Racing 6-13

Since summer is usually pretty busy for me, getting the schedule filled early is really important for sailing 88. The one weekend that was giving me trouble since March was this last Saturday, as despite having a pretty deep crew pool I could only get 2 people. Up until thursday I was pretty worried as we were still short. Well, sometimes you get lucky!

Since it was me and the 2 Brians (Shaw and Sabina) we could definitely sail the boat and get it around the course, but we'd be underweight and would definitely be slower in sets/gybes/douses which are usually our strength. Early this week I took a longshot and asked Jennifer Wilson and Bill Hardesty if they "uh, felt like sailing on our Shields?" and was thrilled when they both signed on. I know them through doing rigging work for the Convexity boats and the Chicago Match Race Center. Both are sailing at a high level (they're last years Etchells world champs) and in addition to sailing the boats, Bill is coaching the entire CMRC organization and developing their program!

Having a pretty stacked boat I was a bit chagrined when we spent much of the morning in postponement due to weather and problems with the RC boat. Luckily both situations cleared up and we got out on the water just in time to spend some more time hanging around and enjoying our standard Shields weather: cold, rainy with NE winds and big sloppy waves.

We got 2 races off, with 2 very hard fought wins. Both were decent enough starts, with very close pace between the 9 Shields coming off the line. Kevin was really flying, and we seemed to be a bit underpowered in the lighter air for the first race and most of the second. It's amazing that every time we get a bit faster, so does 150 and I think we're both sailing at a pretty high level these days. Seems like we know each others tricks and it's always 1 or 2 decisions/mistakes/shifts that makes the difference.

The first race we seemed pretty deep at first and only clawed back on the strength of a couple shifts and a little extra downwind speed. The last leg of race 1 had us, 150 and 90 all starting the run pretty close. We chased 150 out to the left and barely rolled them, then went back right to force 90 to gybe out, then returned to 150 where we finished slightly ahead, followed by Kevin, then Bo. Second race was also looking a bit grim for much of it, with us following Kevin around a bit. On the 2nd upwind leg we took a hitch left when Bill noticed the cloud pattern had changed (more later) and a nice little lefty, coupled with some extra pressure (we seemed to go faster upwind in the puffs, where Kevin was quicker in the lighter stuff. We got ahead on the lefty, enjoying the breeze, and continued to extend for the finish. We ended the A series with 7 points to Kevins 8, although without drops we'd be tied! Although Nationals is obviously everyones goal, we're all certainly getting some thrilling racing for the regular Saturday races.

Having Bill aboard was really good for 88. Obviously he's a great sailor and we learned a ton, but there's tmore to being a great tactician (he is very highly sought after for that spot) and he was lot of fun too. I was a bit nervous (and drove like it) that having a pro aboard would mean hyper intensity and lots of yelling, but he's pretty hilarious and both of our guests fit in well with our laidback boat.

A couple people from our fleet have been asking about what he was showing us, and it's only fair to share. There's no real rocket science ("he told us to push the red button under the floor boards and we gained 2kts") but like my friend John Kiener once said (referring to Kevin) "he just does the basics a bit better, and more often" So here's what I was able to pick up.

The single biggest thing I'll be doing differently is keeping the boat powered up longer, and hiking harder. I think we've gotten a bit lazy on the hiking on 88, and will benefit by keeping the boat flatter. The real eye opener was in the bit of breeze we had for the last upwind leg, when everyone hit the rail hard and was hiking off something. 2 things happened: the boat felt great and we really accelerated away from 150, and I was able to see all the waves a lot easier. We also started really rolling the boat hard in tacks, which seemed to be a bit faster.

Bill was trimming jib, and seemed to focus most on the jib leech telltale. On 88 we've gotten in a habit of just setting it to marks on the spreader tip. This usually works, and the marks give consistency, but looking back on my time as jib trimmer it was all about watching the telltale. Especially in light air, I think we'll be keeping more of an eye on that aspect of trim.

Clouds: we made a huge gain and won race 2 mostly because of a big left shift (I think we were getting paid back for the right shift we lost out on last week?) , which we sailed to because of a cloud moving across the course. The day had been pretty gray, but towards the end the sun came out, and as the overcast was breaking up it turned into clouds. One was moving across the course, and Bill made the call to sail away from it. This was mostly to avoid the "windsuck" that happens after a cloud passses, but in addition to the higher breeze, it came with a nice shift. Note to self: look up more.

Attacking downwind: we're usually pretty quick downwind, and make gains, but Saturdays got me thinking about other ways to pass besides boatspeed. It's impossible to write down for me, but I do have a much better feel for positioning relative to a boat ahead now. Will work on this more, especially in our upcoming practices with 150.

In terms of tune, we felt underpowered most of the day, and I think I need to refine my settings a bit. What worked last year with the old mast and main isn't quite as good this year. We'll be adding more rake, and depowering with lowers a bit earlier. Coupling a more powered up boat with increased use of weight should add a bit of boatspeed.

It could just be self consciousness about having a pro on board, but I felt like I was driving pretty badly most of the day, and going to a pinching mode to early in the wind range. Again, pushing the rail down harder will neutralize the helm some, and paying a little more attention to course wouldn't hurt either!

Once things at work ease up a bit, I'm going to be hitting up the CMRC again. They race 2 nights a week, with many races per outing, which means a lot more action! Also, once 88 and 150 start practicing together (after Kevins done running a Mackinac program and I'm a bit slower at work) I'm hoping to do some match racing between us, so we work through more of the neat situations. It's a great way to build skills and also tons of fun.


All in all, a really fun day of racing. I'm looking forward to sailing with the regulars again, both because I want to apply what we picked up last Saturday, and because we're turning into a pretty tight team.