Chicago Mackinaw - Has anybody seen the wind?

This start was with the wind out of the northeast at about 5 knots with a heavy chop. We went down the line on port ducking other boats (there were close to 20 boats in our time slot) to start in the second row on starboard. When the last boat passed we tacked to port barely missing the anchor line of the committee boat on the right side. Bob had me stay on port and sailed the boat a little low to push through the slop. 2 hours later when I handed over the wheel we were ahead of everyone including Night Moves who started just to our right. Apparently the wind had died on the left side of the course letting us get the lead. Even though the NOAA report said there would be wind all over the lake Bob and I agreed to go right when possible and moving up the ladder. The weather reports we saw and the grib files showed more pressure towards Michigan but because there was not a temperature gradient, going in close would not be helpful.

In the morning the only boats we saw in our class was Hot Ticket and Night Moves with NM trailing behind. The entire day was spent trying to beat Hot Ticket. It was found that there was always a little more pressure closer to shore (1/2 to 1 mile out) We made the mistake of staying a little farther out because of the fear of the air dying closer in when the thermals stopped. As the sun went down we gybed from starboard to port and cut a little distance on Hot Ticket by being on the inside. As darkness came the wind picked up to 15 to 20 knots so we essentially rode it straight past Point Betsy and the 45th parallel to 3 minutes behind Hot Ticket. The radio announcement confirmed that we were in a solid 2nd place with a possibility of 1st. The wind continued to increase and as we got to 20 knots I could no longer sleep in the bunk because I was worried about our .6 oz. spinnaker. As we passed 27 knots I made the decision to take it down and go to the 1.5 oz. I could see HT ahead of us going right and probably broaching. I thought that port gybe was closer to the course. At this point I thought that the 1.5 oz was the correct chute. I commented to Dave Coffey that I had used it up to 30 knots at Key West so we should be alright. Early in the morning just as dawn came we got hit with a squall. Ultimately the wind went up to 36 knots and we blew out the chute. After 15 minutes of getting it back in the boat we partially unrolled the head sail and went wing and wing. When the wind speed finally dropped to 22 knots I made the decision to go to the .75 oz chute. Roughly 20 minutes later we saw the distinctive red dot Hot Ticket spinnaker go up about directly a mile behind us. At his point we knew we had a good chance to win this race. After we went through the Graves Reef passage we went to a head sail. Behind us Hot Ticket started going high on the course so I knew that they were planning to launch a chute. Because we went into the conservative cover mode we were set up to raise our spinnaker at a moments notice. When the wind backed we put up the code 0 and eventually to the 3/4 and then the .6 runner to finish a minute ahead of Hot Ticket.

What lessons did we learn from this race? We learned to come up with an intelligent strategy and to not sway from it even though we saw other boats do different things. Sometimes it takes discipline to stick to a plan. We also made sure we were always on the favored board to get up the ladder faster. Secondly you have to push the boat hard if you want to win. The crew was down below in the lighter air but when it came time to push hard in heavy air they were all up making sail changes and in the back of the boat to keep it going fast. It was a tough but rewarding race considering we went from 3 knots upwind to 35 downwind with all the sail changes. Hot Ticket was competitive to the end. Their sportsmanship was also 1st rate. They bought me all my drinks in the Pink Pony.

One final note - This is the first Mackinaw Race I have won since I was 15 years old where I was the junior crewman on a 1936 45 foot wooden New York 32. It is the first race I have won on my own boat so this one was very special for me. My father when he was alive sent me off on every Mackinaw race in Port Huron. I just know he is pleased.

Crew: Colleen Flanagan, Dave Coffey, Rod Weston, Mike Badendieck, Nathan Caspers, Dan Lorenz, Nancy Caldwell, Bob Declercq, Dave "Baker" Keeler

Result: 1st out of 11 J120's, 2nd Hot Ticket, 3rd Night Moves

Link:http://chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac/ , tp://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac/results.cfm?Class=J120 http://mywebpages.comcast.net/fkern

For a great story about Bounder's near win: http://www.sailinganarchy.com/fringe/2006/4%20seconds.htm

Kirkman kids showing their pleasure in placing 2nd.

Bayview Mackinaw Race - Who's on First?

This race started with moderate wind out of the northeast. Although it made sense to go on the port end of line because of getting the freshest breeze the boats previously had started at he starboard end seemed to have better starts. Unfortunately in previous classes the starboard end was not crowded most of the J120's had the same idea. After starting the race with the 1.5 oz. spinnaker, about 45 minutes up the course we got hit with a abrupt header causing us to dump the spinnaker and go to a head sail. In this entire melee Merlin,who started on the left side of the line, managed to get about a half mile lead on us. We managed to follow them into night time. We could only recognize them by their bright masthead light with no stern light. As we got close to the Southhampton turning mark dawn approached. Hot Ticket andIrristable popped out from the right side and Merlin stayed on the left. In any case the Canadians rounded 1st 10 minutes ahead, with Merlin and Hot Ticket 3 to 4 minutes ahead.

