Words of Wisdom

Someone forwarded me an email containing words of wisdom by Scott Ferguson, the winner of the Laser frostbite racing in Newport last weekend. The extract below just emphasised for me how much guys like Scott are planning strategy on a whole different plane from mid-fleet klutzes like me.

If I remember to formulate a wind strategy at all it's likely to be no more than, "Hmmm -- water looks a bit darker on the right -- will try and head that way." And if I'm lucky I might actually execute it. But in short course racing I'm just as likely to get forced the other way by the crowd of boats around me.

But note that Scott had a strategy that took into account local knowledge, the weather forecast, the distribution of wind pressure around the course and which way the puffs were moving. And he executed it. And he was right.

Brenton Cove is tricky place to sail when the wind is in the south quadrant coming over the land. But for the most part you can see the wind on the water. I always carefully study the wind on the water, trying to discern which way the puffs are moving, and how I can align my boat to take the most advantage of each wind cell as they move down the course. I do not pay too much attention to the cells that are out of my reach.

For example early in the day the far left looked pretty good, but that pressure and angle would never hold all the way to the windward mark. Sailing on port across the middle of the course I would see guys over my shoulder at times lifting off me with pressure looking pretty good, but if I looked at my path to get there it just was not an option. I would only take steps to the left when my puffs allowed me to.

In the first 3-4 races my path up the beat was almost identical. I played the middle/right side with good success. The forecast was for a building southerly as the front approached, slowly turning the wind right to the SW. This was one reason I favored the right side of the fleet, but I think the way the wind came down the course ultimately determine my upwind path. There was some geographic right pressure at the windward mark for the first 2-3 races causing me to lose distance to the few boats on my right, but more importantly allowed me to stay in touch with the bulk of the fleet on the left.