Log - Oct 17, 2015 - Frostbiting

I've never really gone frostbiting before, but that all changed last Saturday.

Forecast/Observations: At about 3°C and wind blowing stank from NE, it looked like I might not be out on the water for too long.

Focus: Last sail of the season (closing day in a week) so I'm just going to have fun.

Having researched cold-weather sailing, I came prepared with the following:
- normal boots (I didn't have any neoprene socks, but could have used them
- 7mm wetsuit (lower and upper)
- my trusty red base-layer under the wet suit
- knit hat
- gloves
- windbreaker over PFD

which turned out to be enough for the hour or so we were out.  Full gloves rather than those with fingers cut off are recommended for next time

Went out with Mike T and Ken S in Lasers.  As I was wearing my 7mm wetsuit, I couldn't move particularly well (especially with the upper on).  But at least I was warm (yay touque!).  As a first for me, the boat blew off the dolly while I was launching (I had the centreboard in the cockpit, which was snagging the mainsheet, which meant the main was sheeted in).

Lesson learned - make sure main is free when launching, especially in high wind

Was going on a close reach (no close-hauled) to Quebec shore, and blasting along.   I actually had trouble sheeting in all the way (which meant I had trouble putting the vang on).  I should probably have headed up and applied the kicker, but just dealt with the weather helm instead.

The wind seemed constant across the river, but the waves were definitely bigger and more chaotic on the Ontario side.  Thus, I'd typically go up to Quebec, tack, head on a broad reach to Ontario.  I was practicing getting "into" the groove of the waves, but capsized several times on gusts (I didn't have an angle-limiting knot in my mainsheet, so a few times the main went past 90).

Three or four swims later and I called it on account of cold.  Back at the club, the hail started to fall while I was de-rigging - wish I had a camera.  I had a nice 12 year old scotch waiting for us, which helped to warm the toes.

Log - Sept 19, 2015 - Gar, talk like a pirate on me Byte!

Avast, ye readers who be lookin' for some new-fangled speak.  This here log entry be made by Capt'n Chicken Gybe.

Forecast: She be blowin' stank (20+knts, gusts up to 30)
Observed: She be blowin' stank (whitecaps, 3' waves, relatively steady, sustained gusts of very heavy wind)

When me be arriving at the port-o-call, me hearty had already rigged up a Byte CII.  She not be a vessel that you'd normally catch Capt'n Gybe on, especially after the wounded knee incident, but me couldn't scupper a perfectly rigged boat.  The one cursed' thing I was warned about was that the hiking strap had just been replaced, and I should check the know to see if it was seamanlike.  But Capt'n Gybe wastes not time on knots!

I set me course for Aylmer Island, nearby which (where the old salts tell) the Ghost Ship can be found (i.e. I was told Mike R and Annie had taking a H16 out towards there).  Me legs be burning like the pits of Hades as I hiked on the close reach, but alas!  The cursed knot came undone, and me went down to Davy Jones.

A jury-rigged knot later and I was sailing again, although not trusting the hiking strap...

A kiteboarder in trouble was spotted, just as I cam within hail of the cat.  We stood by for rescue while the boarder tended his lines.  Eventually, he untangled, and made it to shore.  A broad reach back to the club concluded adventures for this day.  Muscles sore next couple of days, and rum prescribed to medicate.

Lessons learned: The cunningham was the control I used most to de-power, although the vang was useful too.  Didn't let out controls bearing  off, leading to an awkward gybe.  Pay more attention next time.  PUT CLEW ON BOOM BEFORE HOISTING SAIL!

Log - Sept 5-6, 2015 - KSC Open In an Albacore

Labour Day Weekend is the traditional time for the KSC Open Regatta.  Albacores and Lasers from across the globe (well, us and NSC) convene to battle for suppremecy.

Saturday Light to very light winds.

Race 1: We arrived at the club late, and had some issues rigging the boat.  Primary that the boom was too long for the sail, and the outhaul couldn't be attached properly.  We did a poor jib jury-rigging it but it definitely affected our sail shape.  There was a bit of wind, but not tonnes.

We started in the middle of the pack, and took the starboard tack.  One by one the other boats started tacking, and we aimed to keep in the pack.  Due to crew limitations, the tacks were not executed efficiently, and between that and a slow boat we soon gave way.  Finished last of the Albacores, but we beat the Lasers.

Unfortunately, my crew wasn't feeling very well.  I took her up to the cottage, and didn't race in races 2-4 (which apparently had more wind...)

Sunday: Light to very light winds

Single handed today.  I made some repairs ashore -- added a line to extend the outhaul, rigged the main properly, used tap to fix a few holes in the mainsail, etc.  Also, carrying a whisker pole today.

Race 5 - A bad tack just as the race was starting meant that I was near the back of the pack, fighting with Ken for 2nd-last place.  Ken had more boat speed than I did on the upwind, but started later and I rounded the windward mark first.

I made a mistake here -- I mistook a lull for a wind shift, and set the whisker pole for wing-on-wing.  After a few minutes I realized my mistake, and moved the jib back to a reaching position.  Ken made up several boat lengths, and had mark room at the gybe mark

On the second reach we played leapfrog.  The wind was almost directly behind us, and it came down to whom could read the shift first to get the sails on the correct side of the boat.  Ken happened to be in front when we rounded and the race was called FOC.

Race 6 - a storm blew through between race 5 and 6, and the course shifted 90+ degrees.  This was FUN.  I actually had to hike...  Then the wind died before the next race :(

Again, a bad start.  The "upwind" leg was actually a close-hauled leg on port, and the "reaching" leg was oscillating between a starboard reach and dead-upwind.  The wind died, but I went to the port side "top" of the course as I saw air there.  I made up some distance from my bad start, but didn't catch Ken and Corinne.

Lessons learned: Rig the boat up WELL beforehand, to make time for repairs.  Stay very close to the line in very light airs.

Log - Aug 31, 2015 - Race night sucks

After last week's success, I was enthused for the final race night of the summer series.  But it was not to be...

Forecast: Wind from NE 10 knots around 5:00pm, dropping to about 5 knots by 8:00
Observed: Wind from N around 7 knots, dropping to 5 by the time the race started at 6:30 and 3 by 7:00

First of all, I wasn't feeling too confident in my boat.  The traveller was a bit stretchy, the daggerboard was as smooth as 40 grit sandpaper painted over with a clogged brush, and the cunningham was incorrectly adjusted and didn't actually pull on the luff at all.  But that's okay, right?  I'll just win the race through tactics!  Don't take 259.

There was some air at the start, and everyone was having a good time messing around in the boats.  Mike T and Steve H were having fun covering each other and forcing each other around the middle of the line.  I thought I could take advantage of their distraction, and went to the boat end.

The start whistle goes, and I'm definitely the first to start... wait... what's that?  A second whistle? And why is RC holding up the individual recall flag?  SHIT!

I bear off to go back down beneath the line.  Oh no!  Ken S is there, with right of way.  SHIT! I turn back up, tack, bear off around the committee boat, and finally start.  Everyone else is ahead by 10 boat lengths.

On the first upwind leg, most people seemed to be going right.  I took a chance, and went left.  Given the wind, right might have been slightly faster, but I'd never "catch up" with them by following, and figured if I go left, catch a lucky break and get a localized puff then I'm back in the race.  Remember my post on not taking risks?  Well, I didn't follow my own advice.  I'm now 20+ boat lengths behind rounding the first mark.

