Fast or Furious?

[Phil Herring]

Do you race your boat, or have you raced it in the past? What do you enjoy about racing and how hard do you work at it?

For everyone else, why dont you race? What is it about racing that makes you say, "Pass"?

Share your motivations with us... and a photo of your boat beating to the mark would be okay, too.

Photo from Boston Sailing Center

 

[JRT]

Enjoyed our first race this year with my daughter. It was a distance race with a single turn around mark. Did get a bit more into it coming to mark with 3 boats ahead and 2 trailing after a very long day. This race was the only one that worked for our schedule.

Abby loves being on the helm, this was early on and I decided to chance a headsail change to our drifter and it worked. She had to really pay attention to keep everything flying while I was forward.

Not the most exciting pic of action pack sailing, but we didn't quit and stuck with the entire race till the end.

 

[sailnoproblem]

It's to much work for me. I just enjoy a nice cruise. Besides it gets in the way of my cocktail enjoyment.
I had my fill of raceing when I was a gear head. Yes I know it's not the same.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

I've raced before, in one designs. But now, I'm often the only boat from them marina that even goes sailing

 

[Daveinet]

The main reason I do not race is that my opportunities to sail are too inconsistent. There are no races during the time of day when I sail. Most of the time I'm the only sailboat out - Maybe 1 or 2 other sailboats, but mostly overrun by powerboats. The lake does have races, but not at a time when I could go.
I think if I were to race, I'd have to do a lot of homework. Right now, I'w be honest and suggest it is a little intimidating. I don't really know the rules well, or how things work. If I had a strong desire to race, I'd get out on someone else's boat first, just to get a sense of the structure of the race.

 

[Rodsails]

I race my Legend 45 and can't get enough of it. I have probably won more than my share of races. After loosing the mast 2 years ago. I've set it up more for cruising but it's still winning races

 

[Bad Obsession]

I grew up racing on a PHRF fleet on the Potomac River. We did races from Washington DC to Solomons Island. I enjoyed it at the time but it was very expensive. When I raced my own boats I found that we broke gear pretty often.

After I got out of College I retired from racing and started cruising. I enjoyed the simplicity of cruising. I forgot most of the racing knowledge that I had when it came to tweaking sails, but I still retained a lot of my trimming skills.

I really don' t miss racing these days. I do miss cruising as I am in a brief break from it due to the birth of my daughter. When I get another sailboat, she will be a cruiser!

 

[Jackdaw]

View attachment 157679 I race my Legend 45 and can't get enough of it. I have probably won more than my share of races. After loosing the mast 2 years ago. I've set it up more for cruising but it's still winning races

Good looking close-reach mode. I see nothing I'd change.

 

[Justin_NSA]

I don't know the rules, and my boat is set up for cruising i.e. we have cupholders.
I would like to crew next year in our KBRS meets. It looks like fun and would make me a better sailor.

 

[JRacer]

I don't know the rules, and my boat is set up for cruising i.e. we have cupholders.
I would like to crew next year in our KBRS meets. It looks like fun and would make me a better sailor.

I can arrange that!

 

[Justin_NSA]

I can arrange that!

I will take you up on that if you need crew!

 

[JRacer]

If there are two boats on the lake, we are racing! Campaigned the J/24 for 30 years then got the First 310, a compromise. She's a decent performer when the breeze is up at 13+ but is a pig in the lighter stuff. Much more creature comfortable than the 24, however, and as a result spend more time on the boat - that's a good thing - the J/24 was rarely an overnighter. Really looked hard at a J/35 but its draft is too much for our fluctuating lake levels. I love/live to race! Can't help but adjust trim all the time to get the most out of the boat whether on the race course or just out sailing.

 

[JRacer]

I will take you up on that if you need crew!

Plan on it. Will put you on the list and be in touch with details in the Spring.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Plan on it. Will put you on the list and be in touch with details in the Spring.

Cool ! Thanks Schoen!

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Hope to make time for racing on Barnegat Bay next year. So far, I have not because it just doesn't appear to be an option down at our southern end of the bay. I think there are a few clubs up by Cedar Creek and further north that organize racing, so I hope to get involved next year. I think that it will be fun, even though our boat is now more set up for cruising and is carrying far more pounds than a stripped racing version would carry.

