Lido Next?

Three different years, three different boats, three different scraps of burlwood. Hmmm, maybe young Kara is right, I have a streak going here that needs continuing. The more I race at Huntington Lake, the more things transition from frustrating to stimulating. It really doesn't seem to matter what boat I'm in or whom I'm racing against. It's always challenging; it's always enlightening; it's always about the lake.


OK, that's not really true. Thankfully the "whom" is always there for all the great camaraderie ashore no matter what classes they're sailing alake. But, out on the water it is all about solving the wind over water puzzle that gets the boat up and down the lake faster than anybody else. Sure, everybody has read the "primer" that's been posted on the regatta website for years. My first year sailing the lake (as an adult anyway) I was surprised that Charles Witcher, who as far as I knew had never lost even a single race on this lake, would willingly share all of his secrets. I read that sheet over and over for several days prior to the regatta. Charles would be sailing in the same class as me, Megabytes, and his fellow lake guru, Craig Lee, had borrowed a boat to join in the fun. Well, the study didn't help as those two guys left me so far behind that I could hardly see them. It was very frustrating as I seemed to be doing everything wrong.

The next year, back in the Megabyte chasing Charles, I decided to not try to be so smart and instead just sail conservatively and easy. Low and behold, I started to recognize some patterns first hand, "feeling" the lake in a sort of Tarzan, maybe George 'o Jungle, swinging kind of way. I still got my butt kicked, but at least I was close enough to see the butt on the guy who was doing it to me. Bu year three, I was Megabyteless and jumped in to crew for Dean on the Vanguard. Maybe it was the two years of dues paying experience or maybe it was the observer friendly vantage point from the crew spot, but I really started to feel good on the lake for the first time. More than half the time, we were in sync with the advantages. The racing was outstanding at the front, the best I'd ever been involved in. The lake felt fun for the first time.

Well, for 2011 it was Weta time, and we had a truly amazing turnout, 15 signed up, for the class' debut on Huntington Lake. A trimaran is an odd boat, and I was uncertain if we'd be able to apply the "classic" approaches. Would the windshifts be worth chasing in a relatively slow tacking boat? Would it be possible to stay in pressure downwind while sailing hot angles?

My compass told me that each shift was typically 15 to 20 degrees with some as large as 40! Catching the right side of those while staying in pressure is a huge advantage. I managed to do that most of the time upwind, but downwind I was mostly just flailing about hoping to get lucky. Race 2 was the only one I managed to get it a little figured out. Finding some big fat port tack headers down the North side of the lake allowed me to make some big gains after my very late start. In dead down wind boats like the Megabyte and Vanguard 15, the Huntington Lake downwind tactics are relatively simple--keep the boat pointed at the leeward mark and slide left or right to stay in pressure, gybing as needed depending on how significant the shift is. The Weta, on the other hand, needs to be kept hot downwind with gybing angles near 90 degrees. I guess that makes the downwind tactics about the opposite of the upwind tactics, and I just couldn't figure out how to sail fast and think backwards at the same time.

Frustrating or exhilarating on the water, Huntington has always been a blast on the beach, around the campsites, and all. This year was no exception with big Weta turnout--most with full families joining in the fun (both on and off the water.) So, what'll it be next year? Great, of course, but which boat? I really need another crack at learning the lake downwind Weta style, but Dean and I also chatted up the possibility of borrowing his dad's Lido 14 to have a try in that class--perennially, one of the biggest at the regatta. Whichever, it'll be great. The only problem will be trying to fit so many class party appearances into a short weekend. Hmmm, Wetas for cocktails, ex-Megabytes (Folsom Lake crowd) for Mexican potluck, Lidos for dessert, and a nightcap with the Vanguards at Catavee.


The boats will come and go, carrying us upwind and down. The friendships will be treasured, filling us with good feelings from year to year.

Dear Kara

Thanks for going sailing with your dad and me on the Weta last Saturday. The sun was warm, the wind wash fresh, and you were great crew. I'm glad you didn't mind getting wet, soaked really. Once your dad started driving, it was pretty much impossible to get him to slow down--too much fun!

After the sailing, I hope your kayak practice went well--that'll be a good skill for Huntington Lake. I know my tacking practice will pay off. It seemed the one hand for the tiller, one for the sheets, cross behind the back technique was fastest (at least in the protected marina conditions.) Let's compare notes this weekend.

See you soon,
Mr. Anderson.

Shortcoursing Monoslugs

From battling twelve fourteen-foot trimarans up a mile and a half beat for two days on the open bay to bangin' out eight college-style shortcourse races in a couple-a-hours against seven fifteen-foot Vanguards, it's been a great week of sailing. It's July already, and I only just got out with Fleet 76 for the first time this season, and last night was perfect--relatively flat water despite the building ebb, steady 20 knot breeze, and warm summer temps. Chris and crew did a fantastic job with the race committee, keeping us hot lapping and mixing up the courses for interest. Lots of yelling and screaming at the starting line as skippers struggled to remember the approach (and rules) when starting with a strong current doing its best to shove everybody over early. Good fun. Note to self: get out there with them more often.

