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Gargamel · 09-16-13, 06:54 PM

I know this thread has kinda turned into my personal hobby thread, but oh well. It's my thread dammit.

Our Club is divided into two fleets, Gold and Silver. Basically Varsity and JV. Keeps the the new guys from having to compete for the annual championship against vets. We all race at the same time, but are scored seperately.

When i first borrowed a boat to play around during some races, the guys joked they'll stick me straight into the Gold fleet from my performances. Having sailed comeptively before, I did have some experience, but I thought they were joking.

They weren't.

Last tuesday I had a rough night, miserable even. Went back to the drawing board (ie YouTube) and took a new approach to rigging and tuning my sails.

Saturday I was apprehensive, hoping I didnt get totally destroyed again. I just wanted to be consistently competitive. My mast is bent at the top in a place I can't rig it back into shape, and without forcing it into position for 3-4 months, it's not getting fixed, so I planned on starting a new mast/rigging this winter. So I have some of my settings maxed out to get the sails right.

Well it worked.

My finishes are the actual mass fleet placings. Wally only won one race overall, rest were 3's-5's, but best in his fleet.

The guy I kept beating, Mike, was (and still is) my mentor in the sport, he helped teach me to sail as a pre-teen, introduced me to the FJ racing class and had me crew there, and is still teaching me. He's even on the national board of directors for the class. But man did I spank him good Saturday! I destroyed him tactically and strategically

.

It was nice to finally have a competitive boat. These are much like NASCAR cars, except the turn right. They are 95% or so regulated on specs, so there isn't much you can do to add performance, but a lot you can do to lose it. SO they say the skipper is usually the deciding factor.

/brag

So my goal now is to be able to be competitive at the regional competition next year, and have a chance to be competitive at Nationals within 3. They are (I believe) open registration, so anybody can go, but I want to have a shot.

09-16-13, 06:54 PM	#26
Gargamel Lucky Sailor Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Rome Posts: 4,272 Downloads: 81 Uploads: 0	I know this thread has kinda turned into my personal hobby thread, but oh well. It's my thread dammit. Our Club is divided into two fleets, Gold and Silver. Basically Varsity and JV. Keeps the the new guys from having to compete for the annual championship against vets. We all race at the same time, but are scored seperately. When i first borrowed a boat to play around during some races, the guys joked they'll stick me straight into the Gold fleet from my performances. Having sailed comeptively before, I did have some experience, but I thought they were joking. They weren't. Last tuesday I had a rough night, miserable even. Went back to the drawing board (ie YouTube) and took a new approach to rigging and tuning my sails. Saturday I was apprehensive, hoping I didnt get totally destroyed again. I just wanted to be consistently competitive. My mast is bent at the top in a place I can't rig it back into shape, and without forcing it into position for 3-4 months, it's not getting fixed, so I planned on starting a new mast/rigging this winter. So I have some of my settings maxed out to get the sails right. Well it worked. My finishes are the actual mass fleet placings. Wally only won one race overall, rest were 3's-5's, but best in his fleet. The guy I kept beating, Mike, was (and still is) my mentor in the sport, he helped teach me to sail as a pre-teen, introduced me to the FJ racing class and had me crew there, and is still teaching me. He's even on the national board of directors for the class. But man did I spank him good Saturday! I destroyed him tactically and strategically . It was nice to finally have a competitive boat. These are much like NASCAR cars, except the turn right. They are 95% or so regulated on specs, so there isn't much you can do to add performance, but a lot you can do to lose it. SO they say the skipper is usually the deciding factor. /brag So my goal now is to be able to be competitive at the regional competition next year, and have a chance to be competitive at Nationals within 3. They are (I believe) open registration, so anybody can go, but I want to have a shot. __________________ Luck is a residue of Design. Last edited by Gargamel; 09-16-13 at 07:06 PM.