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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Why Race?

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/09/2009 : 18:57:06

I'm the Program Director for the San Diego All Catalina Association so it's my duty to get a speaker each month. I already gave one speech myself - my cruising guide to California's Channel Islands (public aclaim said it was the best ever). Now I am going to be talking about racing. Remember this is to a group of all Catalina sailors mostly from Cat 30s to Catalina/Morgan 440s. I have the lone small boat in the group. Catalina 36s are well represented.

So Why Race? is my first slide. I would like your ideas. Here are mine.

Around the Bouys

(1) become a much better boat handler
(2) learn how to lead a team
(3) learn the Racing Rules of Sailing (more on this later)
(4) it's very exciting to have close crossses and mark roundings
(5) hang out at a great post-race party and tell tall tales about your race.
(6) learn how to tweak every ounce of performance out of your boat

Long Distance Ocean Races

(1) go on a cruise with dozens to hundreds of other boats to an exotic location
(2) experience sailing at night
(3) experience some type of watch schedule rotation
(4) learn how to handle offshore weather
(5) put yourself and your boat in situations you would not normally be in
(6) learn offshore route planning
(7) learn patience as you drift in 2 knots of air
(8) learn how to power up and power down as your weather changes drastically

The best part of the bouy race is the start and the close crosses.

The best part of the ocean race is finishing many miles under sail.

Ideas?

Indiscipline 1978 FK SR #398

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2009 : 19:14:29

Racing can help teach you what the capabilities (and limitations) of your boat are, and help you improve your own boat handling skills much more quickly than just casually cruising around.

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2009 : 20:31:30

The race is usually followed by burgers and beverages.

Edited by - on

Deric
Captain

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USA
408 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2009 : 20:40:25

I think some folks race because they have a propensity for competition. Many folks have a desire to be the best, and therefore seek opportunities such as racing to become the best.

Think of Tiger Woods. Would he golf only to get a view of a golf course?

Racing is a healthy sport that encompasses many disciplines.

Deric

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2009 : 06:43:31

It is an activity, it gives you something to do with the boat.

Edited by - on

John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2009 : 07:08:47

I learned to sail at age 10 and part of the class was racing. Every Saturday we would sit for an hour or two learning various things about sailing, then we would have 1 or 2 races (in Sunfish). What I found was that racing really helped me learn to sail. It also taught you that just because the guy next to you has a new model, it does not make him faster. He as to know how to use it.

Case in Point:

In my teens, I was crewing on E-Scows (we were an e-scow family, I learned on a 1957 Johnson). There was a guy at the club that had an old wooden boat, when everyone else had already migrated to glass. These were not rich guys, so the change to glass was done so grudgingly. Anyway, for 1 or two season, this new guy with the old wood boat kicked the snot out of the other sailors that used the newer glass boats. How? Tuning and sail shape/trim! He really knew how to do it and do it well. Granted, it was only a matter of time before everyone else had to raise their game and they all became masters of tuning.

We had one guy, and older guy, who bought a new glass boat in the early 80's. It was funny how he would win about 1 out of 20 races. That one time that he would win was when the conditions were perfect for the way his rig was setup. He would never change anything, and thus would only do well 1 out of 20 times.

So, why race? sometimes it is to teach you to be a better sailor, sometimes just for the fun of it.

Edited by - on

Deric
Captain

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USA
408 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2009 : 07:31:07

Oh I forgot,

1) Racing gives one a reason to explain to others why one had to buy the sailboat.

2) It's in your blood.

3) Participating in a community activity to better oneself as well as the community -- mentioned above in different words.

Now, what about the reason as to why folks who do not race. It would be interesting to see compare the responses.

Deric

Edited by - on

John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2009 : 09:09:48

Hmmm, why not to race?

-Not enough time
-Depending on the fleet, not enough $$$$ to stay competative
-Not enough competition?

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2009 : 10:22:08

I raced for a few years because:
It was fun
I learned a lot about handling a boat
I had the chance to learn from someone who'd been on the water for 7 decades.
It was fun
Rounding a buoy neck & neck with another boat a foot away from you is one of the most exciting things I've ever done.
Get a chance to spend a lot of time with like minded folks.
Flying a spinnaker is a beautiful thing.
Getting knocked down isn't much fun, but if you're with an experienced crew, it's terrifying in a fun sort of way.
Standing on the lee rail grinding while water swirls around your calves is pretty exciting.
Ghosting along in zero knots & using currents to tack while holding your ground against your competitors is fun, at least for a while.
Having the skipper buy you dinner at the nicest restaurant in town, and looking at the faces of the rest of the patrons when we walked in wearing foulies was priceless. That happened a couple of times a month (we rarely placed further back than third, our skipper was serious about racing).
Distribution of grog after the end of a race.
Sailing in the dark.
Learning to navigate in the dark, no GPS back then.

Sorry, just took a walk down the lane of a bunch of sharp memories from when I raced.

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2009 : 10:40:11

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> from John "Brother Bluto" Blutarsky, Social Activities Chair, Delta Tao Chi, Faber College Chapter 
 
WHY NOT!

