BBBS Sailing Reflections (Byte 6 and SB20 4) (12 Sep 2020)

Byte Pre-Sailing Reflections 

Targets to achieve:

Internal Affairs - Intra-Boat Management

Execute smooth hand over hand sheeting in with improved rope positioning. Also tidy up ropes before doing a tack/gybe (make sure you are ready for tack/gybe before performing one)

Practice main sheet tricks - stretch out length of rope and lay on knee prior to tack or gybe

Hike out with thighs on boat gunwale

Manage outhaul, downhaul and vang consciously to maintain good sail shape.

Lift and lower daggerboard for different points of sail

Manoeuvring Around Wind - Tacking & Gybing

Turn by correct amount during tacking (slightly over-turn then head back to wind is fine). (Also do so by visualising current heading and new desired heading.)

Tacking technique to be improved - changing hands and moving the tiller extension around forward. Keeping hands on main sheet instead of letting go. 

When the wind shifts aft, point into the wind more rather than letting out the sail. Likewise when the wind shifts up, the sail will start to luff, at that moment, bear away a little.

Tacking and Gybing Practice: Hit 5 tacks on the upwind leg and attempt to hit 5 gybes on downwind leg. 

Navigation Skills

Practice distance-timing/dead-reckoning: acquire a sense of how much time it takes for my boat to travel a certain distance/no. of boat lengths.

Heave-to next to a buoy/stationary target and let drift for 30 seconds and observe displacement to deduce current strength and direction. With this information about the current, compensate accordingly when mark rounding.

Steering Skills

Aim at distant point when sailing

Steady rudder control. (Previously rudder control still not steady, especially when I'm sheeting in with both hands (including tiller hand). Boat still sometimes veers from side to side and sometimes I unknowingly give some slight rudder input. How to improve this?) Perhaps try the sheeting technique where the tiller hand does not move that much, whereas the main sheet hand moves more in handing the sheet over to the tiller hand.

Practice sailing with hand behind back

Keep steerage movements calm and smooth

SB20 Sailing Reflections

When tacking on close-haul, sheet is usually cleated in to optimum position. When boat is in no-gone zone during the tack, pressure will be released from the sail, and that is my moment to pull the traveller sheet and move it without much strength. Use foot to push the traveller if needed. Boat will heel as we turn, but stay on my current side for 2-3 seconds and continue pulling the traveller. After 2-3 seconds, it is time to leap to the other side to flatten the boat. Might be difficult for me as I had to lean back to pull the traveller. So to make it easier for me to get back up, pull on the traveller sheet and use it to hoist myself back up and onto the other side. 

Byte Sailing Reflections

Momentum

Important to maintain momentum throughout. Larger rudder deflection inputs will create drag and cause boat to lose speed and momentum. Try to keep rudder inputs small and smooth. For now, I will experiment with implementing a 45°, 30° and 15° limit. Maybe placing some indicators near the tiller. 

Same thing goes for the sail. Don't make sudden movements, but keep movements smooth. Sudden movements will disrupt the laminar hydrodynamic and aerodynamic flow. Make it gradual, keep the flow laminar, don't induce any sudden vortices. 

Heeling

Tacking