Regatta Recap Brass Rat 2007

MIT Brass Rat 2007 October 6-7
2nd of 48
College Sailing Rules Apply
Boat Set Up:
When sitting in the boat on thawrt, lower centerboard all the way (past 90, angled forward).
CB forward and rake forward (Max foward rake 2 fat fingers behind mast).
Shrouds are different lengths so center mast in partners and go for 2 fingers in light breeze -- progressively back as breeze increases.

Sailing the Tech: Tech Slide when sail won't back, otherwise reach with slight leeward heel, minimal board and weight very far forward. Never sail Xtra distance when sliding!
Upwind: the first move when hit with a lift, or a puff is an ease (very critical). If you are knocked, tack. If you can't see the weather mark without turning your head, tack. If you don't know what to do, double tack. The tech can maintain speed with a roll tack at winds much higher than an FJ and even more so for a 420. This makes the tactical options more important. One can tack on every shift and not worry about losing distance.

Recap:
Race 1 -- Cheat fest (Zero breeze) warned by 1 competitor and RC. I courteous "thank you, I'll try to control myself better in the next race" was greatly appreciated. In hindsight, the kinetics rules were pushed a little too hard.
After a short break, an easterly breeze, right of center (of middle of river) filled. It made the right side favored, so much so that an OCS turned into a 2 by rounding the committee boat and tacking. Got velocity lifts and rolled majority of fleet. Got into trouble later in the day with an OCS taht turned into a 21. Poor timing -- a lifting puff at go. I was a little too greedy and pulled the trigger .5 seconds to early. If end is favored, try starting 3-6 boats down from the start -- much more conservative.

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Day 1 could have been more conservative. A 9-21 really hurt and lost the regatta ultimately. Two 7's would have won. Not difficult in a fleet of 30 boats which was only 7-10 deep.


Day 2 saw NE going E finally settled slightly right of center. Started with 8-14kts, died to 2-4 by 3pm.

Left favored most of the morning. Won the pin a few times, but couldn't cover both side -- resulted in 3s, 4s, and 5s instead of 1-2s.

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Right gate was good for short second beat.
End of day there were no lefties to get over the top, to a windward mark that was near the boston shore (VERY TYPICAL).


Overall thougts:
Things done well
1. Good starts, excellent used of double tacks and timing.
2. Good boat handling and tactics all around.

Things to work on:
Could have been more conservative in the first half of the regatta when you aren't sure of strategy. Wait for others to make mistakes. As the others get deep they will do stupid things and compound their mistakes. This makes doing the correct thing easier!!!
If you focus on doing the right thing ALL the time, instead of taking the temptation and taking risks, you will surely finish higher.