Racing my 26S (continued)

[Orkia]

I am also a 26S racer. I am also thinking about moving to the big job rig. I am looking forward to hearing how it it performs for you.

[Stickinthemud57]

Stay tuned. I have been doing sea trials and will put together a synopsis of my experiences and impressions shortly.

[Stickinthemud57]

For those interested, I have posted a review of the BWY Big Jib rig upgrade and the Rolly Tasker sails that are part of it:

https://macgregorsailors.com/forum/view ... hp?t=29306

[OverEasy]

Hi StickInTheMud57

Echoing JimmyT
We do enjoy reading your experiences! Your having fun!

Grapevine is an interesting lake… it’s been nearly 40 years since I’ve been there.
Glad you are getting out, learnin new stuff an makin friends ta go wid da memories!

Keep ‘‘em coming!

Best Regards
Over Easy

[Stickinthemud57]

I did not compete in the most recent race. Winds averaging 21 mph with gusts to 38, me not experienced with sailing in such winds, crew member injury (not sailing-related), and a boat that is not really designed for sailing in high winds were among the reasons.

I did watch some of the race from the shoreline. Boats the were flying jib and main were struggling. Gusts and shifting wind direction were making things more than just a little difficult. Boats were heading way wide of the mark for reasons that were not apparent to me. Better that I was a spectator that day!

[OverEasy]

Great to hear you at least got to watch.
Sounds like a sane decision to stand down.
Signs of wisdom and experience…

It’s not fun when there is a real potential for hurt and harm.

Going wide was an indicator the other boats were struggling with the conditions I would hazard to guess.
High winds generally mean high energy mean more kinetics going into a turn that needs to be redirected or bled off I would think.

Be interesting to hear what an experienced racer would have to say…???

Best Regards
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

[Be Free]

I did not compete in the most recent race. Winds averaging 21 mph with gusts to 38, me not experienced with sailing in such winds, crew member injury (not sailing-related), and a boat that is not really designed for sailing in high winds were among the reasons.

I did watch some of the race from the shoreline. Boats the were flying jib and main were struggling. Gusts and shifting wind direction were making things more than just a little difficult. Boats were heading way wide of the mark for reasons that were not apparent to me. Better that I was a spectator that day!

I think you made a wise decision. You may decide to sail in those conditions in the future but it's something you want to work up to gradually. As the famous philosopher Harry Callahan once said, "A man's got to know his limitations."

I remember a "race" I was invited to by a member of a local sailing club. There were four boats from the club and me. All of the other boats had two or three crew; I was alone. The boats ranged from 22' to 30'. Wind was 15 when we started and 25 by the end with occasional gusts. The course was 10 miles out and 10 back. By the 5 mile point the 30 footer was the only one close to me; all of the others had turned back. Some time in the next 5 miles he gave up and went back to the dock. I was still having fun so I finished the course.

In my opinion they were all over-canvassed for the conditions. I started and finished with a 110 working jib and double reefed main. I knew that single-handed I would have trouble adding a reef if conditions got worse (as expected). I felt a little under powered when I started but I was very happy with my choice by the end of the day.

The only downside was when my cell phone fell out of my coat pocket (did I mention it was cold?) when I leaned over the transom to open the ballast valve.

[Stickinthemud57]

What you describe (100% jib, double-reefed main) may well be the rig I start with when we get into the "fresh breeze" territory. Easier to unreef than reef. I am currently working on a rig that will allow me to reef when underway (with a crew). I have looked into single-line reefing and frankly it just looks too complicated. I have decided to try the method shown in the attached image.


Next step will be how to adjust tension at the outhaul when not reefed.

[Be Free]

I'm with you on the single (or double) line reefing. I've not seen anything that I'd want to trust in a good blow. With a crew it's not that hard to put in another reef or two. By myself, it's out of the question. I'd be more likely to just lower the main and jib than to try to reef if the weather turned nasty unexpectedly when I'm on my own. Shaking out a reef - no problem.

My jib choices are 110% or nothing. Just a hank-on.

[Stickinthemud57]

Yesterday was the last race of the season, and was a mix of frustration and triumph.

We did poorly in the first race (5th out of 8 ), owing to a poor start, among other things. I was expecting Fleet 1 (the J-boats and their ilk) to start, then us. Why they decided to go in that order is a mystery to me, and the explanation given (grouping of fleets to even out the number of boats at the start) frankly makes no sense, but what do I know. I say Fleet 1 should go first so they don't end up tangling with the slower boats in other fleets. Anyway, I started behind most of my fleet. Also, I was working with one regular crew member and a substitute. He was a very capable young man, but brought along his friend Andrew and was dividing his attention between his duties and explaining things to Andrew. It was a beggars-can't-be-choosers situation. Everyone trying to settle into their roles and some unforced errors on the part of the crew and skipper resulted in a poor outcome in the first race. The wind was very light, and I really wanted to fly the genoa on the downwind leg, but was not willing to do the switch with a substitute crew member.

