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250WK Beats D.Crawford's C25 "This Side Up"

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ssteakley
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USA
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Initially Posted - 10/06/2002 : 19:12:48

Yep,
you read it corectly!, "Moon Chaser" #385WK beat Derek Crawfords Catalina 25 " This Side Up" in the 1st (of three) race of the 2002 Masters Regatta at Canyon Lake. This Regatta is by invitation and the sailors who trophied in the last 12 months on Canyon Lake are invited. I earned my trophy in the Novice Regatta where an experienced racer crews for a novice (my experienced racer happened to be Derek).
The winds were very light 0-5 knots. I was in the Cruiser fleet and Derek was in the Non-spinnaker fleet which started 5 minutes earlier.......that means HE HAD A 5 Minute Headstart!. There were three races and Derek did finish 2nd in the Non-Spin fleet overall. Moon Chaser beat 8 other boats in the two fleets across the line where the top speed was about 3 knots during the race and most of it was less than a knot. I have a 130% Genoa and a PHRF of 246...but I beat them all head to head without need of the phrf. Derek stated that he had his "B" class crew...My crew were all Novices..2 females, 1 of which was ballest, the other my Admiral and 1 guy that I invited who had never raced before in his life!.....I owe it all to Derek however...he has taught me 80% of what I have learned in a little over a year of sailing...See you at the next one Derek!,
Steve

Edited by - ssteakley on 10/06/2002 21:06:01

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Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 10/06/2002 : 20:30:08

Darn - I don't think I'll ever live this down...<img src=icon_smile_blackeye.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle>
However, races 2 & 3 were a totally different story!<img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>
Derek

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n/a
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Response Posted - 10/06/2002 : 20:56:31

You guys in the south are BRUTAL competitors. I can see a "Hatfield" and "McCoy" scenario forming here.

GClarke C250 WB Left Coast

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
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Response Posted - 10/06/2002 : 21:20:33

I would expect a C-250 with a 130 to beat a C-25 in extremely light air, but I wouldn't expect it to have a 246 rating... Do they know you have that 130? Does the class allow it?

I think Derek is going to be hunting you down when the wind pipes up to 15 or above! <img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle>

Dave Bristle - 1985 C-25 #5032 SR-FK-Dinette-Honda "Passage" in SW CT

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Ben - FL
Admiral

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880 Posts

Response Posted - 10/06/2002 : 22:11:46

I don't think it matters what the wind is doing!

When the last tropical deppresion was off shore I took Chick-a-pea out and caught a 25 that was at least two miles ahead of me. I was solo. And had reefed jib and main. My son and I caught a C-27. Of course, I don't think these other boats realized we were racing.

Safe voyages,
Ben, FL s/v Chick-a-pea C250wk

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Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 10/06/2002 : 23:37:12

Ben - I'm now convinced that the wind strength is a great factor in the performance of a C250. Race 2 was in 10 knots and Race 3 about 6-8. Steve finished more than 5 minutes behind me in each of them - but with his new bottom job he's at least a knot faster than he was before. 'Twill be an interesting Winter racing season!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Derek

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Arlyn Stewart
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2984 Posts

Response Posted - 10/07/2002 : 08:09:48

Remembering my Cat racing days....its all about weight in light air. The c250 keel is a considerably lighter boat than the C25.

Also of significant effect in light air... those batten strips...though this was more true on the cats...as the battens could be adjusted firmer to form more sail shape for more power in lighter air.

