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Solo news 17 Jan 2010 Print E-mail

 

17 Jan
The results are on the web site (Open Series and extracted club results). In the open series the top three are
Gareth Griffiths
Rob Wilder
Arthur Phillips
 
Gareth and Rob have opened up a slight gap, but with Feb and March open days still to come the series is still very open.
Joe Maclaughlin, Mike Wilkie, Malcolm Barnes, Tony Penfold and Peter Halliday are still in the hunt – they just need some more races to count.
 
In the club series the late winter and overall are also very close. Gareth and Arthur are tied in the overall and have established a reasonable lead over Mervyn in third. As always with the O-league system there is still everything to play for because you can catch up points very quickly. In the late winter Arthur has a one point lead, but we’re only three races into the series so plenty of time for you to all qualify for the series.
 
11 boats on the line was a good turnout (but we can do even better) on a great sailing day. This was the third of our open series and we welcomed Rob and Joe from Tamesis (sick note from Mike Wilkie – hope you are feeling better soon). Sunday was an ideal day for winter sailing, not too cold, enough wind to be interesting but not too much for anyone to sail.
 
The racing was extremely close with Gareth, Rob, Joe and Arthur swapping places at the front and close competition right down the fleet. Unfortunately in the morning race neither of the downwind legs was a true run so most of the action took place on the beats. A bit of local knowledge seemed to help as for some reason it usually pays to approach mark 8 on port (from the left) with that wind direction. Of course you still have to work the shifts, but it seems to more often pay to come in from the left at that mark. That gives the danger of approaching the windward mark on port tack and finding no room (and very few rights if you tack under someone close to the mark). As I’ve found out at a few open meetings, it’s great for the leader, but for those just behind it can be really tricky if there is a large fleet coming in on starboard.
 
The close formations continued in the back to back races with regular place swapping and this time a true run so downwind tactics became important. In the first B2B I managed to pull up from third at the windward mark to lead at the end of the run (I think local knowledge of the angle to the next mark helped a bit but I seemed to have good boat speed downwind). Fast downwind in lightish conditions means following the shifts to keep the angles good (gybe if the wind shifts that way) with very little kicker and no (or almost no) plate (but remember to lower it for the gybe). The tight racing continued through both races with rarely more than 20 yards between the first three or four boats. On the last beat in the second race I started clear but made some bad tacks to allow Rob to trap me into a sail-on (he was slightly behind but to windward of me both on starboard so I couldn’t tack for the mark). By the time I could tack we had over-stood the mark and Rob was ahead, but Joe had slipped the leash and was clear ahead of both of us to take a well sailed victory. Very hard to cover two boats who are splitting tacks – now that I can think about it, on that beat I got panicked into tacking too much. I should have concentrated on sailing fast and made sure that each shift was stable before tacking. It is so tempting to see a shift and immediately tack only for the shift to have gone by the time you complete the tack. You have to judge if it is a real shift or just a brief variation. Two bad tacks can cost you a lot more than a few seconds on the wrong shift to see if it is stable.
 
With eleven Solos on the line for the morning race it made the start line a bit more crowded than usual – good practice for boat control while sailing slowly. To start well you have to be able to control the boat’s speed, sometimes holding the boat almost stopped without getting stuck, and be able to smoothly accelerate in a straight line. This is not easy, and I saw a couple of people struggling to avoid getting stuck in irons (head to wind) when manoeuvring before the start. The trick is to only have half plate down until the final approach, not to have much kicker on, and watch the heel. The problem is that when you have the main very eased (to go very slowly), the only part of the sail filling is the back and it is to the side of the boat. That moves the force from the sail back a lot and a bit sideways so it tends to twist the boat towards the wind (boat wants to luff to head to wind). When almost stopped the rudder has little effect so you can easily find yourself stuck. By raising the plate you swing it back which helps a lot, by having the kicker slacker you don’t hook the leech of the main so much. Finally you have to use the heel of the boat, to bear away (or avoid luffing) pull the boat over to windward. By combining these techniques you can sail very slowly if you need to. Then with about 5 seconds to go (more in light winds) you can accelerate into a gap to hit the line at full speed. Ideally you whip the plate down at the last minute as you power up, and set the kicker  to wherever you have it for beating (I have mine just tight when fully sheeted in) and power off the line at full speed.
 
