RN5: Anchor Watch

Last weekend was the annual Mirs Bay race, run by HHYC as part of the Typhoon series. It's essentially a coastal race, running from Port Shelter into Mirs Bay on the Hong Kong/Chinese border and stopping at Wong Shek Pier in Sai Kung Country Park for a barbeque and prize giving. Generally people anchor overnight then race back again the next day, though after this year some people might rethink that...

The race up was quite good fun - an easterly breeze providing a fetch for most of the way. There were many holes in the wind, and places were gained and lost by being in the right place at the right time! We thought we were flying (I was back on Strewth) after using a tidal eddy out of a bay, getting a puff of breeze, and setting the code zero to romp to the last island turning mark. We were miles ahead! However, turning the corner we dropped into a hole and were almost caught by Mandrake and Jelik V.

Port Shelter to Mirs bay - Course for IRC A.

After a Michelin starred BBQ (What steak... It's handy to have a restaurant general manager in your crew) and a quiet drink or three we retired to the boat, to find a north/north-easterly breeze throwing 30 knot gusts straight into the harbour. If you look at the map above you can see that it's not particularly well sheltered from that direction! 

Normal Wind direction in Hong Kong in August - notice nothing from the north!

"It's not normally like this" - and it actually isn't! However, it required anchor watches to check whether we were dragging, and to watch out for rogue catamarans sailing around their anchor chain. It didn't turn out to be a fun night, and everyone lacked sleep.

The race back the following day again gave us all conditions from zero knots on the start line to 18 knots at times, and we used every sail in the warbrobe. As downwind trimmer for much of the race, I was absolutely shattered by the end of the day - sail changes, high loads, concentration on the 25nm course, and new sail cloth materials completely wore me out. 

Mirs Bay to Port Shelter. Course for IRC A.

Still, it was an awesome course, and we got relatively high speeds out of the boat.  I wasn't really expecting the last sausage, and was incredibly grumpy by the end of the race. A beer and a 12hr sleep restored me.

RN4: Mark rounding photos

Thanks to the awesome photography of Joyce Ravara (Chaos Photos - some great shots! Apologies for borrowing this sequence...) here is the leeward mark rounding from last weekend!

Behind Merlin (we have the blue kite)

Coming into the leward mark rounding, and going wide - only just got mark room on Barnstormer outside us.

Rounding inside

Ahead!

And this is what I meant about bigger boats - that's me in the middle, with an 79ft yacht on my lee bow.

All photos (c) Chaos Photos

RN4: Line Honours in a class of two

I was a little shocked this weekend at the drop in fleet numbers - is it something to do with people leaving Hong Kong for August? Cowes Week? The forecast light wind? Whatever it was, we went from a fleet of eight Magics to a fleet of two.

However, it was still a fantastic couple of races. We (I) decided to go out early to check out where the wind was, and ended up about 30 mins early for the start... I'll factor that in next time. Promise. We determined that there were major wind variations as you moved north of Port Shelter Island, and decided that going right would pay.

Wind and marks in Port Shelter before the start of the first race

The race committee put the windward in underneath the island, but we stuck with our original plan and got a boat end start (at the second attempt!). Tacked off to starboard along with only three other boats and gained a lot on the first two thirds of the beat. However, with the mark so sheltered, the top third was very difficult and we ended up completely out of phase with the shifts. Rounded behind Steve on Merlin by about a minute and the gap stayed for the rest of the race.

Second race - similar strategy, much better start (first rank, and held until there was clear air to tack off), and just in front of Merlin at the top mark.The run was close, with Merlin just to leeward and able to get inside at the first leeward mark. We let him in, went wide, and were able to do a great gybe/drop and nip in inside them coming out of the rounding. From there it was as if we were match racing - covering tacks, and not letting him get away! We were helped by Frank (another Magic sailor, but driving a big boat) being happy to let us play silly buggers and keep out of our way...


After a momentary panic as we got a wrap on our final gybe to the line, we crossed for our first race win! It was a shame that only two were out, but I got plenty of chat from the race officer at the prize giving, as well as some shiny flags and a t-shirt. A good weekend's sailing!

RN3: The delights of modern sail cloth

This weekend's racing was back on Strewth for the Typhoon Series. I was backup trimmer - my couple of races involved cutting sheets, grunt work on kite gybes, and ensuring the cockpit was tidy.  Unfortunately this means I have no real concept of what was happening tactically, so not a great deal to share. I did notice a couple of things though, mainly in the quiet periods on the starboard approach to the line!

The fleet is split into IRC divisions that group the fast 40ft-ers with the 52ft-ers, so it's quite a wide range of boats on the startline. With two W/L races, everyone was keen to get perfect starts and hence were grouping at the biased committee boat. Absolute carnage appeared to ensue! We avoided by being a little bit late...

I've always felt that relying on a gap to open up on a crowded start line is a slightly risky strategy, as the likely result is a slow start on the second row. However, good decisions from the back of the boat seemed to result in two starts that were actually reasonable. I think my impression of a bad start is still influenced by being able to accelerate very quickly (i.e. dinghy/small boat sailing) whereas being up to speed before the start in a big boat is very beneficial. We managed to shoot through the committee boat end gap in the first race, and found one mid-line in the second.

However, the most exciting part of the day was the "new" 3DL mainsail on the boat. It had a very large roach, but given its shape it looked like a delight to trim. It always surprises me at how versitile the new sailcloths are - the roach of this sail would twist off in a gust (gust response helps the boat maintain course and speed in large variations of wind strength) but then the sheet tension could be increased to bring the roach back in and create a flatter sail shape. All with the same initial lightweight sail shape! The other remarkable thing was that this sail could be picked up by one person on their own. Amazing stuff.

