Racing advice

What advice would you give someone trying to make the transition from B fleet to A fleet regarding tactics.?
Some I aready know are:
1. Stay inside the laylines. (err towards the middle)
2. tack on headders, (lifts downwind)
3. ______________________________ .
and of course the rule, Be first at the marks and you dont have to worry about tactics.

Make less mistakes than every one else.

This is a strong mantra to use to start with. Get your boat speed up with the front runners first. One duff tack will loose you 50-100m on the course. Next time out count the number of duff tacks you make, add in the number of duff gybes and multipy by 50m. How far infront of you is the leader ? I'd wager it is less than duff tacks + duff Gybes (and Spi drops/hoists if applicable) X 50m.

Also, get to the championship venue early so you can get some "local" knowledge.

Best advice I got (for more technical boats)

Get a little booklet and write down a one page (short and pointy) report one each race day. About what your tune and trim settings were. What worked and what didn't work. What felt good and what felt bad.

You can really get your boat dialed in that way. And when ever conditions repeat themselfs you can look up what worked and what didn't on the other (similar) day.

I especially found this approach helpful on my more technical Formula 16 boat I guess things are exactly the same on boats like F18's, A-cats and I-20's



Other advice that worked for me :

Always look for and sail to clean air. Don't be afraid to tack away or tack late if the layline is crowded. Having clean air and a clear route to the A-mark is more important. Especially in light winds where dirty air can really kill boat speed.

In shifty and variable winds look where (most of) the leaders go and go to the same side of the course while keeping clean air.

Some advice I got once and am still trying to work on - understand the rules so that you can always be looking for developing situations throughout the race and avoid them. Also understand that forcing situations as the right of way boat isn't always the fastest way around the course in fleet racing.

Good thread topic. This should be interesting.

Very good point that I had forgotten about. I do this as a matter of course when I'm setting up a new boat and until I know what settings I need I take my "little black book" with me everywhere. I had forgotten about this as every time I get back from sailing I download the GPS plots for the day and make my notes on my PC. It's part of my "putting my sailing kit away" routine and I had forgotten I even do it.

Another one is talk to your crew (or your self if sailing single handed) as with a crew around they know what you are planning (and can change your mind if it is dumb) and I find that if I talk a plan out to my self, I usually spot any holes in it before I am in them - You can get some funny looks if people are close to you mind

Now THAT is sage advise - I've ended up in several situations where I was left with no option but to foul someone because I didn't identify the situation soon enough to avoid. Fortunately none of them were too severe!

The old addage goes, "The desire to win often results in sailing poorly. The desire to sail well often results in winning". Focus on sailing your boat as well as you can and your finishes will take care of themselves. Treat your competators as reference points against which you measure your own progress. Enjoy the journey.

Sail clean. This is similar to knowing the rules, but... if you don't know them well enough... don't push your luck. Stay out of trouble and keep moving.

Understand the difference between Strategy and Tactics.

Strategy is a game plan for the race. Always develop a game plan before the start - and get your crew's input on it. Or at least tell them what it is . You decide where you want to start on the line and which side of the course you want to be on that first weather leg. Your initial strategy should answer the question, "If there were no other boats, what would be the fastest way to get around the course?"

Tactics are situational. They are what you do in the presence of other boats. You can get a head start from books, but there's nothing like experience as a teacher. Knowing when and where to tack or jibe, knowing exactly the capabilities of the boat and your ability to control it - this really only comes with experience.

I think Matt M. said it best, though. Sail Clean. Clean air, clean water, no mix-em-ups with other boats. Boats that sail close together, go slow together.

1. Get Frank Bethwaite's "High Performance Sailing" and really read the sections on the timing of tacking on the headers, and when to change twist settings for the transition from light air to the breeze state.
2. Get somebody willing to two boat train with you, it's the best way to improve raw boat speed
3. As a general rule, if there's on offset to the windward mark, sail the long tack first.
4. Remember it's supposed to be fun!

GET A GOOD START!