Arlyn C-250 W/B #224

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ssteakley
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467 Posts

Response Posted - 10/07/2002 : 08:57:53

That's right
I finished more than 5 minutes behind Derek in the next two, of course our start was 5 minutes later....but that really does not matter, if I had been going head to head with Derek in the last two races where we had wind, I think I would have been looking at his stern the whole way....but I did learn a few tricks this time for light air sailing and sail trim is all improtant for sure. There was an Erickson 30-32' that we were very slowly overtaking in the 1st race. Then the skipper of the Erickson sent a crew and instructed him to hang onto the leeward lower shroud and lean back...my admiral noticed this and immediately copied him. I thought at first he was just tying to increase the heel, now I realize he was bending the mast to improve the mainsail shape...When my wife leaned back we easily overtook the Erickson and left him behind.
If you guys know of more tricks like that, please post them.
Steve Steakley

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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5937 Posts

Response Posted - 10/07/2002 : 13:14:21

Derek,

Isn’t that the way it always goes? You try to be helpful. You generously teach a nice young guy the hard lessons that it took you your whole life to learn. You teach him all your best moves, and then, as you get older, you start to lose your edge. Your eyes aren't as good as they used to be, your reflexes are slower, and you can’t remember where you left your damn winch handle. The next thing you know, that nice young guy kicks your butt, and blabs about it all over the internet! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Steve, Good job! I'd say your star is on the rise!

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>If you guys know of more tricks like that, please post them.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

I've been working on an article on light-air racing/sailing. It isn't finished yet, but I'll give you the substance of it.

Light-Air Racing

There are few sailing skills that are more difficult to learn than light-air sailing. Anyone who knows how to sail can sail in 10-15 knot winds. But, when the wind is only strong enough to fill your sails intermittently, you have to know specific techniques that you can use to keep the boat moving.

It is not the purpose of this article to cover the most basic principles of light-air sail trimming. For those fundamentals, get some good sailing and racing books, and read the sections on light-air sailing. Generally, in light air, ease all your sail trimming and tensioning devices and make the sails as full as possible. When sailing downwind, steer down in the puffs and broad reach in the lulls.

You can’t race well with a boat that is incapable of reaching its maximum speed. This is especially true when sailing in light air, because when the underwater surfaces are rough, or covered with barnacles or slime, the boat won't coast far in the lulls. When you repaint the bottom of your boat, you have to sand the bottom, rudder and keel smooth, fair the keel if necessary, and apply a good coat of bottom paint that works well in your sailing venue. You have to get in the water regularly throughout the racing season and scrub it all clean.

Watch for wind puffs coming down the water. One way to "see" wind puffs is to look for ripples on the water surface. Another good way is to watch other boats that are ahead, behind and near you, regardless of whether they are racing or just daysailing, and see what is happening to them. If you see their sails fill and they start to heel more, you know they're in a puff. Recently, I was running downwind in a dying puff a few hundred yards from the finish line, and looked to my left and saw a competitor with his sails straining in a new, strong puff, so I broad reached over and got into the leading edge of the puff, turned downwind wing-and-wing and roared down to the finish line ahead of the other boat. If I had stayed where I was, the other boat would have beaten me to the finish line.

In light-air, the wind might come down the water in irregularly-shaped patches, or it might come down the water in narrow strips. If you see a boat that is 20-30 yards to one side of you, and that is going faster than you, don't just sit there and watch her go by. Move over closer to that boat, because there is a very good chance that she is sailing in a narrow strip of wind that is stronger than the wind that you are in. If you can get your boat into the edge of that strip of wind, you might be able to keep ahead of, or at least even with, the other boat.

Look at flags and trees near the shore, and anything else that gives you a clue as to what the wind is doing. There are indicators out there that can tell you what you need to know, and the more you look, the more you see. A few years ago, I used to light a cigar and watch the smoke rise from its tip to see which way the air was moving in ultra-light air. (I quit, however, because I started enjoying the occasional puffs that I had to take on the cigar to keep it lit.)

Try to sail from one wind puff to another. Don’t sail into a large area where there is no air. You can’t predict with certainty where the next puff will be, but you can improve your chances of being in its vicinity. As a general rule, try to stay near the middle of the course, so that, if the next puff of wind comes down the left or right side of the race course, you can get to it. If you sail into a puff along one side of the race course, try to stay on the side of the puff nearest the center of the race course.

