Cambridge Yacht Club - Race Report & Results

Gusty conditions calls for Gutsy moves is the name of the game @ Cambridge yesterday.

Set in a corner of a picturesque historical town. This yacht club has quite some winds to offer. A steady 10-12 knots with gust up to 15 knots served up on a silver platter with a bunch of hungry sailors ready to have a go.

I can certainly understand the reason why this regatta do not count for high point. They have a weird starting sequence of 6 mins with funny flags. Scoring system where the first boat gets 0.75 points instead of the usual 1 point. They are not on the Java Score system to send results straight to CBYRA. Plus they set up a one tack course. I had to go tell them, and had to do the shifting for them.

But having said all that, I think all the parents thoroughly enjoyed the regatta as they get to watch and cheer from the docks as they were within viewing and cheering distance. Admist the crazy splashes of water from the choppy bay and howling wind, I can still hear the "ooooh, wooo. yayaaa!!!" as the sailors go about the leeward mark, capsizing, recovering from a near capsize or over take somebody or still in the lead going to the finish. It was quite a fun regatta overall.

Two of our Laser Radial sailors podium-ed. Michael in 2nd and Chris in 3rd. Bryan was having a fantastic day out until he lost his glasses to the bay, contributing to the already 100,587,290 and counting collection of glasses and sunnies that it already has. Jeffrey got top 5 placing in order to continue the season, I'll see how that works out.

It was a very tricky 5 races to sail, it is a decision thru out the entire 5 races whether to sail a shorter course or a faster course. Once again, it will ball down to who you want to cover. But you will still have to make a decision if he/ she did not choose the intended plan that you have, whether or not, should you cover, or sail your plan. Thou the race committee chose to set up in a sheltered cove, it was by no means an easy course to sail. Conditions was changing all the time. Gusts forming over the treeline, wind bending from around the corner of the cove. The lift that usually happen 20 meters away from the upwind mark. Whether to sail round the pin end, or boat end after rounding the windward mark or the leeward mark as the starting line is closed. Constantly batted by difficult choices, I say our sailors did generally well in forming their race plans as they go about the race.

Race 1 - A one tack race from Pin. The lifter 2/3 the way up made it even sweeter. There was a gust forming on the left side of the course and Michael rode it all the way down overtaking about 4 boats in the process. Chris eventually pipped him to the finish line by a hair on the upwind leg.

Race 2 - The mark was shifted to make it a somewhat more even course, but due to how and where the race committee was set up, I could only move it so far. The left side was still the shorter course to sail, but a gust was forming in the middle of the course and was coming from the right handside of the course to the middle about 20 seconds before the start. One boat caught it, and was miles ahead of anybody at the windward mark. He also went round the committee boat end going downwind where everybody went to round the pin end which was the longer route. The first boat capsized at the upwind mark and Chris was there to take the lead, with Willaim following closely in 4th. However William lost his nerve and capsize downwind as well. Chris on the other hand, sailed well downwind, only to have a silly idea to round the pin end coming upwind which was a VERY VERY LONG COURSE, the gust had all moved to the right by the time he reached the pin end and he was caught out with no wind. It was a lesson he will not forget.

Race 3 - A close fight for the 1st place. Some boats tried to go around the committee boat end coming down wind, but the gust did not happen and was actually slower than those who went on the inside where a gust took them faster around a longer course. (Also because an optimist dragged the pin end mark which made it shorter for them).

Lunch - Matt was having a bad day and I took the opportunity to correct some of his mistakes. like putting the leg closer to the stern over the hiking strap just before he tack so that he have something to hook onto immediately and may hike out faster and keep the boat flat, which was pretty much the reason why he kept capsizing, because he did not hike out fast enough. Tightened his hiking strap for the downwind leg so that he have something to grip onto and his sitting position.

Walking up the ramp, I saw the chance to teach the sailors something. Laid out infront of the boardwalk was the race course, and the perfect spot to view the race course, see the pattern of gust forming and how they move down the race course. I got them all to bring their lunch to the boardwalk and see it. They were suppose to play a mental game of virtual skipper and decide how they will plan the race according to where and how the gusts are forming and moving. Getting them to close their eyes, tilting their head a little backwards pointing their chins into the wind and turning it in accordance to the wind shifts allow them to appreciate and feel the wind on a more personal basis. Feeling how it feels against their cheeks will help them "feel" if something is weird and trigger their senses to check if they are in a header or lifter and ultimately sail a better race.

