# First race in 20yrs



## SJ34 (Jul 30, 2008)

Doing the Milt Ingram Trophy Race on July 11. Mostly new crew, meaning they only have a couple daysails to learn the basics. 

The race is 42nm, out around Ana Capa and back, about 6-7nm of which is down-wind. Thinking about entering the non-spinaker class. The spinnaker class is much more competitive. 

Btw, my main is past it's prime so we'll be losing ground for the first 11miles.

Any opinions?


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## aloof (Dec 21, 2014)

Sounds fun. Although careful with the inexperienced crew and possible bad weather. That is an ocean race. I've been out in that area and experienced carnage. I think it was a SB - Kings Harbor race. Got wild.


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## SJ34 (Jul 30, 2008)

I'm expecting 20 plus in the afternoon and small but short period, confused seas. Pretty typical stuff for this area.
This new crew got the bug on their first trip out- 25kn+ winds and big seas. So they're game but it can hit the fan fast in those conditions. 
Another reason I'm not planning on using the chute. They have about 30min of spinnaker experience in 4-8kn.


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## Slayer (Jul 28, 2006)

Good call on not going with the spinnaker. Thirty minutes of training is not enough for those winds. IMO


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Go have fun and go NFS..

I would say, that if it gets light and you are getting bored, just retire from the race, pop the chute, and finish.


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## Hudsonian (Apr 3, 2008)

If you're going to run the spinnaker, practice as follows: start, four tacks, set, gybe, dowse, and repeat ten times. This should dramatically reduce boat handling errors. If, after the practice, you're not confident enough to set, gybe, and dowse the spinnaker on the way to the starting line, go non-spin.


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## SJ34 (Jul 30, 2008)

Thanks all. Definitely NFS (thanks djodenda) in these conditions with new crew. 
It's likely to be 8-10 near the start and will build near Platform Grace and peak on the downhill portion and hold on the reach to the finish. No opportunity to practice.


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Two questions to ask after the race..

1) What went really well?

2) What should we focus on improving for the next race?


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Oh.. and don't call "Mast Abeam"


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## tri413 (Jul 17, 2009)

I grew up racing an SJ34 on the Chesapeake (Desparado) and I'll tell you that she was a handful under spin in heavy air. She's fast on a reach, even without the kite, so I'd save youself the risk and enjoy the sail. Broaching with new crew is not advised!


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## SJ34 (Jul 30, 2008)

Thanks tri413, I'm well aware of her habits downwind in big air. She's appropriately named "Free Spirit" because DDW she can wander a bit. And although, on all other points I can leave the helm and she sails herself, we generally sail hot angles under spin.
I would love to add an asymmetrical or even a code zero for off the wind work but foredeck space is at a premium.
I'll think about that after a new main.


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## SJ34 (Jul 30, 2008)

How did Desparado sail to her rating? We do ok in "Unofficial" racing (two boats within site on the same course) but having never raced her, I don't really know what to expect. Especially with a worn out main.


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## tri413 (Jul 17, 2009)

We sailed PHRF B and I believe the rating was 123 and we felt like it sailed to its rating. We never won Annapolis Race Week or anything, but we did well in club racing.

Our turning point came when we upgraded our light air genny since the northern bay is pretty fluky in summer. Our main was an average dacron and wasn't even fully battened.

Good luck in your race. Look forward to hearing how you fair.


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## SJ34 (Jul 30, 2008)

Thanks, the chances of an update depend greatly on how we fair~~_/)~~


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

SJ34 said:


> Thanks, the chances of an update depend greatly on how we fair~~_/)~~


Oh no you don't.. You started this.. you have to finish it..


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## SJ34 (Jul 30, 2008)

Milt's Race Update:
Everybody had a great time but we did get off to a bit of a rocky start. To begin with, we blew the start horribly. We got to the staging area in time but after doing a couple of messy tacks on top of poor timing, we wound up crossing the line about 5 min late. Probably due to lack of emphasis on starts by the helmsman during practice sessions and poor communication. All fault lies with the skipper.

Due to lighter winds, we immediately sailed to the middle of the channel to get into better wind. I'm not sure how well that strategy paid off. We were in better wind but sailed a longer distance and pinched all the way to the mark. We did climb higher on the ladder though.
However, after rounding platform Grace we seemed to be off the pace. We began losing ground, including to a boat we owed significant time to. With no other obvious cause, I just attributed this to the blown out main and the decision to stick with the #2 headsail. By the time we made it to the West end of Anacapa the wind speed was in the upper teens and we were finally making up the lost ground on the slower boat. We passed them and seamed to be holding onto a couple of boats with faster ratings. 

After rounding the West end of the island, we set the sails wing and wing for the run down the backside...and found one pole jaw stuck shut so we couldn't get it off the chocks (serviced the week before). The slower boat passed us again and we lost sight of the other boats around the East end of the island. 

By the time we got to the East end, the winds were hitting twenty knots. The slower boat sailed close to shore and lost pressure in
the shadow of the cliffs and we passed them back. As we passed a gap in the cliffs, on a reach, we were rounded up by a gust. We didn't lose much in the round-up but I decided to put a reef in the main and rolled the headsail to about 110%. 
One interesting thing that happened after the round up - the helm became noticeably lighter and we immediately picked up about a knot of boat speed, and held the speed after reefing. I can only guess that we must have been fouled by kelp when rounding the oil platform but didn't notice then because of the quartering seas after the tack putting pressure on the helm. 

We immediately began pulling on the slower boat and paced the bigger boats all the way to the finish but they were still so far ahead we could only identify them by the color of their sails.

The sun began to set about 5 miles from the finish so we shook out the reefs as the wind began to die. By the time we entered Ventura Harbor, and the finish, we were down to about 3.5kn.

I was fully expecting the Endurance award (an embroidered crying towel) given to the slowest corrected time so imagine my surprise when told we finished 2nd in class. First went to the slower boat we had been doing battle with.

We all learned lots of valuable lessons and hope to improve for the next race. Probably the most valuable for the trimmers - I was always asking for trim checks and usually adjustments were made with a corresponding increase in speed of a few 1/10s. We beat the 3rd place boat by only 3min, over a 42nm handicap distance.


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