Series 1 Race 3

This light air is killing me. Breeze was coming from about 235° at 4kts. Velocity diminished after the start. Not a good night for a fractional boat.

We had an okay start. We were the leeward most boat on the line at full speed at the gun. It would have been nicer to be closer to the boat, but it wasn't worth dealing with the pile-up. We talked about going right, but missed our chance to tack out. We round the first weather mark with the pack, but as the breeze died we slipped back to J30 land.

We were forced left on the second beat. You can see where this is going; right was better.

The rig was at 37/31 headstay at base. I'll took a few photos of the sails, which I'll post over the weekend.

Crew

Anna
Tommy V
Muff
Vin
Chris
Jerry N
Ted
Bob
me

Memorial Day

Light air. Really light air. At the start the breeze was from the Southwest at 5kts. Current was flooding; pushing boats towards the pin and over the line.

I took 4 turns off the headstay, which puts it where it was last Weds. I guess this is the base setting. I'm going to have to figure out a measurement that's not relative to the last time we sailed. The boat speed and point seemed okay when there was breeze.

We nailed the start by waiting for our hole to open; dove through it and held our lane okay. We hit the first two shifts and opened a big lead on the boats that played the corners. Then the breeze died. We rounded the weather mark just ahead of ForSail and a little way behind Tommy.

The mastheads are much faster in the light air. Jim gybes away to build a lane so he can pass us to leeward. Doug is able to drive deeper and pass us as well. We round inside of Doug.

The second upwind leg didn't go so well. We trapped ourselves on the right side of the course. A big lefty filled. After the pseudo reach legs (we had to fly the jib once or twice.) our race turned into a contest with Mojo and Mayhem for 4th. A huge hole at the last mark guaranteed us a 5th.

The crew work was good and our boat speed was reasonable.

Rig tuning

u=37
l=32

headstay at base

crew

Ted
Jerry N
Muff
Kimmy
Vin
Dawn
Dan
Bengt
Anna
me

Double handed #1

Racing was cancelled because of a threatened thunderstorm.

I added 4 turns to the headstay. I'll probably take those off Monday.

Series 1 Race 2 -- Ted's notes

Totally weird. Starting with wind from the south and then shifting to the east at the last minute and increasing radically in velocity.

We decided to stick with AP sail. The mast heads used the blade. That was one key to the race and the other was having Lucky Leiter the wonder of Raritan Bay.  The conditions were over powering for a mast head and just right for a fractional, you have got to love it. Days like this do NOT come around often in Raritan Bay. We started with For Sail. They were light. Jeremy was stuck in traffic. They only had Jim Geoff, and the girls  Most of the other boats were far below the line.  After the race we heard of a T-BONE by Magic and a J80. I think the 80 was Matador.

Anyway, We had a bigger jib and more people and were going a bit faster. For Sail tacked to the left. They continued.  

Downwind the rookie Bow man (Ted) set up the pole like he was Christmas package expert. Yes you guess it WRAPPED Pole. Being a novice to that close to the pointy end he fix all mistakes. We did a early and proper take down. Flawless takedown for the novice foredeck unit. Bravo.

The next upwind had some waves come over the bow. The novice foredeck unit was wearing white and they looked like a wet t shirt contest. (Anna filed a request to find better contestants.) For Sail closed a bit on us turned the corner and went past us when we tacked early to the left.   For Sail held, then tacked and started to lift off them, passed us and were first to the second upwind mark by several boat lengths.  

Downwind we caught up with Jimmy and finish with 24 sec after Jimmy. We were owed 36 sec. So we won despite the wrong calculation. Thanks Race Committee.

Tom S and Scanlon who beat us last week were very deep.  

Memorial Day Race - 1 PM, 12 o'clock on the dock.

Series 1 Race 2

We won; what a night. There was a strange battle of the breeze that started out as a soft Southwesterly; then switched to an Easterly with twice the velocity. Slice said we had 19kts at the start. That sounds a little high. We easily carried the 155 genoa. The breeze softened to 14kts by the finish.

