Well, as close to offshore racing as going from one side of Lake Ontario to the other can be considered off shore!
Every year one of the local yacht clubs hosts a 80 mile race to an island light house in Canada directly across Lake Ontario from us. Usually 30 or so boats participate and I enrolled this year.
All of my sailing to date has been to go out and go in the easiest direction with the flow of the wind. After a few hours we turn around and go home, Its always enjoyable, but other than accounting for minor shifts in the wind, there is no real effort on my part to do anything other than 'point to home'
So I joined the race with 2 other crew mates with no racing experience or tactical navigation experiernce either. I should note that I am an instrument rated pilot, so I understand wind, drift, bearings, etc...
All night long we discussed our strategy which was to point north towards the island and make the best effort we could. As a note, the wind was VERY light and from the south, so our progress was about 1-2 miles per hour unless we went wing on wing. I felt that if we headed west with the wind off our port quarter we may have reached 4-6 miles an hour. But doing this would take us FARTHER away from our destination.
Is this how it should be done? Heading west for 10 or so miles at 5mph then tacking about to an easterly course back towards the island? It seemed to me that my forward progress northward would only be about 10 miles, but it would have taken me 20 miles of sailing to get there.
Am I missing something? Most of the genoa only boats did not finish the race due to the extremely light winds throughout, but a few diehards did. I wish I was one of them. I intend on acting pathetic and getting an experienced sailer to come with me one day and show me some tips, but I thought I'd ask here.
I know the weather is much nicer throughout the US now so most of us are out sailing and not surfing the webs. So, come this fall if you see this post, drop me a hint or too.
Because, I'm doing it again next year and me and my fat slob Catalina intend on whooping some C&C 29 but!!!
Thanks
Chris
Every year one of the local yacht clubs hosts a 80 mile race to an island light house in Canada directly across Lake Ontario from us. Usually 30 or so boats participate and I enrolled this year.
All of my sailing to date has been to go out and go in the easiest direction with the flow of the wind. After a few hours we turn around and go home, Its always enjoyable, but other than accounting for minor shifts in the wind, there is no real effort on my part to do anything other than 'point to home'
So I joined the race with 2 other crew mates with no racing experience or tactical navigation experiernce either. I should note that I am an instrument rated pilot, so I understand wind, drift, bearings, etc...
All night long we discussed our strategy which was to point north towards the island and make the best effort we could. As a note, the wind was VERY light and from the south, so our progress was about 1-2 miles per hour unless we went wing on wing. I felt that if we headed west with the wind off our port quarter we may have reached 4-6 miles an hour. But doing this would take us FARTHER away from our destination.
Is this how it should be done? Heading west for 10 or so miles at 5mph then tacking about to an easterly course back towards the island? It seemed to me that my forward progress northward would only be about 10 miles, but it would have taken me 20 miles of sailing to get there.
Am I missing something? Most of the genoa only boats did not finish the race due to the extremely light winds throughout, but a few diehards did. I wish I was one of them. I intend on acting pathetic and getting an experienced sailer to come with me one day and show me some tips, but I thought I'd ask here.
I know the weather is much nicer throughout the US now so most of us are out sailing and not surfing the webs. So, come this fall if you see this post, drop me a hint or too.
Because, I'm doing it again next year and me and my fat slob Catalina intend on whooping some C&C 29 but!!!
Thanks
Chris