Your start can make or break your race.
1. Get to the start area in plenty of time (aim for around 20mins before start time)
2. Assuming you have time, sail a portion of the first leg, look for consistency or a pattern in what the wind is doing.
3. Check the line for bias
4. Assess all the information gathered at 1,2 and 3 and develop a start strategy (where on the line, when and which tack, also which side of the beat to go).
5. Have a plan B

PS Have a reliable, clearly read starting watch!

Hello All,

I like the tip from Ric and Mary's book,

'Break the race up into a bunch of smaller, obtainable, pieces.'

For example, I break my race up into these parts,

#1 Prestart - start

#2 Start to 1st tack

#3 1st tack to 1st crossing ( if any)

#4 1st mark rounding.

This way, you have identifiable and obtainable goals....and rewards.

If I win the start, I give myself a 'pat on the back',.....if I win the 1st crossing,...or 1st mark rounding,....on and on.

Also,, it gives a racer a measure to improve on certian aspects....for example, you may set a pre regatta goal,' by the end of the series, I will win every start.'......and you focus on that ( amoung other things)

Pretty soon, you are piecing the whole race together as a collection of identifiable 'parts',.....alas, all the parts make the whole!

Yes, as Scooby says, talking out loud helps,..we solo sailors have alot of open ended conversations on the water,..so do not be alarmed,....it is what we do to get our 'heads together'.......most of the time, once I am dailed in, I start singing out loud,...it seems to help me and I do not really know why..


regards,
Bruce
St. Croix
I-17 normal

Hey Bruce, I'm looking for some new song material - what do you sing? Chris has dis-allowed me to sing "Brass Monkey" anymore, the theme song to the Beverly Hillbilies just isn't cutting it anymore, and you can only go OOOO EEE OOO to that Vonage TV commercial theme song so much.

From a crewing standpoint -- tell your crew in advance what you are planning to do. We don't like surprises.

And it makes us nervous when our skipper starts singing.

Jake, you could whoop out some of that MC Hammer you've been holdin back on us...you know all the lyrics don't you (don't lie!)
Trey
N20 314
Layline Rigging
www.velocitysailing.co

Jake and Trey, why are you guys hijacking a very good and interesting and informative thread? I have been amazed about all the great information people have been providing. Maybe you could sing on another thread?

Not to try to hijack this thread, but someone mentioned getting to the start area early and checking the line out. What I've found is that the line is never set until just before the first fleet goes into their start sequence. I don't feel I should be messing around, checking how square the line is in another fleet's sequence and I'm a little rushed to do so within a 5 minute when it comes to my fleet's turn; especially in light winds (get over to the line from where you were parked to keep out of the prior fleet's way, check the line, sail back over to where you want to position yourself for the start sequence). Anyone else experience this problem?

David
H20 781

YES!!

OK, Ok, Ok

...I started this singing stuff, ..so I guess I will end it here..

..Songs? I stick to the upbeat, happy simple stuff...

Now, if your skipper starts singing very dark, damning songs about a ex -wife/girlfriend whatever, while bearing down on a 10 boat pile up at a mark,....yep, I would worry a little too and accidentally blow the jib sheet or something.... ok, I am finished on the song thing.

Another point, I find I sail the worse amoung other boats. One way or another , I watch them,...slowing me down.

When I am away from the other boats, I focus on wind, waves and overall course performance. It could just be me (..and my singing )


regards,

Bruce
St. Croix
I 17 normal

But by being there early, you will probably know the OOD is going to change the line before he does ! And you :

A, will be expecting it,
B, Know roughly where (s)he (should) put the line, and
C, know when the wind will shift back again (or not).

Also, some more comments on roles and singing :

All my crews get worried when I stop talking - This means it's so windy I am having to concentrate on actually sailing the boat instead of doing it on "Auto pilot" and getting my head out of the boat.

