This issue of Speed & Smarts is all about the 2015 Lightning

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1 David Dellenbaugh s SPEED &smarts The newsletter of how-to tips for racing sailors July/Aug 2015 Lessons from aworld championship This issue of Speed & Smarts is all about the 2015 Lightning International Masters Championship, which was hosted by the Buffalo Canoe Club on Lake Erie. The Masters is held every other year just before the Lightning Worlds; all the helmspersons have to be 55 or older with a total crew age of at least 130 years. This year the event attracted 63 teams from seven countries including several former Lightning world champions. I grew up sailing Lightnings and I m over 55, so when I was offered a chance to sail in the Lightning Masters plus the world championship, I jumped at it. One thing I like about Lightnings is the strong one-design character of the class. All the boats go pretty much the same speed, so the racing is mostly about strategy and tactics, which makes sailing the boat a lot of fun. If you aren t familiar with the Lightning, it s a 19-foot hard-chined boat that was designed by Olin Stephens in It has a centerboard, a crew of three and a symmetrical spinnaker. But this issue is not about the particular boat I was racing. It s about everything my crew and I learned and re-learned during the course of six long races in a large, competitive fleet. Inside you will find a race-by-race analysis of key moves and strategies that cover starting, wind shifts, how to approach and exit s, strategizing, upwind tactics and more. The photos show Lightnings, but almost all the lessons apply to any boat, whether you race a singlehanded dinghy or a bigger sportboat with an asymmetrical kite. ISSUE #135 Championship analysis THEME 2015 Lightning Masters...1 STRATEGY Regatta overview...2 RACE 1 Starting, windshifts...4 RACE 2 Starting, top hoists...6 RACE 3 Tactical positioning...8 RACE 4 Tactics, covering...10 RACE 5 Approaching s...12 RACE 6 Starting strategy, s...14 WRAP-UP Customize your plan...16 When you sail in a wavy place like Lake Erie (below), you need to understand exactly what your class allows for kinetics. According to the rulebook, class rules may change any aspect of the Propulsion rule (rule 42), and many classes do so. The Lightning Class, for example, prohibits pumping the spinnaker guy and you can pump the mainsail only by pulling on the part of the sheet that leads from the boom. This is just one reason why I always re-read the class rules before any regatta like this. Speed & Smarts #135 Photo by NauticalPhotography.us 1

2 2015 Lightning International Masters Astrategic overview Before sailing this regatta, I did a lot of thinking about how to maximize our chances of success. With my limited experience sailing Lightnings I needed a super crew, which I had. And since we were likely to get some breeze on Lake Erie, I went with a crew weight slightly above average. I was able to use the boat that had won the previous Worlds, and I got brand new North sails which have been dominating the class. We did some practice on Lake Erie and spent time working on the boat and the bottom before the regatta. So when we sailed out for the first race I felt like I had no excuse to lose, which is how it should be. Here are some other factors that I thought about before and during the Masters Championship. Overall gameplan We decided to begin the series with a plan to sail conservatively, for several reasons. First, it s usually a good idea to be conservative at the beginning of a race or series. That way you don t risk a bad score early on, and you can wait to see if you need to take more risk later. Second, I was pretty confident that we would have good starts and, in theory at least, I expected our speed to be very competitive. Third, the fleet was large which meant that consistency would likely be well-rewarded in the end. Basically, there was no strong reason to be anything other than conservative at the beginning. If we could do well without taking much risk, then we would keep on with that plan; if not, we would consider taking more risk. Local knowledge As a team we didn t have much experience in this racing venue. We tried to grill the local sailors for some inside information, but they hardly ever sail that far out in the lake so this wasn t very helpful. Without much local knowledge, we decided to play it conservative by staying a little closer to the middle of the course, at least until we figured out the wind on any particular day. Speed testing I have sailed only a handful of Lightning events during the past few years, so I was a little worried about our speed, especially in waves (which tend to Nauticalphotography.us widen the difference between slow and fast boats). To build my confidence, we arranged to sail with a top boat every morning before the first race, and this helped a lot. The course Every race used a windward/leeward course with 1 mile Google maps Point Abino DAY 2 CANADA Buffalo Canoe Club DAY 3 Racing area DAY Lake Erie NEW YORK The 2015 Lightning International Masters Championship was sailed on the eastern end of Lake Erie out of the Buffalo Canoe Club in Ontario. Most of the races were sailed in wind from the west or southwest, which meant that a big speed factor both upwind and downwind was the presence of fairly large waves (created by a 200-mile fetch to windward!). The westerlies also ensured that, at the starting line, we would not be able to get a line sight through the pin end on the distant New York shore. So our only chance of a line sight would be looking toward the Ontario shore beyond the race committee boat. My team for the regatta included Lightning veterans Jeff Eiber in the middle and Jay Lurie as forward. I had sailed several regattas with Jay, but this was the first time I was racing with Jeff, so I knew we would have to spend some time working on communication. There were six races scheduled in the series, and we would get a throwout race only if we sailed all six. 2 Championship Analysis

