Some of this was covered in my post yesterday, but it wont hurt to brush up.
B
Team Racing Fundamentals
Team Racing is hard at first and not real fun until you get over the hump of
executing some successful team racing tactics. Then it's great. First some
team racing principles:
1. ¾ of all team races are won on fleet racing principles; such as
speed, good starts, prevention of errors, etc. The other ¼ are won on team
racing tactics. Against good teams, you will need both good adherence to
fleet racing principles and solid team racing tactics.
2. Knowing the winning combinations is essential to being able to
execute winning tactics. The winning combinations are:
1-2-anything, 1-3-anything, 1-4-5, 2-3-5 and 2-3-4.
3. There are two kinds of winning combinations; stable and unstable. The
only stable combinations are Play One: 1-2-anything and Play Two: 2-3-4. When
you have a stable combination you need to cover and occasionally balance the
pairs to preserve your combination. In any other combination, you will need
to execute some team racing maneuvers to get a stable combination.
4. To get a stable 1-2 combo from an unstable 1-3 combo, you must "pass
back" the opponent in 2nd. The first priority is executing a pass back is
not to lose the boat you are passing back. You can pass back an opponent on
an upwind leg by taking that opponents wind. You must be in front of your
opponent to take their wind, not to windward. The defense is to stay with
the opponent behind you.
5. Pass backs at marks are done with a "mark trap." This is where you
force your opponent, within the rules, away from the mark to let your
teammate by or at least catch up. You must know the rules well and boat
handle well to execute mark traps. Windward mark traps are particularly
risky in that you can lose the boat you are trapping on the downwind leg
since they are right behind you after you have trapped them and they can
take your wind.
6. Pass backs near the finish line are done by pinning your opponent
from tacking toward the finish. You must get very close to your opponent to
pin them, but not so close to foul them or lose them. This is hard and
risky but sometimes necessary.
7. Pass backs downwind are done with a move called the "High-Low." If
you round 2nd and 3rd, your boat in 2nd goes high to get the opponent up
high to keep their air clear. Meanwhile the team member in 3rd goes low or
straight to the next mark to pass the opponent ahead. This also works when
you are in 5th and 6th by attacking the opponent in 4th.
8. On run legs you want to stay to the left of your opponents in order to
maintain a
starboard tack right-of-way. Pass right only if you have great
separation and good
wind.
Team Racing Jargon
*Winning Combos:* 1-2-anything, 1-3-anything, 1-4-5, 2-3-4, 2-3-5
*Geographic Split Start:* Team start into positions 1 (boat), 2 (middle) and
3 (pin).
*Match Race Start:* Team members pair off with opponents and match race.
*Mark Trap:* A misnomer, mark traps are traps at the two length circle (but
not right at the mark) to pass back opponents behind your teammates.
*Play One:* Going for the 1-2 combo.
*Play Two:* Going for the 2-3-4 combo.
*Play Four:* Going for the 1-4-5 combo.
*Hi-Lo:* Reaching tactic where first of two teammates goes high to drag an
opponent ahead up high so a teammate can pass down low.
*Common Questions:*
Q: On the first leg should you team race or just go fast?
A: Both
Q: When in a 2-3-6 combo, should you chase 1 or go 2-3-4?
A: Downwind chase for play one, upwind go back for play two.
Q: What do you do in 1st of a 1-5-6?
A: Stay two lengths in front until leeward mark, then trap them all.
Q: What is the best covering scheme with a 1-2?
A: 1 covers 3, 2 covers 4.
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