| Re: My first race
[Re: steveh]
#54893 08/10/05 03:36 PM 08/10/05 03:36 PM |
Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 149 Long Island, NY Catius
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Posts: 149 Long Island, NY | a) boat speed and tactics, b) not running into other boats or falling over, or c) making my crew happy she went out and want to do it again? Great question! I'd vote for b) followed by c). And you may add in front: d) Learning the basic racing rules even before you get on the water...(something of which I am myself guilty...I've spent hours reading the rules, but once a situation materializes on the water, it sometimes just doesn't click fast enough...fortunately my fellow club members have been fairly tolerant so far...). Lastly add e) for Enjoy the sailing!
Thomas
Mystere 6.0
| | | Re: My first race
[Re: WindyHillF20]
#54895 08/10/05 04:45 PM 08/10/05 04:45 PM |
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 4,451 West coast of Norway Rolf_Nilsen
Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 4,451 West coast of Norway | 1: Stay out of trouble! 2: Have fun 3: Dont worry to much about tactics and boatspeed in the beginning.
Concentrate on the boats around you, see what they do and what pays off, and stay out of trouble. Nothing is worse for a new crew than to be in the middle of a "situation". Nobody is a world champ in the first attempt, so go out there to have fun. Later on, if you get serious about racing and develop ambitions, it still pays off to keep focused on having fun while practicing and racing. The day it's no fun anymore, you will probably quit racing..
(To stay out of trouble, some basic knowledge about the racing rules are neccesary, like port/starboard, windward/leeward etc) | | | Re: My first race
[Re: Rolf_Nilsen]
#54896 08/10/05 05:25 PM 08/10/05 05:25 PM |
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 3,528 Looking for a Job, I got credi... scooby_simon Hull Flying, Snow Sliding.... |
Hull Flying, Snow Sliding....
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Posts: 3,528 Looking for a Job, I got credi... | 1: Stay out of trouble! 2: Have fun 3: Dont worry to much about tactics and boatspeed in the beginning.
Concentrate on the boats around you, see what they do and what pays off, and stay out of trouble. Nothing is worse for a new crew than to be in the middle of a "situation". Nobody is a world champ in the first attempt, so go out there to have fun. Later on, if you get serious about racing and develop ambitions, it still pays off to keep focused on having fun while practicing and racing. The day it's no fun anymore, you will probably quit racing..
(To stay out of trouble, some basic knowledge about the racing rules are neccesary, like port/starboard, windward/leeward etc) That about covers it. If worried that you will forget Port/stbd in the heat of the moment; a subtle green/red sticker on the appropiate side of the mast as a reminder !
F16 - GBR 553 - SOLD I also talk sport here | | | Re: My first race
[Re: scooby_simon]
#54897 08/10/05 06:43 PM 08/10/05 06:43 PM |
Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 473 Panama City, Florida Redtwin
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Posts: 473 Panama City, Florida | Steve, Email me and let me know the start times and stuff. I may be out on the bay Saturday and might want to check it out from a distance.
-Rob Rob V.
Nacra 5.2
Panama City | | | Re: My first race
[Re: steveh]
#54898 08/10/05 06:56 PM 08/10/05 06:56 PM |
Joined: Jul 2001 Posts: 290 Pensacola, Florida / Katy, Tex... Cookie Monster
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Posts: 290 Pensacola, Florida / Katy, Tex... | Good advice from everyone. A couple of things I might add. Don't set your goals too high for your first race. Don't sail too far away from the race course -- stay with the fleet as best you can. You'll learn a lot watching others. Also, try to stay in clean air. If you don't know what I mean, you'll find out at the start. And, like everyone else says, most importantly keep your crew happy and have FUN!
Don Cook
ARC22 #2226
ADRENALIN
| | | Re: My first race
[Re: steveh]
#54899 08/10/05 08:15 PM 08/10/05 08:15 PM |
Joined: Jul 2001 Posts: 353 Key Largo barbshort
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Posts: 353 Key Largo | When your wife is your crew she ALWAYS comes first! Make sure she is happy and comfortable if you want to sail together for the long term. I've been crewing with my husband for 10 years now and going strong. We race by a few rules we created for ourselves. I'm going to share 2 that might be appropriate as you begin racing together: 1 - What happens on the water stays on the water. That means no rehashing disagreements that may have ocurred once you hit the beach/keg/tiki bar. 2 - If we're not having fun it's time to go to the beach. It's just for fun, so if you're not having any it's time to call it day, there will always be more race days. If all's going well and happy then your #2 priority is to stay out of trouble and not tangle with other boats while you learn boathandling skills and the rules. But those are simple compared to keeping the crew happy! Have a great time and please post a recap of how it went! Enquiring minds will want to know! | | | Re: My first race
[Re: barbshort]
#54900 08/10/05 10:31 PM 08/10/05 10:31 PM |
Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 141 Panama City Beach, FL steveh OP
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Posts: 141 Panama City Beach, FL | Great points, y'all, thanks! Barb, points taken.
I've read Cat Sailing for the 90s all the way through, the boat handling chapter several times and the Nacra chapter a couple. I've got the port/starboard, windward/leeward, astern/ahead business and I've sailed monos before, so I hope I'm not too hazardous, but I think I'd feel more comfortable with a 9-mile run out to the barrier island than with a day around the buoys. Should get plenty of roll tacking practice in.
