Wind was blowing WSW@ about 3 to 4 knots and was suppose to build clocking south. It finally came blowing a constant 5 knots gusting 8 when the race committee finally got off the first start.
Not much gripe about them 'cept for the first race when they couldn't decide if they want to do a general recall of the 420 and go straight into a rolling start for the Laser, or to restart the 420 immediately. But it was all good after they flew the correct flags and start the 420s.
Let's start with the Laser Course.
Our sailors, are kinda funny... when it's light air, they complain, when its too heavy, they complain.... when its in the middle, they crave for stronger wind. But when it gets rough, they say the ride is too rough! I find that a little strange. Nevertheless, when you are a sailor, you learn to deal with whatever that's served on your plate. Like it or not. Judging from the results, one can tell who likes what kinda conditions.
Michael - A typical "I'm on the light side so please dun blow up too much cos my muscles can't take it and I dun have enuff fats to hold the boat down" sailor.
Christopher - "MAN! YEah!! Heavy wind!! This is Awesome! So totally my day!" BUt sits right in the middle of the cockpit of the boat going downwind... go figure. Won't get out of it unless there's a spider in there with him.
Andrew - Years of sailing experience helps - Usually pretty accurate feeling the race course, just need to actually execute the plan a little better.
William - Our "Oh I was this close! I almost got you!" dude who tries really hard on the race course, he has been showing heaps of improvement when we first start thou. Always with a smile on his face - 'cept for the time when he had to sail an Xcite back in light wind. But he did good this regatta, reaching the windward mark midfleet most of the time, looses it going downwind, but hey, who's a perfect sailor? Hell, he even untied the safety knot I did for him for going downwind cos he wanna go faster! He did not capsize.
Jeff - Otherwise known as Mr Muscle man - He gets frustrated real quick, but he picks up real quick as well. Light wind frustrates him some, but teaches patience. He loves the stronger wind, just got to learn how to use his strength to his advantage and stay alil more calm and level headed to think while sailing. The only one to sail with the old rig, so he has to be alot more disciplined during the race to watch the trim of his sails before he rounds the marks.
Matthew - Mr Flying "V" - Pretty consistent sailor, gets a little excited sometimes and tend to forget the fundamentals. Generally sails a pretty decent first race. Probably puts too much pressure on himself after and loose focus on what's ahead.
Going on a reach with too tight a vang. Notice the straight leech? Need some curves baby!Race 1 - Pin end favoured - Wind veers left when gust kicks in. Would sail on the left of the course to appreciate the change in wind first. These information was passed down, but not a whole lot of them followed. Michael, Andrew and Matt did. Although Matt started almost last, he caught up with almost half the fleet by staying on the left. Christopher, however tacked early and went up the middle of the line, Jeff and William as well. Andrew and Michael was necked to necked right until the upwind mark and Michael simply took off on a broad reach as the wind swung left, Andrew took the middle line route. Michael would have sailed faster upwind if he had kept his boat flatter as soon as the gust hits.
Michael worked his way up to 3rd, and got caught up by a classic pin wheel @ the leeward mark. He lost 4 boats there in mere seconds after working so hard for the entire leg. Absolute shame, it is one lesson he will never forget. Kudos to him, he manage to claw back 2 places to claim 5th the first race.
The guys will have to work on alot of mark rounding and to reassert their rules on that as well. I dun see them controlling the fleet enough at mark rounding to establish their right of way. Can't really blame anybody if somebody who do not have rights come barging in.
Race 2 - Pretty same situation. Committee had shifted the mark towards the left some and the pin end down. Starboard start favoured and to work towards the left, and tack to cover the fleet will be the race plan.
Michael had a decent start, but he tacked after 5 seconds and banged the right hand side of the course and lost out quite abit.
Matthew was having a fantastic race, until he got to the gybe mark and did not establish rights and allowed no. 39 to come barging in on a surf and nicked his stern. a 720 followed and he ended up pretty much at the back of the fleet.
Matt - got too excited about overtaking Andrew and Michael that he forgot to put his daggerboard down going upwind!!! Painful lesson.A rescue operation soon followed as a lady sailor capsized and couldn't upright her boat. This is the time when you go "Awwww.... My hero...." *puke*
Dude, I was this close to first..Optimist Green Fleet -
Josh was starting well, with a very standard committee boat end, stay on a starboard tack, and allowing port tackers to run straight into him and then tack and not call starboard (but its quite useless cos they won't tack away anyhow!) and then tacking again when he thinks he lays the line. Thank god it is the green fleet, because the line was pin end favoured and the upwind mark is quite favoured to the left. I found the AYC coaches giving instructions to the 1st boat during the race and shouted out to them. "Hey, no coaching!" Their reply? A very smug "Dude, its the green fleet man!" Mine? "Yeah, last time I checked, I'm not colourblind. Besides, coaching's only for the last 5 boats of the fleet, why? You can't read the SI? Or you can't count?"
Right..... just kidding.. I din say that... only went "Yeah! Only for the last 5 boats in the fleet" and muttered "losers" under my breath. I absolutely hate it when coaches plays dirty to get results. For me, I try not to tell my sailors which side of the course to go, simply because I will not be with them all the time, and they have to make their own decisions and also situation changes all the time. How I will sail the race, may change all of a sudden 5 seconds before the race start, and if they were to follow my instructions, they'll be caught out! But I tried telling them exactly how to sail the race for the 1st race, but sadly some of them can't even execute it. Therefore, if time permits, I will usually speak to each of them and ask them to tell me what they think of the course and how they think they will want to sail it, and then confirm their thoughts.
Bryan - Vang is always too loose, notice the almost conical shape of it? Sitting too far back and keeping his eyes in the cockpit is not going to help.Optimist Red/White/Blue fleet -
They just came out from lunch to sail one race. I caught the first downwind leg of it, found Bryan without much difficulty and immediately recognise why he is, where he is. The wind was kind of light, and Bryan isn't exactly the lightest of sailor. Which means he will have to work extra hard to keep the boat flat and at least trim the sails right. But what I saw, was a sunken stern, a boat heeling to windward, and a mainsheet a foot out from the corner of the transom. Not good. This is not going to work. Pull him aside after the race and ran him thru some close haul sailing, he finally got into it only for me to realise that the rest of the kids are heading home. Its a blerdy scam I swear. They were afraid of what's coming! I knew it!
Happy Parents?? 
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