Nat. champ 96/97/98 Inland’s 98
On the Shore
- The first thing I do before every race/training session, is
to check that the hull is bone dry and that I am not carrying
any extra weight due to water in the hull. This gives a psychological
boost that the hull is as light as possible and gives me confidence
that the boat is going as fast as possible.
- I take into account the wind and wave conditions and set the
rig appropriately, this means that certain items on the boat need
adjusting if the rig setup varies.
- It is vital that the mainsheet strop is at the correct length.
This length must not be too long so as to prevent leech tension
being gained through the mainsheet, it must neither be too short,
which makes playing the mainsheet much more difficult. The final
factor of the mainsheet strop that needs addressing is to make
sure it is dead central.
- I like to make sure that when mainsheet and kicker are eased,
there will always be sufficient kicker on to prevent the boom
from going sky high, I give an example: When approaching the Windward
mark prior to the bear away, I uncleat the kicker and leave it
loose, I know the kicker tension will be almost perfect for the
off wind leg. This allows me to keep my head out of the boat.
- If I haven’t rigged the spinnaker myself, I check the
knots to make sure they are the way I like them, which will get
the most out of the Genny.
- Another little habit is to make sure the main halyard is as
tight as possible, so that there is no chance of it slipping even
a centimeter.
- My final pre race check is to spend 5 – 10 minutes on
my own just to put things into perspective. I make sure I know
where the race area is, what the race-course is, what the wind
direction is over the race area and try to visualize sailing each
leg of the course. I normally sail inland so tidal movement is
not a factor, but if it is then its normally very important so
must be looked at very carefully.
The most important to me psychologically are points 1&2.
On the Water
I feel it is very important to sail up the first beat as far as
possible within your time restrictions, whilst doing this I get
a “feel” of the following:
Jib sheet tension, i.e. the limits of where it is just to tight
and just to loose. Normally if the wind conditions are constant
these limits are within an inch of each other, but as we know wind
strength is never constant.
Mainsheet tension. This is very important as a couple of inches
can be the difference between perfectly powered up and completely
stalled, again wind strength affects this balance point.
Kicker tension. This gives you a starting point and will give you
a reference for when you go up the first beat in the race.
It is also very important to me to sail downwind so as to confirm
the correct rigging of the spinnaker, and also to allow me to “feel”
how the boat is reacting to the wind strength, i.e. whether she
wants to go low or faster and higher, then work out the best compromise
if there is one.
Final Word
It may look as though this presail agenda is a lot and would take
a long time, in reality it takes no time at all and is no hassle,
because at the start of each race I reap the rewards as it gives
me so much more confidence about the boat, which in turn allows
me to sail the boat by feel or as Andy says by the seat of my pant.
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