The sailing club I belong to has started a casual open race on Tuesday nights. You can race whatever you like..cat..420..sunfish..it doesn't matter. I've heard over and over that racing teaches you a lot. My question is how? If you are racing single handled against other people how does racing help? I could understand if you are being coached, but going solo with no instruction? Could someone shed some light on this for me. I plan on checking it out. I'll talke out a hobie wave and mess around.
Dom
How does racing make you a better sailor?
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Posted: Jul 20, 2013 - 06:53 PM
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Posted: Jul 20, 2013 - 08:41 PM
Well it's like this - in an open event you will need to pick out boats like yours to watch. Now if these boats are doing a horizon job on you then you need to be doing what they are doing. It also gives you a chance to talk to the skippers and see what changes they have made to their boat whether it is the rudder angle or mast rake or any other adjustments that can be made to your craft. You can watch where other skippers sit to balance the boat The list goes on and on but sailing by yourself on a big lake or bay will never give you any perspective on speed - yeah It feels fast but if it is slower than the other boat then it aint fast!!
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Lee - On the BIG Lake in MS
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Posted: Jul 20, 2013 - 09:49 PM
I like to think of it as:
Skating vs playing hockey
Running vs playing soccer
etc.
Sooner or later you question what it is 'better' means. Until then, it is at the very least practice with purpose.
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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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Posted: Jul 21, 2013 - 06:20 AM
I like the driving range versus playing golf analogy. In very simplest terms it gives you a way of measuring your ability and your progress to become a better (faster, safer, more efficient, etc.) sailor.
As Lee mentioned, there are a hundred variables that all have an effect on speed. It requires 100% of your attention to assess and manage these during a race. The learning curve can be steep at first. In the beginning, the focus is in the boat and all its variables, but as you get better with more muscle memory, intuition, and "feel" for how the boat is going, your concentration can then be focused out of the boat, looking for puffs, wind shifts, tactical developments with other boats, etc. It can become a real chess match. Some don't like the stress of it, but I find it exhilarating.
Back to your original question - I firmly believe racing will make you a better sailor than simply recreational sailing. Why? by giving you a feedback loop, it forces you in a way you'd never get from rec sailing to develop a stronger sense of what all those 100 variables do and how to manage them to get the most out of the boat. Later that might come into play during a storm or a close handling situation or whatever.
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Jeff R
'88 H18 "Jolly Mon"
'10 C2 USA1193
NE IN / SE MI
cramsailing.com
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Posted: Jul 21, 2013 - 07:00 AM
You will get an embarrassing and humbling kick in the seeds from King Neptune himself for ever assuming and believing that you were fast reaching back and forth flying your hull.
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Philip
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Posted: Jul 21, 2013 - 07:02 AM
when you race, you see what other sailors are doing
you will probably follow them and realize the best course and when to tack (VMG)
you will probably be in back and can see when a big gust of wind knocks other boats around (or over) and will not be surprised like they were
you will get to talk with other captains and see what they did/how they reacted in similar conditions
when you are in a race .. you pay uber attention to your own actions, and learn from that -
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Posted: Jul 21, 2013 - 09:02 AM
And all those boat handling skills (speed, tacking, jibing, sailing higher/lower, being comfortable in tighter places, etc.) that you improve through racing will pay off when daysailing as well. For instance......getting off the water quicker when the weather turns, MOB/rescue situations, or, more importantly.....efficiently getting you home when expected for your mother-in-law's birthday party, thereby averting the inevitable divorce proceedings in which your ex will get custody of the catamaran and post a YouTube video of her smasing it with a sledgehammer just to twist the knife in your back.
Need I say more?
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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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Posted: Jul 21, 2013 - 10:06 AM
my racing strategy is identify the best sailors before you start and stalk them...how do they have the sails trimmed? where are they sitting? why did they tack here? how did they manage the start? a few of these races and you start to get more efficient with the boat, not to mention the stuff you learn by asking questions and observing. the start is a great place to learn how not to hit someone-which comes in handy someday! you might learn some tricks to a faster set up/breakdown as well as rig tuneing. most of all, you hang out with other sailors and there are refreshments to share...
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Jul 21, 2013 - 11:28 AM
Sailing a boat fast is easy, sailing it well takes years of adjusting the sails, boat trim, tuning the rig and generally learning the boat. How do make the years go by faster, race it. Go to as many regattas as you can, racing one design is very humbling at first. But if you pay attention and watch and learn and listen it make the learning curve shorter and faster.
Even racing locally will not prepare you for the national stage but it will make you a much better sailor. JMHO, YMMV, Richard.
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Lake Perry KS
H-18
N-5.5 UNI +spin
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Posted: Jul 21, 2013 - 09:48 PM
Excellent topic and replies, thanks for asking the question Dom.
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
How To Create Your Signature
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Posted: Jul 22, 2013 - 07:34 AM
'cuz you get mo skillz!
practice makes... you better.
in a casual afternoon cruise sailing... how many tacks or gybes do you do? just a handful and then at a leisurely pace when you feel like it...
how about in an afternoon of 4 races... probably 16 or more, executed as timely and precisely as possible.
you have to get your boat from point "A" to point "B", so you become a better driver.
then come the rules of the road...
then tactics...
then subtleties like the gurus who read the wind, see the puffs, play the current...and get all 'zen on the water.
as your ability goes up, so does your confidence, and your comfort in different conditions, even with new folks on the boat.
( yeah, that's NOT me.. )
Edited by robpatt on Jul 22, 2013 - 07:35 AM. -
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Posted: Jul 22, 2013 - 10:43 AM
Time on the water is sure to improve your sailing skills.
Racing may get you on the water in conditions that might push your skill set a little farther. If you weren't racing you probably would not have gone out in that area, weather, etc.
Racing gets you a good look at other boat set-up and boathandling that you otherwise wouldn't see. Things like Mast Rake or a new way to furl/snuff a sail.
As many have said before, racing is like standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills. But at least there's rum at the end.
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Posted: Jul 22, 2013 - 11:33 AM
wasn't sure till i read the last line ...
welcome Jay
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Posted: Jul 22, 2013 - 12:46 PM
Ding led me here.... sort of like Typhoid Mary... :)
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Stank
SW FL area (water's too cold up north)
Boatless wonder
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