Some days I can't explain it. Like last week when we had a long race around an island - actually 2 races with a lunch break in between. My friend, and closest competitor, outsailed me in both races and I really don't know why.
I had 2 decent starts and held my own downwind but he consistently got me on the beats. I guess part of that is the fact that he is heavier - favoring me downwind and him upwind. I tried working through the waves a bit upwind but they were very small and I suspect all the effort was to little avail. I noticed he seemed to be doing very little, other than gaining on me and passing me about 30 meters away - in the same wind.
I am sure I could have done a better job at keeping the boat flat, but I am also sure his boat was not much flatter. His settings looked the same as mine.
In the second race my rudder had a small chunk off the tip - apparently from grazing a rock at low tide. Could that be a good enough excuse?
Then, to top it off, he made a smart (lucky?) strategic decision that paid off big-time. He went around an intermediary island to the left when most everyone else, including me, went right thinking we would avoid some adverse tidal current that way. But apparently the tide had slowed enough that the extra difference we sailed was a big negative - he ended up not far behind the leaders.
Oh well, there is always tomorrow.
I find this one of the most frustrating thing about Laser racing. If someone beats me by hiking harder or picking the shifts better or getting a better start, that's OK because I can learn something from it. But when he just seems to be faster for some invisible, magical reason… Ugh! What am I supposed to do about that? One solution is to ask but often the guy himself doesn't really know what he is doing differently.
ReplyDeleteOh well. Better go and get some practice!