Photo: Jim Lyndon

It was impossible to know how to tune the rig. I left the shrouds tuned for what we thought of as light air (37/32) and added 4 turns to the headstay. It seemed like it was flopping around even in the lighter air.

I thought we would be way under tuned when the lefty filled, but that wasn't the case. Max outhaul, vang and backstay  seemed to keep the boat on her feet.

Before the start we noticed the line was skewed so far to port that we couldn't lay the pin on starboard. The tide was flooding; pushing boats below the line and causing a pile-up at the pin. Eric had us start above the line and let the current sweep us down.

We won the start. Tacked to port soon after the gun. That put us inside of Jim. We were faster and higher (so the crew tells me, I'm never allowed to look.) We round the weather mark first. Jibe about 40% down the leg. Jim worked right of us on the next beat. He caught a little shift that put him to the mark just ahead of us.

Set and Jibe, surf a few waves to the finish. We won by 20 seconds.

Crew

Ted
Tommy V
Muffy
Anna
Vin
Jerry N
Danny V
Eric L
Jerry O

Series 1 Race 1 -- Ted's notes

First weds night race was very light winds as we left the dock without our fearless skipper. However, the  wind eventually starts to come in from the south west.  It got up to about 7 at the start and then starts to slide lighter as the night progressed. 

After a bit of a delay, committee sets up at T and generates a 4 leg course to R1 and back.  The tide is starting to run out, the start is reversed with T being the upwind side of the line and it seems clear that the T is up current and favored.  The line was reversed. We decided that we were going to run the line and start closest to the pin and if needed work down to a mid line start.  We ended up set up a little low of it, there is a bit of pile up at T and closed the door on mayhem. Sorry Doug, but the first race does not make Anna a rookie. (She has been sailing forever +1 day.) 

We get off the line clean and having a very good start. The crew and skipper were happy and  could have taken our battle as a victory. For Sail was to Leeward of us with Tommy with Eric Leitner driving to weather of them. We held our lane very well.   We were trying to minimize tracks due to the light air we ended up to the left side of the course.  

For Sail was first to the mark by several boat lengths.  Followed by Slice, Cow and Tommy. Eric decided to play grab-ass with Cow and opened the door for us to slide around. Eric told us not to go in there, but we did. (At the bar Eric told me that the door was open but he could have shut it and hit us and we would of hit and we would be wrong.) Personally great call and there was no way he could have hit us.

The tide was running now.   Rounded the second weather mark and set in very light air. We gybed immediately to clear from the pile up.

We went the wrong way, but were still happy from the start so beer all around. The rest picked up something on the right and then came steaming across our bow and passed us at the downwind mark. 

The line up start then for the finish Cow in front with Tom and Eric catching For Sail.    Round for the next up wind and I was on my 2 or 3 rd beer so stop making mental notes.  Finish the race and had fun.  Boat safely at the mooring.

Series 1 Race 1

Anna and the crew took the boat last night because I had RC duty. They had a great start, but couldn't  keep up in the ultra light conditions.

Before the race I pulled the mast step back 4mm. It's between the two marks. And eased the lowers two turns from Saturday's setting. I have to remember to measure them before retuning on Weds.

Danny V had some good thoughts regarding shaping up the main: The shape is very Laser-like, keep the outhaul and halyard eased in the light air.

wind 0-4 @240

2012 Tune up

Great start in really light air and the remains of an outgoing tide. We won the boat but couldn't hold our lane. We didn't have boatspeed. The consensus was the rig is too tight.

u=41
l=38

This is -5 on the lowers from base 41/40. We also took 4 turns off the headstay.

Saturday I'm going to move the base setting back to the what we used with the old mast. And add a little sag to the headstay.

u=38
l=34

The good news is the crew work was flawless last night.

Rig tune

Here are photos of the rig at what I think is the new base tension. The uppers are where John suggested which is a little tighter than we sailed last year. That seems to have solved headstay length problem.The mast butt is at last year's setting. The adjuster should be installed this week.

Wind = 15kts
U = 41
L - 41

Port

Click to enlarge

Starboard

Click to enlarge

The halyard was a little loose.