Another perfect night and another great season of Tuesday night racing. It’s been a mixed season for Juju. The boat and equipment is now in good shape and we’ve come a long way in our boat handling and understanding of strategy, but we had a hard time getting consistent crew out on Tuesdays and our efforts suffered for that. We do have some good new committed crew now and going into next season we should be in good shape.

We also tried out a new look last night with Brian at the helm and me calling tactics and working the bow. It was good to be able to look around a bit, get my head outside of the boat and think a bit more about strategy. It was especially good at the start to be able to look around and concentrate on things other than driving.

For his part Brian is an excellent driver and also is naturally bossy which makes him an excellent helm! Weston took a turn at trimming and did a fine job, and Bob at the mast is a natural at communicating puffs and checking out other boats, and keeping everyone informed on our relative performance. So the future is bright. I for one can’t wait for next season.

Thanks to Michael Johnson (Hot Pursuit) for the fine picture of Juju taken from the committee boat last night before the first race.

We were caught off guard, didn’t get the spinnaker set before we had to reach to the leeward gate under genoa. That is sort of our night. Many highs and lows, wrapped spinnakers, a torn leach cord, a crash gybe that nearly dumped the crew.

On the high side we were dialed into the puffs and made nice work of the beats. It makes it a bit more painful to see the spinnaker in a un-recoverable figure eight when you actually have a fighting chance in a race. But the breeze was up and mistakes get magnified. A character and experience building exercise for sure.

One lesson was learned on the downwind start. When we made it to the windward mark all boats were leaving it to starboard, which we have never done before. Here is the relevant section of the Lake Washington GSIs:

9.3   Start between the starting buoy and the orange flag on the race committee boat. Pass each rounding mark in the order displayed and on the same side as the starting mark. Finish between the finishing buoy and the orange flag on the race committee boat. When a number, such as “2″ or “3″, follows the course letters, it signals a multiple-lap course. Sail the course as many times as is indicated by that number, crossing the finishing line at the completion of each lap.

Since we started downwind with the pin to starboard, all other marks must now be left to starboard. The leeward mark was a gate so this rule didn’t change anything there. Lesson learned.

When we got back to the dock we did some practicing with the spinnaker pole to sort out some of the issues we are having with douses. I wish we had more time for practicing, I know it would make all of the difference. But it’s hard enough to field a crew one night a week as it is. This is really the biggest challenge for us right now.

All in all, it was a great night on the lake, our crew is getting deeper, and everybody lived to sail another day. 

First of all, here was the situation:

Our strategy was to avoid the crowd at the pin. Unfortunately, with Tundra Rose (TR) to leeward of us and the starboard tackers in front of us, we felt boxed in. As we approached the pin layline, TR “helpfully” suggested that we should “make our turn.” We went for it. We tacked under Hot Pursuit and then began the luffing game. As we drifted there the jib backwinded and we tacked.

I sent the email to Joy for 2 reason: I wanted to explain to Hot Pursuit why we were there in the first place, and I wasn’t sure why we tacked and was hoping for some insight.

Here is the response from Bates McKee who was skippering Hot Pursuit:

This was an unfortunate and clearly unintended incident, so not a problem.  The collisions were very low speed because we were at that point stalled on the starting line, nearly head to wind.  We were lined up and ready to sheet in and bear off for the pin-end start, but once Juju tacked to leeward we headed up with an obligation to keep clear up to head to wind.  I believe Juju intended to hang and wait (although from that position were not going to make the pin with enough momentum to round, so an eventual bear off and jibe or circles from hitting the pin seemed inevitable, and an earlier recognition of that inevitability would have avoided the incident).

Having said that, Juju could have remained at or near head to wind if the jib sheet had been entirely released.  The reason the boat tacked was because the jib remained sheeted, and began to back at perhaps 10 degrees off the wind (still on starboard).  A rapid complete jib release would have maintained forward momentum and steerage, avoiding the tack – this is  communication between helmsman and trimmer, and is similar to ‘shooting’ to round a mark when just below layline at the last moment. Ideally at a start this is done with speed and forward momentum already established, (a very late shot when within one boatlength to leeward of a mark to be fetched, helmsman heads up gradually all the way up to near head to wind, simultaneous jib complete release, then once the midpoint of boat is beyond mark hard helm to weather or even skulling to bear off, and stern swings to weather clear).  Once the jib backs (still far from head to wind) the helmsman completely loses steerage and the eventual result is inevitable.  This ‘shooting the mark’ is a good maneuver to practice for all of us.

Regarding the global situation, when approaching on Port and overlapped with Tundra to leeward Juju may have had the right for room to pass astern of the ‘obstruction’ (the starboard tack boats), although limitations apply at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water wherein the correct maneuver is to tack and bear away rather than getting room to pass astern).  See the rule below – this is the basic situation on open water when there is a need to pass astern starboard tack boats – the leeward boat must give room for the windward boat to
pass.  An early hail is prudent, but in any case the obligation is clear, and if Juju was not within two lengths of the starting mark then Tundra needed to give her room if they were overlapped – may have been close to this zone in this case.