After rounding the wind was a close reach and eventually went to a fetch. During this time we did manage to pull ahead of the 3 other J120's with them being slightly north. This is the point I probably threw away the lead. When the wind went to a 15 to 20 knot reach I should of consolidated our lead ahead of Merlin and Ticket (we were already a mile directly ahead of Irristable). Instead I say a replay of last year where Capers was pulling up south of us and thought they would pass us. Unfortunately the smart money was on Merlin and Ticket. We did meet up with Ticket later in the day in practically no wind were we did a little circle dance (30 feet apart) with us and they managed to get the air faster and left us in front. As hard as we tried we could not catch up to Merlin and Ticket to the finish.

Result: 3rd out of 9 J120's, Merlin 1st, Hot Ticket 2nd
Link: http://www.byc.com/mack06 , http://www.byc.com/mack06/results-south.cfm?Class=J120
Crew: Colleen Flanagan, Henrik Hedegaard, Rod Weston, Mike Badendieck, Nathan Caspers, Brian Hawkins, Nancy Caldwell, Brian Ginnebaugh, Dave "Baker" Keeler

Windsor Wednesday Race - Who Me?

This was another start in about 10 knots of air out of the west. The right pin was extremely favored so I wanted to come in on starboard without barging. I went away from the pin at 4 minutes to the start and tacked back at about 2:30 to go. I pretty much made it right on time but Jayhawker was just to the left of us. I say he had lost his steering so he had to go a little left so I saw that we had room to sneak in. I am positive we did not go over early because we were at the pin but were called over early. We did not hear the announcement until 45 seconds into the leg so we tacked rerounded and started again on starboard. I saw no future following the other J120s so I continued on starboard until we were left of all the boats. We then tacked on port and the pressure was better in that lane and I saw there was a lift farther up the leg. We did manage to round in 3rd behind Flyin Irish and Hot Ticket. Again I saw that it was going to be a reach so we put up the .75 oz. We did manage to catch up to HT and Irish at the next mark but I saw that the next leg was a run so we did one of our patented spinnaker change gybe. On the next leg we stayed to the left and took the boat all the way to the layline. Fortunately Flyin Irish gybed back so when we drove up to the mark so they had to stay on the outside. Merlin had gone right so coming in to the mark they were going fast. We did a Mexican takedown but because it was a 180 degree turn we came out a little slower than Merlin with FI behind. At this point it came down is if we could foot ahead we had Merlin. If Merlin footed ahead they had us. Unfortunately we eventually got backwinded by Merlin and had to tack. At this point it was game of chess and we crossed back and forth with Merlin. Merlin barely made DP5 but Dirty Harry tacked across and just enough ahead to interfere with us so Merlin managed to finish out a little ahead.

We did manage to accomplish what we wanted. If we just finished behind Merlin we would win the spring series which we did.

Result: 3rd out of 6 J120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/regatta2006/WYC%202006%20Spring%20Race%207.pdf

COURSE C - 7.6 nautical miles
Start to DP8 (243o) leaving it to port
-then to A (091o) leaving it to port
-then to B (007o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (247o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

DBC/GPC Regatta - Oh Canada!

This was a triangle course starting in front of the Grosse Pointe Club with marks to starboard with the first mark Z. We were the 18th start so we started behind a bunch of other sailboats. The wind was pretty much on the nose at 7.5 knots for the first leg with starboard being favored. I had watched the earlier starts and the boats closer to shore seemed to get a little lift and were coming out ahead in their groups. In our start were the farthest left on the line but a little late. We managed to just keep clear air from Hot Ticket to our right. Merlin bailed early when they got bad air. When it got a little shallow we tacked and HT covered. We tacked back on starboard and HT fortunately did not cover. From that point on as we went up the leg we managed to put the other J120s behind us. After rounding Z I decided to stay on starboard a half mile to cover HT to our left and tacked when Merlin tacked at the mark. At his point the air got fluky and Merlin managed to squirt out ahead of us with a little more pressure to our right. Further up the leg the wind almost died. Merlin got the new air first and with a lift to the right HT and Merlin rounded at Mark C before us. I noticed that Merlin was having problems with their .6 oz runner with the light air (3-4 knots) at maybe a 60 degree angle. I had the crew change out the spinnaker to the .75 oz all purpose before putting it up which is better on a reach. Both Merlin and HT ahead of were going a little slower and higher. About 2 miles into the leg HT started going real high on the course. In fact they went so high they were nearly on the Canadian shore. They said later they got on the wrong side of the dumping grounds. In the light air we kept moving where a few times Merlin lost their spinnaker for lack of pressure. In any case we gybed down to the finish and finished a couple of minutes ahead of the next boat.