Gareth
4859
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Solo News 3 Jan 2010 Print E-mail

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 
 
1  4048 Arthur Phillips
2  4859 Gareth Griffiths
3  5071 Malcolm Barnes
4  3457 Mervyn Cinnamond
5  3854 Martin Mitchell
6  3649 Robin Pryke
7  3365 Frank Beanland
8  3861 Dave Clarke
 
Peter Cottrell OOD
 
Eddie writes:
A good turnout of 8
A clear crisp day with brilliant sunshine low down in the winter sky which made for a perfect day's sailing although  weather insulation had to be made paramount with Jack Frost nipping at your extremities.   Even I ventured out armed with a foot pump to fine tune my trolley wheels. Must remember to occasionally to look under my boat cover to check for anything brewing.  It is known that ice on the cover  in contact with the boat will lift varnish. This sailing lark is not as easy as I thought.
 
As you can see from the above results Arthur triumphed over the boy Gareth by, no doubt, superior sailing with Malcolm in his new plastic flyer a close 3rd.I did bump into Arthur later and he did seem several inches taller with a hint [ I may be wrong ] of a smug smile. There were reports of ungentlemanly conduct rounding buoys etc when opponents were stuffed, sorry luffed, aside. It was heard after the race that Robin misunderstood the new year's resolution of getting to the start line ten minutes before the start.
 
Stalwart of the day goes to Peter Cottrell on the duty team who was multitasking inside and outside the clubhouse and was still hard at it when I left.
 
Well done all of you.
 
Regards
Eddie
 
 
 
 
New year’s resolution (again) ... I WILL be on the water (and away from the pontoon) 10 minutes before the start ... 
(You know who you are… As the song goes “a little less talk a little more action” before the race).
 
I think the 60 minute pursuit worked well, long enough for positions to settle within fleets but not so long we got cold or tired.
 
This week we had a rather shifty NE wind – I set the boat up for very light weather – mast more upright, forestay tighter (shrouds still slack – in fact I let them off a notch from the heavy setting). I also switched to my stern sheeting system which aims to keep the middle of the boat clear to make tacking easier. The wind however had other ideas and came up a bit more so I was in two minds whether to sheet from the boom (light weather mode) or switch to using the main jammer to increase the down force and be able to use the jammer. The results was a rather confused helm who kept making mistakes and bad tacks.
 
In the Solos there was a lot of place changing between Gareth, Arthur and Malcolm at the front with Gareth leading for the first lap but Arthur showing good speed upwind getting through. Positions remained very close with lots of downwind keeping clear air and upwind covering. In the end Arthur got away to a clear lead with Gareth chasing hard – both stayed ahead of the chasing pack to claim first and second in the pursuit.
 
In the overall winter standings O league it is very close with only one point separating Gareth and Arthur, but with lots of races to sail and the O-League scoring system there is still plenty of time for anyone to make an impact.
 
In the Back to Back races again there was lots of place changing in the shifts with Gareth sneaking through on the last leg in both races, from Malcolm in the first and Arthur in the second. In shifty conditions you have to concentrate all the time. A seemingly comfortable lead can be eroded very quickly downwind by a gust coming from behind.
 
So, what’s the idea with the stern sheeting.  The theory is that with the boom sheeting from the centre of the transom it is easier to have the boom close in but relatively little down force from the sheet (plenty of twist) for very light airs. At the same time I usually find I want to sit right where the traveler goes so this avoids that and I can keep the centre of the boat clear. In light conditions I take the sheet from the boom rather than through the jammer. I’m convinced by the system for very light conditions (like the team pursuit last year), what I’m trying to do now is see how much wind I can make it work in. Is it only good for drifters, or can it be competitive in light medium conditions? As they say the jury’s still out. It is also very easy to get the sheet tangled in your buoyancy aid as you tack where it loops down from the boom - I probably need to do something about that.
 
Next week I will be away on business so the results may be slightly delayed. The web site now has the overall O-League as well as the late winter short series.
 
The next in our Open series is in two weeks on the 17th. If you haven’t come down recently that could be a good weekend for a sail.
 
