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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Learning to Race

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Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/01/2005 : 08:42:53

Hi all,

The local sailing club on Alum Creek Reservoir, of which I'm a member, holds races every Wednesday night. I've always wanted to learn how to race but never had the guts to just show up with my boat at the starting line. So last week, and then again yesterday, I was able to get a ride on two different boats.

What did I learn? Not to cross the line before the horn sounds. This put us way back last week, and we never recovered. Also, four people in the boat is 1 too many. Last week and yesterday the boat usually has three people, but with me it was four and neither boat could gain on anyone else, and actually lost ground. I suspect the added weight was the difference. Also learned that starts can be chaos.

It was fun, but I hate being the reason why a boat is slower, so I'll probably not ask to be on anyone else's crew, unless they know they're going to be a person short. Perhaps now I can join the races with at least a little bit of experience.

We'll see.

Ben
Beneteau 361
Viking Kitty
Columbus, Ohio

Edited by - on

JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 09/01/2005 : 10:34:40

Ben, the best thing to do for your first few races is just follow every body around, generally try to stay just behind the "fleet". If you can keep up, after a few times you'll be vying for the lead.

That said, I can't possibly follow my own advice and go for the lead every time.

Keep in mind, anyone can trim for upwind. IMO Races are won and lost downwind, especially in light air. Thats what takes skill, tactics and strategy.

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5937 Posts

Response Posted - 09/01/2005 : 12:47:12

Ben, don't worry about the weight of one extra person hurting your speed. That would only be significant in an extremely competitive group of racers, who have done everything to prep themselves and their boats to the nth degree. But even then, carrying extra crew might be beneficial, such as in very strong winds or in very light winds.

An easy starting tactic is to simply sail a beam reach, parallel to the starting line, making sure you stay away from the favored end at the start. (The favored end is where all the aggressive racers will be shooting for, and it's good to stay away from there while you're learning.) When the race starts, all you have to do is either harden up your course, or tack,(depending on whether you're on port tack or starboard tack) and then cross the starting line. If you get a bad start, remind yourself that it'll be a long race, and there's plenty of time to make it up. Other boats will be making mistakes, too.

Practice reading the wind, and tack on headers when you're beating to windward. Practice tacking and jibing smoothly and efficiently, and rounding marks. Learn good sail trim. Get crew. (You can't race a C25 efficiently without help.) Concentrate! You can't race well and think about a gazillion other things at the same time. To race well, you have to think about a gazillion race-related things at the same time. Be kind to your crew. It's rare that the crews mistakes will be nearly so hurtful as the skipper's mistakes.

When things go wrong, don't lose sight of the main purpose of racing, to have fun. Don't take it too seriously.

Edited by - on

coach
Navigator

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USA
231 Posts

Response Posted - 09/01/2005 : 12:52:04

Jim and Steve make some great points. But the best way to really learn is to crew for some folks that are pretty good racers. You would be amazed at how much you can learn from an experienced racer.

But just like Steve said...its all about having fun!

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 09/01/2005 : 13:11:20

Thanks ya'll, I think I've decided to try to find crew for the Fall Series. I'm sure there will be some anxious moments at first, but I think I'm ready to do it. If I find crew and start racing, I'll let ya'll know how it goes. The Fall Series starts in two weeks.

Edited by - on

Ericson33
Admiral

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USA
892 Posts

Response Posted - 09/01/2005 : 14:03:49

My wife and I have been crewing on a faster boat for a year now. At first we didn't even know how to sheet the genoa the right way. I am now racing our own boat, getting on the line and mixing it up with the other sailors. Its gotta be fun. If you can't find crew, jump on someone elses boat. Everyone always can us another hand. The extra weight for a forth person should have little or no effect on how the boat is going to sail. There are way too many more things that will happen before weight will factor in. Its also nice to crew for someone else because of the expences of racing. Things do break, sails do tear, and spinnakers do rap around the forstay. I would suggest that you ask the club thaat you sail for to host a race practice day, Have them set up a small course like an I2. Here you can get some practice in on the starting line, and the crew work. We have 4 of these per year and its a great tool to use for practice. It will also show other members of the club that you are putting in a effort to support the racing.

