Shields Fleet 9

Shields race #3, May 28, 2008 Sailflow’s predicition was absolutely right. They had predicted that the northwest breeze would turn around in the mid afternoon, and it did. The race committee selected course 81 (“Q” off of Fort Wetherall) and “8” often referred to as the Mallory or Shoemaker mark.) Although the race committee had problems with the outgoing tide, they responded to the challenge by making the pin slightly favored and raised code flag India during the first and only starting sequence.

As for strategy we knew we wanted to be in the max current near the boat, but also recognized the pin was favored. We opted for a late start at the boat, but I failed to time it correctly and had to do a 360^o outside the boat. As we completed half the turn and the starting gun went off we could look down the line and see that everyone was below the line, but we still hadn’t passed under the stern of the committee boat. The late start did allow us to immediately tack onto port. As we approached the dumpling bell we realized that we had gotten back into the middle of the pack, which included several Navy boats, who obviously had good boat speed.

We rounded about 10^th at mark “Q” and jibed back towards the House on the Rocks. I can still picture in my mind in a race last year when Bill Shore and Andy Burton took this route with an outgoing tide and caught all of us who chose to sail the rhumb line towards mark “8”. Again this route near the dumpling bell did provide us some relief from the tide. By the time we reached the leeward mark we were fourth.

My second mistake was that during the rounding we got trapped to leeward of 101 and 38, and opted to tack away. This was a big mistake, since we hit a lot of wakes and we were in less tide. When things did settle down, we tacked back on to port and closed in on the pack. We were able to leebow 254, but overstood the finish line. This did allow us to reach and were able to hold off 254 and catch Jamie Hilton (217); however, Peter Clarke sailing Virginia (224)caught us and we ended up 5^th.

In retrospect we felt fortunate to get the fifth after the horrible start.

Congratulations to John Burnham (107), Kurt Edenbach (36), and Bill Shore and Andy Segal (101) who took the top three spots. Talking to John after the race, they and 101 had the good sense to start near the favored pin and immediately were able to port tack the entire fleet and sailed in free air the rest of the race. Kurt on the other hand started near the boat.

Dr. Shoe, 245

Bullet Blog Spring 3

Reed Baer, Grace 107

Lesson #1: Doing Good Leads to Doing Well!

A coincidence that three of the folk who met throughout this past winter to reorganize Fleet 9 ended up at the top of the standings last night? I think not! Fleet Captain Andy Segal and his team on Rajah, 3^rd; Fleet Secretary and Web Master Architect Kurt Edenbach steering Zephyr to its best finishes ever, 2^nd; Executive Officer (only a heart-beat away!) Reed Baer, your humble bullet blogger of the day, sailing on Grace with John Burnham, Pete Schott, Matt Buechner and Rachel Balaban, 1^st.

Lesson #2: Dress for Success

Anyone who caught a glimpse of our fashion-plate skipper, John Burnham, with the newest addition to his swag-based wardrobe courtesy of Ken Read’s Volvo Ocean Race effort, knows what I am talking about here. Sayeth John:, “My new gum-soled Puma sneakers were obviously fast-out-of-the box, gripped well in the death rolls, and are much more orange than anything I’ve ever worn before.”

Lesson #3: What’s with those guys on 36?

No one was faster upwind than Kurt Edenbach and his team last night.

Kurt refused to answer my question as to whether he has a new set of rags aboard – if he does, whoever the sailmaker is might want to speak up to get some credit! He did say that they used way more vang and backstay than they had in the past, and that it worked – they sailed high and fast. My prediction is that we should all look for Kurt et. al to be writing the bullet blog themselves soon!

Lesson #4. How we did it.

