It's official now, I can't count if the race dependents on it.

Today I managed to do it both ways.

First race, second place after 2 laps, and I go for the finish when I still had to do my 3rd lap.

Second race, again 2nd or 3rd place (dependent on what the drag race to the finish would have produced) and I go for a 4th lap thinking that I was on my 3rd lap.

Third race, I learn the elemental basics of counting and manage to do 3 laps, no less no more, but I'm too tired to make a huge impact, I finish 4th.

Darn ! And I was doing so well in the first 2 races. I had very good tactical moves when approaching the gate and gains all the rights, and then I blow it by not counting !!!!

Wouter

<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />*pulling back on my Doctors gown*...
Dear Wouter,
I note the symptoms.
elementry skills going to preschool level.
extreme tiredness after mild exercise

I believe the correct diagnosis is . Old age with dimensia ..
sorry no cure as yet.. Just try and enjoy what little life you have left...

signed.
Stewart MBBS, FIBRO, FCP, FCS, MAPPS, MAAS,
<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Wouter:

Don't feel bad. I finished downwind flying spin in one raceon the Mystere 4.3 last weekend, when it was a AC with upwind finish!!! Keep thinking were is my horn, then I look back then my competitors I smoke tack to bat me. Damm did I feel stupid.

Doug

Yeah, but I did it twice in a row ! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I now feel double stupid ! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Wouter

Arthur then holds up the Holy Hand Grenade Of Antioch and cries out "ONE! TWO! FIVE!" Sir Galahad corrects him, shouting "Three, Sir, Three!"

I won't say that.
I've seen the pro's with strips of duct tape on the boom, to prevent that.
(remove tape after each lap)

Great tip!

Wouter don't feel so bad, I don't know how many times I've been "in the groove" and headed for the windward mark again only to have crew holler "Hey...where you going? We're finishing!" <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

This reminds me of the "glory days" with 30-50 boat fleets. From time to time crews a lap down would fall in behind the leaders to finish AND get scored in that position (too many boats for the RC to keep track of laps, and is that even their responsibilty?) Too many and too far up the course to get sail numbers to protest. I can't say if they did it on purpose or honestly didn't know the course called, I'd guess the latter.

I don't think I would do well if I were actually winning a race... I wouldn't have anyone to follow to tell me that it is time to finish
<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Actually, that is indeed a handicap. In the 1st race I lay 2nd and as such had only one boat in front of me. However when singlehanding you really have to work to get through the gate alright and plan ahead. So about 1 or 2 minutes before entering the gate I'm watching the boat around me or just behind me and try to position myself properly for the gate. In all the gate fuss I lost sight of the race leader and since I was sure that we were going to finish I just concentrated on making the gate to finish under spinnaker, meaning staying high. And we all knot that staying high solo with the spi up can be a handful. The fact that the finish was between a very small bouy and the beach doesn't help either. One major gust and I would have gone onto the beach with boards down and the spi up. Only after I "finished" and pulled my spi down I noticed that was the only one there and understood my mistake. Basically for the last 2 to 3 minutes I had my hands full in managing the boat and gettting through the gate alright.

That is just the way it is when singlehanding.

I'm indeed now thinking up some "counter" to put on my boom to help me out because I really don't want this to happen again.

I'm thinking about a string with large beads tensioned underneath my boom and a bungee with a pull line looped around the boom. Each time a lap is completed I can jank on the pull line and progress the bungee loop one bead. Number of bead in front of the bungee is the number of laps sailed.

Something like that. The duck tap strips will work as well but yesterday we did 3 races in a row and I would like to have a system that I can reset for each new race (heat) and not pollute the environment to much.

Wouter

Bet you won't believe this but I was going to do this for the Nations Cup. Then decided I should be able to count to 4.

Opps......

Only problem I see is if the get blown off while sailing !

I usually had this problem on the last race of the day, after doing say 6 to 9 laps already,
and then they all seen to run together with some fatigue.
I would relocate the tape on boom after each lap, but if the boom was covered with salt spray it would not re-stick.
(& end of discussion with crew)

haha, I've done that once too, tried crossing the finish and there was no gun, zig-zagged back and forth across it thinking I'd stuffed the finish somehow, then watched second place round the mark and head off for the NEXT leg! That taught me for not reading the sailing instructions...

At the club where I race regularly, I'm the scratch boat and usually first boat to finish. This means I have no one to follow and must keep track of the laps, mostly four on the shortish River course. I've finished early a few times and done the odd extra lap also. In one race, because I continued on the whole fleet did an extra lap following me. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I've tried the tape on the main beam and various systems but I get to half way through a lap and can't remember if I moved the tape???????? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Perhaps you should device a way to connect the "lap counter" to the spi retrieval line <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Well the results are in and they are not too shabby if you take into account my mistakes.

First race (where I finished twice, it was a "wide" beam reach finish from the gate.)

Despite the fact that I did do a finish after the second lap, and had to sail back to the gate, I finally ended up as 5th overall, still beating 2 F18's out of 5 F18's on ELAPSED TIME ! The 3rd and 4th place F18's were only 71 sec and 53 sec ahead of me on elapsed time. So how much time do you loose on broad reaching to the finish line (under spi), dropping the spi looking around realizing you made a big mistake, tack and sail backup to the gate and do the extra lap ?

Only the 1st place F18 had been well out of reach for me ; they finished 4 min 51 sec ahead of me. The 2nd place Blade F16 (solo) eventually finished 1 min 54 sec ahead of me but I had been leading him all the way till I made the wrong turn at the second gate passing. This would have been really close as he has better upwind speed then I have.


Second race (where I did 4 laps instead of 3 laps)

I lapped the nacra 580 and nacra 570 that were on the race course. I only sensed that something was wrong when I was well underway to the A-mark so I decided to complete the lap anyway, hoping somebody else had miscounted and the biggest portion of the fleet had just followed him to a DSQ. This wasn't to be however. Still if I multiply my elapsed time by 3/4rd, to get my time for 3 laps instead of 4, I end up at exactly the same time as the 2nd place holder, who happens to be the leading F18 that won the first race so convincly. The first place Blade F16 (solo) was leading the second place finishers by 2 min 21 sec.


Third race (where I finally did the right number of laps)

I ended up 3rd both on elapsed and handicapped, the leading F18 (2nd place) was ahead of me by 1 min 39 sec. The winner of race 3 is again our F16 class chairman with a 1 min 3 sec lead to the 2nd place holder. He is doing very well on his F16.

Also note that the leading F18 (new 2007 hobie Tiger) in our club races had recently scored a 15th place overall in a 45 boat F18 racing fleet at the 4 day North sea regatta event. I feel these sailors may be considered to be a good crew and therefor a nice bench mark. They are even a stable benchmark as they tend to be very consistant in their race results.


So afterall, I'm not at all unhappy with my racing, that is apart from my 2 blunders. If I can get this sorted then ...

Wouter

oooohhh thats a bugger when it happens, try to convince the race committee to set a course where you go through the start finish line every lap! then you dont have to count <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Wouter: If this makes you feel any better, it can happen to the best of us (And I mean the best!).
Russell Coutts misses a mark...