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Capri 25 Specific Forum

Racing at night

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Fleet
Navigator

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USA
151 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/24/2010 : 18:06:01

Trying to prepare for a 70 mile race where part of the race will occur at night. This will be our first time to race at night and we are going to keep things simple. We will not be using a spinnaker and will have a total crew of four. We will have night vision, digital wind speed/direction and GPS. Our plan is to conduct a practice run at night a couple of weeks before the race. Anyone with suggestions as to tactics, equipment or crew teamwork?

Fleet

Fleet
Kamikaze
1983 Hull #397
Lake Guntersville, AL

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2010 : 21:00:56

What's your "night vision"?

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Andy_334
Navigator

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USA
206 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2010 : 04:24:23

Carrots. They're going to eat carrots. Apparently good for night vision!

wow. 70 miles in a Capri is quite the undertaking. You did not say what sort of conditions you were expecting (inshore, nearshore, offshore). However, for any night sailing, I recommend; a tether for each crew member (obviously you already have PFDs, spare navigation lights, thermos with hot water + coco sachets, warm clothing layers. Never underestimate the importance of warm feet and a cozy hat!

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Stinkpotter
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Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2010 : 06:48:27

The tugboat captains are gonna love this!

Tug and barges on Lake Guntersville, AL

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 08/25/2010 06:52:14

Fleet
Navigator

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USA
151 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2010 : 06:50:07

Northern Alabama lake at the end of September. Temp may get a little cool at night (50's) and one can only guess at the wind conditions. Night vision is a Yukon digital night ranger binocular. It has a video output and we may mount it forward and hook it up to a small monitor inside the cabin. Will experiment with it. If anyone is thinking about buying Yukon night vision products, don't. Getting one repaired is a nightmare. They have to bring Russians over to fix any little thing. It's ridiculous. Andy, how many carrots do you recommend we eat?

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klassi1
1st Mate

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88 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2010 : 08:21:40

We do a 100 mile race on an inland lake each Fall. Usually in a Laser 28, once in an Ultimate 20. Most of the time we finish around 2am depending upon wind conditions.

Must haves for crew: lots of warm clothes, extra socks, stocking cap, sleeping bag for sleeping on the rail during long runs at night, Jetboil for making hot water, peppermint schnapps for the hot chocolate, good food.

We know the lake well and the race is on a full moon weekend. You will be surprised at how bright it is at night with a full moon. But we also have a chart. I hope you have sailed at night, it can be real exciting when the wind pipes up or a storm rolls through.

It's fun but exhausting. There will be lots of stories to tell on the deck the next morning. Heck, we still talk about some of the past races. Good Luck.

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Fleet
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USA
151 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2010 : 05:29:59

The crew and I were discussing the possiblilty of using a Jetboil device for heating water. We were concerned with the fire potential. Do you use the Jetboil even when heeling over or only when dead calm? The barges can be an issue. Normally we store the outboard in the cabin for "big" races but we are going to leave it on the transom just in case we have to motor out of the way of a barge.

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2010 : 07:24:19

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Fleet
 ...Normally we store the outboard in the cabin for "big" races but we are going to leave it on the transom just in case we have to motor out of the way of a barge.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Good idea... Do the organizers have a rule that, for example, you can use the engine for that purpose if you don't make forward progress? (Sorta like a drop in golf.) You don't want racers to be compelled to play chicken with barge trains on what is effectively a river.

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klassi1
1st Mate

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88 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2010 : 08:05:16

The jetboil is never left unattended. It will boil water in less than 2 minutes. You can heat water, soup, anything liquid. Super light and totally self contained. Unlike some others, the burner is attached to the "pot". So the pot isn't going to go anywhere. I love it. We have used it in the cockpit before with no issues.

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5902 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2010 : 12:18:29

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stinkpotter
 [quote]Good idea... Do the organizers have a rule that, for example, you can use the engine for that purpose if you don't make forward progress? (Sorta like a drop in golf.) You don't want racers to be compelled to play chicken with barge trains on what is effectively a river.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
On the Chesapeake Bay the rule is that it's the obligation of racers to stay clear of commercial traffic, and figuring out how to get around them without losing time or distance is part of the strategy of racing, i.e., planning your course. If a racer gets blanketed by a big ship, or has to cross astern of it, that's just tuff luck.

The issue hasn't come up on any boat I've crewed on, but I believe the rule is that you can't use the engine to propel the boat, unless the sailing instructions expressly permit it (I've only seen one race where it was allowed), and, if you must use the engine to get out of the way of a commercial vessel, then you're DSQ. Despite the fact that there are often hundreds of sailboats racing back and forth across the commercial lanes just outside of Annapolis Harbor on weekends, it doesn't seem to be a very frequent problem.

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Fleet
Navigator

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USA
151 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2010 : 15:43:10

Using the motor to get out of the way of barges is a question I will ask the Race Chairman. My poor memory seems to recall that it is allowed. During last year's race (I did not participate) the wind was dead calm at night. Obviously, with no wind your motor is the only alternative

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2010 : 21:20:54

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Steve Milby
 [quote]Originally posted by Stinkpotter
 On the Chesapeake Bay the rule is that it's the obligation of racers to stay clear of commercial traffic, and figuring out how to get around them without losing time or distance is part of the strategy of racing...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">The reason I asked is I took a look at his lake (and some photos) on Google Earth--it's pretty cool, but essentially a long, somewhat wide stretch on the Tennessee River (perhaps a TVA "lake"), with barge traffic. Some of it looks kind of narrow. Depending on where the race is held, there could be some blind turns. A barge train on a western river is quite different from a container ship on the Chesapeake--even the rules of the road are different. Between wind (or lack thereof), current, and visibility, there might not be a "strategy" except to get the #$%^ out of the way--right now. Having been on a TVA lake on the Tennessee that was probably somewhat like that, I would be hoping the rules would permit it.

Some part of Lake Guntersville, AL

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 08/26/2010 21:40:31

Stuff4Toys
1st Mate

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USA
83 Posts

Response Posted - 09/27/2010 : 18:49:42

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Fleet
 It's ridiculous. Andy, how many carrots do you recommend we eat?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I saw one Scrubs episode where a guy ate so many carrots, his skin turned Orange..... for what it's worth.

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Fleet
Navigator

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USA
151 Posts

Response Posted - 10/01/2010 : 04:05:43

What a race! Survived heavy rain, lightning, thunder, wind, no wind, a main sail that came apart and naked sailors! Raced in the non-spinnaker long course with four other boats and came in second. Completed the 70 miles in about 22 hours. An unknown Capri 25 won our division and that guy really knew what he was doing. He beat all the spinnaker boats except for one. We were way overloaded with water, crew and extra gear. The Jetboil on a hanger was great. In the dead of night, one boat that passed by us that was crewed by a young married couple and a guest. We can hear the husband urging the wife to get naked. She resisted stating that she didn't know the guest very well and plus there was another boat near by (us). The husband stated that it was dark and we wouldn't be able to see her. Little did he know that I was able to see everything through the digital night vision monoculars and sure enough he was sailing butt naked. And I thought we had to only worry about the barges.

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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4024 Posts

Response Posted - 10/01/2010 : 06:37:52

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">We can hear the husband urging the wife to get naked<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Anything in the rule book against this? Distract your competition to get an advantage.... Smart guy!

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