Top 10 Tactics

USA2842 Pushes Its Bow Into Clear Air THIS PAGE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS STRATEGY AND STARTS Doing One’s Homework Scoring well in a regatta begins well before the first gun. Successful teams start to prepare several days before an event by looking macro weather and current forecasts and reading the preliminary sailing instructions. With such information in hand, tacticians are then able to formulate several potential race strategies, differentiated by times of the day, which consider various wind directions in relation to predicted currents. On the day before the regatta, R2R will sail through the planned racing area while delivering the boat to the host club to confirm our preliminary plans. We will re-confirm their appropriateness the morning of each day’s racing. Assessments include: wind direction and trends, where we check velocity, shift patterns including frequency and degree, and compass bearings, where we sight the direction from the leeward to windward mark, angle of the start line relative to the prevailing wind, and if appropriate the bearing from the leeward port to starboard gate. Finally, the team will check our tacking angles at the top of the course to dial in the layline to the windward mark. R2R accomplishes many of these activities during our warm up where we practice some tacks, gybes, spinnaker sets, and douses. For example, Thom will take a bearing on the leeward gates as R2R sails by with the chute up. By then end of the warm-up, the overall strategy for the first race will be 98% in the bank. The final tweaks will occur during the starting sequence. Communicating The Game Plan Having everyone on the same page is essential to perform well as a team. At least 10 minutes before the start, Rich and Thom will have settled on a final game plan. Their final choices will be heavily influenced by where our boat sits in the standings including who is ahead of us and who is just behind. Winning the race may or may not be our primary goal. Late in the regatta, we may focus on finishing ahead of a particular competitor. With 10 minutes to go, Thom will share the game plan with the team. He’ll concentrate on painting the big picture about where R2R plans to start on the line, where he plans to take the boat on the first upwind leg, what this means for the first two minutes of racing, and what type of spinnaker set R2R is likely to use to gain further advantage at the windward mark. Next, Larry will make the final call on head sail choice. If necessary, Lou Anna and Trena will change up or down while Larry retunes the rig. By the 5 minute gun, the team will be set to go. Sailing The First Two Minutes Without question many J24 teams are highly skilled at hitting the favored side of the line going full speed at the gun in clear air. Yet winning the start will be meaningless if one’s boat fails to protect and extend its lead in the early going. In the first two minutes of the race, the top boats know how to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Flat is fast and during this opening sequence, R2R does everything it can to make this happen. The first step occurs before the warning gun. All the gear and the motor are stowed on the side of the preferred opening tack. While this is generally starboard, R2R will occasionally place move the gear across to the other side when it plans a port tack start. At the gun, the crew has their weight fully out on the edge of the toe rail, i.e., maximum hiking position, to flatten the boat in San Francisco’s big winds. Rich and Larry will trim the sails to put us in pointing mode and do everything they can to sail fast. The team knows that if R2R can poke its bow out in front into clear air, we’ll have a double advantage over our neighbors. We’ll be more powered up boats giving us a speed advantage. When this happens, the other J24s will either fall back and have to sail slower in our disturbed air or they’ll be forced to tack away to the less favored side of the course. In either case, R2R is separating from the pack and positioning itself for a high finish.

2002 Spring Keel Regatta WINDWARD BEATS AND LEEWARD LEGS Drag Racing To The Beach In flood conditions on San Francisco Bay, beating up the City Front from Fort Mason to Presidio Shoals is one of the most exciting times J24 sailors can have. It is also one of the perilous of legs – fraught with danger of close quarter maneuvering, separating the great teams from the merely good. Without question, getting to the beach first in a controlling position is a prerequisite to scoring a bullet. Knowing this, the R2R team will do everything it can to start in clear air somewhere in the left most third of the line. If we can’t get a perfect start, we’ll settle for the next best opportunity even if this means sailing in slightly disturbed air. Only if we start in the second row will we consider tacking out to clear our air. Getting to the shore first is just that important. As we approach the beach, Thom will be looking for an opportunity to tack. The City Front highway is very narrow, perhaps 150 to 200 yards wide, and having the ability to carry speed through the a series of tacks will be the second critical element of a successful City Front beat. For this reason, R2R will try to find a hole within 100 yards of the shore that provides an opportunity for us to get out of phase with the fleet. Being out of phase is preferred over driving all the way to the shore. As we make our way towards the weather mark, we try like crazy to stay our of phase. Nevertheless, if we are presented an opportunity to get on top of a near competitor, we may delay a tack to secure a controlling position. If we pull this effort off, R2R will be among the first boats to round the weather mark and begin the downwind run.

2001 J24 North Americans MARK ROUNDINGS AND THE FINISH