Racing downwind

winever

Member
Raced this past weekend, guy I want to beat (he's good, I'm learning this boat) ran away from me...again. Especially downwind. I was thinking about my height and weight and his. We're probably close in weight 195, but I'm about 4 or 5 inches taller. Shouldn't I be able to translate that into an advantage? I wondered if I'm hurting myself by not raising the boom a couple of inches and getting the sail plan a little higher to take advantage of the height difference, I could hike a little more. We have been sailing in 10 to 12 max and prolly will stay there for wind speeds. This is an old guys group and I doubt we'll ever see 15+ knots steady AND get a start. Opinions? Thanks, Winever.
 
Raced this past weekend, guy I want to beat (he's good, I'm learning this boat) ran away from me...again. Especially downwind. I was thinking about my height and weight and his. We're probably close in weight 195, but I'm about 4 or 5 inches taller. Shouldn't I be able to translate that into an advantage? I wondered if I'm hurting myself by not raising the boom a couple of inches and getting the sail plan a little higher to take advantage of the height difference, I could hike a little more. We have been sailing in 10 to 12 max and prolly will stay there for wind speeds. This is an old guys group and I doubt we'll ever see 15+ knots steady AND get a start. Opinions? Thanks, Winever.
Check that your boat's bottom is smooth. Every detail affects efficiency.

The wind is better, up-higher. Duplicate his sail plan, then work on tactics.

I'd think your height would be an advantage—hiking—as the winds increase. :confused:

Where are you seated in the boat? At what position are you maintaining your daggerboard? Are you "covering" him? :confused:

Are you, in turn, being "covered" by others—slowing you down?

;) Directly downwind, put on your biggest hat and be sure to spread-out your widest jacket. :p
 
Raced this past weekend, guy I want to beat (he's good, I'm learning this boat) ran away from me...again. Especially downwind.
One of the key downwind tactics is to get the sail centered over the hull. This reduces the wind's leverage for turning the boat to "windward" and causing undo weather helm, a condition that requires countering by the rudder and subsequently slows the boat.

cordero-whitehurst.jpg

Photo - Sunfish Class NY Region, 2007 Sunfish North American Championship

Strategies and tactics like this can be found explained in detail in a book called, The Sunfish Bible by Will White (~$30 at Sunfish dealers)

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Thanks, Wayne—I hadn't seen that principle demonstrated before...

and reminded me of another boat-type's application of it:

images
 
Wow, what an interesting picture that is. I will check the class rules if it's legal. :)

Regarding the down wind leg, it's tricky and the subject of many a discussion in racing circles. You should really study a book to get further insight.
But some questions for right now:
What did the other guy do that you didn't? Was he ahead at the windward mark? Were you being blanketed by the group following you? Did you sail a straight line or did you try to take advantage of shifts? Was there a current that he took advantage of?

As you see, so many questions. Next time, try to talk to the other person after the racing to learn about his strategy and technique (see Wayne's post about heeling to windward to neutralize the helm and Light and Variable Winds' point about a clean hull). Your position in the boat is important too; you don't want the stern to drag. Your height seems irrelevant to me on the downwind leg. And on the upwind legs, your hiking should be more efficient.

Downwind sailing in relatively light air looks easy, but isn't when you are racing! I have been there, and lost places as well :(
 
Here are a few things you should be sure to do down wind.

-pop loose your outhaul and cunningham when rounding the windward mark. Get your sail full and and powered up.

-Heal the boat to windward. As Wayne said this neutralizes weather helm, thus reducing drag on the rudder. By healing, the sail is more centered over the centerboard and therefore there is less moment turning you to weather. Also the curve of the windward side of the boat will help drive the boat to leeward. Another effect healing has is it gets more area higher above the water. Wind is better higher off the water due to the friction and the viscous properties of air.

-Sit further forward. Sitting forward of the cockpit gets the stern out of the water and greatly reduces drag.

-Sail by-the-lee. When possible, sail by the lee. When sailing dead down wind sheet just a bit or head just a bit "lower" until the telltales just start to fly backward. This can get hairy in windier conditions.

-Head up in lulls, down in puffs. Keep an eye out for what is coming behind you at all times. Sail a bit hot in lulls to keep up speed. Having to accelerate in each puff takes energy and is slow. Drive down in puffs for better VMG.

-Keep in clean air. Getting blanked downwind is detrimental. Work hard to keep clean air.

-When possible surf. Even if waves are 20 degrees off your course, try to catch them. Getting up on a plane is well worth it. Head perpendicular to the wave to catch it. There is a momentum when the boat will feel loaded up on top of the wave. This is when the wave is just aft of the center of mass. A single ooch, pump or roll will initiate surfing. Stay on the wave. It is common to see people catch a wave and the plow into the wave in front killing speed. Once planing, turn more laterally to the wave riding down the line. Keep on the wave as long as possible. For surfers this comes very naturally when sailing.

-Play current. Know the current conditions and plan your course accordingly. Think about current vectors and how that will affect your course.

-Centerboard up. You dont need lateral resistance when on the run. Pulling up your board reduces drag.

-Reduce rudder drag. You want your helm to be perfectly nutural. Sit with one hand holding your sheet and the centerboard, and the other holding the tiller. Using the centerboard as a handle lean to windward. Hold the tiller very lightly and using your weight find that sweet spot where there is no force on the rudder. Try practicing sailing downwind with no rudder, or with out holding the tiller. Use your weight to steer the boat. This is a good exercise for understanding how your weight effects helm, and how to reduce rudder drag.

-Keep sail full in light air. Gravity is going to make sailing downwind difficult in light air. Use a JC strap or centerboard bungee to hold the apex of your spars. This will keep your sail still and hopefully full.
 
Here are a few things you should be sure to do down wind.
For an up-and-comer to racing, how would suggest to order learning each of these tactics by significance so they build one with another into a symphony of second nature responses?

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Thanks all for the great information, I appreciate it. Downwind I try to be at the very front of the cockpit, daggerboard all the way up with the bungee strap. Usually I'm not being covered and I watch for it. The pix Wayne posted showed me that while i am setting to windward I am not hiking enough to get the sailplan up that high. Need more practice there. I have never beaten this guy to the weather mark, legs are in a creek, longest weather tack is usually maybe 100 yards, often less, although the leg is maybe half a mile, so we tack 4 or 6 times. First couple of DW runs I took the straight line hoping to catch some wind and cut some distance. Didn't really do either. Next I looked over my shoulder often trying to pick the lane with more air. Worked better but he caught a couple puffs I never got. I will continue this, it also helped me pickup the pressure sooner as the fleet brought up the new air. I just nosed my sail out from being covered and held them off, then separated again.

My original thought in asking was couldn't I set my boom a little higher to catch more pressure? And hike a little more to offset the higher center of gravity? I usually adjust my gooseneck to about the same position as the lead boat. After reading the U of I stuff think I'll ease out the cunningham and outhaul more to see if I can hold them. My competition did tell me he attempts to pre-set the sail trim before a gust hits so he can use it all rather than wait for it to go by. Not sure I understand all that...yet. Again, thanks for the replies, we race again Sunday, we'll see. Best, Winever.
 

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