Sitting at Royal Bermuda YC in 1984. Boomerang comes blasting up Hamilton Harbor, huge spinnaker up, 20 or so crew sitting on the rail in their sharp matching uniforms. I looked away for only a few seconds, then looked back, and there's Boomerang heading the other way, Genoa up, no spinnaker visible on deck, hatch closed, lines clear, pole properly stowed, and 20 or so crew sitting on the rail in their sharp matching uniforms. Color me impressed.
Bring Back the Reach
- Thread starter 'Bacco
- Start date
1981 or so. Watching the Aussies on Margaret Rintoul reach into StFYC Buoy in the Bay which is about 100 yards off the beach. Blowing 25 or so. We were about 6-7 lengths behind as we got busy prepping for our jibe. I was head down on the main sheet, but looked up as they pulled off an outside-drop peel on the jibe - reacher to a runner kite - right at the mark, and popped their blooper in about 3 boat lengths after the mark. They always had a full kite, just changed colors like magic.
Got our jibe done and heard our driver say, "I thought they had a blue kite up?".
Never watched a better jibe.
Got our jibe done and heard our driver say, "I thought they had a blue kite up?".
Never watched a better jibe.
Code 2
Anarchist
Thanks for sharing Foredeck.
voodoochile
Anarchist
We regularly sail 5-10 by the lee in breeze.
Steam Flyer
Sophisticated Yet Humble
dogwatch
Super Anarchist
Not about
Not about sailing but I love the title and is perhaps appropriate for your post.
Added note
I ran this through my brain again and re-remembered that they had perfected a dip pole jibe from the reacher to the runner which broke out of it's stops as the pole swung aft, blanketed the (blue) reacher, which slid down behind it for a clean drop. Easy peasy. The blooper hoist was just showing off.
Yeah, we could probably have done it, with lots of pointing and prep time, but they did it right at the mark, next to the breakwall, right in front of the club bar, with no more starboard ramp at all.
Hitchhiker
Hoopy Frood
Nope. One of my favourite parts of Star sailing.
knh555
Member
- 269
- 276
You too eh? ;-)
And for the poster above who thinks there's little passing opportunity on downwind finishes, perhaps watching the last Olympic Star race will show o/w. There's always opportunities to pass. Or be passed.
LB 15
Cunt
I thought the purpose of the reaching legs in an Olympic triangle back in the day was so we could have a smoke.
P_Wop
Super Anarchist
Not just the reaching legs. Racing 12 metres against the French, you always knew when they were going to tack or gybe from the rain of cigarettes going over the side.
Marty Gingras
Mid-range Anarchist
I'm sure the 11 years Mr. Fries spent in college helped the world somehow, but not in this article:
My data included six downwind legs and six reaching legs, and included 60 boats between the two classes. Each change of place was awarded 1 point. Clearly, this is not a scientific study, as it lacks appropriate numbers (this sample size is certainly not big enough) and has little, if any, internal validity (confidence that a cause-and-effect relationship is, in fact, present). But the data does suggest what the research world calls “directionally,” a situation where a correlation is clear but a cause-and-effect relationship is still unclear. [Neat, thought I.]
What did I learn? Downwind legs averaged 2.3 boats passed per leg; reaching legs averaged 2.4 boats passed. The unscientific results are essentially equivalent and could display research “directionally.” Clearly, there is some correlation. If the ultimate goal was to move to windward/leeward racing for greater passing, my data suggests it hasn’t. [WTF, thought I.]
My data included six downwind legs and six reaching legs, and included 60 boats between the two classes. Each change of place was awarded 1 point. Clearly, this is not a scientific study, as it lacks appropriate numbers (this sample size is certainly not big enough) and has little, if any, internal validity (confidence that a cause-and-effect relationship is, in fact, present). But the data does suggest what the research world calls “directionally,” a situation where a correlation is clear but a cause-and-effect relationship is still unclear. [Neat, thought I.]
What did I learn? Downwind legs averaged 2.3 boats passed per leg; reaching legs averaged 2.4 boats passed. The unscientific results are essentially equivalent and could display research “directionally.” Clearly, there is some correlation. If the ultimate goal was to move to windward/leeward racing for greater passing, my data suggests it hasn’t. [WTF, thought I.]
Steam Flyer
Sophisticated Yet Humble
Yeah, yeah, go ahead... make fun of the French.... until one day, you realize that shit is actually GOOD... fucking DELICIOUS!!
(well, except for the cigarettes)
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P_Wop
Super Anarchist
Brilliant Guy Gurney (thanks, Guy!) photo of a reach-to-reach gybe mark in the 1990 Kenwood Cup in Hawai'i. A lost art.
In all seriousness, kids these days have no idea the level of coordination this took to do it really well.Brilliant Guy Gurney (thanks, Guy!) photo of a reach-to-reach gybe mark in the 1990 Kenwood Cup in Hawai'i. A lost art.
P_Wop
Super Anarchist
Or to do it at all. If it went wrong, it went wrong on steroids, and seven boats who got it right steamed right past.
EDIT. Who said there were no passing lanes on a reach?
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Marty Gingras
Mid-range Anarchist
Varan
Super Anarchist
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We like to throw in an occasional different course for our Thursday evening beercan races. A crowd favorite is the figure 4. Start is midway between the windward and leeward marks. A jibe mark is inline with the start line, well past the starting pin. Course is: start, windward mark to port, jibe mark to port, start pin to starboard, leeward mark to port, windward mark to port, leeward mark to port, finish. Lots of opportunities to shorten the course at the start/finish line making it easy on the RC.
Fun watching from the RC boat as sailors decide whether or not they can carry their kite on the tight reach back to the pin, and a lot of times get it wrong.
Fun watching from the RC boat as sailors decide whether or not they can carry their kite on the tight reach back to the pin, and a lot of times get it wrong.