Edited by - Champipple on 04/10/2009 19:11:31

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2009 : 10:51:51

I just don't have the time to race. I grew up surfing and would love to do that also but life is busy and you have to make choices. Having said that I have a friend Ed that I took sailing for his first time about 2 years ago and he fell in love with it, joined the local sailing club and races almost every week-end, which gets me wishing I was racing too.

Edited by - on

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3322 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2009 : 11:10:36

Racing is the most fun you can have on a boat with your clothes on!

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2009 : 15:28:58

I crewed on a Sanatana 20 for several years in a competitive fleet. It was fun and I learned a lot about sailing but I would rather spend my time with the Admiral on our boat. There are lots of facets to boating and for us the most fun is leisurely sailing on the lake which is very relaxing. We also have learned that cruising is a lot of fun. At some point we will get a travel trailer and travel around the country. In a way the boat and a trailer are similar.

Still, I get why people like to race and when we are out on the lake on a Thursday night it is great to watch about 40 boats deploy their spinnakers. It is a wonderful hobby no matter which niche you enjoy.

Edited by - on

Stu Jackson C34
Admiral

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844 Posts

Response Posted - 04/11/2009 : 01:23:54

It can come and go. like everything else in life. We raced our C22 on Clear lake in the Konoctai Cups a few times, never raced the C25, then raced our C34 from 1999 to 2006 after building up a good crew, then got back into cruising mode. Still do a few a year for fun. I did learn a lot from racing, and had been sailing since I was a kid. You simply learn from watching and listening the good guys, and you get better, too. That's because there are two parts to racing: sailing and tactics (and ya could throw in currents, too, if they apply to you). You simply absorb a lot in a really compressed amount of time and then build on your experience.

You also learn a very important lesson (that some never do): there's only one right way to sail a boat, and being sloppy ain't one of 'em. It's hard on the boat, and just not fair to the sails!

Just because you're cruising doesn't mean proper sail trim should not be observed.

Edited by - Stu Jackson C34 on 04/11/2009 01:28:15

Turk
Admiral

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USA
736 Posts

Response Posted - 04/11/2009 : 08:47:40

When I first bought my boat, I was encouraged to join in on our club racing. Racing above all things helped me to get over the fear of sailing in higher winds. When race day came, as long as the weather was decent (no lightning) and under 25 mph, we raced. It made me push myself and the crew under situations that I probably would not have gone out in on my own. A little peer pressure to go out.

That said, it can be a little scary at first, but once you've dumped the main in the water the first time (and that's with the sail up!) and almost toss the crew in the water, you begin to widen your abilities to sail. The 50 mph gust and subsequent tack to avoid a boat rounding up along side me resulted in a big adrenaline rush followed by the biggest smiles and laughter from me and the crew!

Edited by - on

Peregrine
Admiral

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830 Posts

Response Posted - 04/12/2009 : 11:54:12

Rounding the buoys makes you practice every sailing technique in a concentrated period of time.
Sail handling needs to precise and fast, certainly rounding the mark in a group is exciting, how fast you drop the jib and set a spinnaker can be seconds faster than the competition or you can make macramé’ out of it.
Being able to decide whether to do a bare away or jibe set at the last minute can be a thing of beauty and leave the competition scratching their heads.
Up wind changing headsails and still making headway is just one way to get an edge. In light, air roll tacks and proper weight distribution are key.
Down wind, getting the jibes to go smoothly takes practice and you may get to perfect a spinnaker peel.
Tactics use all your knowledge of local conditions and keep you looking at the sky and water for any advantage. Plotting the tides and the currents with your Eldridge and translating that to the course and time of day becomes routine. If the wind is fluky you learn to stay out of the holes and take advantage of the puffs.
Doing it all under time constraints make the racing a valuable lesson that will carry over to cruising. Rarely in cruising do you have to do so many things so fast but if things get dicey those reflexes will kick in and help get you through the situation.
The downside is the crews get pigeon holed into certain jobs. Except for my time on Thistles most of my racing was on boats with crews of 10 or more, it took me years to get off the bow and learn the cockpit and finally take the helm. Being specialized is great for getting a spot on the crew but doesn’t help in becoming a well rounded sailor.
Hopefully your crew gets to learn all the positions. I suppose the 200+ pounder will have to wait till a very windy day to learn the bow.
Racing does stay with you, alone on a lazy day I can’t help getting all the tell tales streaming and having the jib sheeted in before the tack is complete.
It just becomes a way of sailing.

Edited by - on

JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 04/12/2009 : 20:50:13

I'm the 250+ pounder and I almost always do bow. On my crew, novices start at helm and graduate to trimmers.

I always helm at the start and finish. I often take it in light air because I can get a lot more out of the boat.

Edited by - on

aeckhart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1709 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2009 : 13:21:32

I'm with Frank. It's an activity that gets me on the water with other sailors. As it is I'm 60, have my share of club trophies, and don't need to prove anything to anybody, including myself. I am content doing the best race I can single-handed.

Edited by - on

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