It never occured to me to ask for room. Looking back I’m not sure if we were entitled to room under rule 18 since I can’t be sure we were “about to round” the staboard tackers (and how that factors in), nor whether we were within two boat lengths of the pin, but I should have been thinking about that possibility. And I also understand know what it looks like so see a boat setting up perfectly for the pin (HP), and what it’s like to foul that boat. Something I don’t want to repeat any time soon!

But the biggest lesson for me was that we should be looking for the jib to back well before going head to wind and to have it fully released if and when it does. 

I’m very thankful to Joy and Bates for taking the time to answer my questions. The willingness of the better teams to help out the novices is outstanding. Hopefully it will help us get off the back of the fleet and shorten the races so that Hot Pursuit can get more races in!

To the extent that a Section C rule conflicts with a rule in Section A
or B, the Section C rule takes precedence.

18 ROUNDING AND PASSING MARKS AND OBSTRUCTIONS
In rule 18, room is room for an inside boat to round or pass between an outside boat and a mark or obstruction, including room to tack or gybe when either is a normal part of the manoeuvre.

18.1 When This Rule Applies
Rule 18 applies when boats are about to round or pass a mark they are required to leave on the same side, or an obstruction on the same side, until they have passed it. However, it does not apply (a) at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water or at its anchor line from the time the boats are approaching them to start until they have passed them

The original idea when we started this blog was to be able to review and post our experiences racing in the Tuesday night club races on Lake Washington. It’s been a while since anyone has posted so it’s time to get back to it.

Much of the early part of the season was missed either struggling to find crew due to heavy work schedules and family responsibilities, or from having the boat in pieces while we upgraded the rig.  Now that we are deep into the second half of the season we seem to finally be putting the pieces together.

For the first time since buying the boat with my partners Brian and Bill we know the boat can be competitive. We’ve put a ton of work into the deck layout and rig, some money into patching and finishing the bottom, and we finally have some decent sails. About a month ago we had a guest skipper who was able to take an 8th place out of a fleet of about 25 boats that includes some really amazing teams. We would be ecstatic to finish 8th on a regular basis, so we can lay to rest our debate over whether our end-of-fleet finishes are due to the boat or due to us. They are due to us!

So now to last week. Due to last minute commitments to work and family, neither Bill nor Brian could make it! Luckily we’ve been developing some depth in our crew rotation so I was able to go out with Nate trimming, Weston on bow, and Bob at the mast. If I’m not mistaken, it was Nate’s first time trimming at this level of racing, and Weston’s 2nd or 3rd time on bow, but all 3 guys have been out regularly and have a good understanding of how things work, and most importantly are dedicated and motivated racers.

The racing conditions were perfect. Sunny, breezy, stunning views of Mt Rainier, and enough daylight for 4 races. We had as our strategy to be smooth around the course and conservative in our tactics. We succeeded in that for the most part. We were smooth, but a bit slow. We did however beat one boat in the thrid race! So not much changed there.

Our worse finish was well behind the last boat in the fleet, mainly due to penalty turns and an ill-advised attempt at a gybe set. The penalty turns were for an auto-tack during the start where we tapped a windward-now-leeward boat as we came across the wind, and continued into a small pileup. We were able to escape on port, but the turns put us in last.

I’m still not sure exactly what happened, but at least there was no damage. We wouldn’t have been in the mix at the pin at all except we got pinned by a leeward boat on port heading towards the fleet on starboard and felt we had little choice but to tack for the pin, since they weren’t going to let us get below them and around the bulk of the fleet. Fighting for the pin was definitely a deviation from our conservative strategy.

Our best finish was second to last. We beat a good boat but with a replacement driver, and we did it even though our motor mount was dragging in the water! It is a motor mount that can be lowered and raised, and it was jammed in the bottom position. A good thump and it popped back up. Not that it made us any faster!

The great news is that everyone got a lot of experience and will be ready to step in the next time. And the night out on the lake couldn’t have been any more spectacular. Next week there is no racing due to Whidbey Race week, so we will go out and do some training, probably mostly drinking.

So there it is. I’m a little rusty but it feels good to get back into posting on the “trials and tribulations of a fledgling J24 campaign, racing every Tuesday from April to September on Lake Washington, Seattle.”

So far, so good. We debated our start strategy a bit and decided to start at the pin, which wasn’t much of a strategy, since it had nothing to do with the favored side. We’ve just grown accustomed to a port start at the pin and tack into a hole, so this being the first start of the year, we went with what we knew best.

