Keep you telltales flying at all times!! ALso check out your sails. If they have a lot of use on them you'll never place well no matter what you do. Get a good start on the favored side then just concentrate on making the least amount of mistakes. It's hard to put an entire race together and all it takes is one bad move on either leg and your out of it. When we bought new sails for the boat I race on they had to adjust our rating down. I'm not hard core enough yet to buy sails just for racing but the Catalina I just bought needs a new set anyway so maybe we can at least finish mid pack and up, maybe get lucky once in a while. Good Luck
Brandon Snider Mary Pearl Charleston SC Catalina 27 5886 On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 8:32 PM, Dick Holmes <[email protected]> wrote: > > > When you pick up your copy of the RRS, make sure it's the current version > (2009 - 2012). There are not many changes from the previous rules, but a few > of them are quite significant (for instance, the two boat length "safety > zone" has changed to three boat lengths and the right-of-way rules in the > zone are a bit different). > > Dick > Encore > Dana Point > > > tiller wrote: > > You should also know the The Racing Rules of Sailing. I see some new and > seasoned sailors who either do not know the rules or just disregard them. It > does make it more enjoyable if you know the rules and learn what you can and > can not do. Also check for additional rules/regulations for the area you are > racing in. > Good luck. > > Here are several links to help > > http://ussailing.org/rules/ > > > http://www.sailingworld.com/article_search.jsp?typeID=402&categoryID=726&m=4 > > http://www.ukhalsey.com/RulesQuiz/quiz_list.asp > > Brian Sullivan wrote: > > 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]><[email protected]> > * wrote: > > > From: Brian Sullivan > <[email protected]><[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><[email protected]> > * wrote: > > > From: James Henderson <lamar_...@hotmail. com> <[email protected]> > 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@ <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 > > > ------------------------------ > Windows Live™ SkyDrive™: Get 25 GB of free online storage. Get it on your > BlackBerry or > iPhone.<http://windowslive.com/online/skydrive?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_SD_25GB_062009> > > > -- Richard "Brandon" Snider 843-616-3124