It didn't get any better.  I kept taking risks, justifying to myself that "I had to do something to get back into the race" and they never paid off.  Race night sucks.

Steve won, followed by Ken E.  I'm not sure where Carla, Ken S and Mike T finished.  Tony and Rob were behind me in the H16, but I still feel like it was my worst performance of the year.

Optimists, out and about!

My daughter just turned 6, and my beautiful wife and I got her some sailing lessons for her birthday.

Some background on this...

First understand that the wee one first met our club's head instructor (Emily) when she was 4 years old.  That spring and summer I took her out in an Albacore for the first time, and even went on a couple of race nights with her.  My daughter instantly fell in love with Emily, who would play games and entertain her while I rigged up the boat.  Seeing Emily was probably more exciting for her than sailing!

When she turned 5 that summer, I let her take out an Optimist.  We first sailed together (two people crammed into the bathtub) and then was going to let her sail by herself with me in a second Opti.  That was pretty funny, and she sure goes faster than I do...

This year, Emily is back and now has an assistant, Heidi.  Now my daughter has two best friends at the club. She turned 6, and I figured it's time to get her some proper lessons.  I contacted Emily and we scheduled some.  My daughter learned safety, how to tack, how to gybe, picked up some really good habits, and had a blast.

This week's race night, I get an e-mail from Emily asking if the wee one was coming.  Emily and Heidi together took my daughter out in an Optimist to the race course, and they were running their own races.  My wee one, of course, came in first every race (I'm so proud!).

After racing, we did a couple capsize drills in the Opti.  All in all, a great day!

Log - Aug 24, 2015 - Race night and sailing with boom past 90

It's been a while since I took out a Laser, mostly because I've been catarmaraning (is that a word?) the past month or so.  Then the commodore of the club sent me a picture he had taken earlier this year of me in the old trusty single-hander... and all I could see were mistakes I was making

So, I decided to work on those.

Forecast: Light to Moderate winds, anywhere between 6 and 12 knots from SW

Observed: Very Light to Light winds, from WSW

Focus: I wanted to focus on getting the controls set correctly.  This would help me keep the boat flat, and reduce weather helm.  Everything else flows from there.

Pre-Race:
It was single-hander night at KSC, apparently.  Carla was in a Byte CII, Mike R and Ken E (and myself) in Lasers. Before the race, I was trying to get a hang on roll-tacks in the very light winds. I actually dry-dunked in about 4 knots trying to see how far I could heel the thing, but fortunately nobody saw it (or were too polite to say anything...)

Tony and Annie were in a H16, but the winds were light enough that they were not a factor.  Mike T was running RC with a nice short course (about 20 minutes per race with 6 legs- I pity the cat).  Also on the course, Hannah, Emily and Heidi in Optis!  Another post on that later... 

Before the race I had resolved to crank on the vang much more, and keep just enough curve in the outhaul to shape the sail.  I figured too tight (especially for the vang) was better than too loose, even though I do prefer a bit looser controls in very light air to keep the power up.  I also knew that tight controls would let me get the most out of any roll tacks I could pull off cleanly.

First Race:
I had a good start, with Mike and Carla to my port side (and behind!), and Ken to starboard.   I didn't have a good view of the mark prior to starting, so I didn't realize how much boat end was favoured.  Ken an I approached the mark on opposite tacks, and I had to bear off to duck him, as he had right of way.  I tacked right behind him, and Carla tacked within a couple inches of me.  I was able to put some distance between Carla and myself before rounding in second a few boat length behind Ken.

Ken was ridiculously good at defending and keeping his boat flat.  There was no passing him on either of the reaching legs, and he caught a couple of good gusts.  He was still a good two boat lengths ahead at the leeward mark.  Upwind, I was able to use roll tacks to play the shifts a bit better, and made up some distance.  We were both coming onto the windward mark on port, and I had to make a move.  I thought a header might be coming so I tacked early just as the shift hit and I was on the layline.  Ken waited a few more seconds before tacking, and was too far "up" the coarse.  This let me get inside him at the mark, and I was able to round first.  Downwind was nothing to write home about in the very light air (Ken was lighter, but I was able to heel more, reduce my wetted area and get more of the sail in the air, so we were about the same speed).  I blew the gybe and rounding the leeward mark, but had enough of a lead that Ken wasn't able to capitalize on it.  Me 1st, Ken 2nd, Carla 3rd, Mike 4th, Tony and Annie 5th.

Second Race: Everyone seemed to have a bad start.  It seemed everyone was tacking back and forth looking for air, and that was okay with me (I was starting to get the hang of the roll tacks).  Again, it came down to Ken and I in the lead.  This time I was able to get inside him at the 1st windward mark, and rounded 1st.  From there, it was a matter of defending.  I put about about a half of a boat between Ken and I for each of the reaching legs and again upwind.  Downwind, I got lucky, and caught a gust that no one else did.  The wind was really dying at this point, and I had a trick up my sleeve.

This is something else I've read about but have not been able to do successfully.  It's used when there is not enough wind to hold the boom out.  I let (or push) the sail out past 90 degrees (not as much as the diagram, but that's just an exaggeration), and heel the boat.  Because the boom is up in the air, it wants to fall down, but because the boom is in front of the mast the mainsheet holds it in place. This keeps the boom on the correct side of the boat, keeps the sail area high up in the air, and moves the centre-of-effort on the sail closer to the centreline of the boat (meaning less rudder has to be used.)  You can steer pretty effectively just be heeling more or less (more heel = bear off, less = head up).

The bad thing about this technique is that any lateral forces on the sail either hit the front of the sail, slowing you down, or add to the heeling force, possibly putting you in the water.  If the wind picks up, or the direction becomes shifty, you're better to sheet in lest you get into a death-roll situation.

The technique seemed to work, at least last night.  I was able to put several boat lengths between Ken (who was sailing his boat flat) and I, and rounded the leeward mark with tons of time to spare.  Another bullet!  Actually, placement for everyone was the same.

Log - Race Night Hobie 16 - June 18, 2015

So following up last week's not-a-race-night, I decided to take H16 number 84 out again.  I was fortunate enough to sail with Ken E who has a lot more experience in these things than I, and a lot more experience in general tactical situations.

Light winds (<5 knots) with the occasional gust of up to 8-10 and no waves.  Racing was Tony and Rob (H16 01), Ken S (Laser) and Steve/Carla (Tasar) with Mario running RC in a longer-than-normal course.

Set up
Last week, I had the jib tack attached to the bottom hole of the stay adjuster.  The idea was to have the jib as far away from the mast as possible to reduce the chance of the batons getting caught on the wire halyard.  Now that I found the clip I figured I could get the jib closer to the mast, and this might help some of my jib trimming issues.  The jib got caught on the mast a couple of times during tacks, but letting the jib out when bringing it across mitigated that, and it would probably not be an issue in higher winds -- it's just a matter of paying attention.  Airflow did seem better across jib.

Set up notes for next time -- second bottom hole seems right for light winds.  Will have to look up whether to go "up" or "down" for heavier air.

As per last week's notes, we were better at moving the jib blocks along the tracks, which definitely made a difference.

Race 1:

I was skippering with Ken E on crew.  Good start, just behind and to port of the monohulls.  The start was in a gust, so even though Ken S could point better than us, we were able to cross him before we had to keep clear.  S&C just took off, and the Tasar was going as fast as we were (and pointing better!)  The cat's lack of pointing ability combined with a couple of unlucky headers and generally slowing wind speed meant we rounded in third, behind the monohulls but ahead of Tony.

