2018 Racing in Texas in January
- Thread starter Bill19233
- Start date
Congrats. Love the temps. CT is now a balmy 31 degrees. We just came out of a two week snap where the temp high for the days was either single digits or the teens. The only time it warmed into the 20's was to dump 13 inches of snow on us !
Nice video as usual. Rookie main trimmer?? He's never looking at his sail, even when 'trimming'.
I wish I could get crew that knows sail trim!
I've got one crew who will play the puffs and shifts on the main, but he's got three daughters in high school that keep him busy and off the boat a lot. My son and his friends do not race enough to want to put the effort into learning all the ins and outs of racing and sail trim, but I'm working on them. And I still have a whole lot to learn about the ins and out of racing and sail trim, myself. For the most part, I'm just thrilled to have crew and to be out there, loving every miserably cold minute of it.
Prestart photo of us from the race. I was tightening the cunningham and the jib sheet car is way forward to try to keep the leech tight to keep the flutter down without adding a bunch of hook with the leech line on our mismeasured jib that the sailmaker wouldn't make right.
I've got one crew who will play the puffs and shifts on the main, but he's got three daughters in high school that keep him busy and off the boat a lot. My son and his friends do not race enough to want to put the effort into learning all the ins and outs of racing and sail trim, but I'm working on them. And I still have a whole lot to learn about the ins and out of racing and sail trim, myself. For the most part, I'm just thrilled to have crew and to be out there, loving every miserably cold minute of it.
Prestart photo of us from the race. I was tightening the cunningham and the jib sheet car is way forward to try to keep the leech tight to keep the flutter down without adding a bunch of hook with the leech line on our mismeasured jib that the sailmaker wouldn't make right.
Jibe was helmsman's fault, wing on wing seemed like a good idea at the time. Dead downwind run got us in position for a fun 7 knot spinnaker reach to next mark. Bob had rigged a semi-preventer that did keep him from getting in trouble in the mainsheet.
Oh ouch. That's painful. As you know, if you are out of trim you are slow and bleeding seconds that you can never get back. Sail trim is a full time job; like in that picture; your jib is way overtrimed. You trimmers should spend 95% of their time watching their telltails. Sail fast! ;^)
I know, I know, I'm always telling them to watch the telltales or asking someone to check them. But, they're spending 95% of their time getting another beer or "Snapchatting" or eating or whatever. We missed 2nd in the first race of 2018 by less than 2 minutes and 3rd by 7 seconds, and trim could have made the difference. Last race we spent half the 2nd leg with no headsail out after a cheap Amazon snap shackle came apart.
I always try to trim to the telltales, with the main's batten tales streaming back except for the top just breaking, and the jib's luff all straight back. Other boats on the same course sometimes seem over trimmed compared to me, but going faster or tighter, so I trim in even when I should know better.
A simple 5% increase in speed is 5.25 vs 5.00 knots. Does not seem like a lot, but it will save you 4 minutes on an hour long race.
Fun racing in the rain! That separates the wheat from the chaff.
Oh, take down your ensign when racing. It's long standing tradition that you don't race with the colors up, and it also helps people know that are (or are not) racing.
Oh, take down your ensign when racing. It's long standing tradition that you don't race with the colors up, and it also helps people know that are (or are not) racing.