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BBBS Sailing Reflections (Byte and SB20, multiple)

Byte Sailing

25 Oct 2020

Conditions: Light wind S, picked up to 8 knots SW? at 1100h, consistent. 

Roll-Tacking
Heel boat leeward and tack. Once boat passes irons, body follows boom position and heel to new leeward, maintain till sail stops luffing, then STRAIGHTEN RUDDER, get onto windward side, flatten and change hands. If didn't straighten but beared away, will oversteer and might even capsize (when you bear away to beam reach with your sail in too tight, you get a lot of heel with little drive) . 
(Also take care to prepare and free up some rope allowance prior to tack to prevent stepping on it. If stepped on it, and about to capsize, heck it, let it go, focus on controlling the rudder, and do whatever it takes to hike out and over the gunwale like my life depended on it).

Changing hands
After completing Tack, with RUDDER STRAIGHTENED, body on the new windward side, keep current tiller hand behind back, grab tiller ext base with current sheet hand, (sheet currently through thumb and index finger). 
Body move forward (butt to main sheet cleat on Byte). Grab sheet with new hand. New tiller hand to natural position. 

Body position
When kneeling, forward knee is up, and body faces sail (inwards). Feet on centre. 

Sheeting in technique
Tiller hand grabs sheet with index finger and thumb, with sheet between tiller extension and thumb. Main sheet hand grabs sheet with entire hand and sheet draped over thumb. Free end of sheet draped over the thumbs, pointing towards me. Take care not to allow the sheet to bunch up, drop down the free side after sheeting in.

Roll-Gybing
Heel boat to windward, sheet in, sail "back-winds", gybes. Flatten boat by moving to new windward side.

Capsize Recovery Tips
When climbing back onboard after righting boat, hold onto the main sheet and provide some tension. This is to power up the sail to provide counter heeling force to enable  you to climb into the boat without it flipping over and capsizing again before you get in.

Easy/dry Launching Jumping-Onboard Technique
Point boat towards launch direction, one knee on stern and hop on, then slide into cockpit.


General
Movements need to be smoother, more graceful, less jerky and less stiff. Good to look more "professional" also.


 


Previous week
Conditions: Wind SSW, approx 8 knots, steady (slight shifts). Sunny.
Platform: normal Byte with the normal length tiller and tiller extension, and larger sail. 
Course: Hotdog

Had 3 casual races towards the end.
Hiked out a lot more - bum outside gunwale. 
Attempted roll tacks too. 
Attempted different hand positioning and technique when tacking (emulating Pro sailors). 
More conscious about raising daggerboard when running downwind, but forgot to lower again for upwind. 
Attempted weight shift steering (rudder to supplement). 
More confident about when to sheet in main sail for boom at stern corner and to keep it tight. Boat will heel but just don't care and hike out to flatten it. But if boat speed drops, let out. Easy to tell, esp when racing. 

Still getting tangled in the trailing excess main sheet when sheeting in. To improve: managing excess main sheet. 
Mark rounding was tight in wide out - too wide
Coach said there were times when I was only sheeting in with only one arm - gotta look into that






SB20 Sailing 

24 Oct 2020
Role: Main sail trimmer

More actively trimming this time. Using a combination of main sheet, traveller and backstay to maintain shape and positioning of top batten, while attempting to keep boom on centreline and bottom of sail pointing in the correct direction.

When trying to accelerate, leech should be a little open to catch more wind. But normal mode, leech should be parallel to boom and/or pointing straight back.

Need to communicate more with skipper on what's going on in my mind, maybe?

Improved my system for tacking: Lay main sheet on thigh. Pull in and tension leeward traveller line, while ready to uncleat windward side. On Tack call, pull in traveller line and uncleat simultaneously. With whatever free hand, hold onto the main sheet loosely. Wait for call and move to new windward side to flatten. Cleat traveller. Adjust grip on mainsheet. Check sail shape. Prepare for next action.

Don't look down at the ropes in the cockpit or OCD about them so much. Look up, look out. Movements to be smoother. 





Previous week
WE RACED WITH THE EAGLES!!! 

Conditions: wind SSW, 4-7 knots.
Role: main sail trim + spinnaker trim
Mental state: less focused today, with slower reactions. I wasn't as on-point.

Reminder: mainsail trim to prioritise top batten shape - rear portion parallel with boom. Don't worry about the rest of the battens, just the top one will do.
Traveller usually not used that much. Just remember to keep boom on centreline.
Got more practise on tacking and developed system to keep main sheet on me while I reach out in great stretches to pull in the traveller.
Traveller pulled in during Tack a little early at times. We need power to turn through the Tack, so time the pull-over when passing through Irons.

Had some challenge reading jib telltales. Might just be a matter of the sun shining through the sail. 
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