High Sierra Regatta at Huntington Lake up next. Fleet 76 will be there with another strong showing for the Vanguard 15 class, and the Wetas will have 14 on the line in just our fist ever trip to Huntington. It'll be a good mix of NorCal and SoCal duking it our for West Coast supremacy.

2011 NOOD

2011 Nukin’ NOODs: I guess this is becoming the West Coast Weta’s annual big air regatta. Excellent conditions all weekend on the city front.



From the Surfing Pikachu log:

• Race 1: Forestay lashing came loose during prestart. Five minutes late for start after returning to beach to tension rig. Damn. Jumped in late and passed two boats—saved 3 points. 10th place.
• Race 2: Over early at start (got aggressive with John and he got me back pushing me over the line.) Good recovery and found new lane. Still managed to drive back to the front and round top mark first. Still managed to suck downwind. 3rd place.
• Race 3: Port tacked the fleet with 8 boatlength lead! Woohoo! But wait, why does this feel so weird. Caught way too far left in emerging flood current down city front. Ack! Stupid. Dropped back to about mid fleet by weather mark. Luckily found a gap through the F18 fleet stack-up on the starboard layline and got through cleanly while other boats ahead tangled up and aborted. Good job getting back into it. That’s a consistent lesson in these bots. Don’t ever give up—things can/do change fast. 3rd.

Day one done: sitting 4th at front of 2nd cluster—that 10th was a killer.

• Race 4: Wow, what a great, close race. I had a great start just to leeward of Davo and managed to climb up and out front. Too tentative with my tacks to go when I wanted, though, and had to wait for him to go. Would have been better to get to the right first (favorable current and pressure) and then come up from below again. Had a great duel with Dave downwind—some of my best speed all weekend—probably because I was sailing his line and not mine. Kept my focus on Davo (not a bad thing) and gybed off to right with him. We both let Bruce bang the left corner and he nipped us at the finish. Dang—he was the one I should have covered! This was overall a great race at the front. Top four were within shouting distance and the lead had changed several times. 3rd.
• Race 5: Another great start and first beat. Dave is so much more confident downwind, though. He just works right on past while I worry about what’s happening. Still, with three upwind legs I might have been able to get him back, but hit the leeward mark while trying to round tight inside of him--did my doughnut. Should have just rounded cleanly, tacked out first, and then climbed up from leeward position. 2nd.

Final standing: 4th.

Weekend Notes

• Great starts and upwind speed (and height.) I can use this as a tactical weapon taking up leeward positions and climbing out of them.
• With starts and upwind speed, first at top mark in 3 of 4 races (that I started on time!) Then, gave it up all three times. Damn!
• Downwind speed was improved at times (good trim, I think) but still my major weakness. Need to train hard so that I’m as fast downwind as I am upwind.
• Pushed the boat upwind pretty hard keeping the power on in the rough stuff more than I dared before. Still need to get better focus on maintaining groove and worry less about stuffing the boat. I was hesitant to put the bow down and just drive. Feel the “hump hump” and go!
• When it was really honking in last race, I was able to sail really deep from rumble seat position and still keep the boat planing. That was cool.

Results -- Pictures -- More pictures

More later . . .

WetaWest WetaClinic

Thanks to Dave Berntsen for a great clinic.



Weta West Coast Championships at SF NOOD next week!

What Practice Looks Like

Watching Gordon gain on me downwind every race at Whiskeytown (and overhaul me twice) made my Weta weakness pretty clear--I'm sleepy-dog-slow downwind. Up until this point, I've been picking up tips here and there from the vets in the class and basically just winging it when it's time to put the wind abaft the beam. Some days I hang in there, others I'm clearly the slow one.

My old Megabyte buddy, Dean E. (who won the Banshee fleet at Whiskeytown--nice going!) sent me a nice email the other day. He noted how much fun the Weta looked and commented on how hard it must be to learn how to sail downwind after coming from the Megabyte. I hadn't really thought that much about it before, but his note really got me thinking. Maybe I was carrying over some good but now wrong habits. In the Megabyte, I'd worked hard to refine my downwind speed--had to in order to keep up with lighter weight sailors. I learned just how to optimize the vang, how to trim the boat for zero helm pressure (no brakes), how to feel just the right mainsail trim--how to rip down a lake dead downwind. The Weta on the other hand doesn't even have a vang, has two extra hulls with three sails to trim, and it definitely don't do dead downwind.

With the West Coast Championships coming up in two weeks (at the SF NOOD), I figured I'd better figure this out. Armed with some tips gleaned from catamaran sailors, I set off for some practice in the Carquinez Strait. Without a benchmark available, I can't say whether any of it worked, but I can say that I gained greater awareness of how the helm, sails, and wind angles interact. Awareness is good. It's a first step to identifying and dropping old habits and discovering new ones.

OK, here's the video to accompany the story. Dig it.
Check this one out, too: http://vimeo.com/24464550