# First Race



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

I was visiting SoCal this week for work, and one of my co-workers invited me along a rail meat for his boat in a "Thirsty Thursday" race out of Dana Point. There were 7 "crew," though 4 did most of the work. The Santa Ana winds were blowing 20-25 steady, with gusts over 30. We flew a full main and 110% jib, and the boat loved it. They raced in 3 classes with a 5-minute staggered start. We were in B class, and were first through the start. On the upwind leg, we held that lead despite our boat not wanting to point as high as some of the others, and we actually closed in on some of the C class boats (they did a backward start). We spun around the mark and on the downwind leg the captain quickly had us wing-and-wing. We rigged a spinnaker pole to the jib (this was one of the few things that I actually helped with, other than being ballast to help offset some of the gusts), and the minute the pole was attached, the boat jumped to life. We actually moved into first place over all, and even eked out a nice bit of a lead. We turned around the mark and headed into the harbor to finish the race. It was a tough upwind beat, and the narrow channel meant that the poor crew in the cockpit were basically constantly grinding winches. Another boat almost beat us across the line (due to their better pointing ability), but the captain of our boat timed our last tack such that we were the stand-on vessel at a critical time, forcing them to go behind us, and we wound up finishing first in our class, and first over all.

Of course it was fun to be on the winning boat, but what was really interesting for me was observing sail shape, timing of tacks, how the start was handled and timed, and how the captain used the rules to his advantage.

I know many people recommend crewing on a race boat as a way of cutting your teeth. I'm still not 100% sure of that, but I will say that if you already understand the basics, it's a great way to learn.

More details and pics are in my blog, but I thought I'd share here too.


----------



## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Nice Jim!
Watch out! Racing can suck you in. 
Racing usually gets me out on my boat at least once a week; sometimes both Weds & Sunday.


----------



## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

20kt winds gusting to over 30? Really? Water looks like under 15kts (no white).


----------



## jameswilson29 (Aug 15, 2009)

Wow, beautiful conditions. Racing is exciting, especially at the start and mark roundings, and will make you a better sailor.


----------



## Alex W (Nov 1, 2012)

chucklesR said:


> 20kt winds gusting to over 30? Really? Water looks like under 15kts (no white).


Where I race we get an effect locally known as the "Shilshole Hurricane" or "Meadow Point Hurricane". The wind speed really picks up in one small region along the shore in the evenings. Since it is very localized there is little room for fetch and you can have high wind speeds in flat water.

The same thing can happen if the Puget Sound Convergence Zone is nearby. The winds split around the Olympic Mountains and rejoin. Where they converge you have a band of little wind, and on the north end of that band is a northerly, on the south end is a southerly. Last night I was out sailing and we passed through the convergence zone, it went from a 9 knot southerly to a 14 knot northerly in about the time that it took to drop the spinnaker.

I don't know anything about the region where JimGo was sailing, but it seems plausible that there were similarly localized effects.

I love getting out on race boats. I feel like I learn something every time. Be warned: it is dangerous for your sail budget to get used to good sails instead of the typical blown out rags found on most cruising boats.


----------



## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Great story and great photos.
Intersting you dont know if racing can teach much.

Maybe its because you guys won. When your down the back of the fleet and everyone is charging past you then you start looking aloft to work out why.
As you pointed out you never know a rule till you lose, or win a race by it... 
You never know how close you can go to a bouy till you race around one.
Cruising one looks at each line before they pull it... In a race it better be second nature to pull the right one without looking... You just know the boat better.
Racing can show you what the ability of a boat is, but cruising you can get by only knowing 50% of a boats capacity.

Theres lots that racing can show you, teach you, reinforce on you, resulting in more confidence by man on his boat.

And after racing cruising is just a more relaxing pleasure! 


Mark


----------



## Dave_E (Aug 7, 2013)

Great pics! Looks like fun.


----------



## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

> 20kt winds gusting to over 30? Really? Water looks like under 15kts (no white).


Santa Anas, the wind is blowing directly offshore, no fetch, no chop.
Here's the races in 15kts. on a day with prevailing westerlys.


----------



## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

Wish we were there! We'll be out next Wednesday night - hope the conditions are as nice as that!


----------



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

Chuck, I agree, it looks surprisingly calm. I can only tell you what our boat's wind gauge said, and the stories from the other boats. Everyone was commenting on how much fun it was out there. I don't think they were telling "fish tales". But maybe I'm wrong.

