LASERS TRY

Persistence and excellence are joined together.

Lasers welcome Robert

Robert Scheidt  is back on top at the Laser Worlds.

This is Steve Cockerill going up wind in a radial and showing the  roll back and head up as you go up the front of the wave which will be followed by the roll forward and tiller up to head down the back of the wave.  This is Roberts signature movement as he is going up wind threw the  waves. 

Up the up side and down the down side with body movement to help move the tiller and the boat.

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LASERS WEATHER THE STORM

Lasers weather the storm.  Sorry about not putting up this stuff before.  Maybe a month or so ago we had a little storm that got everyone in our little fleet in some kind of trouble.  Not serious, but suggests this review of what you might do.

1   Safety position and for you old folks, that is boat across the wind, boom out at 90 degrees and luffing, center board all the way down.   Boat not moving and you can drop the tiller and think about what to do next.

.2      Turn the boat over and sit on the high side balancing things so that upper mast is about half in the water.   You won’t drift very fast and easy to sit out a little thunder storm.  When the wind moderates, right the boat and sail home.

. 3     If it is a broad reach or a run back to your shore, you can let the sail out in front of the boat and let it luff while quietly going home.  With standard length sheet you need to take the knot out of the end of the sheet, let the end go through the ratchet block and it will make recovery easier if you tie a knot in the end of the sheet before it goes through the boom block. Do this knot stuff from the safety position..  If wind moderates before you reach shore and you change your mind, you can turn quickly into the wind and recover the sheet at the boom block, trim and get going again.

. 4     If you need to go up wind, take the vang off.  You may need to undo it completely so that the boom can rise and then go up wind close reaching.  With the boom up the top half of the sail can luff and you sail on the bottom half.  An old friend of mine called that the “fisherman’s reef”.

.5      You can use the one above to get to shore if it is a reach.

. 6     If you sail to shore and it is not where you want to go, unplug the mast stuff, lengthen the out haul, turn the mast a few times  to roll up some sail.  If you take the top batten out you can roll put quite a bit of sail.  Pug the boom back in and adjust the outhaul.

. 7     If it is a hot day, turn the boat over and play around in the water till the storm is over.

LASERS UPWIND PROVERBS

To win we say " nail the start, hit the shifts and sail fast."

To stay with the shifts, then    SAIL THE LONG TACK FIRST.
                                                 CROSS THEM WHEN YOU CAN.
                                                  DON'T LET THEM CROSS YOU.
                                                   LEAD THEM TO THE NEXT SHIFT.
                                                    FOOT TO THE HEADERS.
                                                     DELAY GOING TO THE LAY LINES.
                                                      IF IN A GROUP, OVERSTAND THE
                                                                               WINDWARD MARK.
                                                       VANG OFF BEFORE THE
                                                                               WINDWARD MARK.

PRACTICE THOSE TACKS.

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LASERS TAKE A TACK.

Two things happened this weekend that suggests this post today, although it is pretty much a repeat.    My knee is still sore and my tacks were lousy losing a lot every time I tacked with some one and when I didn't tack on the small wind shifts I lost a lot on that.  The better tacks get you ahead and the bad ones behind.

The second thing was my copy of Buddy Melges' book "Sailing Smart" was returned from a loan and it is in that book he tells about practicing fro the Olympics.  He would start out with 50 tacks and then 50 gybes.  WOW!

When was the last time you did 50 tacks in practice?

LASERS TIME THE LINE.

Before the race.

Time the line.

Time little runs to the committee boat.

Develop a better feel for the speed and distance in the wind and conditions of the day.

You will need this for better arrival and position on the starting line.

Dennis Connor often discussed with his crew members how long it would take them to arrive at a certain spot in an attempt to have a better sense of speed and distance.

LASERS SAIL UPWIND IN WAVES

This is a redo of a 2010 entry, but worth reading again.

I have some other parts of the blog that comment on sailing in waves, but a recent “Speed and Smarts” is about playing the waves, so let me review what I know about Lasers in the waves.

Generally go upwind in the smaller waves and downwind in the bigger waves, if you have a difference on the two sides of the course without a great deal of pressure difference.

If there is current, then the above is reversed. When the current in with the wind, then the waves will be less with more current and bigger where the current is weaker. Current against the wind then makes the waves bigger, so in either case go upwind in the bigger waves and look the smaller ones going down wind. If you are sailing in tidal waters, it helps to know when the tide will change.

Going upwind with the Laser, when the waves are less than 18 inches, you just need to power through them. Bare off a little to be sure you are moving well. Don’t pinch. Tack in a flat spot.

Somewhere between 18 inches and 2 feet you have to begin to think about the old up the “up side and down the down side.” That gets you through the wave faster and gives you a little push going down the down side. When you do this you pump the tiller down (to leeward) to get the bow up and rock you weight back to help lift the bow. Then on the top of the wave, pull the tiller toward you and rock your weight forward to help get the bow down. These moves can be quite vigorous when the waves are steep and short . Robert Scheidt, recent great Laser sailor moved to Stars, could be picked out of a fleet by his radical movement.

Dellenbaugh divides the waves up into 1) Normal wind for waves. 2) More wind than waves. 3) Less wind than waves. 2) happens when the wind is increasing and it gives you more power to trim tighter and sail higher. In 3), you power up and bear off. Don’t pinch. In any of the cases you need to be sure you are moving through the waves and not being stopped. You need to manage them better than you competitors. If not, see if you can tell what they are doing.

Try and stay in clear air, tack in the flat spots, or just before the wave so that the waves pushes you bow around, instead of stopping you. Be careful with close maneuvering as everyone has less control.

You need a clear air lane more with waves.

Not all waves are the same, so you have to keep watching ahead. Some waves can just rise up ahead of you as forces below the surface join. Some will need powering through and some worked up and down. If you are going to stick your bow into one, then let the boat heel and dump as much of the water as you can, so that you don’t get all the water in the cockpit.

If you sail on a small lake and don’t have bigger waves, then you may want to take some long visits to places that have them. It takes practice working alone and then sailing beside someone so you can make some judgment about your technique. Every day will have a little different set of waves, so get out to the race course early and get the rhythm down before the races start.

Dellenbaugh says that usually the waves are the same on both tacks, but occasionaly skewed.

My experience is that they are almost always lopsided with one tack more square into the wind and one more at an angle. Either the waves are changing as they move along the bottom or the wind shifts and the waves have not yet. If you are going square into the wave, bear off more and take it a little on diagonal. The changing angle to the waves will also help you pick up the wind shifts, as the waves will take a long time to change angles.

Motorboat waves should be worked the same. Power through the smaller, up and down the bigger and take them at an angle if coming on square.

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