My club put on a great race training session today. We went out and sailed a short course with a single lap that took about 10 mins to complete, just so we could practice starts roundings and finishes.We must have done a dozen races!
It was a lovely warm day here, the first of the year,and the wind was a solid 15knts with some big gusts.
It is the first time I was putting my XD kit to the test- wow what a difference!
Upwind I had everything cranked, although the cunningham did not want to go lower than about an inch above the boom, my sail is pretty new so I didn't want to force it.
With that much cunningham, the outhaul leaving a couple of inches between the sail and the boom, and the kicker tight so it only went up sightly when I eased the sheet, I was well in control.
Then off wind, I knocked off the kicker and managed to ease the outhaul a bit. I didn't want to let the cunningham off because of how hard it was to put it on to start with.
Something I am not good at is gybing in heavy wind, and I was dreading it today, but having let the kicker off, it wasn't a problem.
I have never appreciated what a difference just changing the kicker tension makes. A couple of times I had eased too much while reaching and the sail was telling me so. I just pulled it on a tad, and the leach stopped flapping, the boat stopped healing and I took off!
The days exertions also reminded me how physical sailing a laser is. I know I will ache a bit tommorrow, but that is just one of the bonuses of sailing,it helps you get fit physically and mentally, as well as being the best buzz!!
It was a lovely warm day here, the first of the year,and the wind was a solid 15knts with some big gusts.
It is the first time I was putting my XD kit to the test- wow what a difference!
Upwind I had everything cranked, although the cunningham did not want to go lower than about an inch above the boom, my sail is pretty new so I didn't want to force it.
With that much cunningham, the outhaul leaving a couple of inches between the sail and the boom, and the kicker tight so it only went up sightly when I eased the sheet, I was well in control.
Then off wind, I knocked off the kicker and managed to ease the outhaul a bit. I didn't want to let the cunningham off because of how hard it was to put it on to start with.
Something I am not good at is gybing in heavy wind, and I was dreading it today, but having let the kicker off, it wasn't a problem.
I have never appreciated what a difference just changing the kicker tension makes. A couple of times I had eased too much while reaching and the sail was telling me so. I just pulled it on a tad, and the leach stopped flapping, the boat stopped healing and I took off!
The days exertions also reminded me how physical sailing a laser is. I know I will ache a bit tommorrow, but that is just one of the bonuses of sailing,it helps you get fit physically and mentally, as well as being the best buzz!!