As I sailed out to the course I contemplated how lucky we were that Newport had NOT won the rights to host the 34th America's Cup. With all that lollapalooza going on there would be no way that Fort Adams would also be hosting the New England Laser Masters this weekend.
In most races the majority of the fleet went left on the first beat and a smaller group went right. I have no idea why. It's hard enough for me to devise my own race strategy never mind trying to read the minds of my fellow sailors.
I have been reading Doug's posts over on Improper Course about Sailing in the Middle of the Fleet and based on his words of wisdom I decided that my strategy would be to get clear air as soon as I could after the start and then sail the shifts and the pressure. Have clear air with freedom to tack and just sail my own race. This usually involved getting an OK-ish start, failing to maintain my lane for very long, and then tacking on to port to find a clear lane.
In the first race this didn't work particularly well giving me a result in the high 20's, but in the second race it worked like a charm. I sailed up the middle of the course always trying to sail the lifted tack and keeping in the areas of stronger pressure. I was reassured to see one of the regatta leaders playing the same game with me. And I rounded the first mark in a group of 8 or 10 boats who had a good lead on the rest of the pack.
Downwind I kept my eyes open for which side of the run seemed to have more pressure and headed over there when I saw one side was favored. Didn't make any stupid mistakes on the final beat and crossed the finish line in 6th place! Not too shabby in a 48 boat fleet.
The wind freshened considerably in the third race, the wind went further right at some point, the tide was ripping at the windward mark but other than that I don't really remember much about the last three races. Probably a good thing, looking at the results.
After racing we all mellowed out over chowdah and beer and told each other outrageous exaggerations and downright lies about our experiences during the regatta - as per usual. And when they announced the results it turned out that third place (the lowest award) for the Great Grandmasters (the oldest age group) went to... the old bald guy with the English accent who had been telling those unbelievable stories about getting trapped in the dead zone on the bridge abutment.
Well, I guess it was better than a slap in the face with a wet kipper.
6 comments:
CONGRATULATIONS... So it was well worth getting your board polished on the barnacles, hey!... and getting a bit wet!
Very impressive - BRAVO !
The older I get, the faster I was.
This makes a grand total of 3 age group places that I have won in Laser Masters regional championships in the US in over 20 years. Eventually even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
Well done. Gather your nuts while ye may. Repairing boat damage is what winters are for.
I guess my readers are getting confused between when I'm exaggerating, when I'm using ironic understatement and when I'm (very rarely) telling the truth. When I said that the barnacles on the bridge were gently polishing my gunwhale in the third race on the first day of this regatta I was actually telling the truth. No visible damage at all. Not even a scratch.
Well done! It's always fun to share what works and what does not. Sailing is very much a group learning experience, and the secret is to try to learn as much as we forget.
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