Five Secrets to Winning Races

By Larry Gomes

June 1999

 

Editors Note: This article was originally published for the benefit of weekly club racers in the BYC Monthly Newsletter.  However, it has several good tips that apply to overnight racers as well.

 

Ten years ago, we started racing Midnight Wind in the Wednesday night series and the Sid Clark Overnight race.  Midnight Wind is a Pearson 36 Cutter based on the older Pearson 365 cruising ketch.  Both boats share the same hull, but in the cutter version, the keel was extended to 5 ½ feet and the mast was moved aft to create room for a permanent staysail.

 

The odds for winning were against us:  We had a heavy, cutter-rigged cruising boat with an outside sheeting jib.  There was an average of a dozen boats in every race and we were always at the bottom of our class.  The first two years we raced in the 100-mile overnight race, we never even finished because we ran out of time. 

 

Last year, we did what we thought was the impossible:  We won our Wednesday night class for the entire season and we got a first place in the Sid Clark race. How did we go from last to first and why did it take 10 years to do it?   The answer is complex since there is no one item that made the difference.  However, here is what we consider to be our top five secrets for winning races.

 

Secret #1 - Propeller Change

We originally started racing with a fixed two-blade prop that windmilled at high speeds.  We replaced this with a two-blade Max-prop that feathers when not in use.  This added a least 1 / 2 knot to our boat speed, especially in light air conditions and more than makes up for the folding prop penalty assigned in our rating.

 

Secret #2 - Instrumentation

We installed an Autohelm instrument package that has 5 critical components:

1)     Wind speed and direction – This gauge shows the apparent wind direction from any direction in 10 degree increments and the apparent wind speed.   This is good for getting a general indication of wind direction, but does not have enough accuracy for upwind sail trimming.

2)     Wind direction and VMG – This gauge shows the wind direction only when you are going upwind, but it is shown in expanded detail.  You can tell within one degree where the wind is coming from and adjust your sails accordingly.  The VMG (Velocity Made Good) gauge shows how fast you are actually traveling upwind in a straight line.  You can use this reading to play angle of attack against boat speed to get the highest VMG.

3)     Boat Speed – The most important instrument on the boat since it allows us to tell how sail adjustments or crew weight changes affect our speed down to a tenth of a knot.

4)     Elapsed Timer – This is incorporated into our boat speed indicator and allows us to time our practice runs at the line.

5)     Countdown Timer – This is also incorporated into our boat speed indicator and counts down from 10 minutes to the start.

 

Without accurate instruments, it is impossible to tune your boat to its fullest potential.  Most races are won or lost in seconds and every fraction of a knot that you can gain through tuning adds up, especially during a short race.  We credit our instruments with adding 1 / 4 knot to our average boat speed as well as allowing us to get accurate starts.

 

Secret #3 - Bottom Preparation

We spend an average of 3 to 4 days each year preparing the bottom of Midnight Wind.  First we sand off all of the old bottom paint and get the bottom perfectly smooth using 60 and 80 grit sandpaper.  Then we spray it down and hand-wash it to be sure that all of the dust particles are removed.  (This prevents the paint from chipping off during the season).  Using an ultra-smooth roller, we carefully paint the bottom.  Once it is dry, we wet sand the bottom by hand using 100 grit wet/dry sandpaper.  We figure that our bottom preparation adds about 1 / 4 knot to our average boat speed.

 

Secret # 4 – On-time Starts

In short races like the Wednesday night series, it is critical to get a good start.  There is simply not enough time during the race to make up for a late start.  We arrive at the race course at least one hour before the start and begin practicing our starts. 

 

First we decide on which angle to approach the line.  Then we set up our sails for the start and the first leg of the race.  Then we make several runs at the line using our elapsed timer to time our runs.  Since the wind conditions are different for every race, these timings vary from week to week and are absolutely essential to getting a split-second start.   Ten minutes before our start, we set our countdown timer and begin positioning the boat for the start using our previous runs as a guide.

 

Secret #5 – Strategy

This is the wild card of the race and probably the most difficult to master.  We have all made the classic mistake of sailing on the wrong side of the course, or tacking too soon and missing our mark.  But there are some simple things you can do that will increase your chances of winning:

1)     Minimize tacks – Every tack uses up valuable seconds and creates the potential for mistakes.  We try to sail every race with the fewest amount of tacks by making the longest tacks that we can.

2)     Get Clear Air – To keep your boat moving at its fullest potential, you must stay in clear air for the entire race.  Avoid tacking duels and if someone edges above you, simply drop down below them to get clear air.  This loses far less time than tacking away from the upwind boat.

3)     Play The Tide – The Eldridge tide book shows current diagrams for Narragansett bay and Block Island Sound as well as the times for high and low water.  Prior to the race, determine which way the tide is flowing and incorporate it into your race plan.

4)     Be Conservative – Staying on your tack an extra 30 seconds is a lot better than having to tack twice if you miss your mark.  Plus you will have added boat speed if you do not have to “pinch up” to make your mark.

5)     Think Ahead – Get your crew prepared for what they have to do at each mark.   Run through each of their jobs with them so they know what to do.

 

Having the right strategy means that you did not make any mistakes during the race:  You got a perfect start, you trimmed your sails properly, you distributed your crew weight correctly, your crew tacked the boat perfectly every time, you set and took down the spinnaker perfectly, you hit each mark precisely and you played the tide just right.  Out of the dozens of races we have been in, I can only remember a couple of races that we sailed “perfectly”, so there is always room for improvement.

 

Conclusion

We have proven that any boat can be competitive in their class.  It takes a large commitment of time, some money and the desire to continually improve hardware and strategy.  However if you concentrate on just one area each year, you will notice the results and it will encourage you and your crew to work towards your next level of sailing. 

 

We challenge other winning yachts to share their “secrets” so the rest of the club members can benefit from their experience gained through our club-racing program.