We elected to point higher than normal on the reaching leg, trying to keep speed up.  This also allowed us to defend against Tony and Rob.  As we approached the leeward mark, we elected to head up and continue on port rather than tack.  We accidentally discovered a patch of really good air to the right of the course.  Contrary to what the landscape would suggest, this patch of air was both fast and was a bit of a lift.  We were able to pull farther ahead of Tony/Rob, and eventually came in 3rd.

Race 2:
Ken E skippered this one.  Steve and Carla took off for a sail, so this one was a three boat race.  Start was decent, although Ken S won it.  Pointing issues again took their tole in the low winds, and no one could touch Ken S. The reaching leg worked out a bit different this time.  In even lower winds, we again pointed high to keep boat speed up.  Tony pointed right at the mark, and the boats were exactly in line when we passed the gybe mark.  I guess in these conditions, we were going about the same speed regardless of point of sail, so the shorter distance paid off for Tony.

The second reach was a good tactical move by Ken E.  We were initially in Tony's wind shadow.  As Tony pulled ahead, Ken headed up, and covered Tony.  He then headed down and defended.  We rounded leeward ahead of Tony, and again went to our "good air here" spot.  A shortened course meant we finished at the windward mark, well ahead of Tony.
 
Lessons learned:
- The cat has a big sail, and can cover like anyone's business -- use it, especially in light air.
- In extremely light airs, if boat speed does not change with point then just point it at the mark

Log - Race night in Hobie 16 - Aug 10, 2015

Very light winds.  Took 6-year-old (this week...) Hannah on Hobie 16 number 84.  Race cancelled due to low winds, but went out anyway.  Tony and Ron were out in Hobie 16 number 01 while Carla took a Laser.

As soon as we left shore (and RC went home) the wind picked up nicely.  Hannah on jib, learning how the cleats and continuous line worked.  While on the water, had my typical H16 tacking issue -- jib batons getting caught on the jib halyard.  I noticed there was a clip on the port side of the mast, a few feet under the forestay attachment.  It looks like it's meant to hold the halyards (jib and main) back from the front of the mast.  I went into irons, gave the jib halyards a good pull and was able to clip it in place.  AWESOME!  No more issue tacking this thing.

Wind continued to increase.  Spent most of the evening on beam reaching going back and forth to Quebec and back a few times.  Hulls were humming and I was able to get out on the wire (we weren't flying a hull, but were still blasting along.  The main looked good all night long, but the jib always seemed under trimmed.  Will try playing with the position of the jib cars next time out to improve this.

A couple of times one of the rudders popped up, leading to massive weather helm.  Apparently, some maintenance on the rudder assembly can mitigate this, especially adjusting spring tension.  It seems involved though .  May do this on upcoming duty day.

Lessons Learned
- clip halyards to prevent batons getting stuck
- see what we can do to improve jib trim
- perform maintenance on rudder assembly(?)

Log - Crewing Viper 640 at NCR, Aug 8-9, 2015

KSC's commodore (Mike) owns a share in a Viper 640 based at nearby NSC.  He asked me (and KSC's head instructor, Emily) to crew for him in the National Capital Regatta at BYC this year.  Oh, hell yes!

About the boat
The Viper 640 is a sportboat,  21 feet long plus a retractable spinnaker pole.  It's 750lbs, including the 250lb bulb at the bottom of the retractable keel.  It is typically raced with three people.  I've never sailed this thing before, and I think that Emily had limited experience on it too, so it was going to be interesting to race.

Pre race and learning to sail this thing
Forecast called for very light airs.

Launching took about 20 minutes, and we decided to carry a motor (2.3HP) to get to the race course on time.  Once reaching the race course, it was apparent that the RC wasn't going to start races any time soon, so we spent the time beating and getting familiar with each other and the boat (especially downwind).  The thing was nicely rounded from the deck to the gunwale, making it much more comfortable than an Albacore, and more like a Tasar.

Upwind, Mike helmed and took the main sheet.  If conditions called for Emily and I to be on opposite sides of the boat (VERY light air), we'd take turns handling the jib.  Otherwise, I'd handle the jib, and Emily would call tactics.  To compensate for the 50lb motor on the back, crew was typically as forward as was practical, trying to ensure that the chine was in the water.

Downwind, Emily took the tiller.  The boat is set up to both launch and retrieve the spinnaker when on port tack, but apparently can be done on starboard as well (we never tried it...).  The port-side favouritism allowed us to start the hoist as we were rounding the mark, rather than wait until we're past it.  Mike raised the kite while I was ready to launch the pole (pull the line hard when he says "pole") and handle the spinnaker once it was up.  My eyes were fixed on the leading edge while Mike took on tactics and managed the jib during gybes.  Light airs made it tricky to keep the sail full, but it wasn't too bad.

Gybing the kite took a few tries to nail cleanly.  Skipper would call for gybe, and crew would have to grab the opposite sheet, run across the boat and sheet in hand over hand as fast as humanly possible.  Mike would uncleat and handle the jib as I had my hands full.  Dousing was where I was glad I wore gloves.  I'd uncleat the halyard, and Mike doused, while I guided the halyard through the block so it didn't get cleated accidentally.  Burning leather smell as the line runs through my gloves!  Once he calls "pole" I uncleat the pole extension line, and get on the jib.

First Race
We had a bad start, and ended up in slow, dirty air, with (what we later discovered later) were non-optimal sail controls.  Particularly frustrating was the downwind -- the other boats could point a lot farther down than we could while keeping the kite full.  Hmm.  Based on a shortened course, we weren't sure where the finish line was, and had to pull a 360 and sail though an incoming Y-Flyer fleet to finish 4/4.

This was the one race we had on the Saturday, so back to BYC for BBQ steak and beer.  Steve (Viper 211) pointed out that the spreaders looked swept too far back, and suggested using more blocks to rake the mast more.


 Second Race
A bit more wind today (not much, but some...).  First race we had a much better start, although the other boats still seemed to have more speed upwind.  Mainsail ticklers were flowing backwards at top of sail -- some tuning definitely required (not enough twist, perhaps?  Maybe less gnav and a looser leech would allow flow to attach better?) We noticed that the other boats were dropping their jib on the downwind, probably to help the kite fill better.  We still were going slow on the downwind, but dropping the jib did seem to help pointing a bit.  Again, confusion as to finish line location was frustrating, but didn't affect our final placement - 4/4

Third Race

Apparently we didn't sail the 3rd race.  I'm 99% sure we ran 1 race Saturday and 3 Sunday, but the RC logs show 5 races total ran.  I guess we missed this one?  http://www.byc.ca/racing/results/NCR%202015/alpha.htm

Forth Race
After the 2nd race, Steve pointed out that we had a mainsail baton backwards on the previous downwind leg, and that our controls (especially outhaul) was way too tight.  Keeping this in mind, we left the jib up (just focusing on pointing and watching the wind, and better controls).  Those controls made a difference.  Again, finished 4/4, but kept up with the other boats better, and at least we knew where the finish line was.

Forth Race
We started well, and we keeping up with the fleet on the first upwind.  Eventually, we noticed that the other boats were footing as the wind slowed, trying to maintain boat speed.  We copied this technique and it proved quite effective.  On the downwind, we were now able to set the spinnaker efficiently with little communication and the timing was getting much tighter.  We were now officially "in the pack" as the boat in front of us gybed to avoid our wind shadow.  We were keeping up with the fleet a lot better, pointing much better and even gaining a bit now and then  (before falling back).  We lost some time on a sloppy douse at the leeward mark, but seemed to be doing excellent on the upwind leg (for an upwind finish on the shortened course).  Placed 4/4, but it was the race of the day.

