I finished 7th overall and the 1st US woman - not bad! It was great to compete against the top Canadian women - Brenda Bowskill and Claire Merry who I will be racing against in Santander at the Worlds.
Very light wind for the last day - which is extremely nerve wracking. I sailed two good races out of three, and that was enough to move up into 7th place for the regatta. My focus was on nonjudgmental observation of everything that happened on the racecourse. I will take this new mindset with me to the ACC's in a week, and then to the Worlds on Sept 3rd.
I took two days after the regatta to get back to my roots and visit Chautauqua Lake - where sailing started for me. It was great to see Dave Beeson who I used to work for teaching sailing during the summer in high school.
I found this old edition of "The Laser Sailor." Can you guess what year it is from?
Thank you Erik Nickeson for bringing me to my first Laser regatta many years ago!
A good day! So far we have had different wind every day. Yesterday the wind was out of the east - and stayed long enough for us to have 3 races. We didn't really do any hiking and I was glad I didn't wear my hiking pads.
The 1st race didn't turn out so good - I think I got out of phase on the upwinds. It seemed like there might have been a land effect on both sides of the course - the mainland on the left - and an island above the course on the right. This race I was on the wrong side at the top of both beats.
Races 2 and 3 were good - and the coolest thing was that I made big gains downwind! Light air downwind has always been the hardest for me. I have recently learned the importance of maintaining flow over my sail and pressure - but now I understand how often and how much I can take that speed toward the mark. - A lot more than I thought!
The biggest difference in my sailing yesterday was that I took the time to look around and actually observe what was happening. I made decisions based on things that I was seeing - not imagining.
I have been reading "The Inner Game of Tennis" and learning about how to find the right mental state and not over think things. I think I am starting to figure out how it applies to sailing - Self One is the decision maker and should be cold, calculating, scientific, unemotional, observant, nonjudgmental. Self Two is the physical self that knows how to sail the boat fast and execute maneuvers without being told what to do. Getting Self One to stop worrying about Self Two and observe non-judgementally what is happening on the racecourse is hard!!!
Example: The first day of racing I was sailing downwind and Self One was telling Self Two how to do her job. Self One was saying "I know that sailing by the lee is fast - you just aren't doing right, keep trying" If Self One let Self Two sail the boat, Self One would have observed that other boats were reaching more - and going really fast. Self two might have also figured that out intuitively.
Okay - if you don't understand what I am talking about then read the book. It has been around for a long time, but it is totally relevant and not just to tennis or sailing.
Three more races today - same forecast. KISS and no OCS's
We didn't start racing yesterday until after 2pm. All those hours sitting around on the water in the sun can really drain your energy! I managed to get a little roll tacking lesson from Luke Muller - who now sails a full rig - but is still one of the best radial sailors I know. I hope his technique (nothing unusual really) can help me develop a reliable roll tack.
Just like the day before - but a little earlier - the wind started to fill in from the south west. The sea breeze. We had three races in 8-10 knots. It was kind of shifty - I was tacking maybe 8 times a beat - which is a lot.
I had two good races and one not bad race. I changed my way of thinking a bit. My mantras for the day were "keep it simple", "go as fast and direct as you can", and "what is the fastest way around the buoys disregarding other boats?". I have been to worried about clear lanes and clear air, and it is compounded by my natural tendency to go away from other boats. I often think "I'll just go way over here to the side and get clear air and go really fast". In particular, the extra distance has been killing me on the down winds.
So on the down winds I focused on always taking my speed towards the mark, and sailing as direct a route as possible - doing the chiki chiki. (by the lee-down a wave - by the lee -down a wave).
It worked! And I tried to pay attention to bad air from other boats - I think I have a better understanding of how close I can be to another boat that is on my breeze. The other thing that I discovered is that often most of the boats behind you go off to a side for clear air, and it leaves an open lane right down the middle of the course. Cool. I can't wait to practice this stuff again today.
I moved up to 9th - I feel that I wasted the first half of the regatta making what should have been all single digit scores into double digits - so I am limited in how far I can move up - but that is the goal!
What a frustrating day! One fluky hard race, a BFD (again!!!!!!), and a chance at a great last race of the day, only to capsize before the last run. The forecast for today (and the rest of the regatta) was for light winds. I used to dread the light air days, but now I am over that and I look forward to them almost as much as a windy day. It is a chance to play shifts, keep my head out of the boat and looking around, and focus on being smooth and building flow over my foils and blades. That being said - it is days like today that are easy to have a bad race or lose a lot of boats with the wrong decision.
