We had our second Wednesday night of the season yesterday. Starting in a mid flood this week, we were in good position on the starboard end of the line, yet slow and were overtaken to windward by Cosmic. As we bailed to port for clean air, Sanibel tacked in our face. We would have been better off tacking back to starboard and following Jolly Mon and Cosmic, yet we hung in with Sanibel for a two tack dual then carried too far after a cross. Nearing Flat Hammock, we were forced to tack in a lift and sailed in a header the next three minutes, as Sanibel stretched away. Rounding in a heap of traffic, we had a great set and bore away, to see Jolly Mon & Cosmic jibing to port over near Clay Point with Sanibel following suit. We continued towards Clay Point ourselves, yet jibed at the half way point and continued towards the leeward mark, though a bit by the lee the last few hundred yards.
After a smooth douse at the leeward mark, we hardened up and continued on port tack, failing to realize it was the headed tack. Nearing the windward mark, I tacked too early rather than wait for the range on shore from the previous layline and found ourselves having to throw in a couple more tacks to round. We again had a smooth set, then jibed shortly thereafter separating from the fleet for what appeared to be greater pressure under a cloud and held our own with Sanibel on the other side of the course, finishing with a 57.55 minute elapsed time.
Comments:
- We need to watch our compass headings better in relationship to the rhumbline. - Nearing the leeward mark, determine which tack will be favored after the rounding. - Always remember your range form the previous layline and tack on subsequent ones relative to conditions, a lift or header, pressure & current. - A rough rule of thumb for determining the jibe point: continue the present jibe until the angle to the leeward mark is double the angle of the tail of the windex. - According to CompuSail our upwind boatspeed was significantly off throughout the race.
50 seconds faster would have put us in 3rd
4 min 51 seconds faster would have put us in 2nd
5 min 18 seconds faster would have put us in 1st
Overall wind average: 8 kts, 1st windward leg 7.6, 1st downwind 6.7, 2nd windward 8.5, final downwind 9.6 kts.
Link to Chart