Another good tip if you are sailing 2 up is split responsibilities up in a logical way. For example on my Hurricane 5.9 upwind :

Helm (me) would be responsible for boat speed as the primary controls are Mainsheet, rudder and Downhaul (until Maxxed), so I keep my eyes on waves, and boat trim and crew plays the downhaul (when not maxxed), calls gusts and holes in the wind and decides tactics and the route (and makes provides general feedback to me on general conditions and shift patterns and progress). I would also call for movement fore/aft to balance the boat

Downwind the roles are somewhat reversed :

Without the kite, the crew is down to leaward and cannot see much(if there is some wind anyway), so I look for shifts and gusts, crew can call some changes in wind by the changes in sheet loads.

With the Kite, Crew is (Hopefully out on the wire) but still should be very busy trimming the kite (but some of this can be done by feel) and so will play a larger role in wave and wind watching. Helm will (probably) be responsible to judging gybe angles and if you are crossing (or not) other boats as there is more visability under the boom - however when very windy, the crew will be right back and should be able to see behind the mainsail.

This is what has worked for me in the past, you really need to split roles that work for you (and your crew). Within the Hurricane 5.9 fleet at one point, a Brother and sister pair even switched roles (crew and helm) depending on the wind strenth: he was a good helm in a blow, whe was better in the light stuff - I personnaly did not have a problem with them doing this, but some people did. Many years ago when sailing my Dart 18, the standard practice at the front of the fleet was for the crew to helm from the wire on tight reaches so the helm could play the mainsail with both hands. (Dart 18 is single wire)

Here's a true story and case study of getting to the start early.

Last regatta I was at 1 month ago conditions were very unsettled as a storm front was coming in. The course was being set up 90 degrees different from the day before, so I was out early checking it out and finding the marks. The multihulls were scheduled to be the first group. The line was being fiddled with trying to get the position just right, and I could tell the committee was having trouble getting things just right due to the large wind shifts.

Time for the first shape came, so the committee finalized the start and initiated our sequence. No sooner did they do so than a 30 degree wind shift occurred. This shift brought the pin end of the line closer to the first mark and made the port tack clearly favored.

I decided to go with a pin-end port start and made is almost directly to the mark on one tack and well ahead. Being at the start early and appreciating the unsettled conditions put me in a position to exploit this opportunity.
I was first at the mark because I sailed the shortest distance to it.

Summary: Sail the shortest distance possible around the course!

[Of course the committee sqared the course up for the subsequent races.]

...don't do much singing, but do talk to myself an aweful lot...

Read Rick and Mary's book.
Also, get a copy of Gary Jobson's book, "Championship Sailing".
Bethwaite's lengthy thesus probably will not be matched in our lifetime; excellent applied research.

If you want to get better you need to race against the best competition as often as possible.
Don't wait until you're "good enough" for A fleet. Start racing in A fleet and you will get better, provided you're putting in the effort to learn.

ok this singing thing- what you are doing is occuping your anxious mind.This nervous,critical and very active thing
sees the guy behind catching up or going faster or higher and makes you tighten your grip on the tiller grit your teeth and look for faults or things to blame. It actually interferes with you sailing the boat!Keep it occupied (in this case by singing!)
Your subconcious mind which helps you do everyday things like walking,eating,driving etc just fine without overanylising them is then free to sail as if on autopilot.
You find alterations to sails and trim are much more fluid and automatic.
You cant force this feeling but can learn to allow it to happen.
Make sense ?
Good book on this is 'The Winning Mind'.

gary

This is very good advice - getting the straight line speed, tacks gybes and roundings sorted first gives a firm foundation on which to build tactics on (starts, favored side of course, inside lines, covering etc). I had to opportunity of practicing all winter long with two other like boats skippered and crewed by great sailors. This really accelerated our learning curve on a new boat. Now I can start to think about the tactical stuff and actually execute it. Previously I'd have tactical plans...but not enough speed or technique to use them (blown tacks etc).

This past weekend I crewed on a Hobie 20 in a one design class. At times we had the same or better boat speed than the guy who won, but he had better tactics and made less mistakes...so he got 5 bullets. On the other hand our boat speed rescued us from some of our mistakes so we ended up with second place.

Chris.