3 One thing I re-learned during this regatta was that sometimes you just have to go along with the crowd. I generally don t like being part of the herd mentality, so I often try a different tack (or jibe) just for the sake of being different. But often the crowd is doing the right thing, so your best move is simply to be patient. Be willing to play follow the leader until or unless you have a legitimate reason to separate on your own. Sometimes the best you can do is simply maintain your position in the fleet; if you get greedy or impatient you ll end up losing and make a comeback that much tougher. an offset at the top end and a leeward gate at the bottom. The windward offset meant that jibe sets would be more possible at the beginning of each run. And the combination of a windward offset with a finish line on the starboard side of the committee boat meant there was a strong likelihood that port jibe would be longer on the second run to the finish. A practice regatta At first I planned to sail the Masters mainly to practice for the Lightning World Championship which started two days later. But once the Masters began, we became 100% focused on doing our best at that event. I guess this was also a good way to practice because we finished 5th out of 65 boats at the Worlds. The bottom line I have a philosophy that I call the No-lose approach. It goes like this: You can t win every race or regatta, but you can always learn something in the process. And that will give you a better chance of winning the next time around. We tried our best to win the Lightning Masters, but at the same time we realized that the most important thing was having fun and learning as much as we could. That made the experience worthwhile no matter the results. Starting strategy: A conservative approach PIN MIDDLE BOAT Starting line Pin boat Before the event began we had a team discussion about regatta strategy, including how to approach the starts. We decided to start generally in the middle of the starting line, for several reasons: 1) Less strategic risk. Since none of us had raced much in eastern Lake Erie, we wanted to keep our options open. By starting in the middle, we had the ability to watch what was happening and get to either side. Of course, we would be behind boats that went straight and far to the favored side, but we d be happy if we could be near the top group at the first without taking as much risk as the leaders. 2) More open space. The ends of the line tend to attract a lot of boats, so tactical risk tends to go up as you get closer to either end. We decided to avoid the ends even though it meant we would give up line bias to some boats. In our experience it s easier to find space and clear air in the middle of the line, and this was valuable to us. 3) Take advantage of the mid-line sag. We are pretty good at knowing where we are on the line; to take advantage of this, we planned to start near the middle where the fleet tends to sag farther away from the line. We didn t start exactly in the middle of the line; rather we used the middle 60% of the line as our starting area and moved side-to-side in this space based on line bias and our strategic plan for the first leg. When the pin was favored and we liked the left, for example, we might start as close as 20% of the way from the pin to the RC boat (at position P). When the RC boat was favored and we liked the right, we might start 20% of the line length from that end (B). In both cases we tried to keep roughly 20% of the fleet (10-12 boats) between us and the nearby end as a way to make sure we didn t get too far to an extreme side of the fleet. P Pin RC boat It doesn t really matter where you start in relation to the ends of the line what s important is your position relative to the other boats in the fleet. In this start, for example, the red boat is roughly half way between the pin and RC boat, but this is not a middle-of-the-line start for her. She is actually getting a pin-end start because she has no boats to leeward. Our strategy was to start near the middle of the line, but this really meant positioning ourselves near the middle of the fleet. B RC Speed & Smarts #135 3

4 2015 Lightning Masters RACE 1 The last thing we wanted was to use up our throwout in the first race of the series, but that s exactly what happened. Actually, it could have been a lot worse because we almost didn t get enough races to even have a throwout, in which case we would have had to keep our 20th. But more on that later. Our plan in the first race (like every other) was to get a solid score without taking a lot of risk. Since we intended to start away from the ends of the line, we needed a good line sight so we could be ahead of the mid-line sag and avoid being OCS. But that wasn t very easy since it was basically impossible to get a line sight looking through the pin end of the line. This first race was also critical because we weren t very familiar with eastern Lake Erie. Without much local knowledge, we had to work hard at figuring out the wind, and minimizing strategic risk. We weren t too successful at that (we played the wind as persistent when it was oscillating), but we did learn enough from Race 1 to win the second race that day (see pages 6-7). Friday: Wind from the south 8 to 15 knots, shifty. Lots of chop and lump. No current (which was always the case). We started near the middle of the line, as we did in all races, and tacked into a good lane on port. Half way up the beat we were ahead of all boats on the left and should have crossed. Second beat not very good. Finished 20th. Start: When you can t get a line sight through the pin I rely a lot on line sights at the start to judge how close we are to the line. But even though I had sailed only a few days previously at the Buffalo Canoe Club, I knew it would be challenging to get good line sights during this event. The prevailing wind in the eastern part of Lake Erie is from the west or southwest, which means a line sight through the pin end would be 5 or 6 miles away on a hazy New York shore full of trees. It was clear that our best chance to get good line sights would be looking from the pin end through the committee boat toward the closer Ontario shore where there were quite a few distinguishable features. This was our plan for every start. Being able to use the RC boat for a line sight is a key skill when you have no visible shore beyond the pin end. Here are some tips for doing this: Get your line sight in the normal way by sailing outside the left end of the line and looking through the pin toward the RC boat and a point on the shore beyond. Get a safety sight (farther to windward on shore) that you can see as you approach the start from below the line. Set up earlyish in the front row of boats so you can see your line sights; if you hang back you ll never see them. If possible, use the orange flag on the RC boat as your sighting point. Often this flag is too far aft or lost in the boat s superstructure so you have to find another point; I typically use the vertical forward edge of the boat s cabin. If you use a point on the RC boat forward of the orange flag, be careful you may be OCS when this point lines up on shore (see right). This sight is most accurate when starting toward the pin end; the closer you are to the RC boat, the more inaccurate (and risky) it becomes. It s often difficult to see a line sight through the RC boat all the way until the start. If you lose track, keep your bow hidden between boats on either side and then beat them off the line! Line sight Not to scale Starting line Safety sight Pin boat Starting line Looking for line/safety sight RC boat Stay in the front row as you approach the line so you have a chance to see your line sight. Possible line sights on shore house tallest tree Committee boat Nauticalphotography.us 4 Championship Analysis

