Conditions:
The breeze began out of the NNW and swung hard right to the NNE through the first A and B sets. The course was quite close to land, and the geographic pattern was that the best breeze on the first beat was best below the Coconut Grove harbor, where there was the most "fetch" (distance) to the windward shore. The puffs were "fanning" - they dropped down on the water from a higher elevation and spread out in a fan-like formation - with different breeze angles within each puff. This is typical of sailing near land. The breeze built to 12-14 kt puffs, but then died for the last 1.5 sets.
Strategy:
The fanning puffs always favor the lee bow boat, so leading back versus hipping up on an opponent/group of opponents was the correct strategy. An important question is always "how much should I dig into a puff/header." And the answer changed throughout the day as well as from the first to second beat. Early and late in the day when it was light, you had to go a couple boat-lengths into a puff or header before tacking, while in more breeze, one needed to tack immediately on a header. The first beat was so close to land that pressure was king; the last beat the pressure was more even and getting on the 'long tack' and playing the angles was key. Chris and Max has a bad first set when they didn't get to the areas of greater pressure in race 1, then sailed the short tack to the right corner in race 2. Mack and Dae had a regatta killing 13th when they sailed a second beat on a significantly worse angle than boats elsewhere on the course -they needed to do a better job of seeing the pressure line, and the angle of the other boats. I believe that the general rule of <7 knots: dig for pressure; >7kts prioritize angle applies pretty universally.
Tactics:
Even with the short first beat, the boats from the favored end could always got across the fleet. We've seen this at past Southpoints as well: strategy is more important than tactics and the good boats will be right in phase with you and with the windshifts. The bad boats aren't even a consideration 10 boatlengths off the line.
Downwind tactics were a much bigger issue and an area where we saw improvement throughout the event. Basic strategy going into the top mark: if Starboard is lifted, port will be the long/headed jybe; if Starboard is headed, starboard will be the long/headed jybe. That said, jybing immediately around the windward offset is always a really low percentage move on the first leg, because of the "cone of shit air" (my term) caused by the upwind/reaching boats behind you. If you want to jybe, sail a low wing angle for 6-10 boatlengths, then jybe - the "Soak then Jybe" strategy. This works great on most square runs, because the boats behind sail higher angles than they should. Overall, being patient and waiting for a lane to develop works much better in moderate breeze than bouncing around on a reach desperately searching for a lane ("Mack-Pong")! If you must reach, do it to establish the course-left edge of the run, then call proper course on the boats that get overlapped to leeward and sail wing-on wing for the rest of the leg.
Boatspeed:
Chris and Max's speed upwind was excellent, while Mack had some pointing issues that we corrected throughout the day. When you are too far back in the boat, it wants to turn down! Driver technique and the ability to slither in and forward while keeping your shoulders out is critical. Chris and Max's speed was the result of good slither techniqe and sail trim to change gears through the puffs and lulls, as well as great anticipation of these pressure changes. We all know that heeling for the long term is slow, but how many times do we take a few seconds to correct windward or leeward heel in a slight pressure change? Each time we do this, the Centerboard moves and trips the water flow over it. It takes another second for that flow to re-establish, and in the meantime we loose lift. Anticipation + Technique allows you to sail at a consistent, fast angle of heel.
Downwind Chris and Max found a groove that was also pretty killer for my A driver (Zach Hill) at Nationals, and is undoubtedly the fastest way to sail a 420 in moderate breeze. The elements of that groove:
1. Board up almost all the way.
2. Fairly twisted mainsail - the top batten should be twisted 10-15% past the angle of the boom - crews look at your sail while adjusting the vang!
3. Flatter angle of heel than most boats around you - the helm should feel almost neutral. You know you have too much heel when you have to push too hard on the rudder. The crew should be forward almost to the mast, but may have to put their hip on the leeward tank when sailing with a bigger skipper.
4. Sail a higher angle for flow, then soak lower when you have speed. The jib telltales should point at the jib luff, and it should be difficult to keep the jib full (it may occasionally backwind into the fore-triangle). Skippers raise your arm to open the jib leach when you sail higher, then drop the arm angle when you soak lower. Never go by the lee for more than a couple seconds (its ok if your riding a wave).
In lighter air, when there is just enough wind to go wing on wing you should heel a little more to reduce wetted surface, but I can't stress enough the importance of reducing rudder drag in the 420 when the boat starts to move. Crews need to perfect the vang play downwind - John sailed a set with his sail blown way too open!
Overall, I thought our sailors sailed well, but lacked consistency. The only way to overcome this is through practicing as if its a regatta and minimizing mistakes. Here is some video of our tacks from Tuesday's practice that show great improvement in boathandleing from the fall. However, good enough is not a sufficient goal, so see what you need to do to have more perfect sail trim on the flatten, and more consistent angle of heel out of the tack:
Chris has a funky rudder hitch after tack 2:
-Arthur Blodgett
