Sailing Basics
Sailing 1.1 for Newbies according to Popeye and ChatGBT Sailing downwind and upwind represent two different points of sail, and they involve distinct challenges, sail positions, and strategies. Upwind Sailing (Windward): Direction: Upwind refers to sailing against the wind, where the bow of the boat is pointing into the wind or slightly off the wind. […]
Rounding the Mark
Which boat will be penalized in a valid protest? Blue Red ANSWER: Red will be penalized. Blue is inside right-of-way boat and Red must keep clear and give mark-room in accordance with rule 11 and rule 18.2(b). Blue is bound by rule 18.4 to sail no further from the mark than her proper until […]
Start Line
Is Blue allowed to close the gap the way she does here? Yes No Answer: Yes. Preamble of section C states that rule 18 does not apply at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water from the time the boats are approaching it to start until they have passed it. Therefore, only rule 16 […]
The Ocean Race 2023
Newport-based 11th Hour Racing declared winner of around-the-world Ocean Race. The U.S.-based 11th Hour Racing Team won the around-the-world Ocean Race on Thursday, thanks to a jury that awarded the hobbled sloop the equivalent of a second-place finish in a leg it couldn’t complete because of a crash that wasn’t its fault.
HOW TO BECOME A “FAST” GUY
HOW TO BECOME A “FAST” GUY By Bob Szczepanski Sail Power Performance sail trim is a science to some skippers and magic to others. This fact is demonstrated every race day. Whether you sail a Victoria and another AMYA class, one design boats with similar sails should be equal, yet vast speed and pointing differences […]
Biggs’ Bits Bit #3
We sail our little boats on ponds and small lakes, sometimes on small parts of larger lakes, but seldom out in the wide-open, and our races generally last 10 minutes at most, rather than about an hour for big boats. That is, the recommendations for big boat racing often do not apply all that well […]
Biggs’ Bit #2
There are two types of sailors, Pointers and Footers. I am a Pointer. Russ Gardner and, I think, Chris Macaluso (many-time Victoria National Champion) are Footers. So what are Pointers and Footers? Simply put, Pointers place a little extra emphasis on pointing close to the wind, in order to decrease the distance sailed to upwind […]
Biggs’ Bit #1
It will be useful for you later in this first Bit for you to understand how I set up my boat, in order for you to understand the important parts of the tuning I hope to describe. Please understand that I am not telling you that you should set your boat up as I do. Set your […]
Winning Strategies
You have no doubt noticed that in our races the first one to round the first mark (the upwind mark) usually goes on to win. That is true for all sailing racing, I think. It is entirely possible to find better wind on a downwind run than the leader, and to pass him, and some of us […]