5 Pre-Start: The value of having a good tuning partner Good boatspeed is a prerequisite for success in racing. When you re going fast, strategy and tactics become a lot easier, and you look and feel smart. For these reasons I spend a lot of time before each race making sure we are up to speed in the existing conditions. I think the best, and most efficient, way to do this is to sail upwind in a speed test with one other boat. A couple weeks before the Lightning Masters, I talked with another fast team about working together on speed. We arranged to tune up together before the first start every day this kind of plan is much more effective than going out to the course and wasting time trying to find someone to tune with. Sailing with a buddy helped a lot with getting in the groove before the first race. I don t think it was a coincidence that we both finished very near the top of the fleet. RC We sailed out to the race course each day with our tuning partner and were usually among the first few boats that reached the starting area. We checked in at the committee boat and then started Dave sailing upwind in the standard testing position about 2 or 3 lengths aparts with the leeward boat slightly bow ahead. This is much better than sailing around by yourself wondering if you are fast in the conditions. Tuning buddy Upwind: Oscillating or Persistent? We did not play the shifts very well during this race, which was probably the result of strategic indecision. I have always felt that it s important to decide whether you are going to play the windshifts as oscillating (phasing back and forth) or persistent (shifting steadily in one direction). After all, the windshift pattern is almost always one of these two, and your choice of how to play the wind makes a huge difference in your strategic decisions. But unfortunately we didn t have a clear picture of the windshift pattern before the start, and therefore we didn t have a good plan for what to do if the wind shifted which, of course, it did. Half way up the second beat, for example, we lost a lot of distance to boats on our left side. The competitors that were farthest left had more pressure than we did, and they were sailing in a port-tack lift so we decided to head that way. We finally got into the better pressure, tacked onto port and had a bit of a lift. But soon we began to get headed. The wind was now shifting right, and boats that had passed behind us when we were on starboard tack were now ahead of us. We had played the wind perfectly the wrong way. Instead of sailing toward the next shift, we had been sailing away from it; zigging when we should have been zagging. We could have looked around more for clues on where the wind was going to shift next, and then been more decisive about following a strategy to match those observations. That s what we did in the next race (see pages 6-7). What is the windshift pattern? If persistent, dig in by crossing behind other boats and continuing farther toward the favored side. If oscillating, don t let the other boats cross you. Tack to leeward and ahead so you can lead them to the next shift Speed & Smarts #135 5

6 2015 Lightning Masters RACE 2 We managed to win this race, but we didn t have a good start. You know you re in bad shape when you begin looking for a place to bail out on port tack before the gun even goes off. That was the case in this race. Luckily we were able to tack right away and find a lane on the lifted tack. Here are some lessons we learned about starting in a big fleet, plus some notes about rounding offset s. Friday: The wind was still south at roughly 8 to 11 knots. It remained shifty, so we applied our lesson learned from Race 1 and played the shifts as oscillating. Though we had a poor start, we were 2nd at the top. We realized that we could basically fetch the gate on port tack so we jibe set, passed the leader and finished 1st. Starting: Don t get trapped in the port-tack parade In many fleets these days, the port-tack approach is a very popular starting technique. With two or three minutes to go, boats sail on a port-tack reach from the pin end toward the committee boat, several boatlengths below the line, looking for a place where they can tack onto starboard and make their final approach to the line. The bigger the fleet, the more crowded this port-tack parade becomes. A port-tack approach works best when you are able to tack onto starboard at just the right time and place. This perfect spot depends on key variables such as the spacing between boats that are already on starboard tack, the identity of boats on starboard (e.g. you don t want to set up just to windward of a pointer ), your location along the line, the time remaining before the start and so on. Often you have only one or two chances to tack into a very good spot on starboard tack so make sure you have the ability to tack when you want. If you get trapped and pinned on port tack (like we did in this race), it will be tough to get a good start. Starting line Blocker Tailgater Problems Blockers When you re approaching the starting line on port tack and looking for a place to make your final tack onto starboard, the last thing you want is a boat that is overlapped close to windward of you and preventing you from tacking YOU whenever you want. Tailgaters When you re about to make your final tack onto starboard, you don t want to have another boat right behind you. Though this boat probably won t prevent you from tacking, there s a good chance they will tack at the same time as you and end up overlapped close to leeward, which is not good. T YOU Stuck in the port-tack line-up The big risks of making a port-tack approach are losing control of where and when you tack, and being vulnerable right after your tack. Other problems include: a) a higher risk of fouling while you re on port tack weaving around other boats; and b) the inability to see your line sight and know where you are on the line. Solutions Slow and weave When pinned by a blocker, be proactive to escape and regain the option to tack. Slow down and/ or sail a different course (e.g. by bearing off hard) so you become un-overlapped as soon as possible. Avoid getting pinned in the first place. Use a pick When there was a tailgater (T) behind us on port tack, one trick we used a couple times was to cut them off by heading up around the stern of an oncoming starboardtack obstruction (S). This made it very difficult for T to tack right underneath us on starboard tack (which is the biggest worry when a boat is following you closely on port tack). Get on starboard tack earlier After our poor starts in the first two races of the series, we made a conscious decision to set up earlier on starboard tack. Instead of tacking at 1:00 or 1:15, we tried to be on starboard at 1:45 or even 2:00. This helped us stay in control of our approach and avoid the problems of being on port tack later in the sequence. This made it much easier to defend our space to leeward and also easier to see where we were on the line. YOU T Blocker Tailgater YOU S YOU 6 Championship Analysis

