Sailing

ishoot308 · 10-04-2010, 08:19 AM

I was invited by my friend and island neighbor to take part in a sailboat race sponsored by the L.W.S.A. on Winni yesterday.

For as many hours I have spent on the water this was my very first time on a sailboat! To say I felt a little humbled in my navigation capabilities would be an understatement!

There was not much wind yesterday and I really had the opportunity to see what an art there is to sailing. Every little rope / sail adjustment in the slightest makes all the difference in the world at how you grab the wind and keep pushing forward. Patience, a good captain and seasoned crew seems to be just as important on low wind days as high.

I also had the opportunity to see how power boat wakes affect the sailboat and was amazed. I am not talking about boats within the 150' rule, I am talking about boats well beyond that. They literally take can take the wind right out of the sail. Unlike natural waves caused by wind which are a constant and from the same direction, power boat waves hitting a sail boat at a non natural direction slow it right down and will affect your final race time. So in my opinion the respectful thing to do if you see a sailboat race going on is stay as far away as possible or completely slow down to no wake well before the required 150'. Obviously this is not a law, simply something done out of courtesy.

Living on Welch Island many times the Thursday night races are right in front of my camp. Normally, when boating out to my camp I always stayed what I thought was far enough away from the sailboats and blast out to my camp at W.O.T. Now that I know the effect my wake has on the race, I will be sure to stay even farther away or slow right down to headway speed.

I have a new found appreciation for sailing and enjoyed the race immensely.

Dan

VtSteve · 10-04-2010, 10:52 AM

This brought back memories of when I used to sail on our little Sunfish on Winni. I tried not to go out when the wind was light, sensing the inevitable floppy sails. But Winni's winds are sporadic, and not always predictable. After being on a better sailboat, larger and taller mast, I quickly saw the difference. Hobi Cats began to appear, and I lusted after them.

I have a lot more experience now witnessing sailboat races, as we have many of them that leave the bay every weekend. Lots of smaller boats for beginners, Laser class, up to much larger craft. I've watched intently when I had the chance, as they deal with crossing waves from cruisers and other boats, in addition to the windy chop. I've never noticed much of a problem for the sailboats, even with the other boaters that, IMO, are way too close and leaving too large a wake. I know what their routes are, and how their courses are laid out, so I always leave the bay in a way as to be gone quickly without interfering, and leaving as small a wake as possible. The ones that are in the way, are those plowing along with big wakes, which goes on for quite awhile.

I have noticed one thing during the races days. They typically don't go out on dead calm water, leaving themselves to wallow in the water with sails flapping. It's a rare day here indeed when there's calm seas, but they do happen. Malletts Bay is the true acid test for how sailboats of all sizes deal with powerboat and wind waves. Doesn't seem to be a problem at all, at least as I've observed. And believe me, on race weekends, this Bay is quite chaotic.

10-04-2010, 08:19 AM	#1
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 5,924 Thanks: 2,285 Thanked 4,936 Times in 1,912 Posts	Sailing I was invited by my friend and island neighbor to take part in a sailboat race sponsored by the L.W.S.A. on Winni yesterday. For as many hours I have spent on the water this was my very first time on a sailboat! To say I felt a little humbled in my navigation capabilities would be an understatement! There was not much wind yesterday and I really had the opportunity to see what an art there is to sailing. Every little rope / sail adjustment in the slightest makes all the difference in the world at how you grab the wind and keep pushing forward. Patience, a good captain and seasoned crew seems to be just as important on low wind days as high. I also had the opportunity to see how power boat wakes affect the sailboat and was amazed. I am not talking about boats within the 150' rule, I am talking about boats well beyond that. They literally take can take the wind right out of the sail. Unlike natural waves caused by wind which are a constant and from the same direction, power boat waves hitting a sail boat at a non natural direction slow it right down and will affect your final race time. So in my opinion the respectful thing to do if you see a sailboat race going on is stay as far away as possible or completely slow down to no wake well before the required 150'. Obviously this is not a law, simply something done out of courtesy. Living on Welch Island many times the Thursday night races are right in front of my camp. Normally, when boating out to my camp I always stayed what I thought was far enough away from the sailboats and blast out to my camp at W.O.T. Now that I know the effect my wake has on the race, I will be sure to stay even farther away or slow right down to headway speed. I have a new found appreciation for sailing and enjoyed the race immensely. Dan

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10-04-2010, 10:52 AM	#2
VtSteve Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1,320 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 230 Thanked 361 Times in 169 Posts	This brought back memories of when I used to sail on our little Sunfish on Winni. I tried not to go out when the wind was light, sensing the inevitable floppy sails. But Winni's winds are sporadic, and not always predictable. After being on a better sailboat, larger and taller mast, I quickly saw the difference. Hobi Cats began to appear, and I lusted after them. I have a lot more experience now witnessing sailboat races, as we have many of them that leave the bay every weekend. Lots of smaller boats for beginners, Laser class, up to much larger craft. I've watched intently when I had the chance, as they deal with crossing waves from cruisers and other boats, in addition to the windy chop. I've never noticed much of a problem for the sailboats, even with the other boaters that, IMO, are way too close and leaving too large a wake. I know what their routes are, and how their courses are laid out, so I always leave the bay in a way as to be gone quickly without interfering, and leaving as small a wake as possible. The ones that are in the way, are those plowing along with big wakes, which goes on for quite awhile. I have noticed one thing during the races days. They typically don't go out on dead calm water, leaving themselves to wallow in the water with sails flapping. It's a rare day here indeed when there's calm seas, but they do happen. Malletts Bay is the true acid test for how sailboats of all sizes deal with powerboat and wind waves. Doesn't seem to be a problem at all, at least as I've observed. And believe me, on race weekends, this Bay is quite chaotic.