 

[Jackdaw]

We race a fair bit... it might seem like all the time for someone looking in, but in reality we are out cruising at least one time for every race day. Helps keep a healthy perspective. Biggest part of successful racing is maintaining a good crew. We work hard on that; fostering an 'A' team along with a solid group of fill-ins who also feel part of the team; a tight line to walk. Team functions, group fun and training sails, and maintaining an esprit de corps via things like a team shirts and web-site help. BlueJ not a pure race boat by any means; our hard-core racer buddies come on board and marvel at the all the stuff we cart around. Throw pillows anyone?? Mind you they do not complain while going into the fridge for a very cold beer. To me she is more like a Porsche Panamera racing against a 911 Club Sport. Fast, comfortable, but big and heavy vs a pure racing machine. But we do OK. Every now and again I think about a two-boat program with a dedicated race boat... but that thought passes.

BlueJ upwind in moderate airs. Everything eased slightly; crew weight balanced to induce correct heel.

 

[DArcy]

I used to race my boat but the cost and desire to get out of the cockpit (as well as not needing to manage crew) pushed me to race on other people's boats. To be competitive you really need to buy new sails regularly and I just didn't have the budget for it. I was also getting bored with driving the boat. I could have picked one of my crew to drive but I decided to transition my boat to cruising and find other boats to race.

 

[Allowishish]

I could see partaking in a long distance race.
the others do not interest me.

the funny thing is that everything else in life I have been very competively driven... sailing does not really hit that point with me. Don't get me wrong, I like to go fast and to sail the best that I can... I just do not have the need to do so against anybody else.

I am also just happy sliding along at 3kts.... but 6-7 is more fun.

 

[DayDreamer41]

Love racing even with the cruiser that doesn't like light air, doesn't point well and hasn't seen a win yet. This is really the first year that I raced with any regularity, why would I you ask, the excitement of the start line is worth the price of admission alone, but then rounding a crowded mark is equally exciting, discussing strategy, watching the clock, listening for the timing tones and then nothing like going around a mark rail to rail! My only regret is not being able to do it every race, my crew is comprised of my (2) sons who have their own schedules they drum by, so I am at their mercy, not that I mind though.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I have done both with great pleasure. Racing is fun on a body of water where you can't go very far, for sure. I mean if you are on a small or medium sized lake, you aren't exactly passage-making. But each time you go out to compete, it is a different experience and it is fun when you have a crew that works well together and anticipates without being talked through it, but that takes time and putting a winning team together has its rewards. I learned to race on a Flying Scot and my skipper (RIP) was a great teacher about sailing, sailing luminaries and most anything about sailing except how to make a boat go fast. It was a good intro, however, and eventually he was crewing for me with more success and it hurled me into sailing with both feet. I've raced more boats than I can remember, crewing on many, owning some of my own, and like I said, on inland lakes, much bigger lakes (point to point rather than around the buoys), like Lake of the Woods in Canada, Lake Superior and some offshore stuff as well as Key West Race Week. Probably the most fun boat I have sailed is a Star (and I owned 3). I know it's not for everybody and now I am too old to sail them. I won't list all the boats and bore you. As far as cruising, well, I think that is a real fun thing to do as well, especially if you are passage making rather than day sailing and spending the night somewhere. It's all good, however. Nothing better than matching your wits with the elements, sailing round the clock, and finding landfall when you predicted (and where you predicted). Usually when you get there, you stay and enjoy and on the way you can fish and eat like a king off the ocean, which also includes things like lobsters, crabs and conch fritters. The thing about racing is you really learn how to sail a boat more efficiently. I have been on many cruising boats where the owners didn't understand the basics because no one ever showed it to them, or they didn't bother to pick up a book. They were happy, I guess, doing what they were doing at whatever level they were one, but when you teach them some cool stuff, you can see their eyes light up and the intrigue kicking in. On the same token, there are things about cruising that many racing sailors don't know about either. So, there's something to be had for all. I like powerboats too, and do plenty of that, but, sailing is much deeper in my heart. Sail on y'all.