7 Windward : Jibe-set or bearaway set? In Race 2, we rounded the first in second place. We had spent a lot of time on starboard tack during the first beat, and I knew port tack would be quite a bit longer on the run. So even though the wind was fairly light, and jibing around the offset meant sailing through bad air, we did a jibe set. This turned out to be a great move because we fetched the leeward on one long port tack. The boat that rounded the windward ahead of us delayed their jibe for only 30 seconds; but that was long enough for us to get our wind shadow ahead of them on the long jibe, and then it was easy to beat them to the gate. It s not often that a jibe set pays off so well. In most cases, your default move at a windward should be a bearaway (or straight) set where you sail on starboard tack (assuming a port rounding) for at least a short time. This is a safer move in terms of maintaining speed, avoiding congested areas where it s easy to break a rule, and doing smooth boathandling maneuvers (especially if you have a chute). There is, however, one time when you should almost always do a jibe set when you can fetch the leeward or finish line on port tack. In this case the cost and risk of jibing at the is almost always worthwhile. But otherwise make sure you consider a number of factors (see descriptions on this page) before you jibe at the. Windward Tougher to do a jibe set Offset An offset makes jibe-setting a much better option Windward When your course includes a windward offset (rather than a single windward ), it s easier to do a jibe set for several reasons: 1) you have time during the offset leg to prepare for a smooth, efficient hoist; 2) you will have more speed when you hoist; 3) doing a jibe set does not require as sharp a turn; 4) when you jibe you are farther away from the bad air of the boats behind you; 5) you are less likely to get interference from boats still coming upwind; and 6) you can easily do a jibe set even if you come in to the windward on port tack. Offset Tight offset leg Windward Jibe setting is not so great when the offset leg is tight. Better speed coming in to turn Less-sharp turn More clear of boats still coming upwind Consider the angle of the offset leg Broad offset leg Offset Easier to do a good jibe set Windward Jibe setting may be a good idea after a broad offset leg, for the reasons below and because your turn at the offset isn t so sharp. (See page 14 for more on approaching the top.) The presence or absence of an offset can have a big influence on the advisability of trying a jibe set. But not all offset legs are created equal. Just because you have an offset doesn t mean a jibe set will work. One key factor is the position of that. If the offset is farther upwind than the windward (and the offset leg is tight), jibing at that will bring you close to the boats behind you (above left), which is not great. But if the offset is farther to leeward (and the offset leg is broad), you will be farther from other boats if you jibe (above right), which is good. As a rule of thumb, the broader the offset leg, the more likely it is that a jibe set will work for the reasons above, and because a broad offset leg also means: a) you may be sailing in a right shift, which could favor jibing; and b) you may be able to hoist the chute before the offset, which would make jibing easier and faster. Effect of wind velocity on jibe sets Offset Heavy air Speed & Smarts #135 Light air Windward Another factor that can have a big impact on the effectiveness of doing a jibe set is the wind velocity. A rule of thumb is that the lighter the wind, the more difficult it will be to make a jibe set work. There are several reasons for this: First, a jibe set is a relatively difficult maneuver, so it s something to avoid in light air when you should minimize maneuvers to maintain speed. Second, wind shadows hurt you more in light air, so if possible you should avoid the area to leeward of all the boats that are approaching and exiting the windward. And third, in light air you sail higher angles downwind if you do a jibe set you will be aiming back close underneath all the boats behind you (see diagram). This is not as much of a problem when you have more wind because your angles are low enough to diverge (and get away) from boats behind. In summary, you need a stronger reason to jibe set in light air than in more breeze. 7

8 2015 Lightning Masters RACE 3 We got a very good mid-line start in this race (thanks in part to the lessons we learned from bad starts the previous day) and we continued on starboard toward the left side. Before the race we had a hard time planning our strategy for the first beat; we ultimately chose to go left because there was still some fog on that side. In the morning when there was a lot of fog, the wind direction was about 250. At the time of the start the wind (and the course axis) was 270 this was the farthest right we had seen all day. We felt there was a good chance the wind direction in the fog would be farther left, which it was. Once we got ahead, the key was figuring out how best to stay there. The wind was variable enough (in both direction and velocity) that we couldn t just blindly cover the boats behind us (plus those boats often split far apart). Instead we used a plan. That is, about 50% of our strategy was to cover the closest boats behind; the other 50% was to sail our own race, doing what we thought was best in the existing wind conditions. We adjusted these percentages according to our position on the course, the confidence we had in what the wind was doing and the actions of boats behind us. Saturday: Fog! And wind from the west at about 8 to 12 knots. Racing postponed until fog mostly cleared and wind shifted a little right. We started on the pin side of middle and continued toward the left side where we got a small left shift and a little more pressure. We were fortunate to round the top first and held on from there. Nauticalphotography.us When you approach a leeward gate, sometimes one side is so favored you have to fight for it at almost any cost. In this race the left side of the first beat paid off nicely, and it looked like the second beat would be similar. So we (#21) decided to fight for the inside at the right-hand gate (looking downwind). There was one other boat (#35) near us as we approached the gate, so the two of us had a match race. It s not usually a good idea to mess with one competitor in a 63-boat fleet, but in this case we were willing to spend some of our lead on the rest of the fleet to make sure we would be first at the favored gate. Second run 8 PUFF We sailed deep to catch a puff coming from behind otherwise it would have passed to leeward of us. We also had the option to jibe to get the puff, but we were on the longer jibe to the finish so we wanted to keep our position leading the other boats on this jibe. Downwind: Staying in the best pressure We were leading Race 3 on the final run with the second- and third-place boats about 6 to 8 boatlengths behind. It was a fairly comfortable lead except that the puffs were coming from behind and bringing those boats a little closer. Sailing in better pressure is extremely important downwind, especially in lighter air, because it a) makes you go faster; b) allows you to sail deeper; and c) stays with you much longer than on beats. Therefore, we tried to be very proactive about lining up our boat for the next puffs we saw coming. 1 2 There are two things about sailing downwind that make it easier to stay in better pressure on runs: 1) Jibing is not too costly In most boats and in most conditions you don t lose much distance when jibing (almost always less than tacking). This means jibing is usually an option for catching the next puff. 2) Boats can sail higher or lower The groove of optimal performance is usually much wider on runs than beats, which means you can often head up or bear off to catch the next puff without losing much VMG. That s what we did on the second run of Race 3 (see diagram left). Good options for catching puffs on your leeward side Championship Analysis