Edited by - on

Gary B.
Admiral

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USA
969 Posts

Response Posted - 09/03/2005 : 01:44:18

Out on Lake Cheney this summer, during the 2005 Nationals, the boats that were consistently out front were not only good sailors with great looking high tech headsails, but they all had 4 or 5 people on board. It wasn't THE difference, of course, but our Fleet 94 boat had only 3 and we had a tough time keeping her on her feet. Point is...some days more is better!

I slightly disagree about winning usually being the downwind leg. It IS important, of course, but upwind I often can get enough of a lead that my poor spinnaker work isn't so bad that they catch me (well...sometimes anyway ;). Always exceptions, of course, but learning when to tack on the headers and play the lifts can really help, as can coming up on the puffs and falling off on the lulls. Boat speed, boat speed, boat speed......

Good on ya, not enough C25 guys racing, IMHO; the more the merrier!

Gary B.
Fleet 94 Captain
s/v Encore! #685

Edited by - on

Bruce Baker
Captain

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USA
402 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2005 : 14:51:27

Sailing with good racers is the best way to learn to race. I race my boat on Tuesday nights, but on Thursday I race on a J-24, and on weekends I race on a J-105. I'd love to race on some one else's C-25 some time.

Edited by - on

jwilliams
Captain

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USA
357 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2005 : 16:14:17

This spring was the first time I had done any racing...and it was beer can racing with the local marina club.

What fun! I went with Paul as crew on Sparkey the first three races, then tried it once with Hey Jude before I left for the extended holiday.

I learned a lot and didn't even finish last.

Jim Williams
Hey Jude C25fk 2958
SF Bay

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2005 : 07:37:11

What is a beer can race?

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Gambit
Navigator

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USA
160 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2005 : 09:10:13

I crewed on a J24 last year as well as a Cat 25 and some other boats. That gave me enough background to go out and buy our C25 last Labor Day. We raced our boat on the first day we had it but did have some very experienced crew. This year we started racing on our own right away and have learned something every time and shown improvement. It is very rewarding to get close to a good sailor or even beat them once in a while. So, I would say get out there and mix it up and start getting experience. Also, since the start is crazy I would recommend sticking with a starboard tack so you have rights until you decide it is a good time to go to a port tack. Also, to avoid misunderstandings you should have a good understanding of the rules. You can review and download them at:

http://www.ussailing.org/rules/

It is important to know these rules, and the exceptions, so to avoid collisions, fouling another boat or yielding right of way when you do not have to.

Our fellow racers have been supportive and are happy to see we are having fun.

Racing has to be the best way to really learn to sail since you are forced to take the boat where it may not want to go and provides a good comparison to similar boats on the same course.

Most of all, have fun and learn from the mistakes.

Edited by - on

tbader
Deckhand

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USA
24 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2005 : 09:49:39

I also participate in the Wednesday night race series at the local club (aka: 'Beer can races').

Crewing on other boats has helped me a great deal. Another good way to learn is getting some coaching from some one more experienced. On two occassions I have had the good fortune to have an experienced racer join me for a race on my boat. He didn't steer or handle the lines, he just observed and made suggestions / observations while he watched the three of us work. Those were great learning experiences since he was showing us what *we* needed to do on *our* boat with *our* sails, which really stuck. To arrange this, I just let everyone who raced on Wednesdays know that I was inexperienced (they could tell that) and that I would welcome any one's on-water advice. The fleet skipper volunteered to join us while he let his regular crew race his boat.

Another suggestion is to find 1 or 2 other people who are interested in racing on a consistent basis. In my experience it is fun to learn and improve together. It is also nice not to have to review every aspect of racing your boat every week. The three of you can also develop some chemistry. That way you can concentrate on new challenges like the start, sail trim, mark roundings, rule nuances, etc.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2005 : 12:01:32

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ben
 What is a beer can race?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Although I've never participated in one, a beer can race is a more casual form of racing with the emphasis placed on simply having fun instead of PHRF's, protest flags, finish times,...etc.

Check out [url="http://www.latitude38.com/misc/beer10.htm"]The Beer Can Ten Commandments[/url] from Latitude 38.

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2005 : 14:10:22

Thanks Don, I like those Commandments.

Edited by - on

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