Excellent start 2/3 of the way down the leeward-favored line, with acceleration off the line allowing us to go over Scott Ferguson on 254, then flipping to port to cross the bulk of the fleet, with 101 and 36 eventually tacking to port up on our hip; on the long way over towards the 1^st gong, we lifted off the boats to leeward, and had good speed and height versus 101 (they seemed to fall into us a bit), but 36 was just as fast and maybe a bit higher. We tacked short of the layline to the 1^st gong to stay in the current, extended to mid-channel, then flipped back to port short of the layline. A super set allowed us to head towards the bottom mark with a boat length lead on 101, and when the traffic thinned, we made the move that sealed the deal – a jibe to the left. As the wind was still more southerly that it had been earlier, the temptation was to stay on starboard, but we were going for the cone south of Rose Island; the bonus was that most of the fleet continued on starboard, so we had clear air all the way down the run, while 101 had to fight to keep clear air. We avoided the round-ups that seemed to be a problem for a few (Jamie, nice one!). We rounded the bottom mark with a several boat length lead, and just covered to the finish.

For the technical stuff: Uppers at 840 (tighter than the tuning guide, but it seems to help in a blow), lowers at 300; headstay was a bit longer than usual for us (we have been using our own Spinlock numbers so long we don’t have the inches datum that the North Guide talks about – need to work on that!); 2006 jib which still looks good, a blownout 2002 main (heh Chuck, where’s that new North main we ordered back in OCTOBER?!), a 2005 chute. We find that the old main needs a TON of Cunningham to get the draft forward, plus max outhaul to flatten the lower part of the sail. Upwind on the first beat, lots of backstay and constant playing the traveler to keep Grace tracking with a minimum of rudder movement; on the 2^nd beat, with more waves, a bit less backstay, less mainsheet and higher traveler for a more forgiving feel in the bounces. Downwind in the gusts, Pete kept a steady hand on the vang to blow her in case of a round-up; Rachel warned of impending gusts; Matt kept the chute choked down pretty much to lessen the possibility of a broach; John steered aggressively; and the pastor did what he does best – prayed a lot!

–RRB

Race Spring 3

Regatta results saved: Thursday, May 29, 2008 9:20:15 AM EDT

Course 81 South of Bridge SW 12-14 (31 boats)

Notes

Race 2 Report:

On 107, we hit the water early on Wednesday and had time to sail up to the Dumplings and back in the solid 16 to 18 knot breeze with higher gusts. The tide was flooding, but not too intensely; still, it seemed that the conventional wisdom of heading for Jamestown to get out of the flood would hold, so that was our gameplan. The course, as we expected, was up to the second Dumplings bell and back to the special mark in the corner by the bridge.

The only snag was that we ended up reaching down the line from the committee boat a bit to be sure we didn’t get pushed over by Kim in 143 and Stubby in 59, so when we started (“You were all 15 seconds late,” says Ted Fischer who was on RC duty salivating at the chance to call some of his friends over early), we had several boats to windward and had to wait for them to tack before we could do the same. Still, we held our lane on a nice lift on the long port tack toward Jamestown with 217 and 224 immediately to leeward and a gradually easing breeze.

We tacked for the first bell at Dumplings well to leeward of Scott Ferguson in 254 who was leading the right side. Lucky for us Scott and several others overstood the bell; we passed it in second just to leeward of 254, only to both be crossed by Will Welles in 226 who marched in from Fort Adams in the lead. We followed both 226 and 254 up by Clingstone and perhaps because the breeze had backed a little, we weren’t getting the big gusts we’d had on our practice run; in fact the breeze got mealier and Jeff Gladchun in 108 came in on the port layline and passed both 254 and us. Although we didn’t see it, rumor has it that Jeff took an extra tack along the fort and came all the way across on the layline, almost catching 226 in the process. So much for conventional wisdom.