Downwind sail back to NSC was the most fun -- air picked up more and there was actually real pressure in the kite.  The thing got going a real good clip.  Would definitely sail again, ideally in about 10-12 knots.

Lessons learned

• BRING GLOVES!
• Watch the main sail batons, make sure they pop in light air
• Dropping the jib may help downwind a bit in light air, but proper control settings and spinnaker setting more important.  Maybe practice jib lowering once the rest can be done without thinking too much.  Unknown if dropping jib would help in medium or higher air.
• Controls - outhaul is huge.  Especially on the downwinds.  Cunninham didn't have as much an effect, and we didn't play with the gnav much.  Some experimenting is definitely required, especially if the mast rake is altered as per Steve's recommendations. 
• Boat seemed to accelerate better with a bit of leeward heel, but held the speed better when flat.  Not knowing sportboats/keelboats, I'm under the impression that this is normal, but I may be mis-interpretting the data.

Log - Race Night - Aug 3, 2015

Forecast: Winds from W, ~11 gusting to 17
Observed: Quite strong initially (steady 12-15) although not particularity gusty.  As the night went on, base wind slowed, but gusts continued to the mid-high teens

One of the bigger turnouts so far this year.  Mike T, Ken S and I in Lasers, Ken E and Corrine (and Leopold) in an Albacore, Tony and Annie in a H16.  Emily and her boyfriend Kyle were gogint to take a Tasar to do a rabbit start, but ended up doing RC instead.  Course was set a bit askew, and starboard tack was favoured.

First race: Won the start convincingly, with Mike behind me and to lee, and with Ken E behind to windward in the Albacore.  The Albacore unfortunately had me trapped a bit, as he was a bit faster upwind, and could point higher, meaning I couldn't tack onto port, as I'd smack into him.  Eventually, he tacked, and I tacked immediately, leaving Mike and Ken S to continue along on starboard.

Rounded 1st, with the Kens behind.  Was able to defend quite well while they went high on the reach, I was able to point a bit lower.  Was passed by the H16 absolutely flying on the second reaching leg but it got stuck in irons as it rounded leeward mark.

Upwind went fine, although Ken S caught some lifts and caught up.  I was able to ride a good gust near the leeward mark which pushed me ahead of Ken, but then the badness happened.

The traveller got stuck on the gybe.  I was able to round the mark but got caught with no way to turn the boat.  I fouled Ken S as he came around and we both capsized.  We got up, and I sailed away a bit to do my turns.  Got stuck again after the 1st tack and fouled him a second time (although he didn't capsize at that point, I did).  Apparently Ken E fell out of his boat, and Mike T fouled the mark watching and laughing at us.  I finished 4th behind Ken S, Mike T and Ken E (I'm not sure what order) but beat the cat.

Second race: Good start, clear of the Albacore this time.  Mike T was on my tail for a bit, but I tacked and he didn't.  Later on he apparently had to retire to fix his boat (he kept getting caught in the sheet as the fairlead was broken).  Ken S capsized on the 1st reaching leg, and I was able to keep distance between myself and Ken E on all legs, for the win.

Third race:  Bad start.  I thought Mike T had it, but apparently he was OCS.  Ken S, Ken E and I all started poorly, with Ken S doing the best.  I was behind Ken S all through the race, when (on the downwind leg) the race was called on account of lightning.  Would likely have finished 2nd behind him.

Lessons learned: Gybes were the tough part today.  Work on those, especially getting traveller unstuck.  I taped up the traveller a bit after I got on shore, so hopefully that works better now.  Also, I could have done a better job playing the shifts.

My first RC day

I'm a slacker.  I've been sailing for 5 years, and always seemed to weasel out of race committee.  I've tried, honestly, but one those day there's always been someone else who has injured themselves or forgot their gear, or something who volunteers to take my place.  At least that's the story I'm going with...

Some people hate race committee (RC) duty.  Some people don't mind, and others absolutely enjoy it.  As of last Monday, I'm of the "I enjoy it, but I'd rather be sailing" mindset.

Being still sore from the Masters' Worlds' (post on that later...) I volunteered for RC on Monday.  I figure after racing 5 years, it's about time, eh?

I set the course the way Mario recommended -- centre mark first, take a few wind bearings, etc.  I set the windward, gybe and leeward marks in good enough time, and held a (very quick) skipper's meeting on the beach.  Some of the sailors were surprised I had a skipper's meeting, but I wanted to let them know that it was a short course (I wanted to try to get three races in) with a short start line (I wanted to generate some traffic).

We had four boats, initially, all very different.  Ken was skippering an Albacore, with Corrine.  Steve and Carla took out a 29er (without a kite).  Tony and Alex were in a Hobie 16, and a member I didn't know (Andrea) was in a Laser.

A few warning signals (that Ken initially didn't hear) and we were off.  No surprise, with Steve taking the start.  The cat got caught up in irons, and the Laser made it through.  As the boats were nearing the windward mark, Ken swung by to ask if the race started, and he crossed the start line and started making his way upwind.

Lesson 1: use a louder whistle or air horn

The cat passed the 29er on the 1st reach, but got caught in irons rounding the leeward mark.  The 29er rounded and could not be caught, and Ken was able to overtake the 16.  It was close between the 16 and the Laser for 3rd place, but Tony got some speed and was able to cross.

One thing I was quite proud of is seeing the downwind leg, both the 29er and the cat were butterflying the jib -- now THAT's a square course.  Good job, RC!

Second race, it was only the 29er, the 16 and the Laser, as Ken was going in to drop Corrine off, and pick up Alex.  Same results -- 16 kept getting stuck in irons, 29er first, Laser last.  By the downwind leg, Ken had picked up Alex, and the two were messing about around the RC boat.  I shouted to Ken "about 10 minutes before the next race", and distracted him while a gust hit -- capsize.  Man, I felt bad.

Lesson 2: STFU and run the race

Third race, the 29er went in, as Carla had enough of a workout.  Mike R came out in the Byte though.  Albacore vs Laser vs Byte vs Hobie.  The wind was getting gustier by this time.  The Laser kept capsizing, and the Albacore dumped at the gybe mark.  Mike might have taken it.  The Albacore was turtled, and it looked like no one was getting up on the boat.  I went over with the power boat.  Eventually, we managed to pull the thing upright, with Mike's help (he dumped and abandoned his byte to assist.  Because it took so long, we called the race abandoned, although I had no flag to fly.  Several exhausted sailors later, it was pointed out that the RC boat is not comfortable to get in.

Lesson 3: Carry the abandonment flag
Lesson 4: Carry the ladder in the RC boat

I'm happy we abandoned the race -- it was the right thing to do, to help out.  I still feel awful for distracting Ken/Alex on that first capsize.

Log - Training - June 30, 2015

I got a hold of the instructor at KSC and was able to book a training session for tonight.

Forecast: 12knts gusting to 18
Actual: Started out almost dead (<5knt) but built up to a solid 10-12 knts (constant, very little gusts)

We started out with roll tacks.  I tended to be bearing off too much after the tack, and wasn't "slamming" the boat down hard enough coming out of the turn.  Will have to work on that.  Tacking port to starboard was much smoother than starboard to port tack.  Practice

Upwind, I tended to hike on my "ankles" rather than "feet".  Practice, excercise

Downwind, I wasn't "yanking" the sheet over enough, and was doing so too soon.  Practice

End result -- got lots of tips, not I just have to practice them more.

