This year's Lakefest had some eery similarities to Lakefest 2009... Both scratched racing on Friday due to too much wind. Both ended racing early on Saturday due to the wind being too light. Both had moderate to heavy wind on Sunday. Both had dramatic and costly collisions with some similarities.
Both of the collisions had elements of trying to turn the bow down in an evasive maneuver, but having too much mainsheet trim to allow that to occur. In both instances, the skipper was "hard over" on the wheel/tiller, but the main needed to be eased... really fast! In one case, the skipper called "blow the main," but the main sheet trimmer was not able to respond fast enough. In the other case, the skipper called for "ease the main" and it was being "eased," just not fast enough. When the wind is over 15 knots, there is no way to turn one of these boats downwind without releasing the mainsheet.
My point here is not to be critical of these skippers or the mainsheet trimmers (I was personally involved with one of these situations and served on the protest committee of the other). My point is, most likely we have all been in this situation one time or another; whether it's racing or cruising. Our challenge is that in North Texas, we don't get as much practice in heavy wind as we'd like, and when we do see the situation, we aren't as prepared as we need to be.
I remember skippering a charter out of Kemah, and I gave the mainsheet duty to a friend of mine that was new to sailing. We went over "trimming" and "easing" of the main and things were fine. We had a great day on Galveston Bay and he really got the hang of it. Just when we were heading back to the marina, we got hit with a gust, as we were entering the channel to Clear Lake, and I was rounding up; right into oncoming traffic. I quickly yelled "blow the main!!" My friend just looked at me with wide eyes and that look of "what the hell are you talking about?" I lunged over and released the mainsheet from the cam cleat and all was well. It was totally my fault, I never told him what to do if I called for blowing the main and we certainly never practiced it.
Similarly, in racing situations, if that understanding and practice has not been made between the mainsheet trimmer and the skipper, you won't get the kind of practiced maneuver when you need it most. I would suggest that this be practiced often. Maybe even every time you do a bear-away set at the windward mark, get in the practice of calling "blow the main" (I understand this assumes a symmetrical spinnaker, but you get the idea). The skipper gets used to saying it and the mainsheet trimmer gets used to knowing exactly what to do when he hears it.
Our goal for Lakefest needs to be "No Rule 14 infractions!"
Just my 2 cents....
Be safe,
Capt. Dave
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Another Lakefest is in the history books!!
2011 marked the Silver Anniversary of the Texoma Lakefest Regatta, and with it another challenging set of races with a wide variety of wind conditions.
Friday April 15, saw sustained 37 mph winds, gusting to 47 out of the west. Too much of a good thing! We managed to take the signal boat and all the chase boats out, but we were never able to get the signal boat anchored and have enough room behind us (lee shore) to have a starting box. So, no racing on Friday. But, we made up for it with an awesome happy hour at the clubhouse and a great party at The Point.
Saturday started out with 15 knot winds, out of the West-Northwest. As the winds died, they clocked to the Northest... about a 100 degree change in three hours. We managed to get in one good race, followed by another that ended in very light conditions. While waiting to see if we'd get any wind building, we saw a 180 degree shift to the southwest, but it did not sustain any raceable winds.
Saturday also saw the first start of the Lakefest Flotilla. Nine boats registered for the flotilla and in all cases, these were boats that would not have raced in the buoy race, if the flotilla was not available. These folks had a blast, and it's assured that The Flotilla will be a fixture in future Lakefests.
After the racing, everyone made for happy hour and then the party at The Pavilion, with a good time had by all.
Sunday we finally saw good racing wind, starting at 18 knots and building to the mid-20's by the time we ended for the day. We managed to get in three races and ended the regatta on a high note. We handed out some great looking silver trophies and all was done with this chapter of Lakefest history.
So, Heavy air, Moderate air and Light air racing. It was quite a challenge for racers and race committee alike. But, most importantly, we did well on our fund raising for Make A Wish. Checks are still coming in (as well as bills) and we will know the final tally in a couple of weeks.
There are many people to thank and you can see their names in the "rolling credits" that we have posted on the TexomaLakefest.com website.
We are in the process of planning Lakefest 2012 now and will have our first planning meeting on the morning of May 14th at the TSC clubhouse. Let me know if you'd like to join us.
Capt. Dave
Friday April 15, saw sustained 37 mph winds, gusting to 47 out of the west. Too much of a good thing! We managed to take the signal boat and all the chase boats out, but we were never able to get the signal boat anchored and have enough room behind us (lee shore) to have a starting box. So, no racing on Friday. But, we made up for it with an awesome happy hour at the clubhouse and a great party at The Point.
Saturday started out with 15 knot winds, out of the West-Northwest. As the winds died, they clocked to the Northest... about a 100 degree change in three hours. We managed to get in one good race, followed by another that ended in very light conditions. While waiting to see if we'd get any wind building, we saw a 180 degree shift to the southwest, but it did not sustain any raceable winds.
Saturday also saw the first start of the Lakefest Flotilla. Nine boats registered for the flotilla and in all cases, these were boats that would not have raced in the buoy race, if the flotilla was not available. These folks had a blast, and it's assured that The Flotilla will be a fixture in future Lakefests.
After the racing, everyone made for happy hour and then the party at The Pavilion, with a good time had by all.
Sunday we finally saw good racing wind, starting at 18 knots and building to the mid-20's by the time we ended for the day. We managed to get in three races and ended the regatta on a high note. We handed out some great looking silver trophies and all was done with this chapter of Lakefest history.
So, Heavy air, Moderate air and Light air racing. It was quite a challenge for racers and race committee alike. But, most importantly, we did well on our fund raising for Make A Wish. Checks are still coming in (as well as bills) and we will know the final tally in a couple of weeks.
There are many people to thank and you can see their names in the "rolling credits" that we have posted on the TexomaLakefest.com website.
We are in the process of planning Lakefest 2012 now and will have our first planning meeting on the morning of May 14th at the TSC clubhouse. Let me know if you'd like to join us.
Capt. Dave
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