Race 4 - Michael immediately sailed a perfect race catching all the gusts and came in 1st. He almost beat the Laser Standard if not for a lousy final tack on the last up wind leg. I would have sailed up higher to lay the committee boat end and not tack so soon as he did. What it will do is, it'll frustrate the Laser, and he may tack to duck underneath me, and when he do that, all I have to do is tack on top of him, and he will be covered. Or, when I lay the line, and then tack, he would have sailed a longer course. Either way, the position where the Laser was, was there for the taking. Michael didn't mind that he lost out to a faster boat from a different class. But I would have found it sweeter to win a race and beat the faster boats. That's what I mean by the sailors not being hungry enough.

Race 5 - It was Chris's turn to come in first. Michael was 10 seconds late to the starting line and allowed the guy that he was suppose to cover to get away. He also hit the upwind mark and when he rounded the leeward mark in 2nd position, he had to do a 360 before he crosses the finish mark. He made a mistake of not continuing to sail his boat fast, I'll put it down to inexperience. One thing to remember, when you have to do a penalty, on a beat, start with a gybe. and u will not have to duck anybody. When you are on a run or reach, start with a tack.

Final Results - Laser Radial
Michael - 2nd
Chris - 3rd
Jeff - 5th
William - 8th
Matthew - 10th

Final Results - Optimist
Bryan - 15th - Best race - 5th. (Bryan did not sail the last two race) But he was doing really well until that happened.
Josh - 8th - Best race - 8th

Story of the regatta:
William protested the Race Committee on the grounds that they did not order the green fleeters to clear the starting area and they messed up his start causing him to capsize on poor Matt who in a fantastic position, gearing up to take the sail by a storm. Maybe Matt should protest William for capsizing on him? William proposed for the race to be thrown out.

In any case, the race committee recognises that the green fleeters should not be in the racing areas. But a start is already in sequence, the race committee had already asked the optimist to clear the line prior to it. I felt they had already done their job. And like what I had been saying, if you see trouble, stay clear of it! You will only have yourself to blame if you sail straight into trouble. You must be at the highest state of awareness for all your starts, because even if you manage to protest the fella who messes your start and get him disqualified, you would have already lost the chance to get 1st place and there is no way, a protest committee can reinstate you in 1st position. So moral of the story: STAY CLEAR OF TROUBLE! Even thou it is the favoured side. Bet on them to mess up. The consolation is, they will not have clear air. While you still do.

Gusty day, it was even a challenge to rig up!

Look at the beautiful sky - a perfect condition for a race to remember!

Jeff sailing his guts out as it is his last race.

Bryan sailing his best race ever!

Now Michael, could you tell me what kind of tacking is this? No wonder you have been messing up your tacks! Put that foot under the hiking strap! NOT UR KNEE!

Michael in a perfect position to cover the Laser full rig (Notice the taller mast)

Matt wondering what's going on and appealing to the gods of sailing to let him off some. Michael watches on in amusement.

Seems like somebody's having fun at least.

Chris on a plane

I dun understand why, William always makes it look so good for the picture, only thing is he is siting abit too far back for the plane to actually work. But it is still a good point of reference thou. You pretty much have to move from the middle of the boat to the back to ride out a surf.

Notice the midline sag? How far down the sailors are form the starting line? Another case of not checking the transit line. In an international regatta or even the nationals, that'll be the 5 line start. (Foreground) an optimist getting out of the starting line.

Race 2 - The eventual winner capsizes as Chris slips into 1st, only to make a wrong tactical decision on the upwind leg to loose it all.

This pretty much sums up Matt's day.

Bryan being helped into the docks as he lost his glasses. I hope his dad dun spank him!

The ever supportive bunch of parents!

Guess who's batten pocket is this! A result of letting your sails flap too much in strong wind condition. Always sail your boat and keep it moving. It is never good to let your sail flap for too long. Hence the reason why I kept asking you guys to sail around instead of sitting there waiting.

William with the protest committee. With Michael as his witness.

Big smiles all round from Chris

Michael - the ever play it cool kid.

Opti Results

Laser Results

Going back on the Key Bridge