Racing is really the only reason I have continued to own a boat. The occasional lovely evening or weekend sails are not frequent enough to justify the costs but racing makes it make sense. Lots of strategy and despite the luck of getting the correct shift, being better at it makes your results better.
Dan
 
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Will Gilmore

Will Gilmore

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Oct 19, 2017
8,002
O'Day Mariner 19 Littleton, NH
I am not a racer. I'm not opposed to racing. I agree that it is a great way to learn. In fact, the one race I was in was when I was seven or eight at the Optimist Club for lessons. The little girl who lived across the street from me, kicked all our butts sailing the cat's paw that only she was able to find. The rest of us just sat becalmed watching her breeze to the finish line. Hated racing ever since.

What can I say? I don't like seeing proof that I can't sail.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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dLj

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
4,485
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
Will Gilmore said:
What can I say? I don't like seeing proof that I can't sail.
Click to expand
We both know that's a bunch of bull...

I don't know though, maybe you are looking for sympathy? As my mother would tell us as kids, "What?!? Are you looking for sympathy? You'll find it right in the dictionary right between shit and syphilis!" ;)

dj
 
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Will Gilmore

Will Gilmore

.
Oct 19, 2017
8,002
O'Day Mariner 19 Littleton, NH
dLj said:
We both know that's a bunch of bull...

I don't know though, maybe you are looking for sympathy? As my mother would tell us as kids, "What?!? Are you looking for sympathy? You'll find it right in the dictionary right between shit and syphilis!" ;)

dj
Click to expand
No, not sympathy and I'm not saying I'm not a good sailor. I just don't want to have to deal with evidence to the contrary. It's fear-based behavior. I can tell myself I'm an awesome sailor, but if I test it, there's the possibility of discovering that I'm wrong. For those of us who are emotionally precarious...
Or
I'm not into the competitive culture and I don't need the validation. However, one-on-one or in a spontaneous moment of cameradery, I'd be happy to race. Racing does push one to improve.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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dLj

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
4,485
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
Will Gilmore said:
No, not sympathy and I'm not saying I'm not a good sailor. I just don't want to have to deal with evidence to the contrary. It's fear-based behavior. I can tell myself I'm an awesome sailor, but if I test it, there's the possibility of discovering that I'm wrong. For those of us who are emotionally precarious...
Or
I'm not into the competitive culture and I don't need the validation. However, one-on-one or in a spontaneous moment of cameradery, I'd be happy to race. Racing does push one to improve.

-Will (Dragonfly)
Click to expand
I do hope you realize I was playing with you - plus I'm always looking for good excuses to quote my mother's favorite saying from growing up...

I am totally non-competitive. At my work they do a Gallup personality survey - competitiveness is in my bottom 5 "strengths" ... LOL ...

dj
 
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Will Gilmore

Will Gilmore

.
Oct 19, 2017
8,002
O'Day Mariner 19 Littleton, NH
Of course!
:thumbup:

Also, I love your mother's saying.

And thanks for the compliment about my sailing skills. I too was just playing.

To get real. The biggest value in racing, as I see it, is to pull in young people. As some may remember from past threads, I can't help but wonder why we need to get more people interested in this sport. It is enough that I enjoy it, but if that's part of the agenda, racing has tremendous value as a recruitment tool.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
23,498
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Will
There are many racing experiences. When in a class of equals based on experience and equipment it can be fun and educational.

When you engage in a open class and have a limited pocketbook it can soon become a pocket book race. When skills are similar the pocketbook often becomes the determining factor in the outcomes.
 
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LeeandRick

LeeandRick

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Apr 26, 2015
663
S2 26 Mid On Trailer
I raced one design in several classes for a lot of years on the Gulf Coast. Then I moved to an area that was only doing handicap racing with lot's of different boat styles and sizes. It didn't take long (about a year) before they started handicapping the skipper. The local club had me 20 points faster, PHRF, than any J-24 in the world. Once they found out that I had been national champ in a couple of classes they wanted to go more so I sold the boat. I will still crew for folks in a one design race but will sit at the bar for PHRF races. I think having raced makes a person sail any boat they are on to it's potential and occasionally pisses off the people on the boat who just want to drink beer. We have a sailing Winnebago (S2 8.0 C) now and sail it as fast as it will go.
 
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Jumpstart

Jumpstart

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Jan 13, 2009
394
J Boat 92 78 Sandusky
Lee and Rick, PHRF is different in different areas. Most major areas issue handicaps and actually handicap the boat. The problem comes in when a club or small area starts issuing handicaps and the people in control don't like who is winning. Things get crazy and the fleet disappears. It happened to me at a club I once belonged to. Fortunately, the PHRF group we are handicapped by represents a large geographical area with 14 handicappers from a diverse group. It takes out a lot of the personal bias when you have a larger group. I have been racing for 35 years on my boats and crewing on at least 30 other designs from Star boats to GL70s. crrent boat is the J/92 in my signature.
 
Jumpstart

Jumpstart

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Jan 13, 2009
394
J Boat 92 78 Sandusky
Don't kid yourself. Go to any after club cruise get together (Well at least not for another 3 months) and you will hear a lot of conversations on how well one's boat performed against such and such. Really, in my area there a lot of cruisers and dock queens. Most of them can be seen motor sailing the 16 miles over to put in bay when the wind is less than 15 knots. We usually come up on them from behind marveling at how they are outpointing us in less than 8 knots of wind until we notice their mains luffing and the steam coming out of their transoms. Racing is solving a dynamic complicated problem coupled with crew organization and training, logistics, navigation skills, weather forecasting, conditions observation, boat handling, rules knowledge, how to budget money judiciously, and luck. If you want to race without doing all the above luck is your best hope.
OIP.jpg
 
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DayDreamer41

DayDreamer41

.
Oct 29, 2016
1,929
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
Jumpstart said:
Don't kid yourself. Go to any after club cruise get together (Well at least not for another 3 months) and you will hear a lot of conversations on how well one's boat performed against such and such. Really, in my area there a lot of cruisers and dock queens. Most of them can be seen motor sailing the 16 miles over to put in bay when the wind is less than 15 knots. We usually come up on them from behind marveling at how they are outpointing us in less than 8 knots of wind until we notice their mains luffing and the steam coming out of their transoms. Racing is solving a dynamic complicated problem coupled with crew organization and training, logistics, navigation skills, weather forecasting, conditions observation, boat handling, rules knowledge, how to budget money judiciously, and luck. If you want to race without doing all the above luck is your best hope.
View attachment 176121
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Would love to do a trip from our home port in Port Huron to Put In Bay who knows maybe this summer
 
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