UKLA Chair Blog #81

Mar 11

A quick blog this week with some observations from the weekend that I hope are relevant to all ILCA sailors, whether you were at the Qualifier in WPNSA or not (entry closes today for the last spring Q).

It was great to see Elliot Hanson, TeamGB in Tokyo, racing (and winning quite easily) at the weekend. At the short Q&A at the prize-giving, commenting on windy conditions on Saturday he said sailing conservatively is sometimes needed.

In talking to a younger ILCA4 sailor at the event, I said that sometimes it was better to sail safe on the run in over 20knots, rather than working the boat hard. You can do this by only letting the boom out three-quarters way (the leech of the sail will be at 90 degrees) and sail slightly by the lee.

Same at the gate in those conditions, why not luff up around the right mark rather than try to gybe at the left mark?

In the ILCA7 in the windy races on Saturday, on the water first to fourth was the same in all three races – while major mistakes like capsizing, early starts (me again !) or tactical blunders were to be avoided, it is safe to say that boat speed was key. Sailing fast in windy conditions is often a better guarantee of results than light winds, which are often shiftier and gustier.

But not on Sunday which produced a fairly steady 5knots where steering was critical (like a sea breeze). Winners get good lanes and sail fast(er), and as high as possible without losing speed. Tactics won’t make up for slow boat speed in these conditions (better boat speed makes sailors look like tactical geniuses), unlike like lake sailing with big shifts and gusts.

It is sometimes hard to see the wind pressure. One way of judging it is by the speed of other boats - above you, below you and on the run by looking behind

Setting your expectations before racing or an event can be important – are you there for fun, experience or results? Are you proud to get around the course in windy weather or getting a great start? Everyone is there for the own reasons!

We don’t always get champagne conditions in the UK – we are dependant on the weather – that’s just the way it is. With patience we got some fair races on Sunday.

Snippets

UKLA Events