9 Upwind: Tactical positioning to maintain lanes of clear air. There were 63 boats racing in the Lightning Masters, which meant that starts, roundings and other popular parts of the race course got pretty crowded. In a big fleet like this, one of the critical keys for success is finding, and maintaining, lanes of clear air. If you sail in bad air for very long, or if you have to make extra tacks to clear your wind, you can wave goodbye to the front-row boats. During this event our team learned a few things about how to position ourselves tactically on the beats in order to increase our chances of sailing in clear air. The basic lesson was this: When at least a few other boats are ahead of you (i.e. when they could possibly end up tacking on you), avoid the most popular or favored areas of the course. This includes laylines, for example, and the area at the leading edge of a group of boats coming back from a side (see diagrams). If you position yourself in one of these areas, it s likely that one or more of the boats in front of you will also choose to do the same thing, and you will have a problem with bad air. Instead, be willing to make compromises. By tacking in a less-desirable spot, you are more likely to keep your air clear longer. Often the less-desirable spots are not really much worse it s just less likely other boats will tack on you there, which is what you want. Converging boats Popular place for converging boats to tack A popular spot On many windward legs, one of the most popular tactical positions is at the leading edge of a pack that s sailing back toward the from either side (red zone above). Boats tack into this position for two main reasons: 1) it s usually pretty strong to set up to leeward and ahead of a group on the longer tack to the windward ; and 2) this is often the last chance to get a lane of clear air toward the windward without going all the way past the most windward boat in the group (X), which is often near or over the layline. Can anyone tack on you? It often works well to position yourself to leeward and ahead of a pack of boats sailing toward the windward but only if you can keep your wind clear in this lane. In Race 1 we tacked into the position shown here, but there were three or four boats ahead of us on the left. Pretty soon they converged with our group and each one tacked in almost exactly the same position where we had tacked to leeward and ahead of the pack. Unfortunately, we ended up in bad air and were forced to go searching for clear breeze twice! If we had been leading the race, tacking into this spot would have been a conservative no-brainer! But even if there had been only one boat ahead of us on the left, we were taking a risk because that boat would likely want to tack into the same position. Fortunately we figured this out and didn t make the same mistake in Race 2 or Race 3 (see below for what we did). Dave Even when there was only one boat ahead of us, it was a risk to tack into the most popular spot Pack of boats coming from this side Pack x Better options Boat A is in a weak position (unless no boats are ahead of her on the left) because any other port-tacker that converges with her pack is likely to tack in front of A (to leeward and ahead of the pack). This is not good for A s chances of keeping clear air on the long tack. It would probably be better for A to tack where Boat B tacked. Port tackers that cross in front of B are likely to continue at least until they get to the pack, leaving B free to sail in clear air. In addition, unlike A, B always has the option to tack and pass behind the pack if she wants. Another option is to go beyond the pack and tack where Boat C did. The advantage of this position is that the pack acts as a blocker for incoming port tackers. The converging boats are either forced to tack by the pack, or they choose to tack in a position relative to the pack rather than one boat to windward. The risk is that C has to go all the way to the layline before she gets a lane of clear air, which is generally not a good idea tactically nor strategically. B YES NO! YES A C Pack Speed & Smarts #135 9

10 2015 Lightning Masters RACE 4 We were hoping to have three races on the third and final day of the regatta so we could throw out our first-race 20th. But even if that happened, we still needed some good results to have a shot at finishing on the podium. The day began with a good breeze (see photo) for Race 4. We had a great start (in the middle, of course) and after a few minutes we were in the top 2 or 3 boats in the fleet. Then something happened I didn t expect, but I should have. We were on port tack crossing all the fleet except for one boat, the regatta leader. He tacked on our wind, which was not a surprise, and we tacked to clear our air. Then he tacked on us again right away, and I realized we had fallen into his trap of trying to take us back in the fleet. Fortunately we were able to escape and go on to win this race, but it was a great tactical lesson about how costly it can be to mess with one other boat early in a race. Sunday: This race started in 12 to 15 knots of wind from about 250 with good-sized waves. We had a great start in the middle. Only one boat was ahead of us, but he was the regatta leader and tacked on us three times to slow us down. We rounded the top 6th, were 2nd at the gate and passed another boat on the final run for the win! Overall plan: Strategy first, then tactics This race offered a very clear affirmation of our overall regatta plan, which was to avoid tactical (boat-on-boat) maneuvers as much as possible. In a 63-boat fleet you can t afford to play around with one other boat, at least not near the beginning of a race when all the boats are very close. That s why I was worried when the lead boat tacked on us three times during the first beat. I knew each extra tack we made would cost us one or two boatlengths to every other boat in the fleet. We had pretty good speed, but not good enough to be giving away boatlengths! Our basic plan was to put ourselves in positions where we could follow our strategy, use our speed and sail our own race as much as possible. There are only two reasons why we would ever consider interacting with other boats. First, tactics are sometimes necessary in order to clear a path to follow your strategy (especially early in a race when strategy is key). Second, tactics can be useful for beating specific boats, usually later in a race. Less More Tactics Tactical moves to help follow your strategy Start Tactical moves to beat one or a few boats Stage of the race A good rule of thumb is to avoid tactics (i.e. maneuvering with other boats) as much as possible. Early in a race, use tactics only to help pursue your strategy. Later in a race, it s OK to use tactics to pass or stay ahead of nearby boats. Finish Dave Nauticalphotography.us Layline Offset Here are the top boats in the order they rounded the first windward in Race 4. We were in sixth place at this point, which was lucky because the first boat (#14673) had tried to slow us down during this beat. What s noteworthy here is that we re approaching the on starboard tack, but just below the layline. For a while I thought we would be able to fetch the, but a bit before this photo was taken it became clear that we wouldn t. The big risk in our position is that we might lose the ability to tack twice to get around the. All it takes is one starboard tacker close on our windward hip to block us from tacking. That s why, as soon as I realized we weren t going to fetch the, I kept looking over my shoulder and under the boom (for port tackers that might duck us and then tack to windward). As long as we had the option to tack, it was OK to keep going on starboard tack toward the but if it looked like we might lose that option, I had to tack right away. 10 Championship Analysis

