Thistle Nationals 2018 Review - Westport, CT

These are my reflections from the 2018 Thistle National Championship in Westport, CT.  I don't know which of these were the biggest differentiators in our week and some of it may not have helped at all, but this is everything that came to mind as relevant info to someone looking to improve position in a major regatta.

The regatta had 66 boats, with the first 3 races being a round robin between the 4 fleets and the final 4 races being the 33 boats in the Championship Division.  Our scorecard for the regatta was 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 7, winning the regatta with 27 points.  Positions 2-5 had point totals of 32, 40, 46, and 49 points.  Our focus all week was 1) Boat Speed 2) Be Conservative 3) Take Advantage of Small Opportunities.

Prep

Prep work was pretty standard for a major event.  We checked all the pins and ring dings.  Checked lines for wear.  Polished the bottom really well.  Made sure the mast was straight.  The biggest difference was working to fair the rudder, which had been repaired and had some orange peel in it.  I wet sanded it out to 1500 grit.  Now that I have some more time I'll get it polished a little further and I need to fair my centerboard a bit.

Tuning - On Shore

I sail with North Sails, using a Fisher Main, Proctor Jib, and Full Radial AirX500 spinnaker, so the boat is setup for the Fisher main.  The main and spinnaker were new, but I made the mistake of leaving my brand new jib at home on the shelf and had to use my backup, which luckily only had a handful of days on it.

Mast diamonds were at 4-9-4 using the black Loos Gauge all week with rake at 27' 1/2", prebend at 1" exactly, and the forestay at 25 to start the week.  To achieve this I do not use a shim in my default setup, unlike many.  Monday we had finishes of 2, 3 with the overbend wrinkles not quite halfway back in the main window, but it was close enough that adding a shim would be too much.  After racing Monday I tightened the forestay to 26 to help bend the mast some more and got the overbend wrinkles I was looking for in the main.  The prebend probably increased slightly above 1" but I didn't measure it.

On Wednesday in heavy air our speed was good, but we were slightly slower than Dan Hesse in both races.  He had overbend wrinkles going all the way to the back of his main and mine were a bit less than halfway back.  Sailing again the same condition I would put a shim in.  We had all the power we needed and maybe we weren't able to flatten our sail out as much as others.

Greg Fisher looked at my boat in breeze a month prior and felt like it needed a shim in those conditions, so the data points add up to using one in big breeze.  On Friday the breeze was quite nice when we went out and did our warm ups, so we put a shim in and speed felt great.  It lightened up and we took it out before the race, which was the right choice.  It appears my boat wants no shim in light and moderate conditions and 1 shim in overpowered conditions.

On The Water Prep

Once we got out to the course our plan of action was typically to do a few things: 1) speed test 2) sail the windward beat 3) time on distance runs. 4) line sights.

Speed testing with another boat makes sure there isn't something wrong with your setup that day.  It's more of a validation that you're ok than an attempt to find and ounce of new speed to use in the race.  Then we'd sail the first beat, usually alone.  I don't do split tacks as often anymore since they can give misleading data.  But we do gather our numbers on both tacks and get a feel for the swings the breeze will go through over a 15 minute period or so.

The last thing we do is time on distance runs.  I assume some others were doing it, but I never saw anyone else working on it all week.  We did it every day and would often spend more than 10 minutes working on it before racing.  I would pick a buoy and practice setting up on the starboard layline to it and timing my acceleration to it like a start.  It significantly increases the intuition and timing on the starting line.

The last thing on our checklist before focusing on the race ahead is getting line sights for the start.  A lot of people get a photo line sight, but I prefer a movie.  We start well low of the line and get a view of what the sight looks like as you approach the line.  This makes it far easier to find your line sight in the heat of the moment and also lets you get a feel for where it is when the actual line sight is covered up by other boats.

Technique

We did two things during the week that were different than most of the fleet.  One was our jib trim and the other was using the traveler with a Fisher main.

In the moderate conditions we had much of the week, we trimmed our jib harder than most of the fleet.  We were very close to the spreader and sometimes touching it.  I have ticklers on my spreaders that go out to 10.5" from the side of the mast and we were a solid 1.5" inside of the ticklers at times.

The reason we did this is because the jib was showing that it wasn't stalling.  We had a tell tale on the jib leech we could see and Joe trimmed it in until it would start to stall then ease it back to full flow.  He would test this every so often. And the result was that we were often much further in than the 2" off number we hear often.

That mode felt a little tougher to drive - it just needed more concentration.  But we found that we would sail a higher mode than those around us.