Log - Get out on the Water - Jun 20, 2015

The "get out on the water" day was organized by Ontario Sailing and we partnered with the Canoe Club next door to offer sessions of sailing and paddling.  Many thanks to Giulio for organizing our part of it!

Quite a few KSC sailors were out helping, but I was one of the few (along with Ken S and Frank) who were taking the cats out.  I grabbed a Hobie 16 (with Mike R's old sails) in light conditions.

Despite a bit of sunburn, the day was tons of fun -- I forgot how cool it is to sail one of those Hobies.  After the Kingston Masters', I'll probably be taking one of these suckers out more.  I've never single-handed one for a significant amount of time, so maybe that's a goal for this year.

Lessons learned: teenage girls talk shit about their parents

Log - Race night, Jun 22, 2015

Forecast: winds of 7 from S (increasing through evening to 8 or so) with gusts of up to 11

Observed: fairly light winds (4-8 knts) from W (over the ridge), shifting to coming from S (upriver) as the night went on.  A few patches of better wind (8-12 knt).  Wind was very shifty early on, but eventually stabilized direction.  Flat water.

Game plan: Initial plan was to play the gusts.  On the water, playing the shifts proved very effective at first, but once the wind stabilized focused on boat speed.

Results: first race I started 1 minute early, and had to circle back and started 4/4 place.  By paying attention to the shifts (and not losing speed on my tacks) I was able to tack to take advantage of about 6-8 shifts and made up positions to round the first mark 2nd behind Ken E and Corrine C in their Albacore (we were about the same boat speed upwind, but they could point a heck of a lot better in the light air).  Held position for rest of race.

Second race I had a better start and rounded upwind, gybe mark, downwind mark and upwind (again) in 1st place.  Rudder downhaul broke though, and the mainsheet got tangled around boom on second downwind leg (fairlead was broken).  Ken was able to get inside me at 2nd downwind mark.  I should have slowed down and got inside him, but...

Anyway, Ken able to get to finish line before me for the upwind finish.

So two 2nd places.  Considering the conditions, not bad, but this was a small fleet.

Lessons learned: don't sail with a broken boat.  Pay attention to the shifts.  Start of race sequence starts 1 minute after AP goes down, not when AP goes down.

Masters' Clinic with Thomas Fogh

A group of sailors in the area are heading to the Masters' Worlds' and had arranged for a prep clinic with Thomas Fogh at Britannia Yacht Club.  Somehow they heard that this rookie from Kanata was going as well, and extended an invite.

The first thing I learned is that my goal of "second last or better" is probably a stretch -- holy shit, these guys are good.  Their boat speed on any point, in any conditions must've been 135% mine, and that's not even including the fact that they don't lose any speed during their tacks, whereas I, well, do.

Speaking with the other sailors, as well as coach Fogh, I learned gobs about everything from setup, to boat handling, to proper technique, even a few tactical tips.  The only downside is that (given that the other folks were so much faster than I was) I didn't get a chance to practice the tactical aspects too much.

Setup - Before launch

Right away, I was pointed to some things I was doing wrong in terms of boat setup.  Some of this was functional, some was just to save wear-and-tear on the boat.

Traveller - My traveller was too loose to begin with.  In addition, the line was old and stretchy, and I had it tied in a simple "slip loop".  I should replace the line, and tie it in a bowline before getting it down tight.  For the clinic, I wasn't able to replace my line, but I did sail with it tighter than I normally do -- I was able to point better, depower more easily, and go faster.  Note that I WAS catching the sheet on the transom more (as the block needed some coaxing to move across the rudder, and got stuck a couple of times) but practice should take care of that.

Vang - as the control comes out of the cleat block, I have a loop with a rubberized handle.  My loop was set too far back from the cleat, allowing, in downwind conditions, the boom to rise up.  Also, after the loop, there is a trailing length of line.  I should be tying that extra line to the centreboard -- this allows the handle to "fall" to one side, but still be within reach.

Clew tie down - I didn't have it tied down tight enough

Centreboard brake - replace the rubber "M" brake, it's not holding the board in place

Outhaul - The outhaul ties off at the fairlead, and goes through a block with a hook which attaches to the clew grommet before going back through the fairlead to the control line.  The "turning point" that the fairlead makes should be "above" the tie off point, rather than "below" it.  I never really paid attention to it before, but apparently, the line can get caught under the fairlead where the rivet is.  I erroneously drew the line passing through the grommet, but you get the idea from the picture.  Also, I should add a (class legal) "inhaul", drawn in blue.

Setup - On the water

Cunningham - I tended to put way to much cunningham on.  The low purchase on the cunninham on the Laser, combinded with a stiff upper mast (in comparison to a skiff, a Byte, a cat, etc) means that the cunningham isn't really useful for bending the mast and depowering.  The cut of the Laser standard sail, also means that the cunningham is pulling along the bias of the sail cloth, which "stretches" the sail more than depowers.  Use a bit of cunningham to move draft in and out, but that's about it.

Vang - I didn't use nearly enough vang.  As a result, when I tried to sheet out to depower in gusts, the boom was just moving "up" and was actually increasing power, forcing me to pinch.

Boat handling - Tacks

My tacks the first day were quite awful. Improve:

• Tack smoother, slower.  Don't jam the rudder ever, instead use body weight more, and urge the boat using the rudder
• Move my ass farther back in the boat when tacking.  This helps head the boat up, and allows me to duck lower when crossing
• "kiss the rachet" when crossing
• come out of the turn with the rudder strait
• hike HARD when I come out
• head down a bit, momentarily, to regain lost speed, and get back on close hauled

Boat handling - Gybes/downwind

 I was doing too much of an "s-turn" when gybing.  Sheet in so boom is about 45 and then use body weight to turn the boat slightly to initiate gybe.  Going downwind, in fear of the death roll, I had my vang on too tight, and my boom in too much.  Get better at generating/handling more power.  Centreboard down "a bit", the thinking at the top level has changed from the "board all the way up" days.

Also, my position was wrong in light air.  I typically crouched on the windward side of the boat near the centreboard.  While my "place" in the boat was correct, I wasn't "locked in".  It was recommended that I put one leg under the hiking strap to ensure I could throw the boat around, if need be.

Starts

Wow, this is a post on its own..

Honestly, dear, this has never happened to me before!

I was fortunate that I heeded Steve and Rune's advice.

Tie down your tiller!

I've been sailing for 5 years, and not once has the tiller come out of the rudder head.  Until this week.

The Laser's rudder head is on the boat pretty securely.  The clip does a good job of keeping it in place, and some have additional pins or split rings to back the clip up.  The tiller, however slides into the rudder head, and there are a few, unreliable, ways to keep it in place:

• friction - jam it in there, and hope it stays
• the pin -- there is a single pin to hold the tiller in the rudder head, but it can fall out
• the rudder downhaul -- the rudder can pivot up and down.  Except when you're coming into shallow water, you want the rudder down, and that's what pulling on the downhaul does.  The line can then be cleated onto the tiller (which also holds the tiller in place), but is pretty easy to release.

For two years, I sailed with these three mechanisms conspiring to hold the tiller in place.  And it worked.  Then Steve and Rune advised me to additionally tie the downhaul into a loop past the cleat.  They said that if the cleat/pin came undone, then this would at least prevent you from loosing the tiller (which doesn't float).  I figured (at the time) "why bother, this works fine as is!" but heeded the advice of the gurus anyway.

