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My first race

Posted By: steveh

My first race - 08/10/05 08:25 PM

My local catamaran club is having a race this Saturday and I'm going to enter my first race. This will be my second time out on my cat and the fourth time on a catamaran. My wife is crewing.

Should I concentrate on 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?
Posted By: jfint

Re: My first race - 08/10/05 08:29 PM

Always amke the crew want to come back. When I was helping to teach new sailors on my team in college, I would always tell them not to worry too much about the rules and tactics. Just give other boats their starboard rights and try to sail the boat fast. I think they did better this way, there is simply too much to remember if your trying to be tactical you might forget how to sail. Just my opinion.
Posted By: Catius

Re: My first race - 08/10/05 08:36 PM

Quote
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!
Posted By: WindyHillF20

Re: My first race - 08/10/05 09:12 PM

Make sure you have a course chart on the boat. Know the start sequence. Review the rules of racing. Attend the skippers meeting. Don't yell commands at your wife. Have fun!!!
Posted By: Rolf_Nilsen

Re: My first race - 08/10/05 09:45 PM

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)
Posted By: scooby_simon

Re: My first race - 08/10/05 10:25 PM

Quote
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 !
Posted By: Redtwin

Re: My first race - 08/10/05 11:43 PM

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
Posted By: Cookie Monster

Re: My first race - 08/10/05 11:56 PM

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!
Posted By: barbshort

Re: My first race - 08/11/05 01:15 AM

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!
Posted By: steveh

Re: My first race - 08/11/05 03:31 AM

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!
Posted By: Andrew

Re: Course charts? - 08/11/05 03:38 AM

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!
Posted By: Jake

Re: My first race - 08/11/05 04:58 AM

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.
Posted By: Darryl_Barrett

Re: My first race - 08/11/05 06:13 AM

7 basic rules of sailing

1. Make sure your crew has the boat rigged and ready to go when you get to the beach

2. Put the blame firmly on the shoulders of the person responsible for anything that goes wrong on the water I.E. the mutinous crew!

3. If you win it's all due to the superior sailing skills of a brilliant skipper.

4. If you lose - it's that "barge" of a boat, and the slack crew.

5. When you hit the beach after sailing, the crew should hand you a cold drink and say, "go and have a hot shower and get changed, I'll pack up and wash down the boat you've deserved it sir" (It's optional if they refer to you as "Sir")

6. When you get to the bar your crew has your place ready for you with several long drinks to choose from and are telling all the lesser sailors (and that's everyone who ever sailed) just how brilliant you are and how they should all idolise your perfect sailing skills, (you just stand there modestly,-but regally,- and slightly smile)

7. Hopefully you never wake up from this “Macho” dream.
Posted By: Mary

Re: My first race - 08/11/05 08:58 AM

Wow, Darryl, you have perfectly described me when I was crewing for Rick for almost 15 years.

The only change I would make to your "rules" is that it is most important for the crew to scrub the hulls when you arrive at the regatta, not when the regatta is over.
Posted By: Simon

Re: My first race - 08/11/05 10:13 AM

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.
Posted By: Darryl_Barrett

Re: My first race - 08/12/05 04:27 AM

both before and after MARY would be good!

And SIMON the saying of a true sailor is that

"its easier to get a new wife than it is a new boat"

and

"The honeymoon with a woman last about a year, with a boat is forever"
Posted By: brobru

Re: My first race - 08/13/05 01:48 PM

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..
Posted By: Mary

Re: My first race - 08/13/05 02:23 PM

Bruce, where are you on Lake Erie? Why haven't you come to see us at Put-in-Bay? Send us an e-mail if you are in the area, or call at 419-285-3505.
Posted By: Redtwin

Re: My first race - 08/14/05 12:24 AM

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
Posted By: steveh

Re: My first race - 08/15/05 06:53 AM

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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