Whenever possible, position your boat in the area where the next wind is most likely to come from. If the puffs are coming out of the east, stay generally on the east side of the race course, so that you are the first to get the new wind.

Look along the shore for little localized patches or strips of wind. Many times, I have found strips of strong wind 100 yards wide and a mile long that ran parallel to a shoreline, when there was hardly any wind elsewhere.

When you get into a puff, steer the boat on a course that will keep you in the puff as long as possible, and that will maximize your progress downwind. When a puff arrives, head downwind, wing-and-wing. When the puff dissipates, start broad reaching to keep the boat moving.

When sailing in light air, whether beating, reaching, or running, carry 5-7 crew, and have all crew seated as far out on the lee rail as they can be. Have them sit very still, and not change their position without asking the skipper's permission. By putting the crew's weight on the lee rail, you induce the boat to heel slightly to leeward. When the boat heels, the outboard end of the boom dips closer toward the water, and gravity prevents the boom from gybing. In these light-air conditions, the balance of the boat is very delicate, and if the crew shifts its weight, the sails will spill their air, and the boom might gybe unintentionally. When the boat stands upright in light air, your sails often hang limp, like a sheet on a clothesline, and sails that hang like that can’t drive the boat. When the boat heels, the weight of the sailcloth makes the sails hang in the curved shape that drives the boat. When the sails hang in that shape, any air that moves over the surface of the sails will drive the boat. The benefit that you will gain by having your sails continuously driving the boat will far outweigh the detriment caused by the weight of all those crewmembers. (I once won an ultra light-air race with 13 adult members of the Dayton Outdoors Club on board. While most of the other boats sat dead in the water, with their sails hanging limp, we glided by, using whatever breeze was available to drive the boat. Needless to say, we didn’t really need all 13 people.)

You want to heel your boat over for a number of reasons besides maintaining sail shape. In light air it is important to reduce wetted surface. Waterline has no bearing on boat speed in light air. Reducing wetted surface is the best way to reduce drag when sailing in light air. You want to distribute your movable ballast (crew) so that the boat is floating on the most cylindrical rather than eliptical sections of the hull. This generally means heeling the boat over to leeward and trimming down in the bow. This is usually best done by getting your crew's weight clustered near the leeward shrouds and, in flat water, even forward of the shrouds. Avoid moving the helm as much as possible, because a turned rudder offers a lot more resistance than one that is close to neutral. That being said, heeling your boat over will give the boat a little weather helm and some helmsmen prefer having a bit of 'feel' in the light stuff.

Even small gains in speed in light air are important as they produce more apparent wind and allow you to sail from puff to puff and ideally to avoid the big holes. In the really light stuff, tacking or jibing can kill your speed, and it can take a huge amount of time to regain the lost speed and the lost apparent wind. You often need to power up after the tacks and then reshape the sails as the boat achieves more speed.

(Steve: The Ericson skipper had crew pull on the leeward lower stay to heel the boat, not to improve the sail shape. You were right in the first place. That's the way to learn. Watch what the good sailors are doing and try it, even if you don't understand why they are doing it.)

Steve Milby "Captiva Wind" C-25 T/FK #2554

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Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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3324 Posts

Response Posted - 10/07/2002 : 17:54:46

"I would expect a C-250 with a 130 to beat a C-25 in extremely light air, but I wouldn't expect it to have a 246 rating... Do they know you have that 130? Does the class allow it?"

