August 11, 2005
August Series 3
Despite the weather channel's warnings of rain, thunder and destruction, we had good weather. The winds were 5-10, from the SE. We were given a gold cup course tonight which is fun because it gives us a chance to practice reaching.
Our start was okay, but not one of the best we have had. I found myself in between two Vanguard-15's. Our first beat was not as good as I would have liked it and I think we got out of phase and were pulled over to the left side of the course more than I would have liked. The second beat was better; we regained some of our discipline and worked at keeping the boat flat. There was one encounter we had with a Vanguard 15, where we were lifted and about on the rhumb line. Joe called for a tack, but I overrode his call and ducked instead. As it turned out, it made sense and we picked up a lot on the vanguard. Our last run was poor, we were by the lee more than we should have been and the boat was slow. If I were to do it again I'd be less hesitant about sailing hotter angles and jybing more frequently.
Jim's track is here
After examining the data, it appears that Jim had a better spinnaker run on the last leg, and he made up 17 seconds on us. His average angle to the rhumbline was larger and our and his speed was better. We worked our angles better on the second beat which was confirmed by the fact we got closer to the vanguards on that leg. The analysis is here.
Posted by Bob at August 11, 2005 01:07 PM