Learning to foot for speed in the flood

Sunday's course racing provided a building breeze and sunny skies with 15-20k by the 12:00 first start off the St. Francis Y.C.
We ran 3 triple windward leeward courses for plenty of upwind downwind racing in a building flood tide.
Racing was tight between 2nd and 5th- changing back and forth with CRad, Wells and myself all trading spots in most of the races.Thanks to Shawn Davis for the photos- more at his website.

In front, it was Al who took 3 bullets with amazing speed and no mistakes all day.
I learned so much about my VMG in the course of the day, that my upwind style changed completely by the last race. By running the sail a bit flatter than normal and much longer harness lines, I was able to really go from a pinching set up to a footing set up- which worked so much better in the flood tide and flat water.
Ben was dominating with this set up but he was left hung to dry at the windward mark- which was set just inside the windline and left the heavyweights watching the light guys pump away.
I struggled in my first 2 starts to get a lane off the line on starboard and maintain my position going into the seawall. After the first tack, the positions were pretty much set, baring any major mistake. Al and CRad both had great speed and found themselves in the top 2 positions. Wells- who is fresh on the F4 fin program- really stepped up the pace and was there at every mark rounding.
Photo credit: Shawn Davis
Race 1 started with a few guys on port tack and the rest on starboard. I was 1-2 seconds late pulling the trigger and fought for a lane. I ducked down taking some sterns to try to get to the wall first but was in 5th by the time we got the the top mark- set in a big hole. The fleet sat parked- exiting in pretty much the same order they came in.
A quick downwind and upwind saw the parade to the middle and we ended up in the same scenario- parked at the top mark. This time I saw Wells- escape by sailing deep around the mark and getting the a puff that wasn't even available 20 feet away.
Another quick down and up and I found myself in the same position, taking the rounding wide and keeping in the wind and catching up from 5th to 3rd on thet rounding.
Race 2 saw the wind build to 18-20k. A few more port tackers on the line this time with Ben and Al pushing the top mark again. I got screwed at the top mark in what can only be described as a hole from hell as the top 4 guys sailed away and I never got back in the game.

photo credit: Sergei Zavarin
Race 3 was run at 1:30 with the gust coming in a bit stronger.
Most of the fleet was well powered on the 10's.
I decided port was the way to go and got off the line well and had to match Ben's speed low angle in order not to get rolled. The difference was amazing as both our VMGs proved very fast upwind. At the top mark, CRad, Wells, Ben and I all came in hot just behind Al.
The lightweights escaped and got back to the breeze. 2 more upwind and down winds saw me putting everything I had to stay in the game with Wells and CRad and finally got the best of them on the last upwind by footing for speed with better VMG as the big puffs came down the course.
I managed to pass CRad on the last downwind and get off a better gybe and get going sooner to finish the last race in 2nd.
With Al clearly ahead taking all 3 bullets, it was a 1 point difference between 2nd and 4th with me getting the short end of the stick in 4th. Sometimes, that's how racing goes.
Overall, still happy with performance and new technique in the flood tide.
A huge round of thanks to the St. Francis Y.C for providing the resources and facilities to run 2 great days of racing on the city front. The race management is world class!

Almost forgot about Friday night racing at the club a few days ago.

Adam got some good video.
Enjoy

SF double header

While the Giants and the A's were playing an inner-leagues series on the Bay this w-end, SF racers got a double header with a classic heavy weather survival twilight series at the St. Francis and some lit up calcup racing at Rio Vista on Saturday afternoon.
Conditions have been off the wall all week with 25k+ almost everyday on the city front.
Friday night was no exception. 9.0 was the call if you could hold on. By the5th race- there was just 3 racers left standing. Seth dominated with 5 bullets while I took 2nd with Al and C-Rad battling it out for 3rd and 4th place. US Windsurfing president Jim Mcgrath managed 1 race with his 10.0 and had enough before packing it up and heading home. JK rigged, started but didn't even make it around before coming in and rigging slalom gear. By he looks of it, he was a much happier camper with the small gear.
Soheil tried something new last Friday by racing his course- slalom gear around the course. Despite being off the pace of the formula boards he got around the course. Maybe he's got the right idea. He sure looked more comfortable on a 6.8 and 105l board than most of the formula racers. Last year most of the fleet raced course slalom in Maui at the US Nationals while 5 raced formula. There's was some talk at the US Open 2 weeks ago to promote both formula and slalom at events with a 20k cut off between disciplines. More info at http://www.usa-formulawindsurfing.com

Thanks for Chris for providing the photos on Friday from the race deck- additional photos from Friday nights racing can be found here