Mark, you make some good points. I just wonder, if you've never been on a sailboat and don't know much about it, whether you'd really learn all that much your first time or two out. At least compared to being out in a small boat by yourself.

Paul, good luck!


----------



## socal c25 (Nov 1, 2013)

I was up in San Pedro (Hurricane Gulch) and we had whitecaps and the wind was blowing the white off the chop.


----------



## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

jimgo said:


> Paul, good luck!


Just found out I'm going to be in a meeting in NYC instead of racing. The upside is that we're meeting about this boat coming to New York in 2015:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnKPpv-yrYs#t=10 
The Hermione Project 2015
So many boats, so little time!


----------



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

Wow, that's a heck of a boat!


----------



## ovb (Feb 15, 2012)

The thing about racing is that you find yourself sailing in conditions that you normally would not have chose to and at different points of sail than usual and another thing that I noticed is that racers don't like to sail...they will get consumed with speed against some other boat and pointing...just try to ease the boat on to a sweet beam reach with a racer onboard...." want to try wing and wing "... then " you can come up in the puffs"....then " ease the outhaul "....its like trying to get my boarder collie to relax when I am holding a Frisbee....cant be done....and the worst are the wanbee sail instructors


----------



## tempest (Feb 12, 2007)

Great pics, looks like lots of fun. I've only done a small bit of racing back in the 90's on a Hobie 33. What is that block on the port side, attached to the toe rail, that appears to be leading to the mast head controlling?


----------



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

There's a matching one on the starboard side. He referred to it in passing (during the race, to someone else) as a backstay adjuster, but I'm not sure of that. It went up the mast to around the level of the spreaders, maybe a little higher, but I don't think it went to the top of the mast. We were busy doing other things, and I didn't get to ask him about those.


----------



## gamayun (Aug 20, 2009)

ovb said:


> The thing about racing is that you find yourself sailing in conditions that you normally would not have chose to and at different points of sail than usual and another thing that I noticed is that racers don't like to sail...they will get consumed with speed against some other boat and pointing...just try to ease the boat on to a sweet beam reach with a racer onboard...." want to try wing and wing "... then " you can come up in the puffs"....then " ease the outhaul "....its like trying to get my boarder collie to relax when I am holding a Frisbee....cant be done....and the worst are the wanbee sail instructors


This is a huge over-generalization. Anyone who can't relax on my boat after the race is done or when it's an "off" day, doesn't get invited back on board. I quit dating a guy because he was just like your border collie... well, there were other things, too


----------



## tempest (Feb 12, 2007)

jimgo said:


> There's a matching one on the starboard side. He referred to it in passing (during the race, to someone else) as a backstay adjuster, but I'm not sure of that. It went up the mast to around the level of the spreaders, maybe a little higher, but I don't think it went to the top of the mast. We were busy doing other things, and I didn't get to ask him about those.


Ok, thanks Jimgo. That would have been my next question..if there was one on starboard. Fractional rig..running backstays maybe? I'll have to do some reading.

Anyway..looked like an awesome day! It's always good to come in 1st.


----------



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

Tempest, for what it's worth, she is a Santana 39, and I believe she was a masthead rig.


----------



## GeorgeB (Dec 30, 2004)

FWIW, masthead or not, those are runners (check stays). Was there a person trimming them during tacks? Love the pics - Those Socal sailors have it so lucky - T-shirts and Shorts!


----------



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

Thanks George! Yes, there was someone trimming them during the tacks (typically the woman who worked the main).


----------



## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

chucklesR said:


> 20kt winds gusting to over 30? Really? Water looks like under 15kts (no white).


Chuck you get the same flat water with 20+ winds when they are west of the Jersey coast to 5 miles out. No fetch we rocketed fro a Sandy Hook one year to Atlantic City in 12 hours wit winds west at 25 steady and nary a whitecap. Was one of my best days sailing. Hug the coast the Santa Anna's can be awesome to sail in.

Great trip Jim. We chartered a boat from Long Beach and went to Catalina two years ago. We Stil belong to the club out there. Great sailing in that area.


----------



## snaggletooth (Dec 24, 2013)

jimgo said:


> I just wonder, if you've never been on a sailboat and don't know much about it, whether you'd really learn all that much your first time or two out. At least compared to being out in a small boat by yourself.


I gette what youre sayeng and agreed. Inittialley a niewbey on race learnes be crew, stay oute of way, work asa teame, and learne the seqences of manuveres. Moste undestanding of sailing wille happend befoire or aftner the racing. Allso agree that beste waye to learn is aloane in smalle boate.


----------