How are course charts read?
Rob, Carl Grey Park, north side of 98, east end of the bridge behind Gulf Coast Comm. College. Skipper's meeting is at 11. Sail on over! | | | Re: Course charts?
[Re: steveh]
#54901 08/10/05 10:38 PM 08/10/05 10:38 PM |
Joined: Jul 2001 Posts: 364 Andrew
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Posts: 364 | Like, course numbers and stickers? Get the newest stickers, out this year, or copy someone's onto your boom (or a piece of duct tape) with Sharpie pen. A is always the most windward mark; B is a reaching mark which may be at the windward or leeward end of the course, on the left as you face A mark from the start line, and C is always at the leeward end of course. Match the number displayed by the race comittee to the course sticker, and don't forget to count laps as you go around the course!
Andrew Tatton
Nacra 20 "Wiggle Stick" #266
Nacra 18 Square #12
| | | Re: My first race
[Re: steveh]
#54902 08/10/05 11:58 PM 08/10/05 11:58 PM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 12,310 South Carolina Jake
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Posts: 12,310 South Carolina | Yes, keep your crew happy by not running into other boats or falling over and having good boat speeds or tactics! Seriously...have fun. Expect to be in last so you don't put undue pressure on yourselves. Have a good time. Next time out, try to improve. It is a very enjoyable experience, but can be complicated if you jump in too deeply. You'll find that it doesn't matter where you place but how well you tell the story later that counts.
Jake Kohl | | | Re: My first race
[Re: Mary]
#54905 08/11/05 05:13 AM 08/11/05 05:13 AM |
Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 145 Cheshire, UK Simon
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Posts: 145 Cheshire, UK | I have two rules of sailing:
1. "Have Fun. Winning comes second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth." By which I mean, no fun = no point, but then winning takes a lot of effort, forethought, afterthought, teamwork, & practice.
2. "Don't make mistakes and don't sail any further than you have to." See above.
As everyone has said, fun has to come first for recreational sailors and especially spouses, children, teenagars, newbies and anyone else you'd like to come back.
Simon Shadow 067 | | | Re: My first race
[Re: steveh]
#54907 08/13/05 08:48 AM 08/13/05 08:48 AM |
Joined: Jul 2001 Posts: 552 brobru
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Posts: 552 | Hey Steve, One point not covered, If you get in the lead, the whole game changes. It could happen, I have seen it with new sailors. Have fun! regards, Bruce ( still off Lake Erie, ate pearch and walleye last nite too) St. Croix Virgin Islands ps; you 'may' run across a 'grouchy' cat sailor, just smile and wave at them..stay away from them on the course.. | | | Re: My first race
[Re: Mary]
#54909 08/13/05 07:24 PM 08/13/05 07:24 PM |
Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 473 Panama City, Florida Redtwin
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Posts: 473 Panama City, Florida | Steve, I'm assuming your race didn't start at the scheduled 11AM. I left East bay around 9:30 and ended up having to stick around for about a half hour to see where that thunderstorm was going. When we knew it wasn't going to hit us, we headed out towards your side of the bay. We made it under the Dupont bridge and then the wind started getting really light. By the time we got to the paper mill, we were doing our best impression of a channel marker. There was not a single breath of air. The daily seabreeze didn't kick in until just after 12:00. We made it just past the PC marina and then decided to turn back. It turned out to be a great day of sailing once the breeze filled in; I hope your race went well.
-Rob V. Panama City Nacra 5.2 Rob V.
Nacra 5.2
Panama City | | | Re: My first race
[Re: Redtwin]
#54910 08/15/05 01:53 AM 08/15/05 01:53 AM |
Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 141 Panama City Beach, FL steveh OP
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Posts: 141 Panama City Beach, FL | Well I'm hooked. So's my crew. I didn't yell at her and we had fun, which were two of three things I did right. As Rob reported, the breeze was very slow to build. We puttered around some on the water and didn't get started until after 2. And oh, what a start it was! 10-minute self-start, four boats, downwind start. Timer hits 0:30 and we're a good five boat lengths from the line, facing away from the line, in irons. I assume the other three boats got a good start, but I would have needed Madeye Moody's magic eye to see it. I couldn't even guess as to how far ahead the H20 was, but I ignored Don's advice and kept running off to the left when the others jibed right. Seemed like minimizing tacks and jibes was the better tactical choice, given our performance at the start, and we had good wind. Got to my wag of a layline and got to the leeward mark about three boat lengths behind the H20. That was thing right number three, everything after was not so good. Made the turn and they ran away double trapped with us sitting on our hull (in retrospect) pinching. Seems like pinching hurts a cat a lot worse than a mono. I did finally open it up about halfway up the leg, but by that time, the 20 had crossed the line. We did get things worked out a little for a while. Flew the hull some, made a couple good tacks and then almost ran over a guy with his kids in a 14ft daysailer. We were looking for the finish buoys on one hull. I was able to dump the main in time and drop below them, but that was scary. Finally made it across the line, very relieved, 15 minutes behind the 20, but ahead of the two H16s. Not sure how it's going to correct out.
We'll definitely be out again after we have to work out some coordination as to who's watching for traffic and who's looking for marks and I have to do something about those auto-recleating jib cleats. | | |
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