Racing my 26S (continued)

[Stickinthemud57]

After much preparation and some trepidation, I finally took the plunge and participated in my first official race with my local sailing club (Grapevine Sailing Club). They split the boats up into fleets depending on type, displacement, non-spinnaker, etc, with the "newbies" in Fleet 7 - the fleet I sailed in.

I was assigned a coach and was supposed to have a couple of crew members, but for some reason that didn't materialize, so my coach stuck his head out the door and found me a crew member, and boy what a crew member! A female professional personal trainer with a gung-ho attitude, sailing experience and, frankly, the body of a 20-year old (although from her conversation had to have been at least in her late 30's). Much to my delight (and the envy of the rest of the fleet), she has agreed to "sign on" to crew for me for the duration of the Summer Series.

In the Fleet 7 intro meeting which my coach conducted, he emphasized boat speed and crew performance over strategy and tactics, but once we got racing, I guess his competitive urges kicked in and he was instructing me to employ various tactical maneuvers (i.e using the "barging" at the start rules to gain an advantage) that I would not have known to use and, frankly, I felt a tad embarrassed about being a newbie and all.

When it came right down to it, the few seconds advantage they gained me were of no consequence, because we took first place in Fleet 7 by 3 min 12 sec actual and 3 min 37 sec after PHRF correction. This on a 2 nm course under gentle to moderate winds. We even finished before a few boats that started in another fleet 5 minutes before we did. Not sure how that happened.

Overall, I could not be more pleased. I learned a lot from a seasoned racer, got a VERY competent crew member, and showed all involved that the 26S was a boat that could perform well when sailed with skill and good coaching. It will be fun to see how the rest of the series shakes out.

[Russ]

Awesome. Thanks for the report. The classic Macs are great sailing boats.

And...if you play your card right, you could get some great training advice and be in excellent shape by the end of the season.

[pitchpolehobie]

Is there a rule book or intro to racing youd recommend? Going to start casually getting involved in my club races w my 26x.

[Stickinthemud57]

"Casually" and "Racing". Almost always mutually exclusive terms. If your club offers "Fun Races", that's the best place to start. As I quickly learned, winning is the funnest part, so don't expect anyone to get out of your way.

There are any number of internet resources to get a basic handle on the rules or right-of-way when sailing, but it quickly jumps from "basic" to "exhaustive", as it jumps from "free" to "pay up".

The definitive source seems to be available from www.ussailing.org. You can start with the Sailor's Guide to Racing Rules (https://shop.ussailing.org/2021-2024-sa ... rules.html) for $4.95, and go up from there, depending on just how serious you want to get.

I used to think that there were just a few basic rules that would apply to almost any situation, but no. The deeper you dive, the murkier the waters get, as I learned on my first race under the tutelage of an experienced racer. If you thought the rules for the weird card games your kids play were arcane and complicated, just wait until you venture into the world of sailing racing rules, protests, etc. It's almost enough to make you want to sell your boat!

My coach told an amusing story about how his kids in the Optimist fleet called him out for failing to do a full 720 as a penalty because one of his tacks actually preceded his touching the mark buoy. Kids have time to think about this stuff. Not me.

My advice is to find a mentor to come with you on the first few races, read up, accept that understanding is a long journey, and never get so self-assured that you think you actually have a handle on it.

[Stickinthemud57]

Awesome. Thanks for the report. The classic Macs are great sailing boats.

And...if you play your card right, you could get some great training advice and be in excellent shape by the end of the season.

Well, that would require my taking said advice. It's worth a try, I suppose!

[Stickinthemud57]

Is there a rule book or intro to racing youd recommend? Going to start casually getting involved in my club races w my 26x.

Here's a link to a simplified version in PDF format:

http://victiques.com/v32pages/rules_simple_sailing.pdf

[Jimmyt]

Excellent report! What a great outcome for your first race! Congratulations!

[Stickinthemud57]

Thank you!

Glory is often short-lived, as the J-boats in Fleet 1 soundly trounced me in Race 2, PHRF's notwithstanding. Still, a great day, made friends, had fun at the party.

Can't wait until next race!

