midwinters

We raced in the midwinters a couple of weeks ago - midwinters are usually good training for light air sailing skills. I actually find sailing in light air just as tiring mentally as sailing in heavy air. perhaps a little less so physically...It is also an area where some of the best sailors come out and one where I need plenty of practice. 

It requires a lot of patience: things will move slowly but rushing them will slow down the boat. Paying a lot of attention to details: the sail, feeling the tiniest bit of pressure in the sheets, the surface of the water to pick up on places with a bit more wind, the other boats on the course to see if one side seems to be better than the other. Getting clean air, trying not to move the tiller so fast - constantly shifting weight around. and it doesn't come with the natural thrill of a downwind leg surfing ocean swell. 

I used to really dislike light air sailing. I have come to like it, although it is not my preferred set of wind conditions...Primarily because if you want to get it right, you really have to be in phase with the elements - spot the wind and follow it. Pay careful attention to current and be one with your boat - look and feel the tiniest signal or change that might require a little optimization. There is a very direct and intimate relationship with the sails in light air since they will require constant trimming. But delicate trimming. subtle touch. 

Elise is light so it doesn't take a lot of wind to power her up. But she is also a small boat thus slower than some bigger light(ish) racing boats. 

For this particular race, Elise had 4 guests: Heather (foredeck or pit), Rom (foredeck or pit), Nathan (trim, driving) and Nat (driving, trim). We decided to use this as a practice ground since I think that by now, I have accepted the fact that the program needs to be slowly resurrected. So we asked what people wanted to focus on and we all got a shot at trying this out.

Nathan wanted to do some driving. Heather wanted to do anything but driving. Rom wanted to try foredeck (he does foredeck on another boat usually) and some pit/trim. and Nat wanted to do primarily upwind driving, and if truth be said, also enjoyed a couple of downwinds, but less required from a practice standpoint. I now find it 10 times easier to drive Elise downwind than I do upwind. I can also sense changes and anticipate her reaction much quicker downwind. Strange ;-)

Well, it definitely was practice for all. I wasn't too disappointed with my upwind driving. I had to focus a lot and refrain from just randomly moving the tiller as we got stuck in two 'no air' moments. The rest of the time we had really nice wind and were sailing in moderate air. the first few maneuvres took some time but there was no major hiccup and with practice, they will become much much faster.  the most interesting point was our second start - as there was some confusion about the countdown. We thought we were getting onto our last minute before the start when it actually was the start...so we were some 30 seconds behind the first boats right from the start. not good...

Nice work Tuyye on beating us by a few feet at the finish!

This season, there are two things I want to focus on. 1) upwind driving and 2) starts. We'll see what happens!