With the slightly backed breeze and plenty of flood, the run turned into a starboard tack parade, with Peter on 224 coming from several lengths back to within a couple lengths of our transom, as we also closed up even tighter on 254 and 108. Near Goat Island, Scott snuck in a nice jibe in front of us to protect the inside at the leeward mark, and we later jibed also when Peter hit a slow spot. For the benefit of the spectators, we caught our port spin sheet on the headknocker while jibing and wound up rounding into a mild broach; fortunately Matt dumped the spin sheet and we preserved our position, but we were late on our takedown and rounded the mark without any pace. Behind us, 224 had a perfect rounding and rolled right over us. To get current relief by Goat Island, we tacked to starboard with 254 on our leebow, but 224 blew by both of us in better breeze despite the stronger current to the right. Peter and crew were going so fast they passed 108 as well by the finish. I’m sure Will in 226, our national champ, was looking over his shoulder as he got the gun.

John Burnham, 107

On the way out of Brenton Cove we were intrigued by how much east there was in the Southerly . Later , still well before the start , we were getting wind heading checks at 180 magnetic . As we were approaching the green can off the southwest tip of Goat Island on a pactice trip we saw a lovely puff filling in from deep on the east side of the harbor . Our thinking at that point was that we wanted to be in the outgoing “river” ie maximum ebbing current for the first part of the leg and then land near the port layline at the top . Seemed great .

Then the wind shifted to the right . Our World Class RC saw this and moved the windward mark to the right , from the aforementioned green can to the red nun ENE of Ft Adams . At that point our wind checks had swung right to 210 mag or thereabouts . Game plan shifted right . At the first start we noticed that many boats were going to be early near the boat with the ebbing tide so we stayed on port tack until about 30 seconds to go, tacked onto starboard and started at the boat at the gun . Looking good . The only boat near us at that point was 145 , who was clearly one of the OCS offenders causing us all to have a General Recall . Too bad for 217 .

Following that we were still getting wind shots right of 200 , most near 210 . Same game plan start near the boat , be able to go straight . Stay in the most visible wind and stay in the most tide as long as practically possible . So we set up near the boat , looking good . Jamie says , “I don’t think we’re going to see anymore of those big lefties we saw near the top of the course earlier “…. 20 seconds to go to the start and BANG , a big lefty comes through . Now we’re on starboard , can’t get to the line , looking at a bunch of transoms of headed boats in front of us . So we tack onto port , first boat to do so . Take the last boat on starboards transom . We’re not unhappy because we’re in phase (port tack in a left shift) and we’re in or near the max ebb tide and there was plenty of pressure apparent on the water in the East Passage . So we waited for the the next puff , which thank god , turned out o be a righty . Tacked onto starboard and bingo we look like smart guys !!!

The only issue then was whether to continue to protect the right after boats , 254 and 226 , crossed our transom or to keep going toward the center of the course . At that point we saw some pressure filling in near Ida / Harbor Court . 254 and 226 were wound up on our hip in a bigger right puff so there was no sense in tacking back at them to consolidate the gains that they’d made . They would have clearly been ahead of us . Luckily, the left pressure did fill in .254 and 226 started showing header on our hip , when they pointed down towards us we tacked and crossed in decent left pressure . We rounded the top mark first with 254 right on our transom .

254 was able to dig deeper sooner , on starboard gybe, so the once again were slightly ahead of us . We stayed on starboard gybe to avoid going out into the max ebb current , plus we saw some ok pressure filling in on our lane . We gybed onto port down near the Hyatt . 254 gybed as well ,consolidating their gains . We rounded right behind them at the bottom and rolled into a tack . We split tacks for a while , we on starboard 254 on port . 254 subsequently tacked on starboard . We stayed on starboard until we were going to hit the seawall on Goat Island . 254 crossed by about a boat length and tacked onto port on our hip . I think this was the critical part of the race for us . The key being that we got into more favorable tide first which pushed us up into 254’s lee , eventually they tacked away . We kept going straight . Then , more luck , a nice right puff filled in and , bingo , we were able to extend . Nothing much happened from then on other than Jeff Dionne telling funny jokes and Tim Healy trying to keep us focused . Normal SOP on 217 .

Rig settings ; We’d set the rig at Base Settings as per the North Tuning guide . Loos gauge 29 Uppers 14 Lowers . Our headstay was at 49″ to the datum. We used a 2005 jib a 2006 main and 2007 spinnaker .

