Spring Race #2

Great spring evening.  Winds from the South between 10 and 16 knots.  Current flooding .5 to 1 knot.  Skies were clear.  A&B sailed from H to K to G to H.  C divisions had same course minus G.

It was a great night for sailing.  We left the marina and immediately put up the main and unfurled the jib.  It was a nice tight reach over to H.  Once there, we sailed upwind and decided to protect the left side of the course.

We went back to the start line and immediately noticed two things.  First, the line was skewed so that the port end was favored.  Second, the race committee was on the port end of the line instead of the starboard end.  This can be a problem.  I first wrote about this problem in 2010.  Here is an excerpt:

It has been common in my 5 years of racing in the HBRA for the RC’s to setup on the port side of the line. This seems to be a carry over from the starts at 26 where you had to anchor on the port side of the line to stay out of the channel. I think the last three races have had the committee boat on the port side of the line. This creates a more difficult start.

It may not seem like it should matter which side of the line the boat is on, but it can make a big impact. The side of the line matters because of the racing rules. Since starboard tack has the right of way over port tack, most boats will start the race on starboard. This causes them to leave the starboard end of the line to windward and the port end of the line to leeward. Since the boats are heading upwind, it can be tough to get above the leeward end of the line. Since the boats are on starboard, it is the port end of the line that will have most boats struggling to clear. If the port end is a buoy then it is easier for boats to clear it since there is no rode extending upwind from the mark. Using a mark at the port end makes it less of an obstacle.

The impact of being on the wrong side of the line is made more significant by a long scope. When a committee boat has a long scope, it makes a bigger obstacle for the racers since its anchor rode will need to be avoided and the rode is upwind of the committee boat. You now have a 100-foot obstacle to get above when starting.

On this night, since the port end was favored, the committee boat was an even tougher obstacle to get around.  We decided to run the line on Starboard early and then flop over to port to get a good start.  My approach to the line was way too early.  I did some radical swings up and down to slow the boat and was still going early.  I overestimated the line length and the strength of the flood.  Luckily, only one other boat was in the area and we were able to start well.  We tacked onto port 30 seconds before the start and started on port.

After a minute, we tacked onto starboard to protect the left side of the course.  The course ended up being pretty even up the leg and we got to the first mark in good position.  With the fresh breeze and following current, the downwind leg was quick.  

After finishing, we sailed around for a while and enjoyed the nice sailing conditions.  I actually drove the boat for a while after the race before turning it over to Frank.  It was perfect sailing conditions.

We finally went in around sunset.   After the crappy weather from the week before, this was a good way to start the season's racing.