The other thing we did was use the traveler with a Fisher main.  It's sacrilegious, I'm aware, but the recommendation to try it came from none other than Greg Fisher.  When we were in breeze and the boat was in max depower mode, we dropped the traveler just below the tiller hole, about 8" down from center.  We used this in both races on Wednesday.  The result is that the tiller immediately feels significantly more neutral and we would climb off of boats around us.  It was a nice secret but I believe it'll be the norm for the Fisher main in the next year or so.

As always, when the boat is overpowered the focus is on keeping the boat as flat as possible while still keeping sufficient forward drive.  That balance includes a lot of easing the main and feathering into the breeze, varying the degree of each with the sea state.

Starting

My #1 goal at the start of a race is clear air for the foreseeable future.  If I don't have clear air or it will likely go away I am determined to do whatever it takes to get in a position with a clear lane within 45 seconds.  Several times during the week I tacked out of an okay but not good lane, ducked the whole fleet, and got to a place where I'd be free to sail as I wished.

Much of the week we didn't have a good feel for which side of the course would win, so we started towards the middle of the line.  That makes it easy to bail for an alternate plan if you aren't committed to one side.

The toughest race we had was after a mediocre start and a difficult attempt to bail that required several tacks and sitting in less than ideal lanes for periods of time.  In that race it took me 2 minutes 11 seconds to get clear air.  It's no coincidence that we had our worst first beat and toughest race after that start.

Tactical Approach

I've subscribed to a theory for the last few years that I learned in a book.  It says that the regatta winner will be from one of the 5 fastest boats, who is conservative and consistent early in the event and then races specific competitors late in the event.  I've worked hard on the speed part and I feel like I'm going faster now than ever.

The conservative and consistent part is the tougher part.  The theory says that it's very hard to pick the correct side consistently and you should only get to one side if you are confident it will pay.  Instead, sailing up the middle along an imaginary corridor where you tack on the imaginary boundaries, regardless of being headed or lifted, will produce better results.  This is because your speed works against all but the other fastest boats and you aren't back in the fleet from being off to the wrong side.

The downside is that you won't be in first as often, but you'll have far less double digits as well.  It took me a while to get comfortable sailing this style, but now I love it.  In the first two races I felt like we were in position to win the first leg.  But we stayed consistent and kept to the middle, letting boats get to both sides of us.  We were fast the whole time and when the sides converged at the top mark we were never first, but were pretty close after taking far less risk.  And of course, we were ahead of the side that lost.

It feels weird just sailing up the middle, especially since all my lake sailing trained my mind to think I can outsmart the competition to pick out the next shift and puff.  But we just kept to the middle and I believe we rounded the windward mark in the top 4 in 6 of the 7 races - but never first.

The reaches are frustrating.  Unless you're with a couple other savvy boats, everyone wants to mess with the boats immediately around them.  I just want to stay in my position and help our group close on the group ahead and extend on the group behind.  I think people lose sight of the fact that trying to pass that boat in front of you significantly decreases your chances to pass any of the boats ahead of him.

After the first mark, all the remaining legs are about managing the boats around you and not letting a big chunk of the fleet get leverage.

I feel the results from this style speak for themselves.  We never won a race and I don't believe we were ever first at a mark.  However, we finished in the top 4 every race except the last, where we rounded the first mark in 3rd and eventually got match raced back through the fleet by Dave Dellenbaugh to 7th.

The Course

The course was difficult to figure out.  We'd often have an idea which side would win, usually driven by current, and it wouldn't work out that way.  Both sides of the course worked on every day.  I think that lends more to the conservative strategy instead of trying to win a side.

Speed

Our speed felt top notch all week.  We sailed in 3 knots at times and the upper teens at times.  Dan Hesse was a tick quicker in breeze, especially on the tack directly into the waves.  Dellenbaugh was a tick quicker in the light air.  But otherwise we felt really good, especially considering our crew weight was around 500 lbs, which was significantly heavier than most.

On one windward leg on Monday I felt a little slow.  I might have had the vang on a bit in light air.  But other than that we felt great at all times.  My focus was on driving really well all the time and really keeping track of the tell tale on my main.  I kept that stalling about half the time in the light and moderate conditions.

In breeze I played the main aggressively, but used very little tiller through the waves.  Every once in a while I would drive down a little when we would get really slow, but I didn't try to drive through each wave cycle.  We were using the traveler down and that worked.  Occasionally the main would backwash a bit and cause it to flog.  If the main flogged we took that as an indication the jib was trimmed too tight and would ease it a bit.