Saturday the 1st calcup of the season kicked off in windy and warm Sherman island in the Delta. By 9am when I looked at the iwindsurf sensor, it was already blowing 25-30k. Alan Prussia gave a clinic regarding line and purchase and showed the fleet some good rigging tips. If you haven't already gotten some formula downhaul line from him- do yourself a favor. Its low stretch and works especially well for the high load of Formula downhaul tension. Word is hes got some even stronger more durable stuff in the works.
By the 1:30 start, the wind had died off some but most of the fleet rigged their 9.0's knowing what Rio Vista was capable of. It's not an easy launch from the docks so coming in between races was not an option. I tired out a new set up Saturday with a 70 cm fin and a 9.0. Typically you would fin down as it gets windier but with the wider tail of the ML7, you can get away with a bigger fin. In fact, its becoming necessary. I sailed with a 64cm fin on Friday and my upwind angle really suffered compared to Seth.
Race 1-Boat end extremely favored. Big crowd. Mike Z was able to escape 1/2 way down the line and get clear air. I got bad air and tacked over to avoid trailing the fleet to the left. Meanwhile with clearer air and a more favorable current, I worked my way back to 3rd at the top mark behind Steve and Mike Z. Off the breeze we all had similar speed with positions staying the same. Steve rounded close behind Mike and got bad air and had to foot for speed. That left a hole for me to stick my nose into and climb. This worked a few times throughout the day and I was able to catch Steve at the top mark. We rounded overlaped but he managed to get a smoother leeward mark rounding and beat me to the finsh.
Race 2- OCS but keep going knowing I would get more out of racing than restarting in such a short course. I was gambling here hoping I could take this as my throwout. Another close finish 10 seconds behind Steve in 3rd
Race 3- Same deal- I tacked immediately after the start and worked my way to the right side for clear air and better current- arriving at the top mark in 3rd behind Steve and Mike. This time, Eric and Percy were all breathing down our necks downwind as they caught a nice puff from behind and rounded tight with the top pack. What ever you can do to give yourself clear air while rounding- do it. It was a long battle back upwind and I was able to climb some with a 70 cm fin and get Steve at the top mark and stay lit downwind with Mike Z just ahead in first. Better finish- 2nd place.
Race 4- Breeze was building steadily and the 9.0 felt lit. A few more sailors ventured to the right to get out of the flood but ultimately it was Mike Z, Steve, myself and Eric for the top 4 again.
Race 5: breeze was up to a solid 20-25k now for the final race. I started midline with Ben just above me. I felt him trying to get by upwind and knew he would have better speed with his 200+ lbs . I pinched as to not give him an option and he dove below me going for speed footing to the corner. We tacked at the shore and headed back to the middle together. He has much better speed but I was holding him with better angle. At the top mark Ben rounded in 1st with me close behind in 2nd. Steve was just behind me in 3rd. Downwind Ben sailed too far past the layline and Steve was the first to gybe calling it right. I split their difference and had a good rounding with clear air. Steve and Ben both footed for speed wile I came into the top mark on starboard forcing Steve to slow down and almost hit the mark in the 2k flood. Ben got away clean while Steve and I fought downwind. I had to let up on the trigger a few times I was was getting really over powered back upwind. Another close finish with Ben in 1st, Steve S. in 2nd and me in 3rd. Right behind us was Eric and Mike Z.
Noticeable absent from the top of the fleet was Percy who was preoccupied with racing and race management. Kudos to him and his race crew for setting up great racing for us. Despite a few problems with the boat we got 5 races off and results up the next day. Good show calcup crew! Click here for results.
Additional photos from Friday nights racing can be found here

friday night series at St.FYC

The first friday night series at the St. Francis Yacht Club started of with good breeze (15-24k) with most sailors rigging the 10.0s and mikes lab formula board- the san francisco formula one design. With a strong ebb going out over the course, getting a good start and calling the layline were about the only 2 things you had to nail to finish well.
I headed out to test the course 20 minutes before the first start to get an idea of the wind and current. The ebb was evident especially coming off the bottom mark where you could almost squeeze up and make the finish in 1 tack. This bit of pre race knowledge came in handy as Ben and I rounded close together in race 3 and I was able to go for angle vs his speed to finish in front. See photo below 'tack or cross'

I got a little anxious of most all of the starts and got called back on 3 of them being OCS. While getting the gun is good, being too early negates any attempt of effort at all. The RC had some eagle eyes from the deck of the St Francis Yacht club and called my over earlies as well as one general recall to keep the fleet honest. There was no getting by this experienced RC at all. I came back on 2 of the starts to restart and claw my way back through the fleet. It puts a bit more challenge into the game starting 20 seconds late.



One of the lessons I continue to learn is to take advantage of the tide. With a strong ebb on Friday night , you could tack almost 10 board lengths early for the windward mark and still come out strong. Even if you under tacked, you could pinch up and float around the windward mark. Use the tide to your advantage but not too much that your over early!

Coming back downwind was especially fun and a good opportunity to pass a few boards- being stuck in the middle of the fleet. The inside was bit lighter so it payed to gybe early and stick with the breeze unless there was a localized puff making its way down as you rounded the top mark. As they say, its all in the timing.

Up next is 3 more w-ends of racing with the 2007 Calcup series starting Sat April 28, the Evestrom Zellerbach regatta on May 5-6 and the US Open Velocity games in Corpus Christie Texas on May 11-13. New sails arrive in a few days- just enought time to dial them in!
As usual, there were some good photos captyring the action form Friday's racing nad be found here:
Shawn Davis windsurfing photos
Brian McDonalds windsurfing photos