Close? That J-105 was at least six feet off your transom. For a J, that's more than ample. Nice jybe with new crew. Simple instructions work well. Good focus in the light air helped you perform on that last leg, until the windshift anyway. Telltales on main leech to show flow? You may have already said you have them but they don't show in the video. Downwind they can be really helpful. Sometimes it appears that the main might have been better further out, but without the telltales it's hard to say. What was going on at that start? It hurt your results. Look up "Vanderbilt start" and see if you can try one like that. Our Frostbiting fleet was out in the snow yesterday. We got 9". More expected tomorrow.
Thanks Paul. I think it was closer than 6 feet, wide angle camera lens distorts it. It was inches from the stern camera on the strut. That J/105 is on my dock. An 80 year old J/105 skipper/owner came out and helmed my boat for the race Saturday. He says he really likes the way my Hunter handles and sails. He's been out a half dozen times before with me, so I don't think it's BS. Not enough wind to finish.
Yes, there are telltales on the main leech at the battens. I want to, but it's hard to let the main out very far, it plasters up against the extreme swept back spreaders. With the 16' boom and mast taller than a J/105, it's a big sail with a lot force.
The start was a mess, a wind shift had too many port tackers pinching to get inside the right marker and several starboard tackers coming into the mess from out of the frame. Port seemed like the favored tack for the start, should have seen it coming. I was probably 3 minutes late and that 3 minutes would have put me ahead of Hobgoblin and Bad Girl at the finish.
Sailed in a nine boat race the next day, but have not finished three races since. There's a race this Saturday, but it may be in the 30's with 30 knot gusts and not enough water in the bay.