Conclusion

As with most things, success was the result of the summation of all the parts.  I believe it's more about the process and approach of a team than the individual little things we try to go faster.  If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me directly.  

Brad Russell

bradarussell@gmail.com

704-779-9377

Thistle Nationals Race 7 Report

Race 7 Report by Brad Russell, 3948

Friday started out much lighter than the previous 3, waking up to glass across the lake. The isobar map showed that there shouldn't be much in the morning, but the breeze would likely return sometime in the next 12 hours and a new pressure system would form.

Luckily the fleet headed out in 3-6, but only a short AP was necessary before the breeze turned back on and we had a fantastic moderate breeze.

The RC work was exceptional all week and we again got off the line under Z with only one boat OCS. In sailing before the start our boat was getting numbers well left of anything we saw previously in the week, which doesn't do much other than make you nervous.

The majority of the fleet started towards the boat, and correctly so, as starting on the pin half saw us around fewer boats and also underneath all the boats on the lifted tack.

Our approach all week was to hold serve upwind. No matter how good or bad you looked at any given time, play the numbers you have and the next puff you can see - nothing more. Taking a big swing at the course rarely paid for people. The trick was going fast and keeping status quo, then trying to figure out the safest and fastest way to manage the very top of the leg.

While we were on the wrong side of the line at the start, we stayed fast, got clear air, and started playing the numbers. At times we looked to be leading the race, at times it was bleak. But the cycle continued and you just have to keep doing the next right thing.

A last second shift at the top took us from top 5 to 15th or so, making the run a lot more difficult and exciting. I just look up at the spinnaker so I'm not really sure what went on. The second beat we kept chopping away at the numbers and made gains steadily. By the top, the continuous shakeup at the front slowed and Sam Ingham led the way with Lettenmeier and Marc Daudon close behind and us in 4th.

We managed to pass the 2 boats we were worried about for our position in the regatta and started sailing more safely. Of course the biggest breeze of the day came on the second reach leg and the lead pack was sailing well below the leeward mark, planing but also working incredibly hard to stay upright.

Sam Ingham went on to win the race. We were happy to sail safely up the last beat to a 6, allowing us to secure 3rd in the regatta. Per usual, our team started the regatta off slow, but did manage to have the lowest score in the last 4 races. I guess we should work on being at our best early in events, before the pros already have a good jump on everyone.

We couldn't have had a better week in Eugene. The club rivaled the best of southern hospitality, the RC did a bang-up job, and the weather was just perfect for sailing and camping. If you thought about coming but didn't make it, I highly recommend it next time.

Mike Ingham won his umpteenth Thistle National Championship with Paul Abdullah a little behind. My boat with Kyle Finefrock and Nicole Shedden finished 3rd and I believe Mike Gullum was 4th and John Baker 5th, although they may be flipped. Results are not yet available so I'm unsure of the Presidents Division results.

We hope everyone has a safe trip home and we will see everyone at the next event!

2016 Thistle Nationals Day 3 Report

Races 5 & 6 were sailed in fantastic breeze, much like races 3 and 4.  The same Northerly breeze welcomed the fleet and racing was mostly in the 12-18 range - it really could not be more fun than what we have had this week.  We spent a fair percentage of the time at max de-power, doing all we could keep the boat flat.  The off-the-wind legs were a blast, planing more often than not on the reach legs and planing a good bit of the downwind leg in race 6.

All starts on the day were under the Z flag and both races started with recalls or postponements.  In race 5, our boat started close to the boat, feeling the odds were in favor of that side being favored at the start of the race.  It turns out it was and we were further helped by boats above and below us being OCS and turning back to restart - thank goodness for radios!  

The first beat was about  boat speed and holding serve by sailing the lifted tack.  Once you get to the top of the course and the laylines come into play we would switch gears to trying to minimize risk and get to the mark without being far on the wrong side of a late shift.  We rounded the first mark in the top 5 behind, right behind Phil Gordon.  We tried to do what always seems to pay off, which is play nice with those around us and just extend on the fleet.  Early in races we always want to get away from the fleet and live to fight with individual boats later in the race.

On the second beat the front pack was pretty clear and we are all able to sail our own races.  Our boat focused on picking our way up the lake and staying on the favored tack, going a little further at times to get to a puff or shift we could see.  The only times we would see someone lose ground is when they would try to do something different than the pack to make a gain.  It really seems like lottery tickets, you may win a little here and there, but over the average you always lose.  With a little boat speed and a little luck we were able to get to the top mark in first, barely ahead of Scott Griffin.