So all in all, a good day - we finished with two second place finishes and one line honours gun. I also felt a little better about last week's trimming performance when it was discovered that all the batterns in the jib had been put in the wrong way round...

"Do stop giggling like a school-girl"

Because I have a new boat, and therefore am physically required to sail it at every available moment, we took it out for another cruise on Saturday. With me this time were Greg and Kien, both of whom had had a bit of experience of sailing dinghies. However, this was a little step up in excitement...

Giggling like school-girls. (c) DFK

A nice force 3-4 and bright sushine meant there was some comical sunburn afterward.  Destination was again Pak Ah, for food and a swim. Swimming off the beach was like getting in a bath.

Note tongue out, concentrating on not spilling any beer.  (c) KH

One lesson we learnt was on the sensitivity of the keel to stall - I had to take two attempts at coming up to the dock at lunchtime. Given that it only has a chord length of about 8 inches, as soon as you stop the flow over the keel you start to go sideways. Running into wash at low speed (with only the jib up) was an admirable way to do this!  I managed it eventually.

I've still got a list of jobs to do on the boat, but it's gradually getting smaller. A few bits of line in key places, a self-return system for the pole, and (still!) an engine service. The major change will be the new name and new decals, which will be announced soon...

RN2: Shenanigans, or how not to cross the start line...

Saturday was the first race in the new boat, and it was a day of mixed results. There are lots of areas to improve on!

The two races were being run by Hebe Haven Yacht Club, as part of their regular club racing. The particular difficulty with this series is that all fleets start at the same time, which means anything from 25ft (i.e. us) to over fifty are looking for the same part of the start line. This wasn't my first experience of it, but it was my first attempt at a good start in such a fleet. Unfortunately, it defined the races for us.

The first race was a two lap windward/leward race. I started somewhere in the middle of the line, but was a little late pulling the trigger so was quickly buried by some bigger/faster boats, and struggling to get clear air. So we tacked off to the right hand side of the course.

























Saturday's tides and wind in Port Shelter. With apologies to GoogleMaps.

Unfortunately, this meant we were in tide for much longer than those that went hard left. They punched through the tide (and also got a little more pressure) so rounded a little way ahead of us. We were sixth out of eight, and it stayed like that!

Race two, and I had a spectacularly bad start. We decided that the only way to get to the favoured left hand side was to win the pin. I know, kind of arrogant for only my second start in a fleet of 40 yachts! There were two of us out there, both with the same idea. The other was the eventual winner (Black Magic) so at least it was the right place! I was a little early for the start, luffed a little, slowed too much, and was suddenly below the layline. Right - time for a quick tack. Tack - oh bugger, now I'm on port with three forty foot yachts bearing down on me. I tack back, failing to complete in time and hence fouling Avantgarde. Then I ran into the pin.

Time to disentangle myself from the anchor chain and do some turns! We managed to gain one place in the race, but ended with a seventh.

However, far from being a total tale of woe, there were lots of good points. One was my crew - it was pretty top notch, with Ollie, an ex- 18ft skiff sailor, being the new addition. Secondly, downwind speed was good, and once we'd made the first mistake with the tide we were generally going in the right direction at the right times. It was a shame that once we realised that it became a procession - there was really only one way to go (upwind and down) and therefore very few passing lanes. The other great point was that there were 8 Magics sailing, with two to three regulars still on the dock. Hopefully that will continue next season.

Same again in two weeks time. I have a similar crew, so here's hoping that I discover some starting skill in the meantime!

RN1: Trimming lessons on Strewth

One of the other boats I sail on currently is Strewth, a first generation TP52 (formerly Trader). Having previously never raced anything over 38ft*, it is a big step up in terms of loads, complexity, and crew work. She is currently being worked up for the Hong Kong-Vietnam race, and then (maybe) the whole calendar of blue riband Pacific offshore races in 2011.

I'm very new to the boat, and so am taking whatever chances are thrown at me. This weekend included a huge (and probably un-merited) promotion to main jib trimmer, and as one of two downwind trimmers. The adrenalin was pumping as I took the kite sheet for a tight reach down to Basalt Island!

Upwind trim is where I have most to learn. Points to remember:

1. Oversheeting = slow. We only started hitting our target numbers once the jib was cracked off to the 3rd mark on the spreaders. In my defence, it's difficult to trim a jib that big and that new at first glance! However, it did mean we lost a lot of time on the first beat to the Ninepins
2. Percentage calls help tell the driver how near he is to being in the grove. 100% trim should only occur when you're at target speed, at target headings, and at a constant boat speed. Once it does, trimmer is probably best up on the high side until something changes. At which point, he'll probably be shouted at!
3. In-haulers close the slot. Sheet must be eased at the same time, or see 1.
4. Jib car forward reduces twist and adds power to the foot. Use as breeze gets lighter.
5. Jib car back flattens sail, and increases twist. Use as breeze builds.
6. The back of the boat is always right.

Downwind:

1. Face backwards to talk to grinders or they can't hear.
2. Code 0 trim is like a jib with a flexible luff - be prepared to let it roll.
3. Having a good foredeck means the back of the boat think nothing of sail changes.
4. Inside gybes and outside gybes need to be communicated, and speed of turn altered. 

Other things to note are:

1. There was a massive lift and better pressure under Table Island and the CWB Golf course.
2. Suncream needs reapplying at any quiet moment, otherwise your nose gets a layer of skin shorter.

Sorry, no pictures on this post. Maybe next time!

*Incidentally, the difference in length (14ft) is just about the length of the first boat I ever owned - a leaky Laser, purchased for all of 50 pounds sterling. It seemed like a lot of money as a student, but wasn't all that bad value given it was sold for a profit!