Racing on Galveston Bay

Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
We were on the bay last Sunday, Mother’s Day, and we weren’t alone. Boats of all kinds and sizes on the water and people everywhere on shore.
Right or wrong and all the other issues with what activities should or should not be done in our current situation are on another thread for discussion.
Here’s the link to the video if you want to watch:

 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Love watching your vids!

Here's a tip.. At 2:50 into the vid for example, have your traveler no higher than needed to place the boon correctly with the right amount of twist. When eased that far with the vang on, all that extra sheet out allows the boom/sail to 'bounce', which is wasted energy!
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Love watching your vids!

Here's a tip.. At 2:50 into the vid for example, have your traveler no higher than needed to place the boon correctly with the right amount of twist. When eased that far with the vang on, all that extra sheet out allows the boom/sail to 'bounce', which is wasted energy!
Yes, see your point. We took the sheet in on the next tack, the traveler was hitting the stops.
Twist is the one thing I can’t ever seem to get right. But, this boat will let you know when it is right with the oversized main. I keep thinking lots of twist in light air, more than you think you need, moving to almost no twist in medium winds and back to lots in heavy till you reef. It’s a comparatively low aspect mainsail with a 16’ foot, so twist matters a lot. Crew tells me I’m too tight on the outhaul, but I try to keep shallow draft in the long foot to keep flow attached. I don’t know where I got that idea from, but it stuck. So, maybe not such a good idea?
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Yes, see your point. We took the sheet in on the next tack, the traveler was hitting the stops.
Twist is the one thing I can’t ever seem to get right. But, this boat will let you know when it is right with the oversized main. I keep thinking lots of twist in light air, more than you think you need, moving to almost no twist in medium winds and back to lots in heavy till you reef. It’s a comparatively low aspect mainsail with a 16’ foot, so twist matters a lot. Crew tells me I’m too tight on the outhaul, but I try to keep shallow draft in the long foot to keep flow attached. I don’t know where I got that idea from, but it stuck. So, maybe not such a good idea?
Well light airs is where the action is at. In breeze, you set to keep the boat fast and flat. It will tell you when you're wrong!

In light air, and with a big main, you are correct the key is to keep attached flow. The first thing I would do make sure you have several sets of tell-tails across the body on both sides of the sail, and good tell-tails on the leech. Too much draft (a good mid-air setting) will stall flow in light airs. Remember that the outhaul only effects the lower 1/3 of the sail. The middle is controlled by mast bend (backstay). The top you twist.
 
Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Another race last Sunday with a little different twist to this video. Besides the cameras on my boat, I had a camera on a Hunter 40 and got clips from cameras on a J/105 and Catalina 355. So views from four boats of the race in the video.
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
We suck in winds over 20 knots. Same problems, headstay sag and leeway heeled over. Should have reefed, but forecast called for decreasing winds and it never happened. Lots of fun, though.
 
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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
We suck in winds over 20 knots. Same problems, headstay sag and leeway heeled over. Should have reefed, but forecast called for decreasing winds and it never happened. Lots of fun, though.
Oh Bill - you're going to break your rudder driving like that with all the adverse helm! Really. Get the boat flat, none of your foils are working. That's Job-#1. Jib cars back (they are all the way forward in the vids) will help twist off the top of the jib and flatten the boat.

I have advice for the main, but sadly you're boat isn't set up to do it. If you don't reef, you need to blade off the main (widen the AOA), and sail just the back half (leech side) of the sail. The front near the luff will bubble, but keeping the back half flying helps drive and ballance the boat. But this requires a strong vang (probably OK there), but more importantly a mainsheet you can play like a fiddle; trimmer watching the sail 100% of the time and adjusting to keep flow.
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Oh Bill - you're going to break your rudder driving like that with all the adverse helm! Really. Get the boat flat, none of your foils are working. That's Job-#1. Jib cars back (they are all the way forward in the vids) will help twist off the top of the jib and flatten the boat.

I have advice for the main, but sadly you're boat isn't set up to do it. If you don't reef, you need to blade off the main (widen the AOA), and sail just the back half (leech side) of the sail. The front near the luff will bubble, but keeping the back half flying helps drive and ballance the boat. But this requires a strong vang (probably OK there), but more importantly a mainsheet you can play like a fiddle; trimmer watching the sail 100% of the time and adjusting to keep flow.
Love your advice Jackdaw, thanks and I try to follow it. I just don't follow my own advice and reef when its over 15 true. I'm beginning to think the best advice for a Hunter w/o a backstay on a 20 knot race day is to stay at the dock. Every time I had the wheel hard over fighting weather helm I was picturing the rudder under water turned 45 degrees wondering how we were still doing 7 knots straight ahead and not diving like a submarine or spinning out. You can't see it in the video, but the front third of the main was luffing a lot of the close hauled first leg and close reach last leg. We did have max halyard and Cunningham tension on the main to move the draft back. And yes, it is hard to play the mainsheet on a winch.
First Rum Race of 2020 next Saturday, new course, should be a good turnout. Well under 10 knots forecast, so winds may favor us. One crew is supposed to bring a family friend that is a former one design national champ or something like that, so I hope to get some good sail trim tips.
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Rum Race today and Peanut Regatta on Sunday. Hope to make both, we'll see. Start time about 5:00 PM today, 10 knots SE, hope to see 80+ boats on the Bay. Photo of the course, green arrow forecasted wind.