The first reach leg was status quo, but the real fun began after the gybe mark.  Immediately we were able to get on a plane and stayed there for long time.  It was probably the most fun leg of the day, as we didn't have any boats around us after extending our lead and were able to just sail the wind and the water.  One great tip is to make sure when big puffs hit that the skipper always drives down hard.  The boat will get under the sails and heel less and you'll also take off like a rocket.  Being able to do that is always faster than having to deal with other boats.  It's just so much fun planing on reaches in these boats.  We were able to stay conservative from that point on and win the race.

Race 6 was not nearly so straight forward for us.  We had a fine start and the favored (boat) end, but as so often happens, someone behaves a little differently than most and a boat reaching down across us took our lane away about a minute into the race.  We ended up in the very undesirable position of spending a lot of time on a massively headed tack while also already being one of the right-most boats.  The result is the fleet sailing up the ladder rungs without us, while also gaining leverage on us for the left shift we all know eventually will come.  

In hindsight, we likely should have sucked it up and sailed in a dirty lane when we were so lifted on starboard, but we got clear air and worked the right side to watch the left come in strong as we got further up the beat.  We rounded the top mark somewhere between 25 and 30.  Of course, the left shift comes in after we go around the top mark, but we were at least able to gybe quickly and get pressure that sent us planing down towards the leeward gate.  

Sailing in the middle of the fleet on the second upwind is really tough.  It's always a balance between which way you want to go and how clear of a lane you can get.  It's very difficult to stay conservative.  I believe that you do best in that situation by not doing anything crazy or high risk, just sail the numbers and puffs around you, and let other people take big risks and fall back around you.  

By the windward mark we were mid teens and the next two legs were some of the most action-packed we've had.  The pack we were in consolidated as we approached the gybe mark.  Kyle Finefrock, my skipper, tells me that when we went to gybe he had both hands on the tiller pushing as hard as he could to get the boat to turn.  When it finally did we snapped through 90 degrees and I was certain we would capsize with the spinnaker sheets dropped and the kite still pulling us over.  Only by pulling the guy around as fast as I could did we stop the boat from tipping over and our regatta from going down the bailers.  

Somehow, the boat came up and we took off on a plane again - inside all the boats that had room at the mark but created a huge mess and drifted to leeward.  The second reach was again tighter than the first and was a blast.  This time, boats kept trying to go high and mess with each other, which is exciting but extremely slow.  We were able to defend our position and get to the bottom mark in the top 10.  The beat to the finish was very active with tacking and splits but we were able to cross the line in 9th.  We were thrilled with that after the start of the race and to win the day with 10 points.  With 1 race to go we're in third place, 20 points out of 2nd and only 7 ahead of a pack behind.  The last day should be a lot of fun and good for the nerves.  

I can't say enough about the regatta here so far.  The weather and racing has been incredible, provided you like breeze and oscillations.  But the organization of the shore and food crews has been absolutely first rate.  The camping has been terrific as well.  If you considered coming to Eugene but didn't make the trip, definitely make the trip next time.  

2016 Nationals Day 1 Report

Thistle Nationals, Day 2 recap - Race 1&2, By Brad Russell, 3948

It was an absolutely gorgeous day for racing sailboats on Fern Ridge Lake in Eugene, Oregon today.  The sun was out with just a few clouds in the sky, the temperature was in the upper 70s, and mountains in the background.  The fleet headed out to the course in mostly 8-10 knots from the most typical North direction, but with significant holes being easy to find. 

The fleet was a little anxious and the first start caught 4 boats OCS.  I know at least one of those boats were near us and several others were pushing the line very early. 

It became obvious pretty quickly that you had to stay on top of the compass numbers.  Puffs and shifts would roll down the lake with huge swings, but they never lasted long enough to endanger the race with the 30 degrees for 5 minutes rule.  By the end of the day we saw numbers up to ‘up 40’ so the breeze likely shifted through 60-70 degrees, if not more.  These big shifts saw huge gains and losses to the boats on the edges and made staying conservative incredibly difficult.

In addition to the shifts, there were significant holes to be found.  On our boat, we had a great position a 1/3 of the way up the first beat, but tacked through 120 degrees and came out in a hole and watched the fleet swallow us up.  Combined with the puffs being very difficult to see here, it made for a very challenging and sometimes frustrating first beat.