11 Layline in light air Layline in heavy air Watch out for very deep laylines when you have breeze and surfable waves. Layline in heavy air and surfable waves Downwind: Waves affect laylines We rounded the first windward in sixth place with some work to do to catch the boats ahead of us. Luckily, several things were in our favor: 1) We were pretty close to the pack ahead and we had a gap behind us; 2) it was windy and wavy, so there was a lot to gain with good surfing technique; and 3) we realized early that we were close to fetching the gate on port jibe. So we jibed as soon as possible, had clear air from behind, worked the boat hard on the waves and made the left gate on one long port jibe, in second place! The key was getting on to the long jibe early. This allowed us to sail any course we needed to play the waves, and we had clear air. The boats ahead (who jibed to port after we did) were limited in what course they could sail. They couldn t head up too far or they would be in our wind shadow, and they couldn t head off too far because they were close to overstanding the gate. That meant they couldn t play the waves as well. When we rounded the windward, it wasn t so obvious that we would be able to fetch the leeward on port tack. The wind was a little right of the course axis, which helped, and it was windy, which meant any boat with a symmetrical chute (e.g. a Lightning) could sail almost dead downwind. But I think the biggest factor was the waves. The ability to get on a wave and surf it to leeward altered the laylines a lot, turning a slight skew into a fetch that helped us pass four boats. Tactics: Attack or defend? It s a question that we ask ourselves almost all the time during any race: Should we attack the boat(s) ahead to improve our position, or defend against the boats behind to maintain our position? The answer depends on a number of variables including our position in the race, the closeness of boats ahead and/or behind, confidence in our strategic plan, and our series standing. In Race 4 we rounded the left gate in 2nd place about 2 or 3 lengths behind the leader. Should we attack or defend? We were very happy with 2nd place, so we didn t want to risk losing boats behind. At the same time, we thought there was a chance we could catch the leader. Since the best place to pass a boat is usually downwind, we decided to just stay as close as possible on this beat. So we followed the leader to the top, staying right behind them. Then we used our wind shadow to pass them on the run when no other boats could catch us. Dave Race leader Just after the gate starting the second beat Upwind: Cover or sail your own race? When you re doing well in a race and you want to protect your position, the standard rule of thumb is to cover the boats behind by staying between them and the next. But covering is not always the best tactic. If you re trying to cover boats that are in different wind, for example, you may be doing the wrong thing strategically while they are doing the right thing. That s not a good way to keep them behind. Sometimes the best way to stay ahead is by simply doing the right thing yourself. That is, be proactive and worry less about the other boats. This concept applies in many sports where the best defense is often a good offense. Here are some thoughts on when you should cover, or ignore, boats behind: Sail your own race when: The fleet is split behind you (and you can t cover all competitors). You have high confidence in your strategic plan. It s early in the race and lots of boats are still within striking distance. The wind is shifty and it s critical to do the right thing strategically. Cover the boats behind when: All or most boats behind are going the same way. There is only one boat that has a realistic chance of catching you. You re not sure what the wind will do next (so don t split from other boats). It s late in the race and the boats behind have fewer options to pass you. Of course, covering doesn t have to be all-or-nothing. Hybrid plans (e.g where you cover 50% and sail your own race 50%) often work well. Speed & Smarts #135 Strategic plan Cover boats behind When your strategic plan lines up with the direction you should go to cover boats behind, life is easy. But when the two take you in opposite directions (as on the first beat of Race 4), then you have a tough choice. 11

12 2015 Lightning Masters RACE 5 After four races our scoreline read , so we had our fingers crossed for two more races (which would give us a throwout). The wind actually built slightly before Race 5, so things were looking good, but we knew we needed two more top finishes. We had a very good start in this race and jumped quickly into the top group of boats. With fewer boats around us at the top of the beat, we were able to approach the windward on port tack (see photo) and avoid the pileup on the starboard layline. We rounded the leeward gate in third just behind the two leaders. It wasn t exactly clear how to make our best rounding. Should we have followed the leaders around the favored left gate and done two quick tacks to clear our air, or gone to the unfavored gate and tacked once to cross to the favored side? See more thoughts on these pages. In waves: Straight rudder We sailed almost the entire regatta (including Race 5) in some decent waves rolling down Lake Erie. One important speed variable was not over-steering upwind. While some small, lightweight dinghies (e.g. Lasers) can steer aggressively over and around waves, most bigger and heavier boats (e.g. Lightnings) don t turn so sharply and just slow down if you move the rudder very much. In our races, therefore, a key to good speed was keeping the rudder very still ( locked in the middle) while going through waves. These waves are already slowing the boat, so this is not the time when you want to create more drag with the rudder. You do, however, need to use the rudder to make subtle adjustments. When you re sailing toward a series of bad waves, for example, bear off slightly before you hit the first wave, so you keep the boat powered up. Then lock the rudder in the middle until you ve sailed through the waves and are ready to head up again. Friday: The median wind for this race was still a steady 250, but the velocity built to 14 to 17 and the waves were getting bigger too. The first leg was almost a replay of Race 4; the only boat ahead of us after 5 minutes was the regatta leader he lee-bowed us and forced us to tack away, but we rounded the top 3rd and finished that way. After the gate: Watch for bad air, waves and boats When you exit from a gate, a good rule of thumb is to avoid tacking early and sailing through the area just to windward of the gate. That area is full of disturbed water, dirty air and other boats that may have rightof-way or just may get in your way. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. If tacking right after the gate takes you toward the heavily favored side, it s probably worth the cost. This move also works OK when there are not many boats right behind you. When we rounded the gate in Race 5 we were in third place and were able to make two quick clearing tacks without getting caught up in the fleet behind. Light Air When there s not much wind, the biggest problem with sailing through the area to windward of the gate is bad air. Wind shadows are especially bad in light air because they are bigger and slow you down more. In these conditions, try not to tack after the gate until you are able to clear the majority of boats that are still sailing downwind. In addition, take a look at how the boats going downwind are approaching the gate. Often they affect the exit from one side of the gate more than the other. In the situation here, boats that sail on port tack out of the gate have better wind. more bad air this way Heavy Air When it s windy, bad air doesn t hurt so much. Wind shadows are smaller and the wind in those shadows is relatively strong compared to light air. Therefore, the existence of bad air is not as compelling a reason to avoid the area to windward of the gate. However, in strong wind boats go faster and leave a much bigger wake than they do in light air. This is definitely a reason to be cautious about tacking too soon after the gate. In light air it s pretty safe to tack as soon as you can fetch the last boat in the pack. But if you do this when it s windy you may run into a lot of bumpy water. bad waves 12 Championship Analysis Gate Zone of bad air, bumpy water and obstructions bad air Gate Gate NO Beware!