All in all a beautiful night on the water and a great night to be sailing Shields .
Thanks to Robin , Michael Murray and the rest of the RC team for another World Class job . For those of you who don’t travel to regattas , I promise you ,you have no idea how good you have it and how spoiled you are where Race Committees are concerned . Thanks to Greenie, Jeff , Eric and Tim ,last nights crew on 217.

Best

Jamie

Notes

Thank you, Narragansett Bay, for a wonderful introduction to the 2008 Shields Wednesday Night Series. What better way to start racing than a shifty southerly, flat water and loads of tide. We counted around 15 boats for the first week, ably run by Dr. Robin Wallace, who was put to the test from the get go. That nice little lefty we all were eyeing off Goat Island before racing never really came in. And when the wind went right as the time ticked down to the first start, Dr. Wallace was forced to postpone for the first time this year. Then, on attempt No. 2 with the tide ripping out, he broke out the 1st Repeater for the fleet’s first (of many?) general recall.

When the race got underway on the third start, we on the 145 were deep in the third row. The only consolation was that Hilton’s gang on 217 was next to us. The two of us tacked to port off the line and were heading right. Only problem is we didn’t have the conviction to stay to the right with him. There was loads of tide over there and (eventually) a big right shift. Instead, we tacked away and crossed all the way over to the left side. Reminder lesson of the night: Never go from one corner of the course to the opposite. While 217 and 254 led around the windward mark we were deep, fending off the Newport Yacht Club PHRF fleet.

We played the run slightly right of rhumbline and were able to make some gains outside the majority of the boats. Although we were in adverse tide, we caught a break when some of those close to Goat Island made their way out and back into the tide. Our big gains came on the second upwind, a nice long leg from the bridge up to Fort Adams. We stayed outside to the right this time, and crawled up to 4th at the second windward mark. There we stayed until the last 1,000 yards when we got nipped by Burnham’s marauders on 107, who seemed to get a left shift while we were to the right of him. The usual suspects took win (217), place (254) and show (245). Congrats. Here’s to a successful season for all.

The 145 would also like to apologize to all in advance for any loud and obnoxious comments coming from our cockpit. We have an America’s Cup radio personality in our crew this year who is intent on keeping his vocal chords at the ready for whenever (if ever?) the Cup returns to the water.

Sean McNeill, Ted Fisher, and #145

Email the webmaster here, and we will post your contact info if you are looking for a boat to sail on, or need crew to fill out your boat. As the season progresses, you can come to the blog and click on the category on the right “boats or crew wanted” and it will filter down all the posts with names and boats.

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Alyce came to the meeting last month to get a foot in the fleet. Anyone need a hand, send her an email. She’s also sailing in the J24 fleet.

Alyce A. Wright, Alyce@AlyceWright.com, US Cell: 401 662 7993

Welcome to the 2008 season! We have some new features on the site that I’d like to review. Obviously you have found the blog. This will be the primary place for regular posting of the race results, race reports, and special fleet announcements. We also expect anything that is posted here will also be included in the weekly emails. If you have not signed up for the emails, please follow this link, and when you receive the first email, please follow the instructions at the top of the email to Confirm your address.

The site also has a new event calendar, this we hope to be a great resource for the Fleet and racing on the bay in general. Every Wednesday race, with RC and report assignments, are already posted. All the weekend regattas that have a shields start are also included. If you would like to add something, email us.

What we hope to become an exciting part of the site will be the photo gallery. We have all the same shots up from last season, but a new format so everyone in the fleet can upload some new shots of your own. If you have RC duty or are out chasing the fleet on your tender, grab some shots and compete with Onne for the eyes of the fleet! Just click the Upload link on the bottom of the page and follow the instructions, we’ll take care of everything else.

Lastly, every post in the blog will allow for comments and discussion. We hope to see some debate and conversation about race strategies, rules scenarios, and maybe some friendly hazing.

See you on the water…