Of course the pin end was favored, so here comes the fleet. Just before the gun we tacked into a “hole,” but we tacked a bit late and too close to a starbord tacker, probably a foul, but no big deal. But we were now going to be hard pressed to fetch the pin. We drifted a bit too close to the wind, and then across as the jib backwinded. Before we could ease the jib and fall off we began to drift through the unintentional tack, and then pick up speed until we spun into the starboard tacker and bumped them pretty hard. But it didn’t stop there. Now we were really picking up pace as we continued to spin to starboard this time hitting our next victim a bit more square on!  Not only have we now hit two boats, but they happened to be the ones owned by the Vice Commodore and Jr. Staff Commodore of the club! Madness.

We managed to escape and start on port, doing our turns, and coming in last. The damage to the other boats is superficial, but not nothing, so that will cost us. In our third season now it’s the first time we’ve caused an accident, and hopefully it will be a long time before the next. In the next race we found wide open clear air, in the second or third row and got off a clean start.  Much better.

Somehow neither the bitter cold nor the early drama did anything to diminsh the enjoyment and camaraderie of a great evening out on the water. Can’t wait for the next one.

• We didn’t sell the boat and by a family cruiser as some wanted to do.
• The bottom was totally re-done, two thru-hulls were patched, and we burnished the foam rollered paint to a very smooth finish.
• We have a new, longer, class maximum head stay, although we haven’t shortened the shrouds and back stays yet. Could be an issue if it gets breezy.
• We have new electronics, and as they say, nothing goes to weather faster than money.
• And one more year under the belts.

The weather forecast:

TODAY…SHOWERS LIKELY. HIGHS IN THE MID 40S TO LOWER 50S. SOUTHWEST WIND AROUND 10 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE MID 30S TO LOWER 40S. SOUTH WIND TO 10 MPH.

Good enough!

Unless the mast has been knocked down by the enormous motor-boat tsunami over Seafair weekend, we should be in good shape.

Check back for the Race Report on Wedneday.

8-10 knot winds and only 20% chance of precip? Glorious conditions…

Our normal trimmer, Bill, was out on vacation, but Nate was back from a week away for work commitments. So that moved me back from foredeck to trimmer for the night, Nate into his place on foredeck, Chris as mast man, and Luke came out for the second time racing with us and took the pit position.

Peter and I arrived early to do some dockside repairs to the spinnaker (yes… sadly, the NEW ONE…) that occured during racing last week. We’ve upgraded ourselves from black sail repair tape on a green spinnaker that we used last year, to white on white this year. We’re so uptown now.

Light winds alternated with big glassy patches on the lake as we drifted out from the marina at 5:20 or so. Enough breeze filled in to allow some practice tacks and a spinnaker raise and douse. Everything was ready. Then we waited. And waited. 6:05 came and went. The committee skiff seemed to be trolling the lake using marks for bait.

Finally the course was set and the first race got off.

We intended to line up for our standard “opposite side from the clump” starting tactic. We didn’t get far enough away from the crowd in time and ended up getting rolled by a couple of boats and eating dirty air for what seemed like an hour. We bailed out and cut across the back of the fleet on port.

No fiascos ensued through the rest of the first race. We ended up early on the layline on the upwind beat, and seemed to make the wrong choice about which way to split around the restricted start line on the way downwind. However, we managed to catch up to the other boats trailing in at the end, and finished DFL, but only by about 20 seconds after the boat in front of us.

For those of you playing along at home: Please note the shift in units of measure from 20 boatlengths behind to 20 seconds behind. Yes, you read that right.

Click to hear the triumphant second race

In the second race we got a good start. We sailed the middle of the course and made some good choices about keeping lanes and making decisions early. The wind was getting lighter and lighter throughout the race. Coming downwind everyone nearly came to a standstill for a point in the race. Luckily we had set ourselves up to be able to sail a pretty wide reach with the spinnaker and were able to keep it filled and keep the boat moving.

All the boats who reached the leeward turn were stalled out and drifting within 2 boat lengths of the mark. We saw a new breeze filling in behind us and worked out our game plan. We knew we’d have speed coming into the mark and have to deal with the other stalled boats that were were still slowly ghosting around the mark.

We reached out to the layline, jibed, raised the jib, dropped the pole, and doused the spinnaker, without fiascos. A few boats were drifting wide of the mark, and only just starting to rebuild speed with the new breeze, but were getting shadowed by the other J24s and a bunch of Thistles coming around the buoy. We made the decision to go inside (see last week’s right of way / rule 18 discussion) since it was clear that these boats wouldn’t have the momentum to head up and shut the door.

We cruised through without incident and headed back upwind. We held the ground we had gained by passing boats at the rounding and held a decent line to the upwind mark. The committee shortened the course to end between the upwind mark and a skiff.

For the second week in a row we found ourselves sailing the right side of the course on starboard to the finish line while the rest of the nearby boats reached out left. We cruised in ever lightening winds through the finish line ahead of 4 other boats still slowly coming into the line from port.

A tie for our best finish ever, and finally a complete race (actually two) with no fiascos.

Update – Peter pointed out to me that we finished ahead of 5 other boats, not just 4, making this our best finish ever.