13 Windward : The problems with a starboard-tack approach A starboard-tack approach is not all bad. In fact, when boats round a windward to port, they have to approach it on starboard tack sooner or later the key question is how far away from the should they get on starboard? As a rule of thumb, the longer you sail on starboard during your final approach to the, the greater your risk of losing to boats that make shorter approaches. There are two main problems with spending very much time on starboard: 1) there s a high risk that other boats will tack on you and you ll have to sail in bad air; and 2) to avoid bad air you will likely have to overstand the. That s why you typically see a bulge along the layline as you get farther from the. Boats searching for clear air have to go farther past the layline and sail extra distance, which is slow. layline Layline Bulge Bad air Windward : Consider a port-tack approach You can avoid the problems of a long starboard-tack approach by coming in to the on port. Of course, this tactic has its own major problem, which is that you must keep clear of all boats on starboard (and if you tack inside the zone you must comply with rule 18.3). But if you do this right you can A reduce risk and often gain a lot of boats. Here are 3 approaches: A. Port-tack layline This is the riskiest approach because you don t have any flexibility about where to tack, and when you meet the line of starboard-tack boats there is no space between them and the layline. Don t try this when you re in a crowd, especially in breeze! B. Tacking inside the zone This approach is somewhat better than A B because the exact point at which you tack is less critical, and you often have room to tack below the line of overstood starboard tackers but above the layline. C. Tacking outside the zone This approach is less risky than A or B because unlike those two approaches: 1) your tack is outside the zone so you don t have to worry about rule 18.3; 2) you are farther from the so you have more flexibility about where to tack; and 3) there s often more space between the starboard boats and the layline. However, the downside of this approach is that you will have to sail longer in bad air once you get onto starboard. This means you will be slow, especially in light air, and may even have trouble fetching the. Starboard tackers overstood on layline zone C layline NO It s sufficiently challenging and risky to approach a windward on port tack by yourself but if there s another port tacker overlapped either to leeward (left) or to windward (right), the risks are much greater! When I make a port-tack approach, I try hard to avoid this. It s almost always better to get away from the other boat (by slowing down or bearing off) than trying to fit two boats into a tight spot in the starboard-tack lineup. NO Layline Bulge! Speed & Smarts #135 Nauticalphotography.us Here we are approaching the windward on port tack again! I didn t mean to do this very often because it usually involves a lot of risk. But we kept seeing opportunities to gain on boats that were stacking up on the starboard layline, so we often found ourselves coming in to the from the top left. This can be a great idea when there are some spaces between the boats around you, or a bad idea when there is a solid wall of boats coming in on the starboard-tack layline. 13

14 2015 Lightning Masters RACE 6 Friday: Last championship race. Six races meant we would have a throwout. The wind velocity was up again slightly to 14 to 18. The pin was favored at the start but we were not close enough to it, so we rounded the top about 6th where we finished. Ecuador did a good job and finished 2nd, but we won the regatta on a tiebreaker. 1st at top 7 bias Starting line 2nd at top Right side favored Pin boat Dave Starting strategy: Go for the favored end, or the favored side of the course? When the boat end of the line is favored (i.e. it s farther upwind) and you like the right side of the first beat, your starting strategy is relatively simple start near the RC boat, tack and go right. The same is true when the pin end is favored and you like the left side start near the pin and continue left. But things become more challenging when the end of the line that s favored is opposite to the side of the course that you like. That was the situation in Race 6. In races 4 and 5, the right side of the course had been at least a little stronger on every beat, and we saw no reason why that would be any different in Race 6. But unlike the previous two races, where the starting line was almost square to the wind, the pin end in Race 6 was about 6 or 7 farther upwind. On a line that s long enough for 63 boats, that amount of bias is significant. In fact, the pin was favored enough that two boats who started right at that end were able to tack and cross the entire fleet. One of these continued all the way to the right corner of the beat and was first at the top. This turned out to be a better strategy than starting near the boat end and tacking right away (because the bias of the line was worth more than the advantage boats gained by getting to the right side sooner). As for us, we had a good, but typically conservative, start about a quarter of the way up from the pin. We did shift a bit left because of the pin bias, but unlike the two boats at the pin that could tack and cross, we did not have enough leverage on the boats to windward of us to be able to tack right away. We were eventually able to tack, but we had to sail 2 or 3 minutes to the left, which took us out of the top five at the windward. Our take-away from this start? When you really like the right side, you have to start near the committee boat end. Or, if the pin is favored by enough, you need to be close to the pin so you can tack early and cross. Nauticalphotography.us Leeward rounding: Prepare early! One of the easiest ways to lose a race is by having a bad rounding at the leeward. Boats seldom gain much at this turning point, but it s not uncommon to lose a lot. And most often the reason is that their rounding maneuver is late. There are several situations when boats are typically less prepared to make good leeward roundings. Most of them involve getting to the more quickly than expected due to strong wind, current or waves to surf on. The other common problem at leeward s is the spinnaker takedown. In Race 6 we had a bad rounding at the gate because it was windy, we were surfing quickly toward the and we had to jibe in the middle of dousing the chute. My crew made a great recovery to minimize our losses, but we were close to disaster. In hindsight we should have known better than to leave the spinnaker up that long. A boat like a Lightning goes almost as fast without a spinnaker as with a spinnaker, so it s almost always wise and safe to err on the side of an early takedown when you have any of the conditions above. When it s as windy as it was in this race, the spinnaker is easy to fly without a pole and it won t be affected at all by the jib. So we should have hoisted the jib and taken the pole off way before we got close to the. This would have left us fewer steps and an easier maneuver when it was actually time to drop the spinnaker and start our turn. 14 Championship Analysis