This race was highlighted by good boat trim by Mike, Colleen, Lynn, and Nathan. Lynn was especially helpful in finding pressure on the course. After the race most of the crew went to the BYC summer party and managed to serenade a chorus of Oh Canada to Mike Kirkman who tooked the ribbing good natured.

Result: 1st out of 4 J120s
Link: http://www.drya.org/race2006/Results/gpcdbc.htm

Windsor Wednesday Race

This was a start in 10 knots of air to weather to mark B. I carefully watched the earlier starts and took wind readings and thaought the right end of the line was favored. Night Moves got on the line before me and because he did not move down quick enough I had to go underneath him to hopefull pry him over early. Unfortunately it was not enough so we had to tack early to get out of the hole. It was evident that the boats that started on the left side of the line where going to get lifted. I tried to get over there as best I could in a series of tacks. The last tack I let Flyin Irish cross in front of us on starboard but when we tack back on lay line we had them at the mark. The next leg was a run with the .6 oz and when NM had problems raising his we simply ducked him and got ahead. The next boat up was Jayhawker. This is where it got complicated . We were mixed in with a J105 so it got difficult to pass him. At the next mark Merlin had moved up on both of us because of clear air. Fortunately Jayhawker gybed way too early and he was moving slow and low to get to the mark. Merlin gybed in front of us but we magaged to gas him so we kept him to the outside. Because we now had boat speed and clear air we managed to cross in front of Jayhawker to get back over to the left and clear air. Fortunately we kept the boat speed going to DP7 and finished ahead going fast in the river. We did have one moron on a 27 footer who because he did not know how to keep his boat speed going decided to go up all of sudden behind our spinnaker. He started yelling at us and we did not even know where he was. We could of t-boned him. Then he started going on about 40 footers do not have any rights on 27 footers. He is lucky he did not get a sprit up his behind. In any case the Hot Ticket had stayed ahead the whole race so we were never able to catch him.


Result: 2nd out of 6 J/120's
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/regatta2006/WYC%202006%20Spring%20Race%205.pdf
Course: COURSE B - 7.5 nautical miles
Start to B (065o) leaving it to port
-then to D (261o) leaving it to port
-then to DP8 (208o) leaving it to port
-then to CC (063o) leaving it to port
-then to D (309o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (212o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

Toledo Yacht Club Mills Regatta - Our Mills Cup Runneth Over

It took me a long time to come back here but what a comeback. All I could remember were the little green bugs that swarmed all over the boat when I was on Lake Erie 20 years ago. It took an awful long time to get the stains out of everything.

What we saw at the start was a 80 degree wind of about 6 knots where the pin side was favored alot. I knew that both the 50-foot Crazy Horse and Stripes, a 70-footer, wanted that side of the line too. They could run over us and smother us - a little 40-footer. We saw more air on the right side so we took our lumps by starting on port behind four other boats a little farther down the line. It paid off by keeping us close to Stripes and Crazy Horse but out of their wind shadow. We hit the pressure and because there were 15 degree shifts we tacked back and forth to get on the favored leg. As the leg continued, the wind got up to 12 knots as well as going more north. By the time we got around the Niagra Reef buoy we were 3rd in the entire fleet with only the bigger boats ahead of us. By the time we rounded the Sandusky lighted buoy by Cedar Point, the wind had switched to the north and was blowing 21 knots. We knew we had to switch to a smaller headsail but as with all J120s we had to do it bareheaded and of course it just took too long. At that point Perodactyl had caught up behind us.

We beat 22 miles on the northeast leg, in typically miserable, square, deep Lake Erie waves. I think every fifth wave would slam into the boat and slowing it down by 1 and a half knots. We developed a system where the crew on the rail would yell "big wave" so we could roll over it. According to crew member Tom Schulte, "The waves just kept coming. The rail crew was yelling 'weird wave' all night." In fact it was ijust tough to keep my balance steering. Slamming into the waves would sometimes just throw me over the wheel. The best I could do was to just wedge myself in. Tom would ease the main so I could turn down at the right time. He would also announce the wind speed and ease the main in the puffs and trim in the lulls. We kept track of wind shifts tacking when the wind would change. Of course Baker, our wave barometer, puked more than 5 times and being in the front he injured his siatic back nerve, which can be very painful.

The fun part was putting up a .75 oz. spinnaker when the apparent wind went to 80 degrees after rounding at the top mark by Point Pelee. After passing the next mark we put up the .6 oz. We did 9 to 10 knots in the puffs to the finish and gybed when we got knocked.

How the forecast, even though the direction and velocity was off, what the wind did with respect to oscillations was spot on. Basically meaning that the front was just in a different spot when it came through. So even though some of the shifts were only 10 and 20 degrees, knowing they were coming helped us determine when to tack / jybe -- especially on such long legs. For example, the last kite leg, we knew the wind was going to make a 10-15 degree shift --- allowing us to potentially not have to jybe --- so we waited and waited, and it did shift where we made it all but the last 100 yards. So keeping track of that type of stuff throughout the race allowed us to put the boat in the right spot.