This week, I inserted the pin incorrectly, and didn't notice.  On the water, in heavy winds, I all-of-a-sudden felt the tiller come out of the rudder head, in the middle of a tack.  I was still holding the tiller, but almost capsized.  If I had gone into the drink, there's a good chance I would have lost the tiller to the bottom of the Ottawa had I not tied the downhaul post-cleat.

So yeah, tie down your tiller!

Sailing beginner's tips

I was out a couple of days ago, and I noticed a few folks on the water making "rookie mistakes".  Not that there's a problem with that -- we were all rookies once, and even the folks who have been going out for 30 years make them.  I'm sure there are many things I do that some would consider rookie moves.

Most of the sailing blogs I read focus on the high-performance sailor.  There's little on them for the person just starting their adventure.  So I figured I'd address some of common things I see beginners do.

Tiller grip: The "frying pan" vs "microphone" grip (I've also seen this called "dagger" grip). When holding the tiller (or tiller extension), hold it like a a microphone.  Don't bend your wrist and hold it like a frying pan.  It feels awkward for about 5 minutes, and then feels much more comfortable.

Holding the sheet: do NOT wrap it around your hand to improve grip.  Especially in high winds.  it will squeeze your hand and leave you with bruises, or worse.  If you're having trouble gripping the sheet, you can

• replace the sheet with a thicker line
• wear gloves that make the effective size of the line thicker
• do exercises to improve grip strength

Hand-over-hand sheeting: Hold the sheet "mainly" in your forward hand, but hold the slack in the back-facing hand (yes, even if you're holding the tiller).  This lets you sheet in by moving your hands together, move your forward hand down the line, and re-grip.

Behind-the-back passing: When you tack (or gybe), you ultimately end up switching which hand holds the tiller extension, and which holds the sheet.  I find it most effective to (as I'm switching sides), face forward, place both hands behind my back, move the tiller to the new hand (it's now holding both sheet and tiller), sit down on the new side of the boat.  Only once I'm settled do I grab the sheet with the new control hand (and I'm already in my hand-over-hand sheeting position).

Keep it flat!  Do you have too much weather helm?  You're not keeping the boat flat enough.  Are you slower than everyone else on the course?  Flatten that boat.  Unable to point?  Flatten, to solve your problems!  A dinghy is meant to be sailed flat.  Keelboats, are a bit more complicated, especially approaching hull speed, but you can't go wrong keeping it flat.

Sailing between the holes

The Ottawa River isn't particularly wavy.  Most days, the wind blows from the west, and generally follows the river.  This means the waves are not as big as you'd expect for a given wind speed, since the difference between wind and water is (wind_speed - current_speed).  When it blows from the south or east, however, the waves are bigger since the different between the wind speed and the water speed is (wind_speed + current_speed).

I had the opportunity to get some wave-practice in last night.  The wind was coming up river, and the waves were a good 3 feet high with whitecaps.  Since I don't have a lot of experience in waves, this was a good chance to try different things, and see what works for me.

The wind and waves were going slightly different directions, meaning that on port tack, on a close hauled course, I was just about perpendicular to the oncoming waves.

Attempt 1: baseline attempt - sail close hauled as if there no waves
Nope.  I'd go up a wave (slow down significantly), past the crest, and the bow would come crashing down into the trough [splash!].  The next wave would then hit my bow full on, crashing over the top of the deck, and stopping me (or pushing me backwards!).  Apparently, the Laser does not have a wave-piercing hull.  :)

Attempt 2: use body weight/position
Here I tried to shift my body weight to allow for smoothing wave crossings.  At the top of the wave I'd be low down, and hiked out far.  In the troughs, I'd be sitting higher.  My thought was that if my centre of mass was relatively stable (from a vertical perspective), then the wave would only be moving the boat up and down.  This would mean the wave would have an easier time lifting the boat.

This had a bit of an effect, but not as much as I was hoping.  I then tried moving my body back-and-forth (fore-and-aft) to try to force the boat into/through/up/down/the waves in various ways.  Again, this seemed to have an effect, but I had trouble getting the timing of what to do, when, correct.  The is something I should practice, and try to get a better handle on, as between the up/down and fore/aft movement, the waves could probably be much more manageable.

Attempt 3: steering to avoid the holes

I noticed that the biggest trouble stop was not the big-wave-coming-towards-me, it was that I'm-stuck-in-this-deep-trough-when-the-wave-hits.  I tried something new -- when I saw particularly deep trough coming towards me, I bore off slightly to avoid it.  I tried to point between the peaks of the next wave, as the bigger the crest, the bigger the trough behind it.

This was REALLY effective.  Not only was avoiding the brakes of "pitch-poling", be the few seconds of bearing off also increased boat speed as I was on a bit more of a close reach (rather than close hauled) and I could pinch a little bit immediately after to make up for lost pointing.  Practising this, along with better body movement should definitely improve upwind/big-wave performance.

In the diagram, you can see something like my original close-hauled course in red.  At each "break" in the line, is when I'd crest a wave, crash down, and almost stop.

The green course shows me bearing away when I see a "pit" coming.  While it's not as close to the wind as the red course, I found it much faster.

The takeaway:
- Steer to avoid the deep pits and troughs
- Bear off to increase speed
- Avoid digging the bow into oncoming waves
- Try to figure out how to use body weight/position/movement

Log, Jun 1, 2015 - The Laser is not a wave-piercing hull

Forecast: Wind 17 gusting to 24 from SW

Observed conditions: Wind ~15 gusting to ~20+ from S/SE (coming up the river) but was relatively steady from a direction point of view.  Waves 2-3 feet, whitecaps (eventually calming a bit).  Persistent shift to E?  When close hauled on port tack, was going directly into waves.  When on starboard, was more parallel.

Race night cancelled due to high wind.  Those more adventurous sailors (Mike R, Mike T, Emily, Liz, Heidi, a student, myself) took to the water anyway, and I made it a training day.  Beating upwind was tough, as was bearing off though beam reach.  Fore-aft trim and a flat boat was essential to prevent overpowering weather helm.  Dry-dunked during first gybe attempt :(.  Had a perfect opportunity to try a "California roll" but didn't think of it at the time.

Lessons learned:

• The Laser is not a wave piercing hull
• "Sail between the holes" -- will write about this in an upcoming post. (Edit -- here's the post)

Clinic with Thomas Fogh

Things are getting exciting in the approach to the Master's Worlds.  I've signed up for a clinic next weekend given by coach-for-the-Canadian-Pan-Am-Games-Sailing-Team Thomas Fogh.  First race night of the season is tonight, with big winds expected (17 knots, gusting to 24 forecast!)

KSC Racing Meeting Minutes

Racing is a week away!  In prep, some of the racers held a meeting at the club with the sailing director (Jake) and the ever-awesome Mario.

The end results of the discussion:

• we want sailing instructions to be a bit more formal -- closer to what you'd see at a real regatta
• we'll divide the season into 3 sets of 5 race nights -- we'll try the new instructions out, and can adjust them for the second series
• we'll "draw" boats at the skipper meeting -- no more first come, first serve
• 1st race warning time of 5:45
• we'll sail with the cats and 29ers on the same course, albeit  with different starts
• for the 2nd and 3rd series, the plan is to have the cats and skiffs sail a longer windward/leeward course, but...
• scoring: now no difference between skipper and crew scoring

All in all, I think the changes are good.   I'm mostly looking forward to a fixed start time, and getting more races in.

