Good morning SEISA,
Sorry I didn't get a tip out last week. This week comes from a former
University of Washington team member's blog about 420 sailing. It hits the
nail on the head. If you have any thoughts please share them with the group.
Good luck next weekend at Dinghy Champs!
Former UW Sailing Team alumni and All-American Crew Kim Kishi wrote this
out a couple of years ago. Both skippers, and especially crews, should read
over this!!!!
So I've decided that now that most of you (new crews) have an I idea
about basic boathandling, which you should always be working on, Its time to
start at least getting an idea of what you should be thinking about throughout
a race.
This e-mail series is also good for skippers to look over because as a
crew and a skipper you both need to have a plan or sequence of events that you
consistantly do so you don't forget anything. I have these all written out on a
piece of paper but I thought if I send them out separately it won't be
overwhelming, but as soon as I go over all the sections I'll bring the paper to
practice with all the sections on it for you to hold onto.
So heres an overview of the series i'll be sending out: Prestart, Start,
Windward leg, gybe mark, leeward mark, finish, repeated steps throughout race,
post finish.
I'll probably send one out every week, so if you work on each part during
that week, hopefully it will become routine and you'll be able to put it
together nicely.
Finally, remember "imitate, imitate, imitate, innovate"(said by the best
coach ever...Ken Legler), The more you just think about doing a tack right, or
how to sheet the jib, or footwork the easier it will be when you get out on the
water. (from the scientific standpoint, it forms new mental learning synapses,
so when
you get out on the water all you have to form are motor learning
synapses) "everything is 2/3 mental and 1/3 physical"
So while you're sitting in class falling alseep start thinking about that
perfect tack/gybe or just sailing in general, it makes class a lot better!
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paul
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Crew Tips #1
« Reply #1 on Mar 29, 2007, 3:20pm »
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Since we were able to talk very thoroughly about starting, I'll start on
the windward leg. Remember its all about a PLAN, make yourself a routine so it
becomes natural. There are two people in a boat so if both of you are thinking
about whats going on (with a running vocalization of your internal monologue)
you're guaranteed to not forget anything.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT ON THE WINDWARD LEG:
*Get your boat up to speed: In the first 10-30 seconds after the start
signal the #1 goal is boat speed. Firstly, so you don't loose your lane (clear
air), secondly, the start is everything.
So in general, skipper thinks about just going fast forward (We don't
want to see "swivel heads"), crew look around and lets skipper know: if going
faster/slower/equal to boats around, looking to see if individual recall flag
is up and if so, listening for sail #.
THE QUESTION: HOW ARE WE COMPARED TO OTHER BOATS? (SPEED, ANGLE)
*Clear Air: If falling behind boats, skipper should still be sailing fast
forward, crew looks back for a place to tack out so as to not tack into a
starboard boat. This is where you are looking for "lanes" We'll talk about this
at practice. You should also be making sure you're on the wind.
THE QUESTION: HOW ARE WE HANGING, DO WE NEED/WANT TO TACK OUT? ARE OUR
TELL TALES FLYING RIGHT?
*Look for Puffs/breeze: "You know.......the dark, ripply spots on the
water...that slowly/quickly move down the course......yeah those things!" Get
used to looking for those things, the better you are at detecting them the
easier things will be. Connect the dots (puffs) on puffy days. You can practice
looking for puffs on shore, on the coach boat,or even while you're walking past
the fountain on campus.
THE QUESTION: WHERE IS THE NEXT PUFF/GOOD BREEZE, DO WE GO FOR IT?
*Mark and Layline: Know where the marks (bouys), and laylines are!! This
is largly the crews job. Again, the skippers should not have swivel heads, its
slow. In general I say "the mark is there" with my arm straight out pointing to
it, which the skipper should be able to see peripherally so they don't have to
look. We'll talk about Laylines at practice.
THE QUESTION: WHERE IS THE MARK, HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO LAYLINE?
*Starboard and Port Boats: Warn skippers of Starboard AND Port boats on
the opposite tack. This becomes especially important as you are approaching the
marks. We'll talk about how to tell if you are ahead or behind that boat at
practice.
THE QUESTION: DO WE HAVE ANY STARBOARD OR PORT TACKERS COMING? SHOULD WE
TACK OR DUCK?
So think about these 5 questions for the windward leg and get used to
repeating them both in your head and out loud. MAKE IT ROUTINE! Remember
though, at this point as a crew, the most important thing is jib trim, boat
balance and boathandling. Start thinking about the above questions now, BUT
don't lose track of these basics.