Also the crew did what they needed to by mostly staying awake the entire time and on the rail. Heather nearly got hyperthermia by getting wet and not going inside.

Crew: Frank, Heather Papp, Tony Lawrence, Lynn Kotwicki, Nathan Caspers, Tom Schulte, Colleen Flanagan, Dave 'Baker' Keeler

Result: 1st in PHRF, 1st in PHRF Overall, 2nd in IRC - Winner of Mills Trophy, Commodore Harry Wood Trophy, and the Commodore Holton Navigator Trophy to Colleen Flanagan
Link: http://www.toledoyachtclub.com/millsrace/PDF/2006_Finishes_R1.pdf

Course: From the starting line in an eastsoutheasterly direction to Niagara Reef lighted buoy (G “5” Fl G 4s) leaving it to starboard, then in a southeasterly direction to the flashing Red Buoy No. 2 (R “2” Fl R 4s) at the Sandusky Harbor (Moseley) Channel, leaving it to port, then in a northeasterly direction to the Mid-Channel buoy (RW “X” Mo (A)) approximately 1 mile south of Southeast Shoal Light, leaving it to port, then in a northwesterly direction to Pelee Passage Light (Fl 4s), leaving it to port, then in a west-southwesterly direction to the Bell Buoy (G “1” Fl G 4s) off the easterly tip of Middle Bass Island, leaving it to starboard, then to the finishing line leaving Ballast Island to port. Total length of course 75.15 nm

Windsor Wednesday Race

The first leg was a beat to mark Dp8 in moderate winds 10 mph. I was a little late getting to the pin side of the starting line but on starboard we seemed to have speed. Merlin and Jwalker hit the pin side but were going slow. After the gun we tacked on port which was a heavily favored board. We got good pressure further down the leg with a slight lift. We managed to roll Flyin' Irish to our right and crossed in front of Jwalker on our starboard tack to the mark. After J. passed behind us I put the boat in point mode to hopefully gas J. We rounded in first and we put up the .6 oz because I thought it would pay off on the following leg. We got headed and started going really slow. Merlin out of last place charged by us with a code 0 and rounded a ahead of us. At that point we caught some distance on the following leg but it just was not enough. The leg up to dp7 I tried raising the 1.5 spinnaker because we no longer had anything to lose to catch up to Merlin. We barely made it past dp7 when we got headed again. The major mistake I made in this race was not recognizing the changing conditions when we got lifted on the first mark. That means on the opposite board we would be headed and I should of used a different chute. We then could of gone to the .6 oz. Merlin did it with our famous chute change gybe. Oh well.

Result 2nd out of 4 J120's
Link: http://www.wyc.info/regatta2006/WYC%202006%20Spring%20Race%202.pdf


COURSE C - 7.6 nautical miles
Start to DP8 (243o) leaving it to port
-then to A (091o) leaving it to port
-then to B (007o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (247o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

Great Lakes Regatta, - Love, set, and match

This was a windward leeward course with two 4 leg races. We had only 4 people show up so we enlisted the help of Sara who sails on Jayhawker so we had 5. This must not be a popular race because only Merlin showed up with 9 people aboard so we got a match race. At the start it blew about 12 knots but because of it being shifty by the time we got to our start it had shifted left. With this piece of information I was determined to start at the pin end. I actively tried to stay of the right of Merlin and gibed and went on starboard before the start to barely make the pin. We started slow but gassed Merlin clear ahead so she was force to tack. We tacked once in front of her but was unable to keep going upwind with her when the wind speed picked up to 14 knots. She just had too many more bodies. We managed to stay with her the rest of the race and if we would of had another 100 yards we may have passed her when she blew a gybe.

The 2nd race Merlin started a little closer to the line and we were caught leeward and a little behind. I stayed on starboard for a little way to get the boat speed going. I had Rod set up the cockpit for a tack and then had the crew move to their positions when it was time to go. We completely took Merlin by surprise and when she tried to tack to cover it was done badly. With the speed and coming off a good tack we managed to nose a little ahead and then slowly worked our way into their lane. Since this was the leg to the mark they had to take our gas and rounded maybe a 100 yards behind us. At the top mark they gybe set and went left. I did a rough cover but Merlin managed to get more pressure in their lane. At the bottom of the leg they came in hot, got an inside, rounded in front of us. Caprice was rounding at that point so when Merlin he started yelling starboard. He must of scared the tar off of Irv Yackness because he immediately made a 90° turn away. We had not got our headsail out in time and with that and the spinnaker coming down at the same time it go wrapped around the headsail. It took nearly half a leg to clear everything but because we kept our cool Merlin tacked only 75 yards in front of us. For some odd reason he kept going and I stayed on port because I saw a giant header coming with some pressure. When the wind hit I tacked and we rounded right behind Merlin. With our spinnaker up I decided to gybe away in order to get the wind I thought was on the left side of course. Immediately after the heavier air hit Merlin and drove him to the leeward mark. After that it was meerly follow the leader.