So today, the wind was out of the north at about 5 knots in the first race. The second was crazy fluky filling in from all directions at different times during the race and mostly less than 5 knots. I was sitting around watching the finish of the 2nd race with the Finn's (since I had been called over on a black flag) when the little puffs started coming in from the south east and south west. The wind turbines on the far shore started to slow down, stop, and slowly turn around. By the time they finished the radials, moved the course, and started the full rigs and fins, the sea breeze was filling in nicely.
I was proud of myself in the last race for recognizing that the wind shifted hard left during the end of our start sequence and people were having trouble getting up to the line. I started mid line and tacked at the gun. I knew the boats near the pin who tacked right away would be over stood, but could sail lower and faster and might roll me, so I sailed as powered up as I could. I was super fast and climbing. It was flat water, flat out hiking, flat boat, and my sail was fully powered - loose cunningham, just snug vang, and deep outhaul except in a couple puffs where I flattened it a bit. I have been thinking a lot about getting flow and then holding still to let the loads build. It totally works.
I rounded the windward mark in 2nd and made the mistake of going low on the downwind which was now a reach. Then lost a couple boats on the upwind when I didn't go far enough right at the top. Still, I was in the top ten. I rounded the reach mark and bore away hard to get clear air and protect the left side on the last downwind - too hard though - a puff hit at the same time and I capsized! I can't believe I did that! Stupid. I thought I was done making stupid mistakes.
I realize that I have been trying to get fancy on the mark roundings and often turn too much when I should actually just point straight at the next mark.
Lesson for today: Recognize if the downwind is skewed before you get there! If it is square and light wind - get to an edge for clear air. If it is skewed, you might just have clear air by pointing straight at the mark. Why make it complicated? Just go as fast as you can towards the next mark!
Anyway, back to black flags - I was set up nicely I thought, but William Marshall stole my hole at 10 seconds to go, and I was probably too close to the line since the whole pack I was with was over early. More work to do - I'm trying to stay back enough but it is so hard when the people around you are pushing forward too much! That will be my focus tomorrow. Again.
Storm clouds this morning with forecasts for a lot of wind and rain in the afternoon. 12-18 knots out of the SSW.
Results today were 14, 17, 7. Not that great considering I rounded the first windward mark in the top ten every race. Most of my losses were on the down winds, some were upwind if I didn't go far enough left.
After the Nationals, where I scored too many black flags, I started conservatively today. It made holding a lane off the start harder. My goal for this event is to figure out how to be a little back and trim in early in order to hit the line at full speed - and be on the line but not over.
Generally you had to go left on the beats, but there were shifts to play on the first beat. Since we sailed an outside trapezoid (windward - reach - down - up - down - reach - short finish upwind) the second beat was closer to the left shore, and it was crucial to go hard left as all the puffs were coming off the shore.
Downwind: The waves were more from the west, and it took me two whole races to figure out that it was better to get speed reaching (on starboard) and take it down than to go by the lee on either gybe. With the wave angle, by the lee was across the waves and slow. Have to recognize that faster next time.
Lessons learned:
On the down winds: Pay attention to the other boats that rounded near you, and compare angles and speed early on. If you are losing to them, figure out why!!!!!! If by the lee is not helping you catch waves, try reaching to see what works.
In general, spend more time checking other boat to see if you are losing or gaining. If you are losing, it might be good to change something! (settings, angle, tack?)
Upwind: Land on the left - go left.
I got the last one mostly right today, but sometimes didn't go as far left as other boats and lost to them.
After we got to the dock it started pouring. It is kind of blowing the dog off the chain right now. Tomorrows forecast is for lighter winds, so I guess the storm will blow itself out tonight.
Another black flag! That pretty much ruined my chances of moving up in the standings. Other than being over early, race one went pretty well. It was the earliest we had sailed in the tide cycle, and the current was not yet strong, so I had decided that shifts and pressure changes (which were big) would be the biggest factor. That philosophy worked well, I would have finished 6th or 7th I think.
For race 2 the current had built, and it was important to seek current relief from the shore, but the shifts were huge. The biggest we had seen all week. I did a pretty good job choosing when to head for shore, and when to go out to grab some wind and a right shift, but I missed a couple obvious things here and there. I let a boat cross that I should have forced to tack, and I ducked a boat to go farther left when we were already over stood and I should have tacked ahead and to leeward. The biggest mistake was probably at the bottom of the last little beat to the finish. It has been extremely hard to predict which way to go in all of our races. Usually the water was mixed up from nearby powerboats, and the wind was mixed up from all the boats to windward still reaching. I rounded the leeward mark right between two other boats, so I was in one guys bad air and the next guy was in my bad air. We had all done good wide and tight roundings, so I was able to tack, and I did and split from the boats right behind me. In retrospect, it was a risky choice and I should have covered even though we were all going slow. It turned out that the right won and I lost 3 or 4 boats by going left. No reason to leave anything up to chance at the end if it means you could lose.
