How to win a race - Great Pumpkin

Just register and don't show up on the start line.

The day of the Great Pumpkin, we left early with only new crew onboard, the great majority of them inexperienced. We did a few practice sets, jibes and douses before the start and realize that not taking part in the race may actually benefit everyone: the other race participants who might get close on the start line and around marks, and the crew who can then get some practice.

So I was quite surprised to receive emails of congratulations on winning the 2nd race. I hadn't checked the scoring website, since we were either DNS (did not start) or DNC (did not compete). Not quite sure what happened. I wanted to call the club to make sure that things would get corrected but Nathan said that he would tell the race committee on the day of the pursuit race.

After, as a team, we decided not to race, we had a great practice day: upwind and downwind, light and slightly heavier air all in one day!

Upwind, people got to practice some driving and light air trimming. In light air, the driver tries not to move the tiller, so a lot of the optimization comes from the trimmer. We played everything we could: make the sails a little rounder, bring the traveler up, shift the weight around, actively trim both main and jib - be much more reactive to any shift - constantly on the lookout for wind/current info on the water and steering to the breeze in the most favorable current given our planned destination. I find sailing in light air extremely demanding mentally (and so boring if you ask me...especially on day 1 and 2 of the 2008 Pac Cup :)) Everyone who desired to do so got to play with the sails control and the tiller got a go at it.

Downwind, we first had to deal with really reasonable breeze and on very long runs, we practice setting, jibing and dousing, switching roles (two people took turns for the foredeck work). On a second run down, we also spent some time perfecting trimming techniques. The breeze got up to maybe 13-15 knots giving us a really really nice reach/spinnaker work in heavier air. We talked about ways to increase sail area, stability of the boat, depowering the spinnaker (bringing the pole forward) and how this can affect that stability. Our driver at one point may have realized that when the wind is getting a little too heavy, it is hard to jibe the main by hand: the solution then, to avoid breaching and having to be sailing on a reach before the boom decides to go to the other side, is to bring in the main with the main sheet just as you are about to jibe, then let go of the main quickly as you complete the jibe to resume a downwind course. We played with the vang also to show how it can depower the main. All good fun.

We didn't practice rounding up (a big favorite of mine as learning the right reflexes is always a good thing) - probably because things started to go pretty smoothly. Speed will be the next thing we would have to work on.

Upwind (well, we had to go upwind every time unfortunately...to get a go at another downwind...) - we played with the traveler, backstay, mainsheet, dropping the jib halyard slightly, etc...to figure out tricks to depower the boat. I was learning and playing around as well - these boats are very tender, they respond fast which means that you need to be pretty attuned to changes...and sailing them flat and fast isn't easy. I am getting better all the time, and regardless, Elise is just a pleasure to sail, even upwind!

If you are looking to go into sailing or join a race program. Now is a GREAT time! The winter season is much more relaxed - and you can train up for the main season. Most sailors will be happy to train new crew. The more crew available, the more boats out there and the more fun for everyone. There are also fewer races so practice days are easier to schedule, which provide a stressfree environment for people to learn.