Mark Rounding Problems Coming Up

Junior Sailing August 8, 2006

This was the third night of Junior Racing with one more week to go. Goals for tonight were to learn to sail an "Olympic" course. This is the course most often used by the Lansing Sailing Club for Laser and Sunfish Racing on Wednesday evening. Two Olympic course races were held, followed by two Windward-Leeward Courses.

Winds were light, but continuous and high enough at times for the sailors to be hiking. There were no capsizes, but several sailors caught their main sheet on a mark as they sailed by too closely.

There are more pictures below. Here are the results of racing:

Junior Sailors in Lasers

Junior Sailors in Sunfish

Click on a picture to see a larger image

The Crawford family purchased a Laser. Doug was inspired and sailed very well.	Start of the first race in light air. Doug and Matt had good starts with speed. Cody has tacked looking for clear air.	Cody heading to the finish line has his boat flat and moving mast. Hints: more outhaul on to take out some of the roundness in the sail when going to windward and pulling on more mainsheet (bring the boom down as far as it will go) will bend the mast and flatten the sail - making for a faster shape. Cody can also steer his boat using body weight which is very fast (turning the rudder is like putting on the brake). Lean in to turn toward the wind and lean back to turn away from the wind.
Doug hikes. Lasers sail fastest in most conditions when they are sailed flat.	Boats prepare for the second race start. The two boats coming toward us are in trouble. They are on port and don't have the right of way. It is better for them to be to leeward of the starboard boats and tack into a space between the startboard boats.	Matt is checking to see if he is on the lay line to the windward mark.
Check the telltales now on Matt's boat. They are drooping. When the sail has wind in it, drooping telltales usually mean that the boat is sailing too far off the wind.	Matt has all his telltales on both sides of the sail flying back as he sails to windward. This is very fast.	Austin snagged his mainsheet on the mark - and his centerboard went in the water too. He has the centerboard back on the boat - not to get the mainsheet off the mark.
OK - back on board.	Austin isn't alone. Check out Matt's leeward mark rounding. This hasn't happened all year.	Get the centerboard back in place.
One more check of the suit.	A deep breath - and we're ready to go.	Austin sailing to windward.
Cody sails downwind with good form: forward in the boat, heeled to windward slightly, centerboard up, sail out, loosened outhaul for more roundness in the sail.	Thomas shows good form downwind too.	Tristan is going fast downwind. Some ideas to go even faster: move forward in the boat so the stern is out of the water (less drag), let the sail out a little more when the wind is behind you, heel the boat even more to windward (gets the sail up in the air where the wind is moving faster).
When making a leeward mark rounding, don't be so close that the turn has to be a sharp turn. A sharp turn brings the boat almost to a stop. Carve a wider, smoother turn - and be sure to have your sail in all the way as you go past the mark so you can point on a close hauled course.	Thomas does a good job of checking his sail. Keep those telltales flowing back when sailing to windward for max speed.	Notice the different angles these boats are sailing going upwind. Matt (77280) is sailing closest to the wind while Doug (tall sail) looks to be sailing furthest away from the wind. Learning to sail close to the wind while keeping the wind flowing over the entire sail is one of the hardest - but most important - skills to develop.
Thomas is going well to windward. Hint: look through the sail to see the telltales on the other side and check telltales on the leech of the sail too. The telltales on the other side are drooping as is the telltale on the leech (near the upper seam). Keep them all flying for max speed.	Learning the rules. Thomas realizes he is on Port tack and must stay clear of the starboard tack boat. He is bearing away slightly so he can pass behind the starboard boat. Good job!	Austin and Tristan sailing fast. Lookin' good guys.