Tanzer 16 Racing -- Odd Start -- Learning to Race Together

Tanzer 16 Racing -- Odd Start -- Learning to Race Together  --  July 18, 2014.  We finally got to race last night--our first time this year.  The wind was great!  We were not great -- not even a little.  The list of excuses is long, but bottom line we (me really) did not get the job done.  In the first race we beat three boats sailed by people who had no idea how to sail. In the second we did better, but finished last because the greedy helmsman (me) tried to beat 5 boats to the first mark and touched it--ouch-- one more inch and we would have cleared!

The start was weird as can be, and I didn't think we had enough experience to cut the line fine enough to get a good start on starboard tack.  That was a good decision because even a couple of very skilled sailors, pointing as high as they possibly could didn't cross the line on the upwind side of the starting buoy.  The Lasers are so interesting.  They just kind of idle by the line and then accelerate when the gun goes off.  Some of them will even capsize their boats to keep from moving over the line.

The only start harder than this is a down-wind broad reach start with lots of boats on a short line.
Only a few starboard tack boats made a clean start--we were not among them.

In our post-race debrief at the Fish Tale Brewery Tony asked me what we needed to do.  The list is long, but the summary is we need to do everything we did, but better.  I need a stronger arm so I can actually adjust the traveler when the wind is blowing.  Fred needs to work the mainsheet for me and keep it flatter on the upwind legs.  We need to tack sharper--it takes way too long to get the jib over, and I compensate by over steering to keep us moving so we lose about 40 feet on every tack.  I need to get us better starts.  Getting Tony a thinner life jacket will help since his jacket keeps getting hung up when he slides across the cockpit.

Some things we did well.  Before the race we practiced jibing in 10 -15 knots, and that is much improved. All the jibes were controlled and most were pretty darn smooth. The new sails allow us to point as high as all the competition.  There were times when we were gaining on 420's, O'Days and C-Larks on up wind legs.*    We gained on lots of boats going down wind.  Before and after the race, we were much quicker getting the boat off and back on the trailer.  Summary--pretty unsatisfactory performance--all on me., but we didn't look like clowns the way we did last year in the C-Lark.  This is a much better boat for old guys.  We will get better.  This is just part of paying our dues.  We came, we sailed, the wind was good, the beer wasn't bad--a pretty nice way to spend a Wednesday evening.

*All we did is adjust the sheets properly, keep the boat flat,  and I focused on keeping all the telltales flying the right way--sail fast--pretty basic!

Today's Cliche:  Never share a foxhole with anybody braver than you are--never marry anyone crazier than you are.