15 When Race 6 started we knew that the fleet would be able to discard their worst score. That was, of course, good news for us since we had a 20th in the first race. Counting a throwout, we entered the last race with a lead of 4 points over the next boat, so we wanted to keep doing what had been working for us and have another solid finish. (See page 16 for a more in-depth look at scoring scenarios.) This race was a little tougher for us than the previous four races. We were able to finish sixth, which was good enough to win the regatta, but we definitely had opportunities to do better than that. In hindsight, what cost us was a too-conservative start, indecision on the first run and a late takedown that aimed us in the wrong direction on the second beat. EXIT Bearaway set At the top : Plan your exit EXIT Bearaway set Offset Jibe set Offset Jibe set Speed & Smarts #135 Windward X is in good position to do a jibe set (but not so great for a bearaway set) When we rounded the windward offset (in this race and every other race), we had two basic choices: 1) bear off, hoist the spinnaker and continue on starboard tack; or 2) jibe, hoist the spinnaker and continue on port tack. This decision often had a big impact on our position, so whenever we approached the windward we tried to give it a good bit of thought. For example, what was the course axis, and what did we think the wind direction and pressure would do during the run? My rule of thumb is to make the bearaway/jibe set choice before making a final tack onto the starboard layline. That s because a successful exit from the top depends a lot on how you approach it. When you plan to do a jibe set, for example, round the windward close enough to touch it (above). The last place you want to be is overstood on the starboard layline with boats inside and to leeward that prevent you from jibing to avoid this you need to think about it before picking your position on the starboard layline. When you plan to do a bearaway set (below), it s OK (even good) to be slightly overstood on the starboard layline. This will give you the high lane coming out of the offset with the ability to keep your wind clear of boats behind on a long starboard jibe. Windward X is in good position to do a bearaway set (but not a jibe set) x x After the top : Executing a bearaway set In Race 6 we rounded the first windward in sixth and did a bearaway set. But I was indecisive. I bore off to our normal downwind angle, but a couple boats behind us headed up and a couple other boats jibed. So we were stuck in the middle trying to find a lane of clear air. The middle of the run is often a weak place to be, especially soon after the windward, since it usually has bad air and disturbed water. If you are planning to continue on starboard tack for a ways down the run, stay high enough to keep your wind clear ahead of the boats behind. The more committed you are to staying on starboard jibe, the more you should take the high road where you are completely free of other boats wind shadows and wake (especially when you need to play the waves to surf). A potential mistake (top diagram) is to sail as low as you can with your wind just in front of the boat(s) behind. But this may encourage that boat to sail higher to take your wind. A better deterrent is to proactively position yourself in a higher lane (bottom) to discourage other boats from going high. This works only when you plan to stay on starboard for a long time; if you re looking for an early jibe stay low so the boat(s) behind can t pin you on starboard tack. SPEED&smarts Speed & Smarts (ISSN ) is published by Four Winds Inc. PO Box 435, Easton, CT USA Phone: Fax: Subscriptions/Renewals: Web site: FB: SpeedandSmarts@optonline.net Apparent wind Publisher: David Dellenbaugh Office manager: Joanne DeLuca Artwork: Brad Dellenbaugh 2015 Speed & Smarts No part of this issue may be given to others or reproduced, except subscribers may copy or print pages for their own personal use. We offer two versions of Speed & Smarts: (PDF) or Paper. version available anywhere for $38/year ($66 for 2 years). Paper version available only in the U.S. $48/year ($86 for 2 years) and Canada $US 53/year ($95 for 2 years). Speed & Smarts is published bi-monthly, issues are numbered sequentially, and issue dates are approximate. Code for free access to the Subscribers Corner at CornerTips14 Yes No #135 15

16 SPEED&smarts P.O. Box 435, Easton, CT To renew your sub or give a gift: Subscribers now get: 20% off all Gift subscriptions, Back issues and Back Issue Bundles 20% off Learn The Racing Rules two-part DVD set through Speed & Smarts All the material in this (and every other) issue of Speed & Smarts is copyrighted. Giving this material to other people is prohibited. The big picture: Adjust your tactics for each particular situation The six-race Lightning Masters Championship was a good reminder about the need to fine-tune strategy and tactics for each unique race situation. Though our overall regatta gameplan was to be conservative and minimize the risk of having a bad race, this was not necessarily the best plan at each moment. A good example was the start of Race 6 (see page 14). We went with our normal plan of starting near the middle of the line, and we moved a bit toward the pin because it was slightly favored. But this didn t work out well. Two boats that started all the way at the pin were able to tack just after the start, cross the fleet and get to the favored right side. Meanwhile, we were pinned on starboard tack by the boats above us and had to keep going for a few minutes toward the left. In hindsight, we should have been more aggressive in modifying our plan. One thing we did very well in Race 6 was keep very close track of the overall regatta scoring. That morning I brought out a sheet with scores from the previous three races for all the top boats. After Races 4 and 5, I wrote down the scores of each boat. So before we started Race 6 I knew we were 4 points ahead of the boat in second place, 13 points ahead of third and 14 points ahead of fourth. I also knew we would win any tiebreaker (because we had three first-place finishes). So we would win the regatta if we finished fifth or better, or if we were no more than four places behind Juan Santos. This knowledge turned out to be very important because going up the last beat of Race 6 Santos was in second. We were in 6th place at the time, so our tactic was clearly to make sure we stayed ahead of the boat in 7th place, which we did. My winning team: Jeff Eiber (center) and Jay Lurie. I was lucky to have two very talented teammates, each of whom had way more experience in Lightnings than I did. Here we are after the regatta on the porch at the Buffalo Canoe Club an awesome place to sail if you ever have a chance to go there Lightning Masters Results (63 boats) Nauticalphotography.us Skipper Race Total 1. D. Dellenbaugh (20) J. Santos (5) M. Fisher (37) C. Proctor 6 2 (12) L. MacDonald 8 (17) M. Sertl 4 (24) G. Fisher 2 9 (DF) D. Peck (18) M. Beckmann (25) B. Mauk (RT) Championship Analysis