RR2020.JPG


In the meantime:
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
I did make both races last weekend. A photo from the Rum Race on another thread has started a bimini controversy. Are you really racing if your bimini is up?
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Missed the Peanut Regatta today, so I got knocked out of first place in that series. Did the GBCA Rum Race #2 on Saturday and did not finish before TLE, wind died several times.
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
We were able to make another race.
Lots of Coast Guard action on the bay and in the sky. Sadly, a USMC vet and father had fallen out of an 18’ power boat in the ship channel earlier in the day. They recovered his body on Sunday.
 
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FDL S2

.
Jun 29, 2014
469
S2 7.3 Fond du Lac
We were able to make another race.
Lots of Coast Guard action on the bay and in the sky. Sadly, a USMC vet and father had fallen out of an 18’ power boat in the ship channel earlier in the day. They recovered his body on Sunday.

Tragic news about the vet and father that passed away.

A couple observations:

Great video as always!
What kind of camera is on Hobgoblin? The picture seemed so crisp and clear-especially when they were gibing their spinnaker. Also, did you do the zoom from Hobgoblin to Sunspot Baby when you edited?

It seemed like you were pretty gassed after the fight getting your spin down!
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
It seemed like you were pretty gassed after the fight getting your spin down!
Yeah, I was really winded. A four second clip in the video was actually ten minutes on the bow trying to get it down and not fall off with the boat, while not going toward the finish. It was stuck about 6 feet out of the mast, finally came down after taking it back up just a little with the winch. Same thing happened in the race the next day on Sunday. It's a temporary halyard I was using until the new one came in today from Mauripro. Old one rubbed through the outer braid on a spreader when it was left a little loose, I store it on the strut a little off the side of the mast because the whisker pole is on the front of the mast, have to find a different spot.
I've been stopping by and mounting a camera on Hobgoblin's bimini bow the last few races. They race in the Rum Races, but crew with me in the Peanut Regattas. It is a ten year old Drift Ghost-S, I didn't think was good enough to use on my boat anymore and not worried if it gets lost or broken. But, I'm getting great clips from it. I really like the boom cam I added this year. And yes, all the zooming is done in editing. I use PowerDirector software. Check out Peanut Regatta #11 up the thread, used video from four different boats.
The vet and two of his kids fell off their 18' power boat in the ship channel. The kids had life jackets on and were pulled right back in. He was not wearing a life jacket.
 
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FDL S2

.
Jun 29, 2014
469
S2 7.3 Fond du Lac
Yeah, I was really winded. A four second clip in the video was actually ten minutes on the bow trying to get it down and not fall off with the boat, while not going toward the finish. It was stuck about 6 feet out of the mast, finally came down after taking it back up just a little with the winch. Same thing happened in the race the next day on Sunday. It's a temporary halyard I was using until the new one came in today from Mauripro. Old one rubbed through the outer braid on a spreader when it was left a little loose, I store it on the strut a little off the side of the mast because the whisker pole is on the front of the mast, have to find a different spot.
I've been stopping by and mounting a camera on Hobgoblin's bimini bow the last few races. They race in the Rum Races, but crew with me in the Peanut Regattas. It is a ten year old Drift Ghost-S, I didn't think was good enough to use on my boat anymore and not worried if it gets lost or broken. But, I'm getting great clips from it. I really like the boom cam I added this year. And yes, all the zooming is done in editing. I use PowerDirector software. Check out Peanut Regatta #11 up the thread, used video from four different boats.
The vet and two of his kids fell off their 18' power boat in the ship channel. The kids had life jackets on and were pulled right back in. He was not wearing a life jacket.
From experience I knew that fight with the spin was a lot longer than the clip in the video-but you won in the end!

I watch all the videos you post and I agree the one from #11 is great because you get the perspective from different boats.

You do a really good job editing your videos, I have recommended them to both sailors and people curious about sailing. In those interested or curious I think they help garner interest in why sailing is the best way to boat-so thank you!

I am looking to add a boom cam sometime this season and will probably be playing around with editing software so I will definitely look at PowerDirector.
 
Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
I watch all the videos you post and I agree the one from #11 is great because you get the perspective from different boats.

You do a really good job editing your videos, I have recommended them to both sailors and people curious about sailing. In those interested or curious I think they help garner interest in why sailing is the best way to boat-so thank you!
Thanks, hope to be able to race in and film another Peanut Regatta tomorrow. A YouTube channel called Sailbros used some of my clips and put my link in their latest video. They can get over 100k views on their videos.
 
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