All in all, I am happy with my 5th place finish, and I have lots of stuff to work on, like starts! Thank you for reading, next regatta is CORK in Kingston, Ontario. Stay tuned.
Movin' up slowly. Similar conditions again today - although the breeze was even more left, so even more shifty and puffy with huge patches of light wind. It was easy to sail into a hole with no wind in the lee of the St. Francis Yacht Club while tacking up the shore. Scores today: 7, 7, 1. I am happy with those results, but have to nit pick some mistakes where I lost boats in the first two races.
Race 1 - not a good start - didn't have a big enough hole to leeward and tried to force it to work. It didn't help that the kid to leeward of me was over early and luffed up underneath me. - Got to come in to the boat with more speed to maintain flow and maintain hole to leeward. I was too close to the line too early I think.
Race 2 - Decent start, and made decent tactical decisions up and down, but lost on a few bad tacks, and also lost on one of the reaches by going low. Then lost more by not maintaining speed well in the choppy mixed up wind and waves of the last short beat to the finish. In race 2 it was especially important to get up in to the left corner at the top of the beat for current relief - it would be important the whole way up - but there was such a hole in the lee of the yacht club that it was better to stay in a little more wind and adverse current.
Race 3 - Nailed the start. Started mid line at the right end of the new ebb current. The eddy line was at the middle of the start line - I wanted to be in the good current, but the line was favoring the boat. Stayed in the favorable current all the way up and played shifts. Downwind I made sure I stayed on the other side of the eddy line and looked for puffs. Same again upwind and down and always watching Haddon not to far behind me to make sure that I was in position to get any new wind that she got. She was working hard to catch me and would creep up at times. I had to hike really hard on the upwinds to stay ahead of her!
Now sitting in 5th. Tomorrow - the last day - we are scheduled to have 2 races for a total of 11. Currently we are all throwing out 1 score, and after 10 races we throw out a second score. The pressure is still on fore me to score two good races tomorrow and throw out a 22 so that I can move up to 4th or 3rd. 3rd would be cool - 2nd or 1st not likely since Haddon in 2nd and Erik in 1st would have to have two horrible races or black flags or something tomorrow, and they have both shown consistency. My plan is to be fully switched on, sail smart and not risky, nail the starts without being over, pay close attention to current and wind - head out of the boat.
The conditions today were similar to day 1 except windier, and coming more from the south which means coming off the city. The gusts were bigger and the lulls were bigger too. As usual, short tacking up the seawall was important but going away from the wall worked if you had more wind and a lift. My scores were 2, BFD, 7. In the 1st and 3rd races I did exactly what was working for day 1 - start near the boat - tack up the shore - look for puffs on the downwind - blah blah blah. BFD stands for Black Flag which means that I was over the line at the start in a race where you can't restart.
Here is how a black flag start works: The race committee wants to add a penalty for being over the line because they have done too many general recalls and they just want to have a clean start, so they hoist a black flag during the starting sequence. Everyone knows that if they are over early, they are disqualified from that race. (usually you can go back and restart). If one or two people are over early, they just find out at the end of the day. If lots of boats are over early, they do a general recall - which means that they do the start over. But they don't let you get away with being over even though lots of people were. They write down everyone's number who was over early and post it on a board. If your number is on the board, then you are scored BFD (last place) and don't get to sail that race.
So I had to sit around and watch race 2 with a few other boats. I realize that I need to break down my starting technique for black flag starts. It is extra important to make sure that the race committee doesn't get a chance to read your sail number or recognize that you are close to the line in the last minute before the start. I need to make sure that I am farther back from the line, and trim in earlier than the boats next to me. I was trying to take advantage of having a good line sight and lots of line sag during our black flag starts, so I was hovering closer to the line than the boats next to me and that made me exposed. I was pretty confident that I was right on the line, but not over, but obviously they got me.
Currently my scores for the regatta are: 22, 3, 1, 2, BFD, 7, and that puts me in 10th. We get to throw out 1 score after we have sailed 4 races so I am throwing out the BFD (which is 54 points) for a total of 35 points. After 10 races we get to throw out another score. My goal for the rest of the regatta is to have great starts, no black flags, and consistent top 7 scores. If I do that I could break the top 5. We will see!