Per usual, Mike Ingham got away clean and picked his way up the first beat.  I’m not sure if he or Chris Pollack led at the top mark, but Mike eventually ended up out front and never left the race in doubt, finishing ahead of Pollack and Abdullah.  Our boat was playing catch-up after finding at early hole and having to do a 720 for something unexpected.  From 10th down, there were a ton of position changes, but the little things made the difference and we were slowly able to get back to 10th after being around 30th at the first mark.  Staying smart and taking consistent small gains seemed to be the key to getting back into it.

The second start was again aggressive, bringing a general recall and a Z flag to follow, keeping everyone in line and getting the race off clean.  Our boat again had a great start towards the pin and just focused on the numbers and letting the fleet selection occur for a while.  At times both sides looked really good, but again there were holes to be found and it was difficult to tell when chasing a puff or shift was the right thing to do instead of sailing the compass numbers you had at the time. 

We again found ourselves in a great position well up the first beat, but ended up going for more leverage to the left side and watched the right come in hard.  It was such a tough day to consolidate gains, but again Ingham picked his way up the first beat well to a lead.  Scott Griffin also sailed a great first beat and looked to be in the lead at times.  Ingham won again, followed by Griffin and Sam Ingham rounded out the top 3. 

Mike Ingham has an 8 point lead after day one, followed by Paul Abdullah, Scott Griffin, Jack Finefrock, John Baker, and our boat in 6th.  The scores clearly reflect how shifty it was – a far cry from some of the big water nationals venues we have.  As one Thistler said after the race, “It was so much different finding yourself deep on the first beat here, knowing you had a chance to catch up unlike on Lake Erie.”

Thistle Nationals Day 1 Report

Full results here: Cumulative Results

Thistle Nationals Day 1
Races 1 & 2
Report by Brad Russell

The Thistle Class National Championship is underway after 2 great races in Fort Walton Beach, FL. After postponing ashore for a couple hours waiting for the sea breeze to begin, 50 Thistles headed out for a great afternoon of sailing.

The sea breeze came in as the locals said it would, but it quickly went further right than normal, making it difficult to predict what was likely to happen next.  The question was whether the breeze would continue to move right as sea breezes typically do, or if it would stop where it was and settle in. After an unsuccessful attempt to time the oscillations our boat decided we didn't have a clue.

The fleet was anxious and the first attempt to get a race off saw a massive number of boats OCS and the race was blown off. The next start with the threat of a Z flag penalty got the fleet to behave and the race went off clean.

The breeze did in fact move further right, up to 30 degrees further than we were led to expect. The shifts and puffs were unpredictable until you could see them. The scores showed it, as only 3 boats had 2 very good races. It proved especially variable as the boats worked further up the course, nearer to the heated land that made staying smart more difficult.

While some say you should always go right, both sides paid at times and the two sides worked in very different ways. Our boat felt like we could see the left advantaged breeze coming and it would last longer but the angle didn't stay as good for as long. The right, to us, was much more difficult to see what was happening until the boats showed around you showed the change.

Downwind, pressure seemed to pay. With a bigger fleet, the middle was rarely able to work. Boats that did best tended to stay towards the edges.

The top 3 boats were clearly the class of the field. Mike Ingham leads with a 1, 2 followed by John Baker with a 3, 1 and Paul Abdullah is in third with a 2, 3.

On our boat we felt a little off pace tuning up before the racing. The first race proved we weren't as fast as we hoped, and a shim change between races made a big difference. Our biggest issue and area for improvement is managing risk and consolidating as soon as possible in the variable conditions. The verbal highlight of the day was first time Thistler Liz Walters on my boat worrying about where the spinnaker halyard disappeared to when we were sailing downwind (it was holding up the spinnaker).

The social scene is great and we just had a fantastic shrimp boil put on by the EXTREMELY helpful members of FWYC. We can't wait for tomorrow and another day with our Thistling friends!

Additional Tuning Info

After looking at several boats yesterday on shore and having to make a change of my own in the water, I wanted to add a little info about what we are trying to accomplish, what to look for, and what to change.

Most of the items we tune in the boat are working mostly towards one goal: to match the bend it your mast while sailing to the curve designed into the luff of your main. All of our changes on shore are aimed at achieving that goal, so keep in mind the numbers are a means to an end, not a firm, unchangeable requirement.

We judge our mast bend by the overbend wrinkles in the main. Judging them should be when you are fully trimmed upwind and not overpowered. Look for the the wrinkles coming off the mast and extending towards the clew of the sail. The target is for the wrinkle just above the window in the main to end between 3/4 and the back of the window.

