Thursday, July 28, 2011

Lake Sailing Roulette


After our adventure on Massapoag Lake last Saturday, my son and I joined the Massapoag Yacht Club Laser fleet for their regular Sunday fleet racing. I must say they are a great bunch of sailors. I must also say that the experience reminded me that lake sailing is like no other kind of sailing in its ability to surprise, frustrate and delight the sailor with its (apparently) random changes and fluctuations of wind direction and strength that are constantly shuffling the fleet, punishing the wise, and occasionally rewarding the unworthy (i.e. me.)

The wind started in the north. Yarg of Apparent Wind and I launched early enough to sail up to the windward mark and check out the breeze. He told me later that he thought the breeze was stronger on the left. I was pretty sure I detected a wind curve that favored the left side of the course. I worked the left side of the course. I was looking good. Then everyone on the right passed me and I never caught up. After two years with no Laser sailing, Litoralis surprised us all by rounding the windward mark in first place and hanging on to take a third at the finish. I finished sixth of eight boats. Ugly!

The wind went east. The race committee moved the whole course and called for a three lap windward leeward course (because we were now racing across the short axis of the lake.) On the first lap Yarg was last. On the second lap he was second. It was that kind of race. I generally played the right side of the course to take advantage of some shifty puffs coming out of a cove on that side. Or maybe I just got lucky. Anyway I finished third.

The wind went further right. We started a race and then, by mutual agreement, abandoned it when it was apparent that the first "beat" was a reach. The race committee set a new windward mark. Litoralis and I blasted off the pin end of the line sailing for more pressure on the left. It was a good plan but poorly executed on my part as I tacked too late and overstood the layline. I arrived at the first mark in sixth place. The first "reach" was now a very tight fetch. Somehow I managed to sail high and work up out of the bad air of boats in front of me. But just before the mark there was a big header and I still had to do a couple of tacks to lay the mark. But I did round in third. The second "reach" was now a run. My closest competitors played luffing games and I slid by them to arrive at the leeward mark clear ahead (thanks mainly to my double secret downwind vang setting.) The next "beat" was a close fetch. The "run" to the finish was a reach. So there was little opportunity for other boats to pass me. I extended my lead to win the final race of the weekend. Woo hoo!

Such is lake sailing. Leaves you frustrated... but wanting more.

5 comments:

Doc Häagen-Dazs said...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's Lake sailing. My reaction to race management, whether lake or ocean, is that no race started should ever be canceled, nor should marks be moved, just because the wind direction changes. Shortened, perhaps, if the wind dies, and people have to go home....

Baydog said...

Packanack Lake

Tillerman said...

Sailing at Packanack Lake is not roulette. It's Russian roulette.

Carol Anne said...

You mean, that's NOT the way sailing always is?

BlueVark said...

It does require a very different type of tactical "skill?". On our lake a week or so ago the beat to the windward mark became a dead run halfway down (up?). You just got to be ready for anything. At least you cant be lazy, you need to be constantly aware of changes in wind direction. But very frustrating when you are sitting in a pocket of calm and a boat less than 100m away is screaming along hiking like a maniac. Thats English inland sailing on small ponds for you.

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