Something I would like us all to think about is how we can encourage our newer members. It’s a big jump from Tuesday evening sailing to Sunday racing.  – I’m looking for input… Malcolm has suggested that perhaps we should have a more official mentoring scheme to help new Solo sailors more quickly get to grips with their new boats. I certainly plan to have another ‘Buddy race’ where we pair off more experienced (faster) sailors with newer sailors – only the back boat of the pair counts so the idea is that the experienced sailor spends most time coaching (or perhaps covering an opponent).  Encouraging attendance and technique thoughts have always been an aim for these notes – how can we improve?
 
I think we need to get through January with its colder short days but I’m looking for more ideas. What would you like to see? Should we devote the first week of every series as a buddy race training day? Should we try and setup a more formal mentoring scheme to supplement the informal work we do now?
 
Regards
 
Gareth
4859
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Solo news 27 Dec 2009 Print E-mail

Solo News 27 Dec

As I’m writing this on the 31st  I’d like to wish everyone a happy new year.

Well it’s been almost a year since I started these ramblings… the thing is there’s always more to learn about sailing and the wind is always changing. Since new year is about resolutions I guess I’ll have to provide a few…Most seem to be about breaking old habits or trying to start new ones.

  1. I will make the effort to be on the water 10 minutes before the gun to see what the wind is doing.
  2. I will be on the line on the gun so I start with clear wind (even if I’m not in the perfect place)
  3. I will keep the boat flat in gusts rather than letting it heel before I react
  4. I will plan my mark rounding especially the leeward mark to start wider and end up really close to the mark fully sheeted in
  5. I will gybe cleanly without falling in (even when there are no spectators) – That’s one for me because twice now I’ve gybed perfectly by the club-house each round but fallen over out of site over by mark 4.
  6. I will get on the water whenever the conditions are suitable
  7. I will make sure all the gear works well on my boat – especially having a sensitive wind indicator for light weather. (It can be any type but it must be balanced so it reads true even when the boat heels).
  8. I will wait a few seconds to be sure the wind has really shifted before I tack

     

Ok that’s probably enough. Those of you who are members of the class association and watch the class web site message board will know that there is a lot of debate about adjusting the forestay on the water. Someone is proposing a rule change that will allow the forestay to be adjustable by control line lead back to (but not aft of) the mast. This would not be allowed to be adjusted during racing but could be altered between back to back races. There is a lot of debate both about the way an EGM is being called and about the proposal. For those who are not in the association please consider joining. You get three informative class magazines a year and help sponsor the behind the scenes work that makes the class thrive. (At £18 and less for early renewal it’s pretty cheap!)

My opinion is that the proposed change is silly. Either allow adjustment or ban it. Having a control line lead to the mast is open to abuse. My preference is to keep the boat simple – sure sometimes I get the set-up wrong – then it is a challenge to get the best out of the rig with the things we can alter more easily.

I would like to know what you think. Should the class allow forestay adjustment on the water? Only between races? At any time? Never once launched (tied up on a pontoon would not count as launched).

For what it’s worth I do adjust forestay, mast heel and shrouds for different conditions, but I have never tried crawling over the foredeck between races! I have altered the mast heel between races when it went very light and I needed to stand the mast more upright.

Well, the old year draws to an end and the pre-Christmas series is done (results on the web site).
 
1st Gareth
2nd Arthur
3rd Peter C

I have now got the overall (o-league scoring) on the web site as well as the autumn, open series and (from next week) winter series. Please let me know of any errors or omissions – to get your points in the short series for being on duty you usually have to tell me. Sorry there are no points for OOD in the o-league system – if anyone can figure out a fair way to do it I’ll try to program it. It does seem a bit unfair if you are OOD on the last week

Pursuit race this week, forecast looks promising if a bit cold. – I have suggested the winter pursuit be 60 minutes rather than 75 but don’t know for sure if that will be adopted. Watch when entering which length to get the right start number.

Happy new year

Gareth
4859
 

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Solo News 20 Dec 09 Print E-mail

 

20/12/09
Sorry no news last week as I was away finding some snow to slide down. Little did I know I would return to find it white here!
 