KK
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paul
Guest
Crew Tips #2
« Reply #2 on Mar 29, 2007, 3:22pm »
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A couple things about wave/wind sailing: (A reiteration of today)
-Weight super together "cheek to cheek" so the boat pivots over one point
-Weight farther back, both upwind (so knobby part of bow isn't in water)
and downwind.
-Come out of your tacks lower to keep your speed up, and not get
stalled/stopped by the waves
-OOCH! The best feeling besides planing on a reach is riding on a
wave...we'll talk about ooching the next tues or thurs when we're at sand point
with good wind.
-Be weary of too little vang going downwind...things can get a little
rocky...(stay tuned for vang e-mail)
-Yell your lungs out when team racing in wind...louder than you think you
have to
-Cross-sheet the jib sheets on the reaches (hold windward jib sheet when
holding the sheet to leeward and outside the shroud, which allows the other jib
sheet to be quickly sheeted in from the block if you need to help flatten) I'll
demonstrate it next time if need be.
-Learn to ease and sheet your jib with the skipper in all breezes
The main thing I want to stress about these crew tip e-mails is that I
hope you can use it as a reference for if you're remembering to do everything,
or as a list of what you can work on next once you've accomplished something to
the point that it becomes natural. Because I know that you don't learn everthing
the first time you hear it. Especially if you are a new crew, I hope you
are holding onto the e-mails that teach you something....I did.
btw, excellent practice today...it was puuuuuurrrfect.
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paul
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Crew Tips #3
« Reply #3 on Mar 29, 2007, 3:23pm »
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SKIPPERS SHOULD NOT BE DOING THE VANG!
I know for you laser sailors its just natural, but in some college boats
the vang control is at the bottom of the mast, making it the crews
responsibility. Either way, overall the vang is the crews. It doesn't matter if
you (the crew) knows how to adjust it, all you have to do is ask the skipper
how his main looks and adjust accordingly. In the early stages it may seem like
it is easier for
you (the skipper) to just do it yourself, but then the crew isn't
learning. As a crew every time you adjust the vang, feel the tautness of the
vang lines and take note of how tight it feels and the type of breeze you are
in so you can hopefully repeat that same feel the next time. (This is how you
should also be remembering the jib halyard tensionexcept by feeling the shrouds
when luffing)
A couple general rules:
Light air = loose
Medium air = just taut
Heavy air = tighter
As soon as you are having to ease in puffs to stay flat, vang should have
some tension on it.
I sure sign that you don't have enough vang on in breeze going downwind,
is if you're boat is really rocky.
Vang can vary for different types of sails, so if you're not sure, play
around with it.
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paul
Guest
Crew Tips #4 (420's)
« Reply #4 on Mar 29, 2007, 3:25pm »
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Well its done and over with, but this weekend was painful and I had to
get medicated gauze stuffed in a non numbed dry socket today.....painful!
Needless to say it will be hard for me to blow whistles and such so I won't be
able to help out tomorrow. But here is my crew tip on 420's.
420 sailing:
Oh the blessed fat pig. The annoying cleats and badly angled eyes to make
sheeting in that much harder. The traveler bar and thwart bruising and bleeding
the toughest shins. The fatty rudder and non bungeed centerboard. And the
windward sheeting. This is what I learned to sail in, which is why I love the
FJ so much. But don't get me wrong, the 4twinkie does have its upside.
You tend to plane easier, you can skull up to the line with two quick shoves,
and you learn how the roll harder making FJ rolling a breeze.
So here are a couple of tips to help you get through it.
The cleats are probably the toughest to deal with. In order to try and
avoid getting your jib cleated in every tack, after you do your roll off your
sheet throw your hand/arm upwards as you release the sheet. Another thing you
can do is keep your sheet on the outside of the cleat the whole time you're
sailing allowing you to play it easier. The benefit of having the thwart in
front of
your shins allows you to roll off of it for a stronger roll.
Windward sheeting is easier demonstrated than told so we'll hopefully go
over that sometime soon.
As for the skippers, a couple of things to note and for the crews to help
remind them are:
Since the rudder is so big, lots of steering slows the boat down a lot
faster. (as a crew I can always feel when a skipper is steering too much, its
like the boat is wiggling.tell them to cool it)
FJs are a lot more forgiving if you're not trimmed perfectly while
sailing up wind. As Ryan would say "the upwind groove is a lot narrower in a
420." 4twinkies don't like to pinch. Bearing off and keeping your speed up is
the key. Its always good to constantly remind yourself and the skipper to not
pinch because while in FJs its mostly good it can really kill your speed in
420s. I also feel like 420s take a little longer to accelerate. So take that
into consideration when accelerating at the start, coming out of tacks, and
dueling with someone in a team race.
Enjoy the joy of sailing of 4twinkies!
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