[Stickinthemud57]

OK, GLOAT ALERT!!!

Our second race went much like the first: 3rd of 16 in the first race and 11th of 17 in the second. We had two good, clean starts, and had an absolute blast, 105-degree temperatures notwithstanding. Lots of compliments from others on both the speed and appearance of the boat.

We did not have a coach on board this time, and none of us understood the flag and horn systems properly. All we knew for sure was that our fleet started 5 minutes after the previous fleet. We asked other boaters, played it by ear, and got plenty of sympathetic help and even some cheerleading from the committee boat.

I had an inexperienced crew member working the foredeck, and on the downwind leg of the first race it took about 5 minutes to get the whisker pole set on the foresail to go wing on wing. We were passing a boat in the process, and they were trying to head us up (as was their right as the downwind boat), but I was so distracted by having to instruct my crew member that I didn't always turn up when I should have. As a Fleet 7 (beginner racers) skipper, they cut me some slack and did not lodge a protest. That would have looked pretty petty, I suppose.

The thing that amuses me about the whole situation is that even while we were fumbling with the whisker pole, we were passing this boat who started 5 minutes before we did (in another fleet).

Things that helped:

Cleaning the algae off the bottom and centerboard a few days before
Good starts
Taking the long tacks (I think?)
Having an attentive and cooperative crew

Things I intended to do but forgot to:
Set the vang
Raise the centerboard when going downwind

[Newell]

Have you encountered any Mac D models in your races. Just bought a cheap S, hadn't thought of racing it, since my D seems the better racer by PHRF.

[Stickinthemud57]

No, I have not encountered any D's on my lake, racing or otherwise. My club has given me a rating of 228 when using my genoa. What is your D's rating?

[Stickinthemud57]

Unexpected, but welcomed, results from yesterday's races.

Let me open by saying I will never let anyone scoff at a female sailor. Both of my crew are women, and they are sharp, very capable, and eager to learn and improve.

Mistakes were made, equipment failed, wind dropped to near zero, but somehow we still managed to place 3rd and 2nd in the two races we ran as part of our sailing club's Fall Series.

In the first race, I was caught flat-footed and did not realize until too late that they were starting Fleet 1 (J-boats and such) and Fleet 3 (my fleet) at the same time . This put me several minutes late at the starting line, but we managed to make up the time even on the short course we ran. After rounding the downwind mark, the wind. Just. Stopped . Ours and the other boats bobbed around in the wash of the accursed wake-surfing boats until the wind picked up enough to get us to the finish line.

In the second race we got a much better start, but seconds after crossing the line the port attachment at my traveller came loose and we had to do an emergency repair with the rest of the fleet bearing down on us. Approaching the windward mark, shifting wind and unforced errors put me behind a boat I had been in front of . Going downwind we managed to pass a boat with a lower PHRF than ours and even gained on some of the J-boats. I think a pronounced wind shift that put us on a beam reach may have helped. While I did not consider our performance to be that great, we still managed to come in 3rd, with our PHRF moving us "officially" into 2nd .

Takeaways:
-Make cheat sheets of flags, horn signals, and courses.
-Make a pre-race maintenance checklist.
-Always assume the wind is going to shift in the wrong direction when making tacking and tactical decisions.

I'm heading down to the marina today with a tube of Loctite!

[Stickinthemud57]

Although I'm not seeing many replies, I see people are reading, so I will share what happened yesterday.

Short version: We placed second in the first race behind a very fast Catalina 22, and the second race was abandoned because the people on the Race Committee boat bollixed things up so badly.

Long version:

For the second race of the afternoon. The Race Committee had posted a W4M course for Fleets 3,5, and 7, but announced W2M over the radio. Several boats made for the finish line after completing a W2M course, and I decided to follow their lead. A few boats got a finishing horn, but three others did not. Confusion ensued. Thinking the race was over, we slacked off, then realized that other boats in the fleet had started racing for the upwind mark, so we rejoined as well, having lost at least 10 boat lengths. We still managed to pass Premonition after rounding the downwind mark, so at least did not finish the 2nd race DFL (Dead F***ing Last, as my dad once quipped).