Dave - a word of explanation. Steve's "pure" PHRF on the lake is 228. However, when he races in the Cruising Fleet his "pure" PHRF is adjusted for what he has and what he doesn't have. He gets 12 secs for a roller furling and another 6 for the 130. (He's racing against boats with 150's). This brings him to 246.
Now, if he ever dares to enter the Non-Spin Fleet <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> he will rate his "pure" 228.
We started the Cruiser Fleet and came up with these adjustments to level the playing field and encourage participation in the racing program. It has worked pretty well - we have 14 or 15 boats that have begun racing under this format.
Derek
P.S. Thanks Steve for giving him all that advice...<img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 10/07/2002 : 22:05:23

Steve: Great stuff! I don't race much (except occasionally as crew), but I've sailed almost every size and shape boat for over 50 years, starting with a square-rigged rowboat with lashed-on leeboards at about age 7, and I have always loved the challenge of utilizing light air--as long as it isn't too hot! <img src=icon_smile_dead.gif border=0 align=middle> I've raced with skippers who didn't understand the principle of heeling the boat to shape the sails--something I learned on the sailfish I built as a kid. That has to be, far and away, the single most powerful tool in ultra-light air. I often wish, when sailing with the Admiral in a dying wind, that the C-25 would react more to both of us moving to the lee side of the cockpit--but Passage just doesn't seem to notice.

The first time I saw a C-250 WK it was on a cradle at a dealer, and my immediate reaction was that, for a pocket cruiser, it had to be a light-air rocket. I expect you C-250 folks to terrorize some cruising fleets in ultra-light air, especially with Steve's pointers. As he said, LWL is immaterial... A Laser can outrun a 60-footer in ultra-light air. That's how I, with my scuzzy bottom and simple rig, walked by a 60' Swan a couple of weeks back. LWL only becomes a limiting factor as boats start to approach their hull speeds.

Derek: I applaud your cruising fleet rules and ratings--If I knew about a fleet like that in my neighborhood, I might have to work a little harder on my bottom! <img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle> Actually, this could be the year. More fun would be a one-design fleet--we have five C-25s in our harbor (although one is tall).

Keep on rockin' and rollin', racers--you do us all proud!

Dave Bristle - 1985 C-25 #5032 SR-FK-Dinette-Honda "Passage" in SW CT

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ssteakley
Captain

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USA
467 Posts

Response Posted - 10/07/2002 : 23:36:03

Steve Milby,
well I do not know how old Derek is but I was born in 1951 so this is not exactly a young whipper snapper....more like a really good Pinot Noir, I really like your article..we did some of the things you discuss and I plan to print it out and keep it in my racing journal
and GClark...yep we have guns in Texas and we shoot to Kill.....keeps the foreigners away!
Dave: Yes we have a great yacht club and Derek is one of the (three) reasons why.
I advise every reader to fill in the blanks n the next racing form they recieve in the mail...if I can do it...you can do it better
Steve Steakley

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ssteakley
Captain

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USA
467 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2002 : 05:41:37

Thought you might like to see this,
the First boat which is about to cross the finish line in the first race of the Masters Regatta is "Moon Chaser" #385 WK 250, the second and third boats (an Erickson) at 30+'. The fourth boat in the pic is Derek Crawford's 25 Catalina "This Side up": (The Pic was taken from the committe boat and you can just see the pin at the end of the line)
Steve

<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2ce38b3127cce91693ba9c0c50000001410" border=0>

Edited by - ssteakley on 10/19/2002 05:43:35

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Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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3324 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2002 : 11:06:15

In defense of us C25-ers I must add that the Non-Spin Fleet were sitting windless & immobile halfway up the last leg to the finish line. The Cruiser Fleet came around the leeward mark and caught a wind line which brought them past us and on to finish - their complete "blanket" of us was the final insult...<img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>
Derek on "This Side Up"

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 10/21/2002 : 10:05:32

I hear the C-250 guys are taking up a collection to get this thread to appear at the top on Yahoo whenever somebody types in the word "Catalina". <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> Sorry, Derek... You live by the sword...

Dave Bristle - 1985 C-25 #5032 SR-FK-Dinette-Honda "Passage" in SW CT

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Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3324 Posts

Response Posted - 10/21/2002 : 10:31:41

"Derek... You live by the sword..."

Aye, Dave - but you win with a "bullet" <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Derek

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