8月レースレポートをケビン・ブレイさんが寄せられました（SYH）

Kevin Blay
August 21st 2011

VOC Gokasho bay race.

This month’s race was within the swirling confines of Gokasho bay. The course resembled a Y. We raced counter clockwise around three markers. The start/finish line was at the top of the left branch of the Y. The first marker was a navigational buoy situated, due south, near the mouth of the bay or at the bottom of the Y. The second marker, also a navigational buoy, was near the bottom of the left branch of the Y. The third and final marker, was a small island at the top of the right branch of the Y. The overall distance is about 3 miles.

There are a couple of important basics to consider at the start of a sailing race, timing and position. Timing your start is important because you want to hit the line at the gun. If you’re too early then you have to maneuver to avoid crossing the line prematurely. This becomes more difficult if the starting line is crowded. If you arrive late you are sailing behind other boats, stuck in their wind shadow and sailing in the foul air coming off their sails. Positioning is the other basic to consider. Where to begin the race? Which end of the start line is better, the committee boat end or the pin end? Which has a wind angle advantage? These are all important considerations for normal starts, however on rare occasions, the positional considerations are made for you. Sunday’s race was one such example. The wind blew along the start line so everyone started on a port tack, and as the pin end was closest to the wind it was the favoured end to start the race.

Wind conditions create lots of discussion regarding the sail selection. The light winds of the day and their angle initiated a debate between the use of the spinnaker or the genoa sail. We felt comfortable to start with a genoa and if the wind backed, we would hoist the spinnaker. The other boats were short crewed so they choose to start the race with the spinnaker, the pre-start was their only opportunity to safely, easily and correctly set the spinnaker, so they weren’t going to miss this chance.

The limited decisions at the start saw everyone bursting through the line at the gun. The three larger boats (32-36ft), Azure, Kasumi and Blue Shark, all flew spins. The smaller boats (23 & 24ft), Cool Zero, Kasumi Jr. and Venus, all prefered the genoa to start. We hit the line at speed but had Kasumi to windward pillaging our wind with her monstrous kite. On our lee sat our nemesis Cool Zero, also a J24, which passed us as Kasumi devoured our wind. Luckily the wind veered, giving us a lift. Our helmsman, Mr. Natori, alertly took advantage of this change in fortune, escaping the blanket of Kasumi and also jumped ahead of Cool Zero. The wind then backed and our tactician, Dr.Chiba, decided to hoist the spinnaker. A bear away spinnaker set is awkward, as the chute has to be set from the bow, instead of the cockpit. This created problems as it got tangled on the hoist but our all purpose crew member Mr.Sugi quickly resolved the problem. However in the confusion Cool Zero passed us.

At the fork in the Y, about half way through the first leg, we were fourth, behind Azure, Kasumi and Cool Zero, with Kasumi Jr. and Blue Shark trailing us. The first four boats then chose approaches to the first mark. The larger boats took the right side near the coast line while the two J’s stuck to the left in open water. The larger boats to the right dropped their spins prematurely to facilitate an easier rounding for their limited crew. We followed Cool Zero for much of the leg gradually creeping up on her as we stole her wind. As we gybed to the mark we caught we caught Cool Zero, and sailed over her. We rounded the mark in third position and with a clean sail change we headed to wind for the second mark.

The second mark is a little right of the fork in the Y. It lies in an inlet, near a mountainous shoreline and between two minor islands. This geography denies clean air, creating sudden wind shifts and dead zones. Unfortunately, we got caught in headers and dead air and Cool Zero passed us. They had a two minute lead by the time we rounded the second mark.

Once we rounded we set the spinnaker and settled down to make up the lost time. The third leg was a dog leg right around fish farms and fish nets. We sailed on a port tack up to the fork in the Y and gybed at the fork. We stayed with the spinnaker even though the wind had backed a little. It was now abeam. This gamble payed off, as we caught Cool Zero raising her genoa and dropping her spin in light air. The spinnaker was our trump card and carried us all the way to the third mark. We got some great air on this leg and closed the gap by a couple of minutes on the larger boats ahead of us.

The fourth and final leg was the top of the Y, sailing right to left. We raised the genoa upon rounding the third mark and had good wind until we approached the bottom of the right branch of the Y. Here we fell into very light air, and watched with nervous anticipation as the wind approached from the south. We caught some fresh air at the fork and bore away to set the spinnaker. The steady southern breeze took us, unchallenged, to the finish line.

We finished 2:31:12 twelve minutes behind Azure, who was first home. BBBBBBUUUUTTT we finished first with the time handicap. Yeah baby!!

All in all a great race. Cool Breeze and us changed position six times. Great fun!! It really keeps you focussed on the race.

I would like to thank all the members who participated and made this race possible. Also I would like to thank the VOC staff who put on another great event, both on and off the water.

Thank you!!
Kevin Ronin Blay, ;p