I and four other skippers filed protests. Now that was an educational experience!

We were called into the GSC office to confer. "Points of fact" were as follows: Someone on the committee boat did indeed say that the course for Fleets 3, 5, and 7 would be W2M. The representative for the Committee did not mention this in his statement, but with 5 skippers saying they heard the same thing, it was accepted as fact. The committee sounded finishing horns for 2 boats when finishing a W2M course, but not for others, engendering further confusion.

The argument from the committee boat representative maintained that the "board rules", and that radio communications, horns, etc. are a "courtesy". Seems I heard someone say that. Who was it? Oh, yeah. MAYA!

Anyway, the final ruling was that there was no way to square the times recorded for the boats that finished with W2M times with those who finished with W4M times. Also, direct communications with those on the committee boat (shouts, finger signs, etc.) were given during the race, which is not allowed. The results of the second race were abandoned, or whatever the official term is.

Everyone on our boat felt the lack of professionalism and organization on the committee boat was unacceptable, to put it mildly.

The takeaway: Flags and markings on the board rule. Chatter on the radio does not.

I was satisfied with the way the protest meeting was conducted. The whole mix of "here's official procedure" versus "here's what common sense would dictate" was sorted out well, and to the satisfaction of the majority.

This week I will re-rig to accommodate the "Big Jib". I expect a significant improvement in performance, so long as I can up my game as a skipper.

[Jimmyt]

Although I'm not seeing many replies, I see people are reading, so I will share what happened yesterday.

I'm enjoying your posts! It is always good to get another perspective, and you do a great job of putting your experiences in writing. Please keep posting.

I have been in races where neither the location of the start, nor the course markers were evident (multiple races on multiple courses being conducted simultaneously), leaving skippers and crews scrambling to find the correct starting location. We've been pinched into collisions, having to do penalty 360s because we were "at fault" for getting forced into the collision. The deliberate use of wind shadowing to overtake opponents (done by our crew as well as having been on the receiving end), pinching at the marks or start/finish (also done by our crew), and a plethora of other interesting "tactics"; while legally acceptable within the rules; sort of have the stench of unsportsmanlike conduct for me. In contrast, others seem to take great pride (and joy) in executing such tactics to their advantage. Then, there is the stress within a crew due to a disagreement in strategy, or poor execution of a task, resulting in an individual being verbally flogged in public (also been on both ends of this). In summary, I find that racing puts me under a lot of stress, and takes most of the joy out of sailing for me. I have good friends that love it, and I celebrate their joy. Personally, I'd rather spend the day sailing with a few friends and enjoying some good food underway.

It appears that you are enjoying it in spite of a rather ridiculous race experience. So, I enjoyed reading about it. And, while I don't understand your apparent joy (or at least satisfaction) with the outcome; I do celebrate your enjoyment of the experience.

By all means, keep it up! I'm sure others are enjoying your posts as well. And best of luck to you in future races. You are certainly learning the game.

[Stickinthemud57]

Jimmyt,

No, I would not describe my emotions regarding the FUBAR race as "joy". "Amusement" might be a better term.

I agree that racing is stressful, but it is also exciting and satisfying. After the kerfuffle had died down, a member of one of the more "serious" racing crews went out of his way to compliment me on how my boat and crew are coming along. That was very gratifying.

A funny story about tactics and strategy. In the Fleet 7 training (beginner fleet, earlier this summer), one of the teachers showed us a pyramid diagram with "Tactics" being among the least important aspects of racing success, emphasizing the importance of "good sailing" over tactics. This same teacher was my on-board coach for the first race, and urged me very enthusiastically to pinch out another boat at the starting line. I was not comfortable with this and said so, but he persisted. I was literally hollering my apologies to the affected boat, pointing at my evil coach. This earned me a reputation among some skippers as being "very competitive".

I definitely don't think of myself that way. I want to do well, but the minute I feel like anything I do is more work than fun, I tend to reassess my priorities.

Things could get more interesting this weekend. I completed the re-rig to BWY's "Big Jib" rig for my 26S, and everything is complete and ready to go. Once I get my sea trials done I plan to post about that.

Thanks for the response and the perspective!