Laser Nationals - San Francisco City Front - Day 1

Conditions today were kind of typical San Francisco, but the wind was a little late to develop.  Racing started at noon when we had around 12-15 knots of wind from the WSW. I'm guessing it was 15-17 for race two, and 17-19 for race three. We are sailing near the shore in a full flood tide, which means that the upwinds are long and the downwinds short. Starting near Fort Mason, with a windward mark near St. Francis, it is important to go hard left and get into the current relief below the marina. The race committee heavily favored the boat (right) end of the starting line to balance out that bias. I watched the full rigs and the yellow fleet start their first race, and it seemed to me that it was worth it to start by the boat, even though you had to sail farther to get to the current relief. It might have been a good plan, but I was not able to hold my lane off the start and tacked away. That was a bad decision I think. In retrospect I think it might have been better to sail in bad air all the way to the left side. This course is hard since current plays a very important role, but the wind shifts are big and the puffs and lulls are dramatic enough to outweigh the current sometimes. The hard part is knowing when. Race 1 finish - 21st

But the most important lesson from race 1 - Getting a really really good start is essential! Not just a goal. Might as well not even be here if I'm not going to get stellar starts.

The other things I learned about this course today were to really look for pressure downwind. Sometimes the pressure was on the left and that was good since there was more current out there taking you down, but sometimes there were blasty puffs coming down from Crissy Field - especially late in the afternoon - and getting to them first was good. Also, make a good call on which gate was favored - most people went to the right gate since it was closer to shore - but I think that the left was better since it was farther upwind.

So race two I had a good start at the boat, sailed fast to the left, played the shifts and current next to the break wall and found myself chasing Haddon Huges who had started farther to the left of me and managed to cross me on port once she got to the current relief under the marina. Stayed in second for the whole race, sometimes gaining on Haddon, but then I would lose it again. Ander from Mexico in 3rd place was pretty far behind so I wasn't worried about him, but on the last two reaches to the finish he made big gains and rounded the last leeward mark right behind me. I let him split from me on the last little upwind, and as we came back to the finish line he crossed right behind me. In retrospect, I should have covered him up the whole beat since he caught me by inches finishing at the favored end of the line.

So lessons from race 2 - Do not let your guard down when somebody fast is behind you. Don't leave things up to chance that you can control. At the end of the race, make sure that someone close behind you stays behind you.

Race 3 - I had another good start near the boat and sailed fast to the left. I dueled it out with the top boats as we tacked up the shore and I think I rounded the 1st windward mark 3rd. I went left downwind and caught a big puff and managed to pass the boats on the inside. Rounded the left gate mark in 1st - sailed to the wall - looked for puffs downwind and they were coming from Crissy this time. It felt great to win the last race of the day, and once I got away from the pack it was easy. So I'm keeping this one in my brain for tomorrow!

Goal is to keep guaranteeing myself top 5 finishes for the rest of the regatta. No leaving things up to chance.

If you would like to find out more about my Olympic Laser Campaign and help me get to the World Championships this September, Click here

Stuff to remember - lessons learned and re-learned lately

Pre-race homework: Do a drift-off test before the starting sequence to measure current and how much it pushes you while you are holding your place on the line. 1 min holding your place either at the boat or the pin is good. Repeat the tests if the current is strong.

When you want to go right after the start, but you can't quite tack and cross, force the issue by tacking and lee bowing.  Don't forget that the tack and duck can be a totally valid option - maybe better in windy conditions.

Upwind tactics: You may choose to cross a pack of boats instead of leading them back. If you cross them, you must go at least 5 boat lengths past them. This eliminates the possibility that you lose your lane due to a shift or the other boats pointing higher than you. this is especially important when racing against people who are lighter than you, and even more important if it is also light wind.

Be more routine about clearing mainsheet in approach to windward mark.

Windward mark bear-aways. Initiate with mainsheet dump, and move weight back, ready to move to leeward.

Downwind wave surfing: initiate the down turn with mainsheet ease. Often this means easing the sheet as soon as you are finishing your up turn. Easing sheet early allows you to move your body more over the centerline of the boat so you are ready to press to leeward as soon as you reach a by-the-lee angle. Finish the down turn with a reverse pump and press to leeward to accelerate down the wave.

Leeward mark rounding tactics: When approaching the mark overlapped outside of another boat, know which way you want to go upwind. If you want to go left, slow down and round behind in a high lane so you pin them from tacking, and you can tack freely. If you want to go right, it can work to force them in to a tight slow rounding while you maintain great speed and round low, blowing through their lee. This can only work if you get up a huge head of steam and are bow forward on them. If you can fake them into doing a defensive, tight, slow rounding, then it is better. Works best if it is very windy or very light so the inside boat stalls. When you are the inside boat, pay attention to what the outside boat is trying to do and don't let them get the advantage.

If you would like to learn more about my Olympic campaign in the Laser Radial, click here: