The Winter Handicap Season: Help from Fernhurst Books
by Jeremy Atkins, Fernhurst Books 11 Nov 2015 04:17 PST
11 November 2015
The season of Winter handicap events is upon us, with the GJWDirect SailJuice Winter Series epitomising what is so great about this type of regatta: the chance to compete in a large fleet against some of the best sailors in the country.
Fernhurst Books is a great fan of these events sponsoring of the first "major", the Draycote Dash (21st / 22nd November). At this event, we will have all of our 120+ sailing titles on display and available for purchase. One of our authors, Nick Craig, last year's winner of the Sail Juice series and author of Helming to Win, will be doing a Q&A session immediately after sailing on the Saturday (c. 4pm), and will be signing copies of Helming to Win,.
To help you in the run up to the series, here are Nick and Jon Emmett's 3 top tips for these handicap events.
Nick Craig's top tips:
- Time to experiment! Handicap racing results can be pretty mixed so now is the time to try new things and not worry about the overall results too much. Try new boats, new crews, new kit, start outside your comfort zone, try new modes of upwind and downwind sailing... there are so many new things that can be tried in sailing!
- Have an escape route out of the start planned. Starting well in a handicap fleet requires different starting approaches. In a relatively slow boat, a great start is meaningless if a fast boat with a poor start quickly rolls you into dirty air. On a starboard-biased line, start right by the committee boat so no-one can roll you to windward and you can easily tack into clear wind if your lane disappears. On a port-biased line, don't start at the end as you will be quickly rolled unless you can port tack the fleet. Start near the end with space to windward to allow an early tack into clear wind.
In a fast boat, you will probably point lower than the slower boats. So ensure you have a decent gap to leeward so that you can use your pace straight out of the start.
- Manage the fleet and enjoy the practice. Handicap racing means sailing in a lot more traffic than usual, especially if you are normally around the front of your fleet. Sailing in traffic is great practice for pulling through the fleet when you get a poor start in fleet races.
You should be looking for clear water and air as much as possible whilst still staying in phase with the shifts and pressure. How you balance these depends on how well your boat copes with dirty wind and water versus how big the gains are from pressure/shifts. If the wind is steady and you are sailing a Merlin, which doesn't tolerate dirty wind well, clear wind is key. If the wind is shifty in an Enterprise, which chews dirty wind well, dirty wind isn't a significant factor, so focus more on the shifts.
Jon Emmett is a hugely successful Laser Radial Sailor, gold medal winning coach and author of Coach Yourself to Win and Be Your Own Tactics Coach. Jon's top tips:
- Be prepared. Make sure that you have everything packed, and check all your gear, especially if you haven't raced for a while. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the venue in case there are any delays: there is no harm arriving early and having a cup of tea and getting relaxed. Being stressed about making it to the first race or even missing it is not going to give you a good result!
- Sail your own race. Remember you are racing EVERYBODY, not just those in your own class. So if you get caught in pointless luffing battles, or even a match race, you are giving the rest of the competitors a huge advantage.
- Know the rules. With so large a fleet and so many different classes of boats coming together at the start line and around marks there are bound to be the occasional incidents. Make sure you know the rules and stick to them!
Along with Nick & Jon's books, Fernhurst Books publish over 120 books and eBooks covering
racing,
cruising and a variety of other nautical subjects.
www.fernhurstbooks.com lists all the books and eBooks available. On the site you can also find videos and other resources to bring the books to life, as well as being able to register to receive news, details of new titles and exclusive special offers.
All the books can be bought direct from www.fernhurstbooks.com, and can be found in all good bookshops, book websites and chandleries.
See you at the Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash!