We had strong winds today, again. The centerboard seems to work fairly well, (it didn't snap off), and we were still able to point. However, it's bouyant and when we sail free the board has a tendancy to raise itself. The worst time it did that was before the start. We were sailing on a port tack reach and I intended to luff up, tack and sail toward the line on starboard. The board had come up and neither of us noticed it until I put the helm down and the boat replied with that sick mushy feeling. K got the board back down and I tacked, but I had lost the feeling for where the wind was coming from, and it had shifted far left. So I had inadvertently put the boat into irons, thinking we would be close hauled. As it was, on starboard tack we weren't even laying the starting line. I tacked back to port as soon as I could, but it was at the wrong end of the line. To add insult to injury, and we were also late.
We had a pretty good first leg, however, I think we were in phase and we made up some time on the others. We sailed to the left side of the course, and had a good lift on starboard tack near the shore. On the first run, we had trouble getting the chute flying properly. I took far too long to hoist. We need to work on our jibes. I went too far on one jibe at too high an angle on the first downwind, and that cost a lot of time.
The second upwind I think I chose the wrong side of the course to sail and was out of phase.
The boat with her recently cleaned bottom and wax job seemed to roll more while on a run, which I didn't expect and made me nervous. On the beats I think she slipped thought the water easier, but perhaps that was wishful thinking.
I was too nervous in this race, I was tentative in my decisions and actions. I was preoccupied with the centerboard and that coupled with other mistakes gave us a 4th place finish. Kathy and I need more time to practice before Nationals, so we're going to do that this weekend.
The roller on the trailer has made launching and retrieving much easier, however. I'm really happy with that.
I plan to take the board out again on Friday, I need to do some fine tuning on the trailing edge, which was emitting a low frequency hum. I also want to try placing some formica or linoleum tile near on the center of the centerboard pivot hole to see if I can minimize the tendency for it raise.
Overall I think the board is an improvement but it will take me a little time to get used to it. I think that it would have been nice to have some non race testing before taking it into competition. At least I get to try it before nationals.
Clear Lake Park winds via this site
| Date | Time | wind speed(mph) | wind gusts(mph) | wind direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 09 | 19:00 CDT | 14.8 | 21.9 | 127 |
| Jun 09 | 18:00 CDT | 17.2 | 23.5 | 132 |
| Jun 09 | 17:00 CDT | 19.5 | 25.5 | 119 |