Kendall and I just returned from the Egyptian Cup and Flying Scot Midwest Championship Regatta held on Lake Carlyle at Carlyle Sailing Association this past weekend (June 17 & 18).  

Five races were scheduled.  No racing occurred on Saturday due to lack of wind.  Sunday saw winds 8-15 knots varying about 10 degrees around SE.  

The lake is 3 miles wide and 8 miles long.  All courses were W/L with an off-set mark at the windward mark and a leeward gate.  This is the first time I’ve sailed a gate, and we struggled to figure out which end was favored.

We ended up sailing 3 races back-to-back-to-back on Sunday.  

Race 1 we ended up 7th.  We hit the favored end of the start line at the gun with full speed, rounded the top mark in 3rd, but went the wrong way downwind and let 3 boats slip by us.  We ended up 7th in that race.

Race 2 we hit the windward mark on the first rounding (pinching to get around), had to do a 360 and let about 4 boats by us.  Our start was on the port end of the line, and, although the line was neutral, the right side of the course was slightly favored, and we went left.  We ended up 11th in that race.

Race 3 we were over the line about 1-2 seconds early and didn’t dip completely on the first attempt, setting us DFL.  But, we worked our way up the ladder and finished 12th.

24 boats were registered; 20 boats sailed.  We ended up 9th overall.  

Here is the low-hanging fruit I have identified to help us improve:

1. SAIL FLAT!
2. Complete the tacks, keeping the main uncleated to run if on the other side we’re over powered.
3. Don’t hit marks, and don’t be over early.  Identify the sight points (boat/pin) of the line BEFORE the first gun, and keep them visible!
4. Pay attention to the prevailing wind shift direction (windy app) and go that way first, unless there is a clear patch of wind the other way.
5. Kendall calls the douse!  He knows how long it’ll take to do it.
6. Update (on white board) the tack directions every upwind leg (average).  See the predicted shift.
7. Clean roundings!  Wide on the approach, close on the pass.
8. Tack to cover.
9. Get the rig right.  I think we were raked too far aft; look at the main sheet block-to-block distance of our boat relative to others.
10. Blow the out haul before Kendall takes the spin sheet for the first time.

Our next regatta is at Lake Decatur in Decatur Illinois July 8 & 9.