Preparation and Practice
By Mike Miller, Fleet 35, Cedar Lake, IN
[This article first appeared in the January 1992 issue of the MC Newsletter.]
Editor: Mike Miller is more than qualified to share this article with us. In 1991 he was the top amateur in the final standings, finishing fourth to Andy Burdick, Mark Christensen and Jim Gluek. He was the top finisher in two regattas and top amateur in two regattas.
Preparation and Practice are keys to successful racing seasons. While planning for the 1991 regatta schedule, time was allocated for each. Items included in the effort were: rigging, hardware, maintenance, tuning, boat handling techniques, boat speed, race tactics and strategy. A typical May or June schedule was:
Monday: If no regatta on the prior weekend, spend one and one-half hours altering, maintaining or repairing hardware. If there had been a weekend regatta, the boat was also returned to the club and rigged.
Tuesday: On the water practice, one hour.
Wednesday: On the water practice, one hour.
Thursday: If no regatta on the coming weekend, spend one and one-half hours altering, maintaining or repairing hardware. If a regatta was planned for the coming weekend, practice for one hour, then put the MC on the trailer and drive towards the regatta site.
Friday: At home or at a regatta site, practice with crew for one and one-half hours.
Saturday and Sunday: If no regatta, practice with crew for one and one-half hours, one day only.
Some specialized practice equipment was needed. A small buoy with line and padded anchor that easily fit in the MC was used for starting and mark rounding drills. To measure changes in boat speed, direction and attitude, a knot meter, deck-mounted compass and inclinometer were obtained.
Once the commitment was made with respect to time and material resources, the question became "What to prepare and practice?" Ideas come from fellow MC sailors, the MC Newsletter, the ILYA Scow Slants and regatta seminars. Practice drills broke down into the following topics: starting, tacking, jibing, boat speed, mark rounding and sailing with crew. During any given practice session, concentrate on one or two drills only.
Starting Drills:
Place the practice buoy so that it and a prominent landmark on shore are perpendicular to the wind direction. Facing upwind, the buoy is to starboard, the landmark to port. Using this setup, windward end starts (buoy to starboard of the bow at "go"), leeward end starts (buoy to port of the bow at go) and mid-line starts (buoy many boat lengths to port at go) can be practiced. When the buoy and shore landmark appear to be in line, the hull is across the starting line. Using a count-down timer with audible signals (Timex Victory) helps keep eyes on the race course during the start.
Practice for large fleet starts using a three-minute count down to "go". Pick a spot on the line, hold the MC stationary on starboard tack for two minutes and forty seconds. Depending upon wind and wave conditions, accelerate the last twenty seconds. The goal is ' to be no more than one-half boat length behind the starting line, moving well and accelerating at the start signal.
If the shore does not appear to be moving behind the practice buoy, the MC is stationary. If there is trouble holding position - make sure the vang is fully eased. To get the acceleration needed for a competitive start, ease the outhaul slightly. Once at speed, practice bringing the outhaul and vang back to their optimum speed settings.
If the MC can be held stationary for two and one-half minutes during the practice, then obtaining a front-line position in a real start with one and one-half minutes or more to "go" is not so difficult. Consistent, timely acceleration from a stationary position maximizes opportunity for clear air at the start.
After starting, sail upwind approximately two minutes as if racing. Returning to the practice buoy, jibe frequently and round the buoy as if it were a leeward mark. Expect to get in four or five practice starts per hour. Starts can be broken down into detailed components. Any difficult component can be practiced as a specific drill, repeated several dozen times in one hour.
Tacking and Jibing Drills:
For tacking and jibing drills, complete twelve to fifteen linked tacks, followed by ten to twelve linked jibes. Concentrate on maintaining boat speed during the tack or jibe.
Boat Speed Drills:
A key to boat speed in an MC is angle of heel, particularly when sailing upwind in non-hiking conditions. When hiked to leeward, stuck under the boom or in competitive situations, I've found my unaided control of angle of heel to be accurate to within plus or minus ten degrees at best. Using an inclinometer, I can keep the MC heeled to within plus or minus five degrees of goal (twenty-five degrees or more in light air, twenty degrees or less in heavy air, sailing upwind). Downwind with crew, five to ten degrees of weather heel is fast. More than ten degrees promotes capsizing to weather.
When practicing boat speed, maintain one tack for as long as water and wind conditions allow. Other drills to improve boat speed include: not creating the mainsheet in light through medium wind; in heavy air, sheeting with traveler only (a crew is mandatory ballast for this); seeking out windward shores for windy day "Big Puff" practice-, controlling angle of heel through body position and mainsail trim-, sailing close-hauled concentrating on wind conditions far upwind, then predict the effects upon the MC, testing the effects of adjustments such as outhaul, leeboard position, mainsail leech tension, fore-to-aft body position, mast rake, side shroud tension and sailing angle to the wind.
In the absence of other MCs, the combination of knot meter, compass and inclinometer give quantitative feedback concerning boat speed during practice sessions. Of these three instruments, every race in 1991 was sailed with the inclinometer on board, on large lakes the compass was included.
Mark Rounding Drills:
From the practice buoy, sail to weather or leeward for two minutes (a good time to practice linked tacks or jibes). Turn and approach the buoy in racing form. Adjust control lines so that as the two boat length circle is entered, the MC is set-up for the next leg of the course. Inside the two boat length circle, concentrate on the buoy and influencing the hull to follow the optimum path around that buoy. Practice maintaining boat speed throughout die maneuver, sudden movements or steering hard with the tiller reduce boat speed (especially at weather marks in light air). Complete five leeward mark roundings, then five weather mark roundings. Initially, mark rounding practice is a drill where rigging and hardware problems show up. Note what is causing the difficulty, then use the scheduled preparation time to alter, maintain or repair the source of the problem. Evaluate the fixes during the next scheduled practice session.
Sailing With Crew Drills:
Practice with crew in all wind and wave conditions; out in the middle of the lake and up tight against the windward shore-, starting tacking, jibing, boat speed and mark rounding drills. Work with the crew on being still; not disturbing the boat when movement is required; and methods for efficient, effective communication. Seek out the weather shore on windy days for practice in puffy conditions, training the crew to stay fixed in one position - trusting the skipper to control angle of heel using mainsail trim and steering. For fun, try some long planing reaches, the bigger the waves the better.
With Preparation and Practice come many benefits: