# My first race



## CliffL (Jan 25, 2007)

OH MY GOD...what a blast. Took part in my first race last Wednesday on the Magothy River (off the Chesepeake). I was on a J-30 with a very experienced Captain and crew. They were very gracious with my fumbling ways. I was one of two "tack men?" I'm not sure if that's a standard position, or even if there are standard positions...but that's what I did. Whenever we tacked, I was responsible for either loosening the jib sheet on the working side or pulling the sheet in as the bow went through the wind on the other side...I then hung out on the rail. 

OK, here's the other thing. I've done almost every high-adreneline sport possible...yet...none of those endevours quite compared to the adreneline rush of the "start." (OK, maybe my first jump) In any case, the tension as we maneuvered in position, dodged other boats, monitored the clock, did our countdown, and made our dash to cross the start line...was a pure kick in the butt. What a flippin blast.

While the start provided the adreneline high, the rest of the race provided a real sense of teamwork and focus. We acutually messed up hauling up the spinnaker...twice...it ended up not costing us too badly, but it was obvious how personal the folks in charge of the spinnaker took the mess-up...and this isn't even their boat! This was simply increddible. I've not experienced that level of "feeling personally responsible for the success of the team," in any of my past activities. I've got to do this again...now why the heck am I buying a Beneteau?

Oh yea, we won the race...made the ride in and the beers that much better!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

> now why the heck am I buying a Beneteau?


That's what I usually ask most Bendytoy buyers... 

BTW, congrats on the race...


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

sailingdog said:


> That's what I usually ask most Bendytoy buyers...


........Ditto!


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

Welcome to the Dark side of the Force.....my son......your life has forever change....you will never be the same....


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

CliffL said:


> .... I've got to do this again...now why the heck am I buying a Beneteau?
> 
> Oh yea, we won the race...made the ride in and the beers that much better!


Depends on what model you buy. The First model Beneteaus give a lot of performance for the money, and the latest versions like the 10R and 36.7 are very hot designs - I personally would buy the Beneteau over the J-Boat alternative anytime.


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## Sabre66 (Feb 3, 2007)

CliffL said:


> OH MY GOD...what a blast. Took part in my first race last Wednesday on the Magothy River (off the Chesepeake). I was on a J-30 with a very experienced Captain and crew. They were very gracious with my fumbling ways. I was one of two "tack men?" I'm not sure if that's a standard position, or even if there are standard positions...but that's what I did. Whenever we tacked, I was responsible for either loosening the jib sheet on the working side or pulling the sheet in as the bow went through the wind on the other side...I then hung out on the rail.
> 
> OK, here's the other thing. I've done almost every high-adreneline sport possible...yet...none of those endevours quite compared to the adreneline rush of the "start." (OK, maybe my first jump) In any case, the tension as we maneuvered in position, dodged other boats, monitored the clock, did our countdown, and made our dash to cross the start line...was a pure kick in the butt. What a flippin blast.
> 
> ...


I was bitten by the same bug a few years ago. The fun thing, for me, about racing sailboats is that the conditions are always changing. No matter how many times you go out something will always be different and need to be accounted for. wind shifts, start line angle (is it square or skewed?) current/Tide, sea state, crew, number of boats in your fleet. etc.
Racing also makes you sail in conditions you normally wouldn't go out in. It might be light or it might be blowing a gale.In our neck of the woods they only cancel when there's lightning directly overhead or absolutely no wind.
Glad you enjoyed yourself and congrats on winning.


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## bjkrad (Nov 7, 2006)

Had my first "practice" experience last week as a first time crew, and after reading your post, I'm looking forward to my first race experience next week! I'm 2 years into ownership of a Beneteau 361--should I sell it? 

I know there's no substitute for experience, but does anyone know how to get "instant knowledge" of racing? Are there good "Idiot's guides" or videos?


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## Sabre66 (Feb 3, 2007)

There aren't any short cuts. Some of the North u books are very good. I also recommend starting in a small boat if possible, bigger boats have more strings to pull and can be very confusing at first.


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## CliffL (Jan 25, 2007)

BJKRAD...I'm about to close on a Beneteau 361 and had the same thougts you had. I think I try to crew on others boats as much as I can...to learn....but keep the 361 for family weekend fun sails.


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

Cliffl

Why don't you just buy a Beneteau First 36.7, or a SunFast by Jeanneau ?? You can race and cruise with the family...


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## bjkrad (Nov 7, 2006)

Thanks for advice. The NorthU stuff looks awesome. I did find "Getting Started in Sailboat Racing" by Adam Cort and Richard Stearns, which looks just right for now. Previous posts reference Dennis Conner's Sail Like a Champion and Mick Huck's Around the Buoys . . . .Right now I feel like a very dry sponge, with lots of water around me to soak up.


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## PalmettoSailor (Mar 7, 2006)

My wife and I also partcipated in our first sailboat racing this past weekend down mid-bay. I will say it was a blast, but as a newbie sailor/boat owner, I can say I'm a long way from skippering a boat in a race. My plan is to crew and learn everything I can, and apply that to getting the most out of crusing on my own O'day 322, which 'aint exactly racy, with its baggy old sails. Unless you already have lot of sailing experience and feel you'll soon feel ready to skipper under race conditons, I wouldn't let the experience influence my choice of boat too much. Just take what you learn as crew and apply it to whatever boat suits your familes needs, until the racing bug really get under you skin.

We crewed on a Tartan 40 which is a very, very nice boat but far "cruis-y-er" than a lot of boats in the fleet we were up against. We managed a 4th, in very light air that favored the smaller lighter boats, with better acceleration. With some more air, our longer waterline might have come into play and we might have done a good bit better than 4th.

The owner and crew were great to us, and even though we only tailed/ground the genny winches, they said we were the best pick up crew they'd had in a long time. They have asked us to become part of the "regulars" and since the boat is along the lines of what I'd like to own one day, I think we'll sail with them as long as they'll have us. I would like to sail on one of the really racy boats a few times just to see what it's about.


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

I see a trend here   

More and more people begin to see the light   

Good....good.....cruisers will slowly fade away into our memories....


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## CliffL (Jan 25, 2007)

Giu,

Good idea on buying a racer that is also family friendly. Too late for me at this point...and I have so much to learn that being a crew dog makes sense for now. I'll definately consider for my next boat...or will buy a small boat for racing (once I learn a heck of a lot more).


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

Racing on someone elses boat is cheaper.....


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I agree crewing is the way to learn. I've crewed in several J/24 races out of SSA (severn sailing association) there in Eastport. You can learn everything you need to know in a J/24 race, then practice on your own boat. One place to start is just show up there on a weekend morning - see who's short of crew.


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## Sabre66 (Feb 3, 2007)

tenuki said:


> Racing on someone elses boat is cheaper.....


That's a fact! A buddy of mine got out of racing after many years of newport Bermuda, Halifax etc. When I asked him why he said "because racing is breaking and I do all the fixing."


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