Training Day

First day out on the water this season -- let's see how rusty I got over the winter.

Wind: Good wind today, but gusty.  Forecast 8-12 knt with gusts up to 15-18.  Actual estimated: 10 knt with gusts to 15.  Wind coming downriver, maybe a bit off of the Ontario shore

Waves: Surprisingly small.  Still there, but not too much wave resistance.

Focus: Work on getting out early, keeping the boat flat.  Secondary effort is to measure tacking speed.

Notes: The hiking bench definitely helped me get out there farther, for longer periods of time.  Definitely did a better job than last year of keeping the boat flat.  I got caught once looking at the sail rather than looking at the water.  I was fully hiked out, hit a lull, and couldn't get in soon enough -- into the drink.

Did 10 chained tacks (from close hauled to close reach, back to top speed, and then up to close hauled again) in 2:12.  Second attempt, did it in 1:48.

Boat: 196281.  Hull and tiller good.  Sail was in rough shape.  Daggerboard beat to crap.

Club Starts

A lot of information can be found about how to start a race.  An issue I was struggling with when I started racing was that most of this information isn't applicable to club racing -- it's more focused on competitive level racing where the start lines are packed with boats, all of which know exactly what they're doing.

At the club level (especially the "beer league") the racing tends to be more laid back.  You have folks who just learned (or are learning) to sail, folks who have been doing it for 30 years and have 30 years of bad habits, folks who are just there to have a bit of fun before sharing a pint, folks out with their kids on the water, and occasional competitive jerk screwing it up for everyone else.  The expected behaviour and etiquette in these situations is different from a "real" regatta, and the start strategies usually employed are a bit different.

The goal is the same -- you want to be across the start line (usually between some marker, like a bouy, and a flag on the committee boat) with as much speed as possible, right at the start sound.  But, in my experience, the way people achieve this is a little bit processional than most of the youtube videos you'll see.  You won't see people luffing their opponents or defending their position as much as in a competitive regatta.  Heck, lots of people don't even form a plan to pick a favoured end of the start line!

During the start sequence, most boats will broad reach (it's fun!) on port tack and see how far away from the commitee boat the get after 30 seconds.  The theory is that if you start on a starboard tack from this point 30 seconds or so before the gun, you should be at the committee end of start line with full speed right at the start of the race.  45 seconds or so before the start, a line of boats will form around this point, with each boat judging the ideal place to be.  The line of boats starts heading toward the line.

About 10-20 seconds before the start, the first of the boats pass the committee boat.  Each boat must judge if it's going too-fast, too-soon and may potentially have to luff to avoid overshooting the port-side mark.

As the gun goes, the boats head up to a close-hauled course and the race is underway!

In the diagram above, the blue boat is "too-fast, too-soon" and is approaching the port mark 10 seconds before the start.  It has to head up, and almost stop to avoid going past.  As a result, it's boat speed is very slow as it crosses the start.

The green and yellow boats do a good job.  They're probably taking the lead.

The red boat has left it too late.  They'll pass the start line with good speed, but probably 5 or 10 seconds behind green and yellow.

Fitness

I've been told that the Laser is an "athletic boat".  Honestly, I'm not sure that it's much more "athletic" it is than most other dinghies.  I mean, when I go out on something like a 29er or Hobie, I'm aching the next day from all the pseudo-squats I'm doing from the wire, and I have yet to see someone unable to sail a Laser because they were not strong/agile enough.

What I think people mean by "the Laser is an athletic boat" is that "fit folks tend to sail Lasers a lot faster than unfit folks".  Compare that to something like the Albacore where those carrying more, um, "ballast" can still win by being very smart tactically and knowing the particular tweaks and trim settings to get every ounce of speed from the boat in any wind condition.

So, in prep for the Worlds' it couldn't hurt to get fitter.

Hiking: I built a hiking bench like Doug Peckover's and have been working on getting my time up.  From 10 seconds initially, I'm up to about 45.  A long way to go.

Upper Body Strength: I bought some rope and hung it from the rafters in the basement.  The two ends of the rope are about shoulder width apart and end in loops with plastic tubes as handholds.  I do chinups on this rope, I'm up to two or three sets of five.

Lower Body Strength: I have an old barbell with 70 pounds on it.  Doing 2 sets of 10 squats.  Perhaps I should get more weights?

Situps: I do situps on the hiking bench.  Sit-ups are actually easier than the "hiking" part.  I'm not sure how many I can

Flexability: Flexibility and cardio are by far the weakest points.  I never had great flexibility, and keep forgetting to work on it.  Any tips?

Cardio: I have no stamina.  I can jog maybe one kilometre, on a good day.

Agility: I have no idea how to train for improved agility/balance/quickness, other than to "sail more".  Any thoughts?

I'll try to remember to post in a month with improved results.

Lessons and Improving

I spoke with the instructor at the club about taking some additional lessons.  There's two routes I could go here, with the end goal being "become a better sailor".

I could go the certification route.  Right now I hold a CanSail 2 (what used to be "White Sail III") level.  That's basically "you know how to sail."  I got this 5 years ago when I first took lessons.  Now, I'm a much better (I think...) sailor now than I was then.  So maybe I should get trained up to the next level (CanSail 3/4 which basically corresponds to "know how to race").  The advantage of getting a formal certification is that I can putting myself on a common base with other (better) sailors, and I can then see what they're doing differently (better) than me.

Option two is to forgo the certifications, and just "get better".  Work on areas where I'm weak.  Refine areas I'm strong.  The advantage of this route is that I don't waste time developing skills which are of little use to the class of boat I sail on.  For example, how important is knowing "proper trapeze technique" if I'm sailing Lasers?

This got me thinking -- what are my overall goals?

• short term: place 2nd last or better in the Kingston Masters Worlds'
• long term: be a better overall sailor

The certification route would be better for my long term goal, but a more specific regimen would be better for my short term goal.

Gusts and The Fan

Time for a post about actually sailing and (even better) sailing fast.  I'll write a few sentences on the topic of gusts (which many sailors already know) and then move on to talking about the fan which is something that I kinda observed on my own, and then (when I read about it Frank Bethwaite's High Performance Sailing) was confirmed and expanded upon.  But it's not something I hear folks at the club talking about, and I don't recall reading posts about it on other blogs, so I don't know how widely known the fan is.

Gusts

My naive view of gusts

We all know how to spot gusts, right?  Look for those dark, ripply patches on the water.  These patches may be blotchy, they may be in lines or columns.  They move along the water.  The wind in the gusts is faster than the average wind.  If you're on the race course, and see multiple "dots" of fast wind, you'll notice that the boats who win will be sailing from one gust to the next, trying to "connect the dots".  Their boat speed is huge compared to those who just point for the mark.  Avoid those flat, mirror-like spots on the water -- those are lulls with less-than-average wind.

For a long time, I thought that's all there was to it -- gust = faster version of ambient wind.  Eventually, I noticed that the gusts often have a slightly different wind direction than the ambient wind, but that's it.

The Fan

The fan is a term I read in High Performance Sailing.  It describes an area of high pressure, and high wind speeds, around the perimeter of a gust, spreading out in a "fan" shape, especially in front of the gust.  The wind in this fan is faster than the wind in the gust itself.  In hindsight, I have often noticed that the wind feels very fast as I sail into a gust, but I always assumed that this was a trick of my perception -- it "felt" fast because I was coming in from slower air, but quickly got use to the new speed.  It turns out I was wrong -- the wind actually is fastest at the transition.