Great turnout (double figures again) last week while I was away with Peter Halliday showing a clean transom to the fleet and Chris Smith joining us from the Scorpion. This week, the second of our mini-open series, the ice put off the senior section after Eddie slipped before anyone rigged – hope you’re OK Eddie. Rob Wilder, Mike Wilkie and Joe Maclauglin came down for the open day but Joe decided that with limited time, no winch and lots of ice in the dinghy park he would stay warm instead. So, just Gareth and Arthur from the fleet against Rob and Mike. Those who stayed ashore missed what turned out to be a really nice sailing day. Enough wind to sail smoothly but never over powered and with the sun out it wasn't really too cold either. By the time we got changed for the start we were all quite warm as the winch wouldn't work so we pulled three solos, two RS200's and an RS400 up by hand. The ramp was treacherous but with six people on the rope pulling on the grass we soon got everyone to the top.
 
After helping us pull the boats up Arthur only just made the start (two minutes earlier than usual because there were NO LASERS - shame on them) but proceeded to start at the favoured outside end and cross the fleet. The beat became quite tactical as the wind was always there but shifting by about 10 degrees - enough to make tacking the shifts worth it. The two Island Barn boats coped better with the shifts and with a bit of local knowledge (that it usually pays to approach mark 8 on port) the first beat ended with Gareth just pulling through Arthur who had led for most of the beat. For a change, both Island Barn boats fairly well clear of the visitors with Mike Wilkie ahead of Rob for most of the race. On the second lap Gareth had to cover Arthur quite hard going up the beat which condensed the fleet a bit but by the end the positions were quite stable with Gareth clear of Arthur who was comfortably ahead of Rob and Mike. With a quadrilateral course and both reaches quite shy the main scope for overtaking was the beat or run. Tactically the run was generally a case of keep to the left to make sure you were inside at the next mark if not still ahead, but with similar ten degree shifts there was a fair amount of gybing to keep on the favoured tack.
 
My drill on the run in light weather is to have the plate right up with slack kicker (but cleated so the boom doesn’t sky during the gybe), the boom right out and windward heel. The plate right up makes the boat rather unstable but so long as you are smooth and don't start to weather roll it seems to be the fastest. When the wind shifts to go by the lee I gybe - that's plate down to at least a third down maybe half, roll the boat to windward (that turns a shade more), pull the boom over to the middle (just grab the whole sheet bundle) then let it run out again, check the turn and bring the boat over to heel to windward on the new gybe and then lift the plate again. This week was a shade harder than usual as I lost my wind indicator when I capsized two weeks ago and haven't had time to replace (Father Christmas are you listening) - I tied some thin wool to the shrouds and used the old fashioned tools instead of a sensitive masthead. Thin wool works surprisingly well - you can tell when you are getting by the lee to gybe or when the wind has headed so you can bear away a bit more.
 
For the Back to Back we had a very short course with no real run which meant that the main overtaking chance was up the beat. Both races followed a similar pattern with Gareth creeping ahead of Rob up the first beat and thereafter keeping a close watch for shifts covering Rob when he was going in phase with the shifts but trying to avoid being suckered into covering too tightly. If you cover regardless of the shift you end up tacking at the wrong time and potentially tacking on a lift which means you turn the boat so far that the positions can be reversed. This is where 'herding' or loose cover comes into play. If you know you want to go left up the beat when the boat behind tacks right you cover hard and sit on their wind, but when they go left you allow them enough room to be clear to leeward so you sail side by side but a few lengths to windward rather than trying to sit on their wind. That way you can, to a degree, dictate which way the boat behind goes (herding). If you get embroiled too closely by always tacking on the boat behind you allow them to dictate when to tack so they are tacking at the right time and you aren't. The result is that while you might stay ahead, they gain on you and anyone further behind gains on both of you.
 
Overall a great days sailing rounded off with mulled wine and mince pies in the clubhouse. On behalf of the fleet, our thanks to the catering and bar team for all their work making the Barn such a friendly place to sail.
 
Race 1.
1 Gareth
2 Arthur
3 Rob
4 Mike
 
Race 2
1 Gareth
2 Rob
3 Mike
4 Arthur
 
Race 3
1 Gareth
2 Rob
3 Arthur
4 Mike
 
The overall club and open series are on the web site as is this and previous news. Please let me know of any errors or omissions - if you were on duty this week let me know to get your OOD points.
 
