District 11 News
Frostbite Opening Weekend
November 25th, 2009
Severn Sailing Association and Potomac River Sailing Association both started their frostbite season on Sunday. The weather was perfect for winter sailing and both groups had fantastic a fantastic turnout of 28 and 24 boats respectively. Read on for reports on each.
Seven Sailing Association
What a gorgeous day to have the first Frostbite Series of the 2009-10 season! Chilly water was blanketed by sunny skies and super shifty courses in 4-7 knots graced the playing field. 5 windward-leeward races were held and consistency was the name of the game. The starting line was very short for the great turn out of about 28 boats. This, combined with 2 minute starts, meant you had to think fast and come up with your plan early and execute it. With the line being so short, the importance of finding the favored end of the line was muted. My starting plan was start at the boat, which is usually easier to judge where the line is and use the light currents that were present to time a good space on the line. Another thing a small starting line in light air means is getting clear air fast is CRUCIAL. The first one off the line with clear air has the most options and the better chance of success. This is the reason I was able to be the last off the starting line in the last race, due to being spun out at the boat, and still be third to the first mark. Clear air.
Before the start, I was standing up in the boat looking upwind for where the wind was. It usually looked a bit darker on the right, which further supported a boat start. Tacking out at the boat on the start and going right to find the breeze was safe because of the shifty conditions. Tacking after counting to 10 in a header meant solid proof you'd be in the lift on the tack. Sailing the laylines conservatively was key as boat after boat tried to tack in and pinch around the mark. Having a plan for the downwind before I got there was important and never getting bored and losing focus was important. As soon as you stop paying attention to your boat speed, you are slow. Steering with weight instead of the tiller especially around the marks is good boat handling. Exits from marks are even more important than approaches. Have your boat set up and spend the first 30 seconds smooth, not jolting around your coc k pit pulling on strings. Then if you do have to make adjustments, move slowly and smoothly.
Recognizing the massive wind shift after the lull early was important, but one thing I didn't do was fully apply that persistent shift to the rest of the race. A massive lefty means finishing at the boat end of the line as it is heavily favored. I chose clear air over that fact and lost a boat.
Lessons for the day: Racing is always about balancing risk. Exits from starts and marks are even more important than approaches. Always make choices that maximize your options, especially in shifty conditions. This past Sunday, the 22nd of November, getting clear air sooner on the upwinds and staying on your toes on the down wind were the best ways to do all these things.
Ashley Love
Potomac River Sailing Association
Wow, we had a spectacular first frostbite day with excellent turnout!! Twenty six people participated with twenty one boats! It was a sunny day and the winds were fairly steady at 10mph all day coming out of the north east and temps were in the mid 50F's. We set up an Olympic course in the cove that was approximately 1mile long and proceeded to have seven races.
Erich won the day and Kevin Cowley won the inaugural handicap scoring. Links to the scores below. We had a good group of new faces and a couple faces we haven't seen in awhile.
Don't miss the fun, come on out and sail with us this Sunday and burn off some of that thanksgiving turkey! See you on the water... Scott Snyder
Posted November 25th, 2009 by Jon Deutsch