All in all we were not expecting to win because of a shortage of bodies, but we needed to show up so that we could qualifiy for the year. We could of done a lot worse but we made Merlin earn her win by sticking with them. I think the crew came through for what we had. If we had more people we could of done better in the heavier air gust and would have done much better on the upwind legs. In any case we got to do some match racing and that is different mindset needed for that type of competition. It was a lot of fun

Result: 2 out of 2 for both races.
Link: http://www.drya.org/race2006/Results/glyc.htm

Windsor Wednesday Race

This was our first race of the northern season.

The first leg was a beat to mark D in moderate winds 5-10 mph. I wanted to start on the committee boat side but got caught barging by Merlin and did a circle to round behind them. We could see there was more pressure on the right side of the course so we immediately tacked on port and went on the right side of the course. Fortunately when we crossed Merlin again we were slightly ahead on starboard so we controlled them from then on. I even overstood the mark a little bit to keep speed on the rounding. The next leg was a run with the .6 spinnaker and we managed to stretch our lead to mark a. The next leg was a close reach so we dropped the spinnaker and went to the next mark. We tacked to port about 1000 ft past the mark but I could see that there was air closer to the Canadian shore so we again tacked on starboard. At this point we just kept stretching the lead. We beat the next J120 by 11 minutes and just ended up with a nearly perfect race. The crew work was near perfect so they deserve kudos.

Result 1st out of 4 J120's
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/regatta2006/WYC%202006%20Spring%20Race%201.pdf

COURSE D - 7.2 nautical miles
Start to D (309o) leaving it to starboard
-then to B (081o) leaving it to starboard
-then to A (187o) leaving it to starboard
-then to D (296o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (212o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

Genoa Trim

General trim:

Wind ranges:
Be sure to follow the recommended wind range for your genoa. Using the sail in too strong a wind will not only slow the boat, but also could damage or stretch.

Sheet tension:
The most important variable is sheet tension. You should develop a relationship between spreader tip and the sail. Choppier water and/or lighter air need more leech twist, so the sheet should be eased slightly. In flatter water, less twist will help pointing ability provided the boat has enough power. A careful eye on the knotmeter or other boats around you will help you determine how tight to sheet. You may also put a telltale on the upper leech to check for stalling. If it doesn't flow, ease the sheet. After tacking, the sheet should be trimmed short of full tension until the boat is up to full speed. In puffy wind, a trimmer should stand by the sheet to adjust it as the wind changes. Also, some communication between the helmsman and the trimmer will help them get the most out of the boat.

Genoa lead:
The genoa lead controls fullness in the bottom third of the sail. It can be thought of as an outhaul for the genoa. The more power needed for choppy water or lighter air, the further forward the lead should be. To set the furthest forward lead, head the boat up and watch to see where the luff backwinds first. It should backwind evenly. The foot should be full and lay almost on the lifeline. This is your powered up setting. As the wind increases, the lead should be moved aft to flatten the foot and depower the top of the sail by allowing it to backwind first. The fore and aft movement can be as much as a foot on a #1 genoa. At the top of its range, the genoa should be trimmed with the foot flat against the shrouds. In choppier water, the lead should be further forward for a given wind strength.

In and out placement of the lead is adjusted less often. Track placement determines the innermost lead. Most modern racing boats sheet the #1 genoas at 10 degrees off center in light-moderate air. To extend the upper range of your heavy #1, you can sheet further outboard by using a short sheet run to a second track or the toe rail. #2 genoas are limited by the shrouds and their shorter LP to about 13 degrees off center. But a #3 genoa that can trim in front of the spreaders can be lead as close as 9 degrees in flat water to allow very high pointing. Fore and aft lead movement is more critical and the range is smaller - 3 to 4 inches. Any time you are reaching, the lead should go outboard. When the apparent wind moves aft of about 35 degrees, the lead should go to the rail and further forward. Again, the rule of thumb is to keep the luff backwinding evenly.

Headstay sag:
While the lead controls the fullness in the bottom of the genoa, headstay sag controls fullness in the middle and top. More sag adds fullness, moves the draft forward slightly, and makes the entry rounder. Whenever your boat needs more power, some headstay sag can be beneficial. This occurs typically with the light #1 up. But if you get caught with a sail in wind below its range, sag will help power it up. Be careful not to use so much sag that the headstay bounces in choppy water. As the wind increases, nearing the upper range of your genoa, you should remove as much sag as possible to flatten the sail. How you do this depends on your type of rig. If you have a masthead rig, backstay tension controls sag. But remember that overbending the mast can contribute to sag. This may happen if you have a flexible mast and don't use enough running backstay. In general, the backstay should be well eased in light air (as low as 500 lbs.) and tensioned as wind increases. The maximum backstay tension varies from boat to boat. On a typical 40 footer, it can be as high as 5000 lbs. A typical 30 footer would use about 3000 lbs. On a fractional rig, running backstay controls sag and this adjustment becomes critical, especially in puffy wind. Small changes in runner tension greatly affect headstay sag, so you should have a crew member assigned to this job. As wind drops, the runner should be eased and taken up as wind increases.