Have a Great Christmas everyone, hope Santa has lots of go-fast goodies in his sack for everyone.
 
Regards
 
Gareth
4859
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Solo news 6 Dec Print E-mail

 

Pursuit race
Another strange day’s weather. Raining hard when I got up, even harder as I drove to the club, but by the time we started it was ideal sailing conditions.
 
I’m interested in your opinions – is 75 minutes too long for a winter pursuit. It works really well in the summer, but should we shorten to a 60 minute pursuit for the winter. We did that in November when it was really windy but this week we reverted to the full 75 minutes. My feeling is that we should use 60 minutes – what do you think. I’ve passed the idea to the sailing committee – please let me or Mike Curtis know your opinions.
 
The Pursuit started in a nice force three and for the first couple of laps Arthur and I were having a really close race with the lead changing a several times. As we covered each other up the beats and positioned tactically on the runs we had to watch out for Mervyn who was never far away. The runs pretty much seemed to be ‘make sure you guard inside at the next mark’. After the run we had a nasty very shy reach from three to one. Very hard work trying to keep the boat flat and fast. You just have to work the sheet a lot to keep the boat flat. Unlike beating where you can luff slightly to spill wind, for speed on a close reach you have to do it all with the sheet. If the wind is a bit broader you bear away slightly in the gusts to go faster and run down wind with the gust and then luff back up in the lulls, but when the reach is really close to start with you daren’t give away much ground to leeward and bearing way doesn’t reduce the knockdown much. You just have to work the sheet to keep the boat flat but with as much power as possible. If you have speed you can get away with surprisingly little centerboard to help keep the boat balanced.
 
After about three laps the wind came right back up to strength and I was able to pull away from Arthur while Mervyn and Peter C decided enough was enough and retired. In one massive gust downwind I had to gybe and somehow I must had had the tiller extension in the air because it went straight through the main as the boom came over. Really don’t quite know how I didn’t capsize but I did the last two laps with a big hole in the bottom panel.
 
It’s funny how small changes can make a big difference. As you know my boat has just been mended (no more nasty gouges in the side where it blew of its trolley launching a couple of weeks ago) but as part of the refit I got a new mainsheet – I wanted it slightly longer as I was having to let the traveler out slightly to get the boom fully out on the run. The new rope is marginally thinner than the old and slightly more slippery. The result is that I kept dropping the sheet, having I slip through my hands or having it pop out of the cleat. For most of the first race I felt as if I was fighting the boat rather than being in tune with it. All the gear must work smoothly and easily so you can devote all your attention to the sailing and not to the gear. For the Back to Back races I swapped to my spare sail and put the old mainsheet back – much better, didn’t come out of the cleat at all.
 
Alas - one more capsize to record – in the first B2B going down the run I started a weather roll and couldn’t catch the boat in time. For those who haven’t experienced this… you are sailing down the run with a decent wind sitting on the windward side, but not sitting out at all. Ideally you have a slight windward heel but nothing excessive. You then get a gust (perhaps the gust comes from slightly more downwind or puts you just by the lee – almost gybing) and the boat starts to come over on top of you. This now excessive windward heel spins the boat further downwind which make it heel even more, because you are on the low side of the boat you can’t shift you weight and things (very) rapidly spiral out of control with the boat capsized on top of you – typically with the boom sticking up out of the water. – How should you stop this – firstly it is a sign of too little kicker and/or too little centerboard – of course a fairly slack kicker and no plate is fastest on a run in light weather so you are reluctant to overdo them – but the remedy if you are quick enough is to drop some plate if it is right up, and sheet in rapidly while pushing the tiller away (trying to luff). Sheeting in make the sail generate some side force (or at least stops the top of the sail being beyond 90 degrees), pushing the tiller away counters the boat bearing away further, and getting some (more) plate down makes the rudder more effective and gives a bit more stability. Then as you recover add some more kicker. As I said – “if you are quick enough”. I wasn’t!
 
I’m away next weekend (heading for the snow) but the forecast looks promising.
 
Don’t forget the 20th is our next mini-open.
 
Gareth
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