If the overbend wrinkles do not go far enough back the mast needs more bend. This is accomplished by shimming the back of the mast and/or tightening the forestay. If the wrinkles go too far back you need less bend and removing a shim from the back of the mast or loosening the forestay will help.

On my boat yesterday we felt a little off pace while tuning up before the race and it held as status quo in the first race. My overbend wrinkles weren't going as far back as I would like. I have an unusual case of needing to shim the front of my mast to prevent too much bend. I took that out between races and got more overbend wrinkles. As a result we were faster in the second race.

After working with several boats yesterday during the delay in shore, feedback was positive on all the boats and a few plan to move a little bit further in that same direction. If you would like help with your boat find me (Brad) in the parking lot and I'll be happy to help you.

In this photo we are at the less-bendy end of the acceptable range for overbend wrinkles.

2015 Bottom's Up Regatta Report - LLSC

Special thanks to David Reddaway for this report from the Bottom's Up, emergency-held at Lake Lanier this year.

2015 Bottom’s Up Regatta
Southeast Spring Series Event
June 6 and 7, 2015

A published 4:00 start time on Saturday allowed participants to drive same day and attend the 2015 Bottom’s Up Regatta. The event was originally scheduled to be at Lake Murray Sailing Club where it has been a 50+ year mainstay for the Southeast Spring Series. However, three weeks out, it had to be cancelled. In cooperation with resident LMSC Fleet Captain Bob Lockwood and RVP Loy Vaughn, the regatta found a temporary home at Lake Lanier Sailing Club, home of the SE Fall Series Old Goat Regatta.

With a very light air Saturday upon us, you would have thought we were on the coast. At 4:00, yes, the “lake” breeze filled in enough to run two 40 minute races in light choppy conditions. In Race 1, Brent Mckenzie and David Reddaway started at the boat and tacked immediately to port to head to calmer waters. The majority of the Fleet went left, which normally pays 8 out of 10 times. However under choppy conditions, the protection to the right made sense. David finished 1st and Brent 3rd with Scott Griffin keeping us company in 2nd. The fleet caught on in the second race and Reid Collins made, I believe, his first ever Thistle regatta bullet in race two. He out sailed David Reddaway in 2nd, Scott Griffin in 3rd, and Loy Vaughn in 4th.

The nice thing about the Southeast Series is any of the top ten or twelve at any event could place in the silver. This was proven Sunday morning when we were able to run 3 races in fleeting breeze. The Gise brothers, Mark and Scott, were on fire posting a 5, 2, and 2 improving to 3rd overall. Loy’s 1st in the 3rd race helped secure 2nd overall, while Scott Griffin didn’t seem to look back as he sailed into 1st overall, especially by winning the last race. Where’s Greg? Well having been one of the hottest Southeast sailors for many a year, Greg has been investing in the Griffin legacy. There is a new Griffin boy born to Greg and Heather and believe it or not, Heather allowed Greg to come to the regatta! Having a lot on his mind, Greg went out in Race 4 and posted a bullet, proving he has not lost his touch. In 5 races, 5 different winners, two of which finished out of the top 5 overall. Embroidered beach towels were awarded to the top 10 skippers and top 5 crew. Now they are ready for Nationals at Ft Walton!

The most difficult issue was to find a great PRO and committee on short notice. Long time Thistle owner and LLSC member, Mark Turner, stepped up. Mark has a passion for great Race Committee work. He has developed a dedicated team which operates almost flawlessly. They ran a great event and squeezed out 5 quality races in trying conditions. 

Attached are the scores. Enjoy and we’ll see you on the circuit!
David Reddaway

Name	Crew	Sail #	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Total	Place
Scott Griffin	Gavin Mcormick	3997	2	3	3	4	1	13	1
Loy Vaughn	Andrew deRussy	4007	4	4	1	6	5	20	2
Mark Gise	Scott Gise	3951	6	8	5	2	2	23	3
Brent McKenzie	Jack Smith	3615	3	5	2	9	4	23	4
Michael Lenkeit	JD Reddaway	3980	7	7	6	3	6	29	5
David Redddaway	Carol Reddaway	3883	1	2	9	5	13	30	6
Greg Griffin	Mark Reddaway	3976	10	9	4	1	7	31	7
Reid Collins	Mike Kirschner	3579	5	1	12	10	8	36	8
Bob McCormick	Jim Roberts	1167	15	11	7	8	3	44	9
Laura Graham	Andrew Phillips	1995	9	9	10	11	10	49	10
Dan Russell		3828	13	12	11	7	11	54	11
Marian Evatt	Brian Anderson	3444	11	13	13	13	9	59	12
Cathrine Ryals	Rick Scarborough	399	16	10	15	12	12	65	13
Will Morang	Kelly	357	8	16	8	17	17	66	14
Len Wert	Tucker Munday	3813	14	14	14	14	14	70	15
Adam Anker	Lady Chef Peyton	841	12	15	17	17	17	78	16