One of the first things I read about sailboat racing back in the early 80's was "Your finishing position will be the same as your starting position, give or take 10 percent."

To move from B Fleet to A Fleet, work on your starts. The best reference on how to get good starts comes from Rick White's book/video. The best way to learn how to get good starts is to go to one of Rick White's Sailing Seminars. I have been to two, and they are worth every penny (including driving my motorhome from Michigan to Key Largo pulling my boat)!

Thanks for all of the ideas. (I have found that the books are somewhat out of date none talk about sailing with a spin) Some things I have learned in the last several races and in keeping with the idea that if you are first at the marks you do not have to worry about tactics.

It was said by someone that "not much changes from up wind to down wind" I have found this to be true,
the boards stay down, the main is centered and fairly tight, and fly the spin hot with one hull just up.
depowering controls are to travel out, sheet out for twist, and downhaul. any comments on how to speed up?

in a blow the boards come up (been told- never tried).

anyone got any go faster ideas for spin boats down wind in med air? or blowing dem dawgs off day chains.

Actually, you do need to make some changes when going from upwind to the downwind.

1. Adjust mast rotation. ( for fulller main; how much depends on wind speed/boat speed)

2. Ease main traveler off center a bit (how much depends on conditions and boat)

3. Ease main sheet for some twist.

4. furl jib? ( I have a uni so I wouldn't know about that for sure)

5. Ease downhaul in light wind



Tom Turlington
F17 #12

On the F18, we change quite a lot from upwind to downwind depending on how intensely we are racing. Downwind we do the following:

mast rotation to 90
mainsail outhaul gets loosened a bit
Boards come up about 12" (since we don't need windward lift anymore but we still want the boat to track straight)
jib gets eased
downhaul gets eased if we're not overpowered

I'm still working with the mainsail traveler position I see most leaving them centered but I really don't think I get good flow with it centered.

All of these get reversed for going back upwind.

As far as furling the jib, generally we do not furl it but do ease it and trim it to fly tales. If it is extremely light, we'll sometimes furl the jib if it's just hanging there.

Dad always says "Three things that make you a better racer: Practice; Practice; and more Practice!"

What's more, doing the above with same crew that you race with really makes a huge difference. The last few years I find I'm always sailing/racing with different crews. The leaders always seem to have the same crew for years & years.

Staying with this upwind/downwind part of racing, I believe the transition from upwind to downwind (and vice versa) is very important and does take some practice. (especially on a unirig) Rounding " A " mark, you are usually picking up speed as you go through the reach part of the turn. At the same time, you have to come in off the trapeze and get the spinnaker up (plus make all the other transition adjustments). I usually will do bare away sets because of this and because I do not want to lose boat speed gybe setting. I gybe after the bare away set if that is where I want to go. (and if traffic will allow it!)

" C " mark can be worse depending on traffic. Sometimes when coming in at 15 plus miles per hour it is best/safer to just drop the spinnaker early, but since we are racing, many will keep it up and over shoot or scare the bejesus out of another boat caught in a traffic jam at the mark.

Maybe someone could prioritize the following.

1. Get a good start

2. Favored side of the course ( wind/current)

3. Boat speed ( which includes a ton of stuff: spreader rake/diamond tension, body placement, sheet tension, mast rake, mast rotation, downhaul, traveler positioning, etc.)

4. Transitioning from upwind to downwind and vice versa.

5. Executing good tacks and gybes.

6. Game plan when trying to overtake the leader or the guy just in front of you.

7. Knowing the rules (especially when boats meet)


Tom Turlington
F17 #124

I am by no means a master at winning, but my priorities would fall (generally) like this:

1) Get a good start on the favored side of the line
2) Good tacks and jybes
3) Good mark roundings (spin sets and douses, especially)
4) Favored side of course
5) Good boat speed (sail trim, settings, etc.)

If you're on at the start, you may not have to worry about overtaking people! If you're on the favored side with good boat speed, it is likely that those there with you will be going as fast as you and not really a candidate for overtaking.

In my case, transitions (tacks, gybes, and mark roundings) are where I see our troubles. Boat speed can rarely cure an overshoot while dousing the spin or a blown tack.