Halyard tension:
Halyard tension controls fore and aft position of the maximum fullness of the draft. The draft should be about 40% aft of the luff. In underpowered conditions (usually with the light or all purpose #1), a good rule of thumb is to leave some small horizontal wrinkles at the luff. As the boat gets powered up (10-12 mph apparent wind) you should barely remove the wrinkles. In stronger breeze with the heavy #1, #2, or #3, key on the draft position. More halyard tension holds the draft forward and makes the head slightly fuller. Choppy water requires the draft to be further forward and the entry rounder. This makes the boat easier to steer. In flatter water, the entry can be finer and the draft allowed to slide aft to improve pointing. Always be careful of using too much halyard, especially in puffy wind. Too much luff tension is slower in light air than vice versa.

In flat water:
The first adjustment to consider is rig tension. When in doubt of the proper rig tension setting, err on the tight side. This allows for consistently faster, flat-water genoa shape, i.e. flat, draft forward shape with a straight exit. Flatter sails are fast in flat water because the boat does not have to go through the constant acceleration and deceleration that is normally experienced in lumpy conditions. Therefore, a saggy headstay and deep genoa are not necessary. Also, with a tighter rig the mainsheet tension does not have such a dramatic effect on the headstay, and the backstay can be left alone longer (fewer adjustments). When the boat is tuned properly you should not have to start to use the backstay until everyone is hiking hard.

The second adjustment is the genoa halyard tension. The halyard needs to be set before the genoa lead position because the halyard changes the sheeting angle regardless of lead position. For example: When the genoa halyard is pulled up it moves the whole sail higher and the sheeting angle changes as if the lead was moved forward. If the halyard is lowered the sheeting angle will change as if the lead was moved aft. Now, because we have adjustable genoa leads to control the sheeting angle on a J24, what we are adjusting with the genoa halyard is luff tension. A slightly tighter-than-normal luff will help create the desired draft -forward, straight-exit genoa shape.

Finally, the genoa lead is ready to be set. Two fixed points from which to measure genoa trim are the spreader tip and the shroud chainplates. In flat water, set the lead to a position where the genoa foot is touching the chainplate and the mid/upper leech is 1" off at the spreader tip. This lead position will allow you to sheet harder without stalling the upper leach and it will create an overall flatter genoa shape. This lead position should not be a big move back from your median genoa position (less than 1" back). The median genoa lead position should be placed where the genoa trims to "even, even", which means that when the genoa is sheeted in it is an "even" distance from the spreader tip and the shroud chainplates. The range of adjustment on your genoa leads for all conditions should only be about 2-3" from the most forward position to the most aft position.

Key West Race Week 2006

Here are some photos and a video from Key West

2006 Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race

 (report by Dave Coffey) After a good clean start the crew of the sailing yacht Carinthia skipper Frank Kern, Jay Schmit, Dave Coffey, Tim Profit, Ken Morrison, Ray Adams, Jeff Henderson, and Dave Brace are about 2 miles from the Miami Sea Bouy. We have 12 knots of air doing 8.2 knots with a code zero up. In the evening the sky had become overcast with temps in the upper 70's. Jay was cranky. Evening dinner of fried chicken and pasta salad was served abeam to Rooster Reff around 7:00 pm. The skipper proved to be an excellent cook. We divided the crew in to a watch schedule for the evening. First watch was Kern, Coffey, Henderson and Profit.

Second watch was Schmit, Adams, Morrison and Brace. We did manage to get Ray off the helm sometime during the evening. Late night was a evening with light winds around midnight, then building around 4:00 am to a condition with a beam reach. In morning we had a sunny sky with temps in the mid 70's wind from the North at 12 - 14 knots. Sailing along at 8.5 to 9 knots with the .6 spin up at 15 nm from the Key West Sea Bouy. We had a 5 nm weather leg to the finish.

Result: 3 out of 7
Link to results: http://www.keywestrace.org/pdf/2006results-phrf.pdf

J/120 Great Lakes Trophy - Lets hear it for the crew

Yesterday we had the J120 owners xmas party. At it Bob Kirkman and Doug Scheibner presented me with this hard won trophy. If you look at the plaque you can see year's won by Hot Ticket was 6 years in a row and Merlin got it 3 years in a row. We finally broke that streak. This is quite an accomplishment for the crew and I am really proud of them. Thanks guys (and ladies)!