Sail Trim - The Jib and Flow

by Mike Ingham

This is a reprinted article from Sailing World.  For the original article go here: http://www.sailingworld.com/how-to/boatspeed-jib-and-flow

Once, while coaching a team before the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship, someone asked me about jib trim, so I hopped on board and sat to leeward to video their jib leech while the trimmer “clicked” in the jib. It was obvious right then and there just how sensitive jib trim is.

On a J/22, the cabin-top winch drum is small, and each click trims the jib only a fraction of an inch. As I filmed, the trimmer set the jib to her normal setting and observed the jib leech telltale flowing 100 percent of the time. She then trimmed in slowly, one click at a time, and it continued to flow until 10 clicks or so later, when it stalled. It happened instantly, as if the sound of the click itself caused the stall.

Because I typically steer I’m not used to looking at the jib leech telltale, but I do spend a lot of time looking at the mainsail leech telltale, which doesn’t behave at all in this way. The mainsail leech telltale starts to stall inconsistently, from 100 percent flying to 90 percent, then 80 percent, and so on as I trim in slowly. In contrast, this jib telltale seemed impossibly abrupt. So, with this same J/22 team we repeated the process a few times, and sure enough, it was either fully streaming or not all, nothing in-between.

Properly Trimmed - A properly trimmed jib, visualized using smokelines in the wind tunnel, shows that the jib causes the air flow to bend through the slot and remain attached to the mainsail.

 Normal Trim - The telltale streams aft, showing that wind is flowing continuously on both sides of the jib.

 Over Trimmed - When the leech telltale isn’t streaming, it’s a sure sign the jib is over trimmed, causing flow on the leeward side of the jib to separate.

In the wind tunnel, the over-trimmed jib shows how the slot is too narrow and the jib is trying to bend the flow too much. When the jib stalls, air on the leeward side is separated and disturbed, at times even flowing forward. This pulls the telltale to leeward and forward. The unsteady nature of the separation causes the telltale to jump around.

Under Trimmed - As shown in the wind tunnel, with an under-trimmed jib the slot is too open and the flow is not redirected behind the mast. Consequently, air flow becomes detached from the mainsail.

Before I move on to applying what I learned, I’ll share some language I use with my crew to describe various phases of trim.

“Max trim” is one click before the telltale stalls. I don’t like max trim because it’s too unforgiving. It’s too close to what is known as over trim, which is a disaster.

“Normal trim” is slightly eased from max trim. To find this more forgiving sheeting, we click in until it stalls (just past max), then ease again until it flows again. I find that there’s some hysteresis, meaning even though one click in makes it stall, we might ease the equivalent of six clicks before flow starts again. Then, to make it stall again it takes six clicks in and so on. In this example, normal trim would be about six clicks from stalling, but fortunately we don’t need to know that, we just need to over trim until it stalls, then ease until it flows again. Normal trim is our default setting. If it’s eased any further we’re giving up height by losing flow on the back of the main. If it’s trimmed in any further, it’s too close to stalling.

“Acceleration trim” is a bit eased from the normal trim—perhaps the same amount that normal is eased from max to normal. It’s more difficult to define because the leech telltale gives us no help in figuring it out. It will flow 100 percent at normal trim and will continue to do so as we let it out. The other problem in defining where this eased setting is that it may vary on how much we have to accelerate. If we are stopped, it will be more than if we just need to a small speed build, after a few small waves, for example. Either way, it really is not eased much. On a dinghy, the upper jib leech might be an inch further out. On a small one-design keelboat it might another 2 inches further outboard. This small amount at the upper leech often only requires a small ease of the jib sheet, so we’re careful not to have the jib out too far. Acceleration trim is more of a feel; we ease a little and feel the boat accelerate, then bring it back in slowly to normal trim as we get up to speed.

Reference points are extremely helpful, so during training and pre-race, we observe from leeward, watching the telltale and learning the range. Our trimmer and I then agree on the normal trim for the condition we’re sailing. We find a reference to recreate that trim without having to keep track of the leech telltale. Our trimmer likes a mark on the jib sheet for a very rough first pass.

