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Team Racing - Doing A Paul Elvstrom! |
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Written by Steve Tylecote
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 |
Thanks to the loan of some Firefly dinghies on Saturday 27th, and thanks to a reliable although light breeze, we were able to have a great team racing practice. The fun was enhanced by the Fevas joining in for the afternoon session when we expanded to the full course snaking across the middle of the lake just off shore. So who is Paul Elvstrom? Well I can't do a complete biography here but he is the most celebrated Olympian yachtsman ever and has won 15 world championships in 8 classes. Why is he relevant? Well in the morning we saw several sailors manage to race the fireflies singlehanded which is how Paul had to race when the Firefly was used as the single handed class in 1948 in Torbay.....
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Denmark’s Paul Elvstrøm is one of history’s greatest Olympians, winner of four consecutive individual yachting gold medals, and who competed as a yachtsman in eight Games over a 40-year period. He won the Firefly yachting class in 1948 and the .....(you can look up the rest if you want....but I think his training ethic was perhaps his true 'first')
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So with this Olympic spirit in the air and motivated by the ski-cross we had seen on Telly we did 2 versus 2 team racing ....Okay we did not fall over quite as much as the 4 skiiers bashing into each other but we certainly did a lot of manouvering and there were spirited exchanges at every single mark. ....in my view Team Racing is the discipline within sailing that brings the exitement of ski-cross mixed with chess type tactics as you try to outwit the opposition.
In the light airs the run became the most important leg of the course as blanketting from behind could be powerful...even on the short legs....but most importantly you had to gybe effectively in order to be able to position the boat well for the approach to the leeward mark. In fact with practise you can see boats that are good at gybing can avoiding losing out to other boats. Anyway the average course of a gybing boat is dead downwind whereas a boat 'on a run' is typically sailing a slight angle to the breeze. Enough of the physics...the message is being able to gybe effectively is really important. My tips are: |
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- to take in an arm full of mainsheet
- steer into it steadily not sharply;
- use plenty of roll to windward in and a steady levelling after the gybe;
- tie the boom onto the gooseneck so it can't slip off although slight kicker tension also helps this;
- keep weight forwards for light air roll gybes;
- minimise use of the rudder ....you do not really need it and I sometimes prevent myself from steering by trapping the extension grip against the gunwale with my 'climbing' hand.
- get set up again on to goose winged as smoothly as possible afterwards unless a competitor forces you to immediately gybe again
The Fevas had 9 boats on the water. They handled this by having one start for 6 boats racing 3 vs 3 and then another start for 3 boats that would do the 'piggy in the middle' excercise ....if you are not sure what this game is its like a never ending team race loop going round the course.
Many many thanks for those who took part and especially to Kate, Nick , Tom, Tom (remember your kit next time!) and Frank and Graham for helping us out...in particular to those who packed up as I was re-prioritised to a Leicester softplay centre which featured 30ft plastic palm trees you could climb.. if you are small enough to be allowed on! And thanks to Kit Stenhouse who brought Little Sten (Oliver) to see us while Dad had a go.
Best Regards
Steve |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 March 2010 )
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