Gulf Streaming Video

This was the Sailfish Club's Munroe Regatta from Ft. Lauderdale to Palm Beach commonly referred to as the race to the buffet. The wind started out of the north at about 15-16 knots and we started with a #1. We began by peeling off a little to get in the gulf stream. It is my belief that we were in the stream sooner than we thought and we should of gone straight to weather sooner. When the wind was at 18 knots we went to the #3 but because I had not modified the rig before the start, we had to do a bareheaded change that just took too long. I had kept up the #1 longer than I wanted to because I was anticipating this problem. We also went too far out where the gulf stream was closer to shore and we did

not have to suffer so much from the waves. Out in mid course we were almost t-boned by another boat when they were not able to go behind us (we were on starboard) Chuck was driving the boat and he had enough sense to turn the boat up at the last second. I was on the rail and was sitting in water up to my chest until Karl let the head sail go. The last mistake we made was cutting in from the gulf stream a little to early. That probably cost us another 4 minutes. The crew still did a great job inspite of the problems. We had 8 foot seas with 3 people sea sick but everyone did their job. Another thing learned is that we should of gone to a smaller sail sooner in choppy seas. That way you can get power out of the main. At least the meal was excellent.

Crew: Kevin Thompson, James Maxwell, Jim Dundas, Karl Kuspa, Chuck Beyer, Rob Amsler, Colleen Flanagan, Ken Morrison, Nathan Caspers
Result: 6th out of 8 boats in class B
Link: http://www.geocities.com/getgo444/sailfishresults.pdf

Sour sweet

Last night we went to pick up our awards for DRYA at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club and it was a grand affair. We managed to clean up by taking 1st in w/l, point to point, J120 overall, and boat of the year on B course. Hardware won included the H C MacGregor and WJR Trophy. Most of the crew managed to come so it was an evening that was made that much sweeter. After the affair we migrated to the Bayview bar and had some celebratory hummers. In general it was a great evening. It has been 22 years since I have been racing my own boats and this the best season I have ever had. Rod Weston was also with me during that time so it was wonderful he was there that night.

The same morning the first boat I raced on, a 45 foot New York 32 built in 1936 called Sapphire had been sold and was being shipped to Maine to her new home. She will be with 3 other NY32's and will be well taken care of. Penny Breck, daughter of the owner who bought her in 1968, Bob Neesly Sr., was no longer healthy enough to take care of her in manner that was needed. I went down to say goodbye to an old friend. I did my first Mackinaw race in her and have many happy memories. She was the only boat that I ever won a Mackinaw in. That year we took our class but also the entire CCA division. In the picture on the right taken in 1971 is me doing foredeck finishing in front of Mackinaw Island.

Garbage in but not garbage out

This is a story my crew asked me to post since they thought it was so funny.

To prepare for the the trip down to Florida I had the main winch drum pads resandblasted by Harken because the lines were slipping too easy. They came back by UPS and were delivered to my back porch. When I got home I opened up the box and examined the winch to make sure it was done correctly. I left the other winch drum in the box. Yesterday was holloween so my wife Carol did not put out the garbage until early the next morning. When I came out later that morning I asked her about the box on the porch and she said that she had thought the box was empty so she took it out to the street. Needless to say the garbage truck had already picked up the trash. I heard the truck on the next street and stopped the truck. The two guys in the truck said that if I followed them to the dump out at 29 Mile and Gratiot (I live in Grosse Pointe) We got up there and they dumped out the compacted garbage. It was line about 4 feet tall and 80 feet long. It was quite the detective job finding it. We would find mail at certain addresses close to us and dig a while. Occasionally they would bring over a large bulldozer to spread it out. By luck we found it after 20 minutes. It only had a small part broken but it was intact. On the way home my hands stunk so bad that I stopped by Doyle off of I94 to wash them. When I told them my story they just could not stop laughing. One of the guys kept telling me not to stand too close since I smelled pretty bad. Oh well - it was a painful process but I did get it back although Carol was too happy with the stream of four letter words that came out of my mouth this morning.

Shifting Gears in Light and Variable Wind by Rich Bowen

The key to keeping the boat moving in light winds is clear communication between the helm and the trimmers.
We've all heard people use the term shifting gears when talking about sailboat racing. Surely a lot of folks scoff at first when they hear this. There's no transmission on a sailboat. Sailboats are slow and they lack the kind of gear-shifting we're accustomed to in cars. But actually, shifting gears on the racecourse follows exactly the same concept as it does in cars. Put yourself in the following scenarios, and you'll understand how best to react to the hills and straightaways out on the racecourse.

Remember, on sailboats, one of the most important factors when it comes to shifting gears—especially on larger boats—is communication among the speed team, that is the trimmers, the driver, and the tactician. All of these people need to be aware of what is happening or what the goals are in particular situations. For instance, the tactician needs to know if the boat is at max trim in a close, port-starboard situation, because if it's not, he or she may want the sails sheeted to cross the other boat, or eased out to duck it.