The problem with a sheet mark is that a puff will open the leech and a lull will close it while the sheet doesn’t move at all. It is static while the leech is dynamic so it’s a poor fine-tune reference. Thus, for fine tune, we look for a reference close to the upper leech where we care the most. For example, on the J/22 we use the distance the jib leech overlaps the spreader. The J/24 has a genoa that sets outside the spreader tip, so we use the distance off the spreader tip.

On our Thistle we tape a zip tie on the middle spreader so the end is 10.5 inches from the mast. The trimmer can see this easily through a trim window in the main and trim by pulling the jib in to a repeatable distance from the end of the zip tie.

Marked measurement references are also useful. For example, on our J/24, we have pieces of tape at intervals of 2, 4, and 6 inches inboard from the spreader tip. Similar tape reference marks on the J/22 or Etchells spreader can directly be lined up with the leech of the jib since the leech is immediately in front and overlapping the spreader. For whatever boat we sail, we find and mark something near the upper leech that our eye can immediately and accurately repeat.

Every condition that varies from ideal usually requires an ease of the mainsheet, and therefore also requires a corresponding ease of the jib sheet. For example, when we are overpowered, we ease the main or drop the traveler to depower. In the opposite condition, light air, we ease the mainsheet and raise the traveler to open the leech of the main. If it’s wavy, we have to put the bow down to twist open the top of the main.

No matter what the reason, as soon as the mainsail starts to ease, the jib needs to match that ease to maintain flow. In each case, the same rules of thumb apply and we still do the same thing we do in ideal conditions; over trim the jib and then ease until the telltale flows. It will be more eased than flat water, but we still call this sweet spot normal trim for that condition.

I prefer to play the main more so than the jib, but I play them together whenever possible. For example, if our bow person says “bad wave,” I will ease the main and our jib trimmer will do the same. Then, as we get up to speed, we both slowly trim back to normal our trim. When overpowered, our bow will call “puff in 3-2-1, puff on” and we’ll both ease and then trim in when we feel under control again.

Tip: Leech Telltale Location

The leech telltale must be in the proper position in order to illustrate airflow across the sail. The sail will usually come with one, often attached at the end of the top batten. This sweet spot should be about three-quarters of the way up the jib, where, when we trim, the leech makes the most movement. Just above this telltale, the jib gets significantly smaller and the slot (the distance between mainsail and jib) narrows.

If it’s choppy and/or puffy I may have to play the main constantly, and it’s hard for the jib trimmer to keep up, so we keep the jib a little further out. The trimmer will set it more for trends than for every little change. In these conditions, it’s hard to communicate every change I make, so our trimmer listens to what I’m doing. For example, if he hears me uncleat, he knows I’m likely to be easing so he’s ready. When he hears my ratchet come in, he trims, too.

In breeze, he looks at the main backwind. Too much backwind or even worse, the main flogs a bit, he immediately eases. Too little backwind, he trims in to induce it. No matter the conditions, the more the main and jib are adjusted together to keep the best flow over both sails, the faster we will go.

When it’s very light, the jib sheet and clew patch weigh down the jib, so our trimmer sits to leeward and holds the clew up by hand while looking up at the leech.

The leech telltale doesn’t work equally well on all boats. It works best with a jib that has an upper batten and doesn’t overlap the spreader. We tried leech telltales on our J/24, which has a genoa, and they seem to behave differently than those on jibs. We seem to be able to trim beyond the point that the top telltale stalls and still be fast. The lesson here is that although trimming to the jib leech telltale is fundamentally sound and usually quite practical, we always speed test to confirm because there are exceptions.

Unless it’s light enough for the trimmer to sit to leeward, the jib telltale is hard to see. So we do our homework and experiment with different trims while training. Once we feel comfortable with the range of trim, we find solid, repeatable references for the over, max, normal, and acceleration trim settings in various conditions.

Don’t just blindly trim the jib and leave it though, we are proactive to match the mainsail when necessary and ensure flow across both sails. Speed testing is the only way to know for sure, but we find using the jib-leech telltale is an excellent and consistent indicator of good jib trim.

Basic Trim Modes in Brief

“Over trim”

When the leech telltale stalls (always slow, we never trim this hard).

“Max trim”

Just before the telltale stalls (it’s fast, but unforgiving, we rarely trim this hard).

“Normal trim”

Over trim until the telltale stalls, then ease until it flows again (that’s our sweet spot).

“Acceleration trim”

Eased the sails for temporary speed build (the leech telltale will be fully streaming.