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to keep up with DaveT and Malcolm. Rounding the boat by North Camp was again tricky in very light airs, however I got away before Dave. He overhauled me as we neared the line, but was strangely unaware that we had to pass the buoy to shoreward, as at the start. I tacked in ahead of him and stole second (B) place. You will see in the results that TimF came first, making a very welcome appearance after a gap of well over a year, his Grumman still intact, but peeling. Keith had lost the overall lead by the second mark, outriggers gaining first and second place. Well done, Steve. The A & B class system once more seemed to work. Of interest is lainH's 5th place in outrigger canoe with no leeboard. He reckons that the sharp 'V' of hull and outriggers give enough 'bite' in the water. In the afternoon a second race was held, again in gentle winds - a simple up & down affair, which Keith finally won. Others sailed down to Fell Foot to see the steam boats (it was a rally). One of the 'chauffeurs' told JohnS that the OCSG fleet resembled a 'crowd of butterflies' on the water. WalterG, in the interests of international friendship, allowed his boat to be photographed with several young Japanese ladies. After Sweden anything's possible.
Presentations, then departure from a meet which everyone seemed to have enjoyed.
When To Tack? (KeithM)
Art or science? A bit of both probably. I was thinking about this question, which our esteemed Editor had posed a while back, whilst sailing at Lakeside. It happened to be during the races but many factors remain the same when cruising/pottering. In no particular order of importance, occasions to tack were:
• When heading into an area of poor wind near the shore (friction/drag of the air movement by the land and particularly the trees on Windermere reduce wind for quite a distance from the shoreline - direction can also become erratic and usually less helpful for beating);
• When about to enter "dirty wind" caused by another boat tacking in front of me (any obstruction creates turbulent air to leeward in a teardrop shape for up to five times the height of the obstacle - a sailing boat creates a "dirty wind" shadow with a skewed teardrop shape and you don't want to be there for efficient sailing);
• When I could see I was heading for a "hole in the wind" shown by a patch of mirror-like water whereas I could also see a nicely ruffled patch on my route if I tacked;
• When I was about to sail into an area directly downwind of where the local sailing club were milling about in their pre-start routine - lots of "item 2" above!
• When the wind was "heading" me. That is, when a slight wind shift caused my "course made good" to be less favourable towards gaining my objective (the windward mark in this case but it could have been a tea shop!). By changing onto the other tack the new course is shortened slightly (on the new tack you are said to be "freed" or "lifted") - but you have to be sure that the shift will be sustained long enough to make the tack worthwhile and your tacking technique must be efficient. If you get really good at tacking then you should come out of the tack just as fast as going in. Really good "roll-tacking" (where you use your body weight to lean the boat first one way then the other during the tack thus pushing the sail through the air) creates extra drive - but doing too much of that is illegal in the rules of sailing! Some boats that are reluctant to turn easily (like mine, which has a long and fairly straight waterline) make smooth, fast tacking quite challenging. Just whacking the helm over brings the boat to a dead stop really well! This could be useful if/or...
• When the big steamer is heading your way! Actually the steamer skippers are pretty good at avoiding sailing craft, when they have the space to do so. But I was going to need to tack before too long anyway and the wind conditions were consistently good on that side of the lake so it was prudent to tack and not give the steamer any hassle;
• When you think you can reach the next mark/finish line/teashop. One of the old adages for when to tack in a dinghy or yacht, when you would be sitting facing sideways with your back to the wind, is when you can see the objective over your aft shoulder. This (sort of!) takes into account the leeway you would expect, as the objective only becomes visible over that shoulder once you have gone a little past the opposite close-hauled course heading. In a canoe I seldom adopt that sideways-facing position so the approach needs to be adapted somewhat, as well as keeping in mind your boat's performance upwind. Mine makes virtually no leeway due to the use of asymmetrically shaped bilge-boards, which provide lift upwind through the water.
So that's a few thoughts on tacking. Gybing? Now that's whole different can of worms. For another time maybe.
Invitation To The USA (Bob Celifarco)
The commodore recently received the following message, which presents members of the OCSG with a wonderful opportunity to sail in new waters and make new friends. The editor recently learned from BernardO of the generous hospitality that OCSG members received from the ACA on a previous visit in 1995 (?). JohnB will have contact addresses for those interested, I'm sure.
As you may know, one of our sailors, Harry Laff, was the guest of the Finnish sailors during their national championship this past August. They showed him a great time (as you did for us back in
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