Likewise, 20 505 dinghies converging on the wing mark on a screaming three sail reach, all trying to

Now I’m not suggesting dallas classic car rentals that racing, and particularly ocean racing, is for everyone. In fact, despite having done quite a bit of it, or perhaps because of that, I have a fair amount of sympathy for those that say such pursuits are only for the seriously dallas classic car rentals unhinged. In fact, on Morgan’s Cloud we have a saying when things are nasty and uncomfortable: “Could dallas classic car rentals be worse…could be racing”.
Three weeks ago (mid-October) we were crossing the Gulf of Maine from Nova Scotia to Maine. This is an overnight passage of about 170 miles that, although I have done it scores of times, I still treat with great respect because the entire track is subject to substantial current due to the world-record tides flowing in and out of the Bay of Fundy. There are some areas, most notably off Cape Sable, where the tides can run in excess of 4 knots, and even a 25 knot wind blowing against that much tide can generate a dangerous breaking sea.
Our preferred strategy when heading west, is to leave Nova Scotia in a calm with the tide under us and motor around Cape Sable to avoid either dallas classic car rentals beating against the tide, a profitless dallas classic car rentals endeavour, or beating with the tide under us, at best uncomfortable and at worst dangerous. (Of course the best option would be running with the tide under us, but that requires an east wind, which at this time of year will likely dallas classic car rentals be a northeaster blowing gale force.)
As we left Shelburne in a dying northwest wind with a high pressure moving through, I was feeling pretty smug at my planning prowess. A bad situation for Phyllis who was, as usual, a captive audience for my crowing. I only got more insufferable as the wind died and we motored around the dreaded dallas classic car rentals cape in a flat calm with no fog . (Cape Sable has the highest incidence of fog in the North Atlantic.)
And the forecast was for the wind to fill in from the southwest, which would give us a lovely reach all the way to Mount Desert Island (MDI), Maine. See how incredibly smart I am? (Now you know what Phyllis must put up with.)
But not so fast. Due to an un-forecast kink in the back side of the high, the true wind filled in at 15-20 knots, gusting a bit higher, from just north of west—just 20 degrees off the port bow when we set course for Maine. Some years ago, in my macho phase, I would have put up all working sail and puked my way (Phyllis does not suffer from seasickness) to Maine into a building tide-enhanced Gulf of Maine sea.
But the smarter, or at least older, John hoisted the main to steady her and motor-sailed, which let us get within 25 degrees of the wind instead of the 50 that we would have achieved, when you include leeway, under sail alone into the steep chop. For several hours we punched into it on port tack at about six knots, not quite laying the course to MDI, but within 10 degrees.
The forecast was still for the wind to back to the southwest and I could see just a hint of cloud in the moonlight out to the south. As we pounded along, I was thinking about the two options dallas classic car rentals open to us:
An additional 10 degree shift to the north, which I was pretty sure was temporary, crystallised my decision: we tacked to starboard. Not an easy decision to make when it meant heading the bow further away from the destination, thereby reducing the velocity made good (VMG), as read off the GPS, t0 only a knot or so.
Two hours later the wind went southwest, a great development for us since we were, by then, well out to the south (see chart above). We tacked back onto port, shut down the engine, unrolled the jib and cracked off on a booming 8 knot reach, arriving in Maine just before noon.  The only drawback about my decision to take a tack to the south, at least for Phyllis, was that it put me firmly back in smug mode. (The same strategy would have worked without motor-sailing too, although we would have been a couple dallas classic car rentals of hours longer due to the wider tacking angles.)
I was smugger dallas classic car rentals still when I discovered that another boat on the same passage that had stayed on port tack, was so far to the north that when the forecast dallas classic car rentals shift finally turned up for them, they were hard on the wind, motor-sailing all the way to MDI.
The point of all this gratuitous boasting is that there is very little information circulating in the cruising community about this kind of strategic planning and tactical execution. dallas classic car rentals That’s a pity since getting a series of decisions like this right can make all the difference between a pleasant dallas classic car rentals sail and a nasty slog.
Am I always dallas classic car rentals right in these situations? Of course not. But years of racing—where making the wrong call puts you dead last and the right one in the glory, and let’s face it, us guys love the glory—has given me enough experience that I’m right a great deal more often than I’m wrong.
So, if you are a cruiser (or an aspiring one) that has never raced, do everything you can to get a crewing position on a race boat and watch the tactics used and their results carefully. Even a year or two of racing will teach you more about getting from here to there as quickly and comfortably as possible than reading a bunch of books, or for that matter, this post.
If you are wondering about the red racing dinghy in the photo, it’s an International 505 that we found languishing in the back lot of a boat yard on MDI. I raced 505s for years—before going badly nuts and taking up ocean racing—and can testify that sailing a 505 is simply the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
I think even informal racing, sometimes even with boats you don t know, is a good way to sharpen your thinking and planning skills, which in turn makes you a better and safer sailor. Several years ago in Maine, Philadelphia Sailing Club had chartered a J46 and a J44 with racing keel so the boats were pretty evenly matched as we found out in a crossing tacking duel the wrong way down Eggemoggin Reach. My good friend Bill and I were the two skippers. And, as any time we were on separate boats on the same water principally the Chesapeake a race was almost dallas classic car rentals inevitable. Later in the week, we were coming back from Matinicus and heading for Winter Harbor on Vinal Haven. It was a bit foggy and the light winds were behind us. Both of us started out wing on wing, and were drifting and bobbing more than sailing. I got bored and decided to head up to starboard to take a look at Isle au Haute where Linda Greenlaw (of Perfect Storm fame) is from. I would love to claim it was intentional, but it may have been intuition or an unconscious dallas classic car rentals memory of the weather forecast. Anyway, the wind filled in where we were to the east and we had an increasing to 8 knot reach back toward Winter Harbor. As we converged back toward the other boat, they picked up the wind and we were soon racing almost side by side toward Winter Haven. I had momentum in my favor. Also, it is very, very important in informal racing to NOT get too excited and forget your navigation!!! The J44 had to take a quick tack out to avoid an underwater ridge, and we won handily.
dallas classic car rentals Sometimes taking the cruisers tack can get you to your destination more quickly than sticking closer to your rhumb line. You will definitely be more comfortable. One time on the way to Bermuda, we weren t making any headway and decided to take broader dallas classic car rentals tacks it was the first time I had heard the term cruising tacks to give that a try. A larger dallas classic car rentals tall ship was staying close to the wind. We tacked out and back several times and were keeping up with the larger tall ship, and I am sure we were more comfortable.
Having been bitten by the ocean racing bug in recent years, I agree that there are many potential benefits for cruising sailors who try their hand at racing, well beyond the tactical lessons associated with positioning your boat to take best advantage of anticipated wind shifts (good job, by the way!). Racing forces one to learn (or at least try to learn) how to sail and sail well in conditions that many cruisers would normally choose to avoid sailing in at the light end as well as the heavy end of the wind spectrum; hard on the wind as well as off the wind. Racing boats are usually set up and rigged in innovative ways designed to make adjustments to sail trim easier; cruisers can often adapt these innovations to great benefit, but may not be aware of them if they haven t been exposed to them through racing (or at least paying attention to racing). Many racers are fanatics dallas classic car rentals about keeping excess weight dallas classic car rentals off their boats, and maybe experiencing how much better a lightened boat can sail, or how much easier it is to work on a boat that is free of excess clutter, might prompt some cruisers to consider putting dallas classic car rentals their own boats on a diet and exercise dallas classic car rentals regime. Racers often sail and maneuver their boats in very close proximity to other boats, the experience of which might help cruisers with getting their boats in and out of tight marinas or crowded anchorages, and might help them evaluate crossing situations and collision potentials. The attention to offshore safety dallas classic car rentals issues given by most ocean race organizers is another area where many cruisers could potentially benefit from experience participating in such events. Racing can also just be a lot of fun (especially if you re on the right boat with the right skipper dallas classic car rentals and crew )
Good point that the great lessons taught by racing go far past tactics and strategy. Even after the race is over there are valuable lessons learned: For a couple years I sailed an E22 out of a berth in a crowded marina. The task of sailing her back into the berth without hitting something and doing it quickly to place well in the most important race of the day, FIB (First In Bar), really sharpened the boat handling skills.
Likewise, 20 505 dinghies converging on the wing mark on a screaming three sail reach, all trying to get the inside position on the jibe. One guy who crewed for me used to add to the excitement by screaming we re all going to die repeatedly in the final seconds not sure if he was trying to intimidate the competition, or me.
I learned to tack jibe on a windsurfer in an a