You'll notice two things about the fan -- fast wind, and changing wind directions.  All the wind in the fan is faster than the ambient wind, and much of it is faster than the "core" of the gust.  But it's the change in direction that we want to exploit.

Consider two boats approaching a gust on a port tack.  The red boat, on the left, heads for the centre of the gust.  They are hit with the strong wind of the fan as they enter the gust, experience a header, and actually slow down, until they get to the normalized wind direction (where they sail faster than someone who didn't hit the gust at all).

The green boat, on the other hand, aims to skirt the gust, and ride the fan.  The boat experiences a lift and can blast by the fleet (including the red boat).

The next time you're on the water, and see an approaching gust, try to feel out how big the fan is, and how much the wind changes direction in it.  Feel the difference in the speed.  Compare it with the wind in the centre of the gust (which is still better than the ambient wind).

One final note about the fan.  The diagram shows using the fan when going upwind.  Now imagine what happens when you go downwind.  A boat like the Laser goes about half wind speed on a run, and much closer to wind speed on a broad reach, right?  So, someone who hits a 10 knot gust on a run will be going about 5 knots (faster than the 4 knots the rest of the fleet is going).  But, the boat who is right beside the gust, and trims his sail for a reach can ride the 12 knot wind of the fan at a speed closer to 9 knots -- passing the guy in the centre of the gust and waving as he does so!

Log book

I plan on speaking with the club's instructor about getting certified to a higher level, either CanSail 3 or CanSail 4.  Five years ago, I took the learn-to-sail classes, and was certified to what was the equivalent to CanSail 2.  Basically, this meant "okay, you're competent enough that no one needs to keep an eye on you."  Since then, I've gotten a lot better at the sport, but I am aware that there are certainly massive gaps in my knowledge and abilities.

I was looking at the CanSail progress report to see if what I'm doing on the water matches what you'd expect to see someone trained to a higher level.

• Sail by the lee -- yeah, when the conditions are right it's rocket-fast.
• Balance fore-and-aft -- you don't win races with your bow out of the water on upwind legs!
• Use all the sail controls, know how to depower, understand shifts -- hey, no brainer!
• Maintain a written logbook -- wait, what?

I never observed anyone at the club with a personal logbook.  But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.  By writing down what happened, what you tried, what worked, what did not, it would reenforce the lessons learned during your hours on the water.  Similarly, a pre-race entry in the book would probably help in strategy.

So here's my plan for my shiny new log book.

• Pre-race research: record weather forecast, observed wind, waves, boat number, anything other "inputs" to my race strategy.  Is it steady, or gusty?  Is the wind shifty?  If so, what are the oscillations like?
• Pre-race plan: write down what I plan to do this race.  Is the wind light? Write down that I plan on focusing on speed rather than pointing.  That kind of thing
• Pre-race sub-plan: if there's something that I want to drill on during the race (rolls, getting clean wind lanes) then I'll write it down too.  Club racing is a race, but it's still one of the only times you can "try something new" when the stakes are low, so if I read about a technique that I want to try out or seomthing, I'll note it down.
• Post-race results: Where did I place?  What happened?
• Post-race lessons: What worked, what didn't?  To whom do I owe beer for crashing their boat?

I took a look at Doug Peckover's World's Journals which he graciously posted, to see what kind of thing he recorded.  I don't know if my memory is good enough to record his level of detail about what happened, but we'll see.

2015 Laser Masters' Worlds, Kingston

The reason I started this blog was because I want to be a better sailor (and I tend to retain information better when I write it down).

The goal of "becoming a better sailor" is also the reason I entered the Laser Masters' Worlds in Kingston (http://kingstonlaserworlds2015.com/)

Some background: As of this writing, I've only ever raced at the club level.  I'm not bad, and am usually in the top few boats of any given race, often the first of the Lasers (we race in a mixed fleet with no handicap).  All this to say though, I've never competed in the nationals, provincials or even an inter-club regatta.

And I think the experience with sailing with the best at something bigger than the club will make me a better sailor overall.  And besides, I'd love to have a photo on the wall that I can point to when I'm old and decrepit, saying "yep, here's me sailing at the Worlds, right beside the Olympians".  I'll leave out the "old-timers' regatta" when I point to the picture...

I've also been reading some sailing blogs by other sailors.  Improper Course (http://www.impropercourse.com/) and Proper Course (http://propercourse.blogspot.ca/) are my go-to pages.  Applying their tips and observations moved me from the middle of the fleet to the top, and these guys sail in the Worlds.

Now as a relatively new sailor (I've only been sailing 5 years) the concept of "The World Championship" is pretty intimidating.  But when I heard a few months ago that they were being held 2 hours from my house, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to apply for a berth.  From what I understand, they allocate berths on a priory list.  First shot goes to past champions, then come past competitors, then come those who do well on the grand prix circuit, and so on.  The last priority is "anyone else who applies", which is where I fall in.

I'm not sure how many applications they received, but somehow I made the list, and was offered an entry.

So I have a lot to prepare for.  Lots to learn.  I know how to sail (slowly, in comparison to these guys) but I don't know the whole regatta thing.  Opening ceremonies?  Measurement?  Multiple fleets on one course?  Multiple courses?  UH-OH!

On a positive note, at opening day of the club, I bumped into Mario, and was telling him about the race -- it turns out, he's on the race committee!  So there will be at least once face I recognize there, to go with all the names.

[update - Proper Course had an article about preparing for the Worlds' which is setting my mind at ease]

Don't take dumb risks

In 2014, I was racing at the club with the wind blowing from an odd direction.  The right hand side of the course (going up wind) was exposed to stronger winds on average, but was very gusty, and had the lulls to match.  The left-hand side was sheltered, and the wind was slower, but steady.
The first upwind beat, I went to the unstable wind and caught a couple of gusts.  I rounded the windward mark in first place, in front of Ken Eaves who had gone to the left from the start line.  I managed to hold my position around the gybe mark and back to the start line for the final beat.
Now I had a decision: do I go to the right again into the gusty stuff, and try to extend my lead?  Or do I go left where the wind was constant and try to defend my position from there?
I went right, and got caught in a lull.  By the time the fast air hit me again, I was well behind.  I rounded the mark third, and finished fourth.

Lessons learned: don't take unnecessary risks

Ken had gone left at the start of the race -- this should have been a tip off that he would (likely) go left again on the second beat.  I should have gone left and kept in front of him.  I could have kept an eye on him as he rounded the downwind mark, and (just in case he changed tactics and went right) I could always tack and move towards the gusty stuff to ensure he didn't pass.
Doug at Improper Course wrote a post about a similar tactical decision (http://www.impropercourse.com/2015/04/when-to-slow-down.html) where he opined:

Sailing more conservatively is much better than hoping that things would somehow work out. I got greedy, which rarely works with mark roundings, and it cost me the event.

He knows what he's talking about.

What is a Chicken Gybe?

As the obligatory first post, I should explain the name of this blog... so what is a chicken gybe?

For new sailors, a gybe is a much more intimidating maneuver than a tack.  You don't have the luxury of a few seconds in irons to get things sorted.  The forces on the sail change quickly.  The boom swings from one extreme to the other (watch your head!) and you might get an unexpected amount of fight in the tiller.

These problems can (unintuitively) be often mitigated by "going faster" but to a new sailor uncomfortable with the situation, maybe a 290° turn (incorporating a tack, with a much low boom-swing) is a safer bet.

So the question is:  when the wind is up, how brave are you?