The second race went much better. I picked Papepuka (a very fast Cat 22 with an experienced skipper) as the "boat to beat", timed my approach to the start, and started with them ahead of the rest of the fleet. We (us, Papepuka, and Liberty - a Hunter 265) went on a starboard tack while the rest of the fleet went on a port tack. We passed Liberty without much trouble, and might have been able to pass Papepuka, but it was time to tack to the upwind mark. Also, whenever we edged up on them they tried to point higher and cut us off, but could not hold the course and had to drop off each time. After the tack we had a slight advantage which we held going around the mark, and lengthened our lead to about a dozen boat lengths by the time we hit the downwind mark. The wind had picked up, and was favorable for a good run. Still I have to wonder if we would not have fared better on the downwind legs if we had the genoa up. It was a W4M course, so we did another upwind and downwind leg. On the upwind leg to the finish, we took the long tack while Papepuka tacked early. I think I chose the right strategy because we increased our lead and finished exactly one minute ahead - the first boat in the fleet across the finish line . Unfortunately, we fell victim to their MUCH higher PHRF rating (270 as opposed to our 228), so they officially took first in that race .

I got loads of compliments from the other sailors, and think I have established myself as a competent skipper and a serious competitor. I have gotten some coaching and rigging advice from a seasoned racer, which helped tremendously.

In the off season I plan to study up on rules and strategy so as to be confident enough to hold my course when I can, and know when I should give way. Also, I am pretty much resolved to apply some Black Widow bottom coat, with the aim of burnishing it to a smoother finish and maybe pick up that extra 10th of a knot. That, and the aforementioned stanchion shortening and an in-boom outhaul adjustment system are on the to-do list. I also want to look at removing unneeded weight during the racing season.

The next series coming up is the "Frostbite" series. Think I'll pass! I plan to be back at it in the Spring when things warm up a bit.

[Jimmyt]

Congratulations! Coming across the line a minute ahead of the second boat is fantastic.

Sounds like you're really getting the hang of it. Even the 5th of 8 isn't too bad. I can recall having to take a penalty turn, then picking the wrong tack; resulting in seeing the next to last boat cross the finish so far ahead of us that I could barely see it. You'll have some races where crew, equipment, or strategy goes bad (hopefully, not all three at once ). Happens to everyone.

I can tell you've got the bug, though. Get the boat lighter; faster bottom; study up on the rules... all symptoms I see in my wind whispering buddies.

I'm sorry you won't be racing more for awhile, but certainly understand. I've gotten to where I look forward to your race reports. Frostbite Series doesn't really have a good sound to this southern boy, either.

Looking forward to next season.

[Be Free]

Yeah, he's better than 300 miles north of us. I'll cut him some slack for not sailing year-round.

[Stickinthemud57]

@ JimmyT: Yes, at this point I know I should be OK with anything better than DFL (my Dad's acronym for Dead F***ing Last )

Grapevine Lake is not very big, so any boat in the race is easily visible to all.

I am still considering competing in the upcoming Winter Regatta. We'll see.

@BeFree: I manage to sail most months of the year, but I just don't want to commit to a race series in the cold months as it would interfere with my band's gigs. 5 out of 6 of this year's Frostbite Series races were cancelled due to cold/inclement weather.

[Jimmyt]

@ JimmyT: Yes, at this point I know I should be OK with anything better than DFL (my Dad's acronym for Dead F***ing Last )

@BeFree: I manage to sail most months of the year, but I just don't want to commit to a race series in the cold months as it would interfere with my band's gigs. 5 out of 6 of this year's Frostbite Series races were cancelled due to cold/inclement weather.

5th of 8 is nearly mid pack. Whether you need to be OK with it depends on the field. If I was racing good skippers in fast boats with tons of experience, even a close DFL would be ok as long as I was making the guy ahead of me sweat. But, you're doing way better than DFL, so no worries.

Off topic: What do you play? (band gig). I dabble in a few instruments for recreation (keys, banjo [finger style, can't clawhammer yet], flat top, uke, lap resonator, 5-string fretless bass). Not exceptional at any of them, but enjoy playing. Mostly looping for my own amusement, but play some for the church on occasion.