and keep the crew bunched up at the base of the mast as well. weight
in the back or the front of the boat will cause it to hobby horse and
be slow.
They should be constantly aware of the heel of the boat moving their
weight in or out accordingly and looking for, and calling waves to you
so that you can take evasive action to avoid slowing down your boat.
Good luck!
/*Brian*/
Brian Sullivan
USA #20820
--- On *Tue, 6/9/09, Brian Sullivan /<[email protected]>/*
wrote:
From: Brian Sullivan <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [IC27A] racing tips
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 1:15 PM
I agree with previous statements.
Lock in a consistent crew of 4-5 team members.
At the start , give each of your head sail trimmers one side to
own. That keeps them diligent and ready to tack on a moments
notice until the gun. The start is everything. Nail the start and
you have clear air to control your destiny.
If you are at the helm at the start, have someone else watching
traffic, watching the clock and calling the line. You need to
focus on steering. (That remains the case going up and down the
course). We usually trade off helm and tactics on different
boards...laser focus on keeping the boat at optimal heel (speed)
and consistently straight on your target.
Keep your weight centered at the base of the mast. That means gear
bags, sails, etc. leave the stuff you don't need for the race at
the dock....light is fast.
Take your crew out for a two hour practice before your next race
and then buy them a burger and a beer for their effort.
Practice: Starts... we use two freighter channel buoys and pretend
that they are both sides of the line. Determine which end of the
line is favored. Practice your approach and try to be on the line
at the start on every round....know what 30, 60 and 120 seconds
means as far as an approach distance in different types of winds.
Find a mark to go around (We use another freighter buoy) and
practice setting the chute. Jibe several times on the way downwind
to another mark and practice your spin take down and headsail
hoist with another rounding.
Consistent crew work means that you can focus your mind and energy
on tactics and boat speed. That all comes with confidence from a
crew that has practiced together.
A race is not practice. It is a race. You need to be prepared
before that.
Get out to the course 20 - 30 minutes ahead of the start so that
you can plot your strategy and tactics for that week's race.
Wash your bottom.
Make sure that your rig is tuned.
Make sure that you have someone watching for pressure on the
course and head to it before your competition.
Have fun!
/*Brian*/
Brian Sullivan
Ballinderry Racing
USA #20820
--- On *Tue, 6/9/09, James Henderson /<lamar_...@hotmail. com>/*
wrote:
From: James Henderson <lamar_...@hotmail. com>
Subject: [IC27A] racing tips
To: ic...@yahoogroups. com
Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 12:37 PM
Scrub your bottom every other week!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: ic...@yahoogroups. com
From: j...@photoresponse. com
Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2009 12:15:21 -0400
Subject: RE: [IC27A] Clevis length and racing tips
I don’t know the answer to your clevis pin question and I
don’t race. But, maybe I can offer some racing tips I learned
many years ago racing.
First, racing is divided into 2 groups; those who want to go
around the buoys and have fun and those who must win. I
think THE most important “trick” you can learn is
consistency. Be consistent in steering, in how you set sails,
how you sheet, and maybe the most important be consistent in
how you tack (go over too hard-fast in light air is like
applying brakes).
And the most important feature of a good captain is
communication. Tell your crew what you are doing/planning.
Talk through maneuvers and strategy. Of course the captain has
to make the ultimate decision but gather as much input as
possible. And lastly, stay calm; events on the race course
can make a normally calm person fly into a rage, but the calm
skipper most times wins.
Nothing builds consistency like practice, practice, practice.
And of course sail as fast as you can. As a “Rock Star” on a
boat I was on once said, “there is nothing on a sailboat that
money can’t make the boat go faster.” But, I think invest in
your planning and practice and a clean bottom and you should,
over time, improve.
Joe McCary
Aeolus II, West River, MD
joe at photoresponse. com
www.aeoluswestriver .net
*From:* ic...@yahoogroups. com [mailto:IC27A@ yahoogroups.
com] *On Behalf Of *n2imz
*Sent:* Tuesday, June 09, 2009 11:25 AM
*To:* ic...@yahoogroups. com
*Subject:* [IC27A] Clevis length and racing tips
Do any of you folks know how long the masthead clevis pin to
hold a spinakker block is? I want to put a turning block in
the forward location of the masthead. The boatyard suggested I
do this, rather than installing the crane since he has seen
many done just that way with no problems. I plan to run an
asymetrical cruising spinakker from it. I see on Catalina
Direct, the clevis is 5/16" in diameter, but they do not list
the length. If possible, I would like to buy a few locally to
avoid the cross country shipping charges.
Also, I have started around-the-buoys racing this season. This
is the first time for me skippering races on my own boat, only
the third season with the Catalina and the first season racing
at all in many years. I have a standard rig, with a 150rf
genny. So far, we have last place clinched. I am hoping to
improve a bit as the season progressed. Would anyone like to
share any secret go-fast sail trimmming tips with me? (I'll
bet this will start a stampede!).
Thanks in advance
Matty
Alineup
'87 Catalina 27
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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