As to a priority, this post is respective to a I-17 normal in a open class situation.

1. Clean air start

2. Clean air up-the-course


I had many instances, where I started with-the-crowd, and the Uni did not have clean air. She could not beat a H16 as for speed or point!

I learned that CLEAN AIR for the I 17 is #1.
I have even given the 'first line' 5-6 boatlenghts at the start, just to get them out of the way, then I just get my boat dialed in, the I-17 beats then at the 1st crossing, they pull their hair, I just keep singing.

Also, I find that upwind, to stay away from the other boats, for the reason of clean air, is a powerful key to success. Even to the point of choosing this aspect over favored tack.

It is definately the 'anti-crowd' aspect. It works.

regards,

Bruce
St. Croix

Thanks Bruce--I've struggled uni-rigged, so I'll give the antisocial approach a try.

Break it down into catagories:

Boat speed: Am I consistantly keeping up with other boats in like conditions? Is the problem point or speed? How do
I correct for either problem?

Boat handling: Am I getting around marks as quick as anybody? Tacking and gybing with others without losing distance? Am I hitting the line at speed, on time, and with space to accelerate?

"Strategery": Do I know what the wind is doing? Is it occilating, is there a persistant shift, or unpredictable ? Do I know what side of the course to go to and am I planning my start accordingly?


Tactics: Do I know the rules? What will I do if I don't get
clean air after my start? Always have a plan B ready to go
at all roundings and starts. Am I aware of what is happening
as the race unfolds?

Equipment: Are my sails OK? Is my boat set up like the A fleeters?

Eric and other Uni's

What I do now, again, this is for a Uni in a open class, is automatically start at the opposite end on the line where the rest of the class is ( most of the time, I will be at the pin end, port start)

and, it is very nice, for you have unobstucted view of the pin, the line and the RC boat ( flags and such)

....bang,...you are off!

...at worst( 50% 0f the time), I have to duck 1 lead boat ( in my case, an I-20),for we will be equal at crossing, but I am on port....and off I go, full throttle, no problem

...the other 50% of the time, the Uni is 1st at crossing, ditto to above...

Maximize what the Uni does best, outpointing every jib cat by 10 - 15 degrees.......

.....oh yes,...when you are smokin' everyone, you will get a tremendous urge to sing....I believe you will have a silly grin on also...

regards,

Bruce
St. Croix

Bruice, I do this, but will calculate things a little more.

Am I the fastest boat (or nearly)? Yes, I can start where I like as I should be able to just sail away from people
Am I the highest pointing boat ? Yes, Start at the Stb end (if favoured) and fight like hell for the best place - I will be able to climb away from any faster boats and so wont get any dirty air
Am I mid fleet or lower in speed - go for clean air and forget the line bias - if you are not able to sail away from people into clean air, get it to start with - in this case it is worth starting on port and ducking a fair few sterns to get clean air and then tack back if the left is the right side to go....

Clean air is king, but use your boats performace as a driver to decide how you start.

Another thing. Do as many starts as you can and push it when it is "only club racing" - I was over early last sunday PM as I was trying a new method of "stopping quickly" and got it wrong and shot over the line with 30 seconds to go (opps) - Crash gybe and started on port and I still only ducked 3 transoms.

Scooby and Unis and all,

Ok,..so here is part 2 of the above starting scenario,..

We usually run 4-5 races a regatta day..

By race 3, a few other cats start doing the pin end start with me,..figuring that it is better down there ,.so they want to be there to...geez!

Then Scooby, I fight for the exact 'pin', so I can,
1. maintain clean air
2. Outpoint
3. Let the other cats ( now lower) tangle ( we are on port) with the oncoming starboard starters,....effectively 'blocking' for you,....it gets a little entertaining when they all converge ...oh well,....then continue as above,.....


..Scooby, I hope you are getting another Uni.


regards,

Bruce
St. Croix

Yup, but must sell the 17 first. New boat is very very at the moment. But it will be fast !