"Having the trimmer provide feedback to the driver and tactician while making minor adjustments can make the difference between preserving your spot among the leaders and sucking bad air in the cheap seats."
Here's the scene: It's early morning and the crew is gathering at the boat on Day One of a regatta. The tactician arrives with the weather report and gives everyone the low-down on the expected conditions—light and variable. Someone says 'We'll need the entire newspaper and a Sports Illustrated to make it through the postponement.' Look on the bright side, it could be raining.

The first critical adjustment for these conditions—tuning the rig—should take place even before leaving the dock. Your boat's tuning guide (obtained from your sailmaker, class association, or boatbuilder) and whatever notes you've taken while practicing should indicate the best rig settings for light air, so make sure you've got this covered. The next call is which sails to use. Depending on what kind of boat you are campaigning, you may have the latitude of selecting different headsails and downwind sails for the day's activities. Obviously for a light-air day, you should think about bringing an appropriate spinnaker, not the heavy air 1.5-ounce kite. And you might want to leave any heavy air jibs on the dock and instead bring the light jib and an AP (all-purpose headsail) if that's an option.

Now let's fast-forward to the start. The brain trust in the back of the boat has gotten your team off to a perfect start, you've got a clean lane at the favored end with full speed on your way to the favored side of the racecourse. In these light and variable conditions, the headsail trimmer is always on the job, sitting in to leeward, at the winch, with the sheet in hand, not in the cleat or the self-tailer. It's important that he or she constantly provide feedback to the helmsman and tactician while making minor adjustments in sail trim according to the demands of the situation. This can make the difference between preserving your spot among the leaders and sucking bad air back in the cheap seats.

As you sail along, your boat speed starts to drop and the headsail begins to luff slightly as the angle of heel begins to decrease. All these are signs that the apparent wind is going forward, meaning that you're sailing into less pressure, which is like starting to climb a hill in a car. OK, it's time to downshift. The jib trimmer or tactician should communicate to the rest of the afterguard that the boat is sailing into less pressure. Then, working in unison with the mainsail trimmer and the driver, he or she can begin to get the boat moving as fast as possible.


It's those subtle adjustments you make to the trim of the sails and the trim of the boat that can keep your boat moving through even the least inspiring zephyrs.
Generally, the initial reaction in these situations is to begin easing the jib immediately, knowing that the sail is now sheeted too tight for the new wind. The trimmer should ease the sail gradually so that it doesn't cause the driver to over-steer and essentially chase the tell tales down in order to find his or her groove. So ease the sail just until the tell tales start flowing again. A typical exchange in such a situation might go something like this:

Trimmer Tim: "We're losing pressure and slowing down, I'm going to give you a slight ease."

Driver Dave: "OK, keep us moving."

Tactician Tina: "Yeah, we'll need the speed because we want to tack in the next two minutes."

Trimmer Tim: "All right, I'm eased three inches and the speed is beginning to come back."

In extreme situations, where the wind has dropped drastically, you may want to ease the headsail halyard tension and the backstay as well as move the sheet lead forward. If you make these adjustments, make sure all of this is communicated to the driver and tactician. Knowing how much the boat has slowed down and how much the wind has decreased will determine the amount of ease needed to get the boat back up to speed. Once the boat is going well enough to resume normal upwind angles for the new conditions, and the tactical situation permits, the headsail trimmer should begin sheeting in and telling his cockpit partners that he's getting it back to maximum upwind trim.

The second possibility in these conditions is an increase in pressure, which would be like starting down a hill in a car. An increase in pressure, when racing upwind, usually allows a boat to sail closer to the wind. When building pressure comes down the course and gets to your boat, the outer tell tales may begin to lift, indicating that the course your driver is steering is too low. There's usually about a two-second delay before the crew on the rail begins to yell: "You're heavy, head up!" Remember, a big change of course made rapidly in light conditions will result in a dramatic loss of boat speed, so don't let the driver over-steer in these situations.

Before the driver begins heading up, keep in mind that when the outer tell tales luff, it's also an indication that the sail might be over-trimmed. The headsail trimmer (sitting with the sheet in hand, ready to react) should communicate to the driver that he or she will ease the sail three inches, or whatever amount is necessary, to make the tell tales flow evenly again. This is when you start shifting into a higher gear to go down the hill. As the boat speed begins to increase, the driver can begin to head up toward the proper upwind angle and the trimmer can begin sheeting the headsail back to max trim. Remember, communication with the driver while sheeting will keep that person from heading up too far. Once again, the headsail halyard and backstay tension may also need to be adjusted for the increased pressure.

If there's one thing you can be sure of out on the racecourse it's that the wind is constantly changing, so you have no excuses for not practicing the technique of shifting gears. The next time you're out sailing upwind in light air, take a moment to sit down to leeward and start making some subtle adjustments in sail trim. If you pay attention to the tell tales and the boatspeed while you're doing this, you'll eventually develop a feel for how much ease is enough when the wind drops and how much trim is necessary when a puff hits. Good luck and good sailing.