Charity race in Sandusky Bay

Jul 5, 2005
217
Beneteau 361 Sandusky Harbor Marina
I raced my Beneteau Oceanis 361 for just the second time this past Saturday, and had a good time. We had a terrible start because the wind left us right before the start, so we were way behind (it's a pursuit start). We finished strong though.

I had been wanting a whisker pole for a couple years now, because the only other time I raced my boat was during this race in 2017, and after being in the lead for about half that race, a big Catalina 470-ish caught me on the long downwind run.

Sadly I never got that whisker pole, so this year, instead of trying to compete with all the other boats with whisker poles (JAM only race), I sailed a broad reach to keep my speed up on the downwind legs, jibing back and forth behind the fleet, but not falling further behind.

As we turned the downwind mark, we still had about half the race left, and we evidently started to catch up. We finally did pass a Catalina 400, a Pearson 38, and a 32-footer (I forget what) right before the final mark. The run from the final mark to the finish line, however, was dead downwind, and these boats were only about 30 seconds behind me, I think.

Fortunately for me, they all came together at that final mark, and I think it delayed them a little bit, jockeying with each other. I'm still expecting to lose my recently-gotten lead, however, but I continue with my broad reaching strategy.

Surprise Surprise! I was able to hold them off! I had never actually tried that strategy, but was pleased it worked. Winds were light, maybe five or six knots apparent, and I was doing just over 3 knots over ground. The three boats I passed all finished together maybe less than a minute after us.

If I had a better start, I might have beaten the Beneteau 49 that finished a few minutes ahead of me.

Very fun race, especially the passing other boats part. ;)
 
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Likes: Ward H
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Sounds fun!

Some thoughts about pursuit races:

1) Never be too far from the start, and at 1 minute to go you should be near the boat end and not more than 3-4 lengths below the line. The lighter the airs, the closer. Head to the line, and then luff or turn down (to control speed/distance), depending on what you are more comfortable with. Hit the line with speed. 95% of the time you have your own start. Take advantage of it. Its a sin to be late to a pursuit start!

2) Its the nature of the beast that earlier (slower) starting boats get caught sometime on the course. Unless you can hold a faster boat off to the finish, the best thing to do is sail your own race, let them pass and stay in clear air. 3 boats rounding a mark with nervous skippers is a recipe for slow sailing!

2.5) I always say, 'its almost always better to finish 2nd to their 1st, instead of 6th to their 7th!

In light airs, DDW or hotter angles can really be a crap shoot. But its good to know what is best for your boat.
 
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Likes: Ben4195
Jan 13, 2009
391
J Boat 92 78 Sandusky
Ben did a great job getting a third in Jam B. Congrats. The race was a qualifier for the national Hospice Cup. Unusual to have a JAM race much less a pursuit start for a qualifier. Last years Hospice race (at another club) was 24mi race around a couple of islands with spinnakers. Last years qualifier went to Charleston to race in the national event and wanted to go back. His boat and crew are 50 miles away so we cut a deal so that he and his crew would sail with us. Consequently we had 7 of us for a light air race which was not optimal. The wind dropped to 3 knots before the start and was chopped up by the boats stalled on the line. We did a starboard approach and tacked into a hole near the pin and reached back towards the boat in clear air. We banged the start doing 2.7 in 3knots and shot out ahead. We were leading the fleet after 100 yards and having made up all of our time. We extended from there and finished 15 minutes in front of the second place boat in an 8 mile race. Our guys are going to Charleston.

I don't like pursuit starts. We benefited from the drifter conditions and the race was over for the other 9 boats, 8 of them who theoretically started behind. I am not sure pursuit starts in light air are all that fair for the slower boats. To be fair we had a fully tricked out race boat with high quality sails including an aramid light #1. Our crew work was spot on and yes we used a spinnaker pole, topping lift, downhaul which we jibed several times. Our downwind angles were mostly about 160-70 degrees. A big factor was the water temperature of 82 degrees. Sandusky Bay is very biologically active and a slime develops even on VC17. We had cleaned the bottom the day before the race and that helped a lot
 
Jul 5, 2005
217
Beneteau 361 Sandusky Harbor Marina
Thanks for the tip, JD, and yes, it was a real good time. I knew pretty quickly that I had screwed up being so far away from the line, but I was afraid of getting in the way of the boats starting in front of me. In any case, I learned from it. Hopefully my crew and I can do this race next year.

Thanks for the nice words, Bill! It was awesome seeing you and Judy our there racing Jumpstart. :)
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Ben did a great job getting a third in Jam B. Congrats. The race was a qualifier for the national Hospice Cup. Unusual to have a JAM race much less a pursuit start for a qualifier. Last years Hospice race (at another club) was 24mi race around a couple of islands with spinnakers. Last years qualifier went to Charleston to race in the national event and wanted to go back. His boat and crew are 50 miles away so we cut a deal so that he and his crew would sail with us. Consequently we had 7 of us for a light air race which was not optimal. The wind dropped to 3 knots before the start and was chopped up by the boats stalled on the line. We did a starboard approach and tacked into a hole near the pin and reached back towards the boat in clear air. We banged the start doing 2.7 in 3knots and shot out ahead. We were leading the fleet after 100 yards and having made up all of our time. We extended from there and finished 15 minutes in front of the second place boat in an 8 mile race. Our guys are going to Charleston.

I don't like pursuit starts. We benefited from the drifter conditions and the race was over for the other 9 boats, 8 of them who theoretically started behind. I am not sure pursuit starts in light air are all that fair for the slower boats. To be fair we had a fully tricked out race boat with high quality sails including an aramid light #1. Our crew work was spot on and yes we used a spinnaker pole, topping lift, downhaul which we jibed several times. Our downwind angles were mostly about 160-70 degrees. A big factor was the water temperature of 82 degrees. Sandusky Bay is very biologically active and a slime develops even on VC17. We had cleaned the bottom the day before the race and that helped a lot
Indeed. While changing wind speeds will always mess up a handicap fleet, with a pursuit start it can be particularly gruesome. The worst is very light airs at the start, building later. This always traps the earlier starting slower boats within 100 yards of the starting line, and they get rolled right away by the fast boats in the building breeze. Once passed, they are done. The usual point to point nature of these races takes tactics as a means to get back into the race out of the question, and you are toast.

I agree that its a strange kinda race for a national-level qualifier of any sort, unless the national race is a JAM pursuit start as well.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Thanks for the tip, JD, and yes, it was a real good time. I knew pretty quickly that I had screwed up being so far away from the line, but I was afraid of getting in the way of the boats starting in front of me. In any case, I learned from it. Hopefully my crew and I can do this race next year.

Thanks for the nice words, Bill! It was awesome seeing you and Judy our there racing Jumpstart. :)
Remember that unless explicitly noted in the SI (rare), there is nothing about a pursuit start that changes any of the starting rules. You are allowed to be ‘in the area’. Now actively using the RRS to foil an earlier boat’s start would for sure be a ‘dick move’, but you prepping for yours while being respectful is fine.