Berkeley Midwinters - writeup by Eric

Elise' modus operandi is the following:
The driver focuses on driving and together with the trimmers on boat speed
The lead trimmer also makes sure that boat operations/maneuvers go smoothly
The tactician is focused on everything that is not happening ON the boat, but AROUND the boat and calls all the shots (tack, jibe, follow this course, do this, do that, etc...). Everyone can share opinions, recommendation, information obviously to make this happen, the final call is made by the tactician. It takes a lot of concentration and attention to do a good job, and if we have enough crew, it is worth having a dedicated person to do thta.

Here are our positions for the race:
- Helm: Nat
- Tactics: Eric
- Trim 1 upwind and Foredeck downwind: Eric
- Trim 2 upwind and Trim 1 downwind: Dayne
- Pit and Trim 2 downwind: Jacob

"Start? You mean there is supposed to be a start? After Nathalie’s mentioned donuts, there was an initial attempt which was aborted after a few minutes when the race committee realized that there was no way for everybody to make their appointed start times. The second delay lasted until about 80% of the fleet was on the right side of the line and there was a little more wind. Sandwiches were brought and eagerly eaten. Miscellaneous other food and drink were had. Nat brought out cherries and worried about stains. Can you tell it was a long wait?

The start itself found us buried in the third tier at the favored(boat) end of the line. We tacked when we could and managed good enough boat speed to pass two boats and make another one nervous. We tacked towards the next mark and proceeded well. A couple of tacks later found us loosing to the mark (blame the tactician for this one) we tried to pinch it up and lost all boat speed. This lost us the boats we had worked hard to get by. Once around the mark we briefly tried the spinnaker only to find the wind was shifting too far to carry it. We abandoned the attempt and dropped the spinnaker. In the process we gained back a position. The next rounding saw a good set and a nice spinnaker run to the finish (shortened course by the race committee). At least we were not last.

We managed good boat speed on most points of sail and this bodes well. A little miscommunication at the start and a bad tack call or two dropped us back. Boat speed is getting better and the crew work was good. Light air and a delayed start makes for a great training venue. There were no major sail handling screw ups. Weight placement was crucial and helped the boat speed.

Once the race was complete we hoisted a glass of wine to the skipper and in thanks for a great day of sailing. For those of us that hadn’t been out in a while this was just ticket to remind us of why we go sailing. Fresh air, fun, and great friends."