wild ride
Alex,
Great story! Sometimes I think all Olson 30 people
are not only crazy, but too blase about the way
the boat sails -- this was a day that, for us, gave
the most fun I can imagine out of racing a sailboat.
You can't get more fun out of sailing than racing an Olson 30
in heavy air.
You did very well in this nasty situation. The last
time we crashed, Feb 98, the roundup put the mast
under water almost to the top spreaders, and the torque
threw 4 people into the air over the lifelines
(I threw the mainsheet to one trimmer in midair)
and bent the stanchion I grabbed on high side
to a 75 degree angle. Fortunately, we had just
crossed the finish line and were near home.
A few comments -- others who are better at this
sort of sailing will have better advice.
- Aliens tends to leave the #3 up downwind in very
heavy air. I think it helps stabilize the flow,
and prevents wraps, and especially on short
courses one doesn't have to deal with
the weight forward to hoist it again. (We did
take our #3 down this race, though.)
- When the boat is way overpowered in big waves,
the way I chicken out is to sail higher. The pole
is overtrimmed when we sail high and undertrimmed when
we sail low. The higher angle stabilizes the rolling from the waves.
The chute is twinged down both sides to minimize
oscillations (from waves and from the Karman vortex trails).
Then when we get planing at the higher angle I can bear
off into the wave faces ahead with apparent wind more
forward for the compass course than if we were not planing.
I will be faster when I learn to sail more DDW in these
conditions. Weight trim on the boat is key. We had
constant lee helm problems this race which kept making
me sail high when the pole tip headed for the water to keep
the boat upright. We had one or two crew on the transom
hiking the high corners but this was not enough; the
helm improved only when we put another 200lber on the
lee rail midships, plus trimmed in the main a bit for
more mainsail power. This race, I learned that pumping
the main when the boom points skyward helps lever the boat
back flat.
- Driving the wave faces in front of the boat is also key;
we did ok at this -- trying to head up just enough to
bump over the wave we had started surfing and caught up with again
so we could go over it and surf it down again. If you can
get it planing, the waves are just obstacles.
- The driver is at the mercy of the trimmers. At the
first sign of a roundup crank the pole back, ease the sheet;
at the first sign of a round-down, ease the pole quickly about
2 feet forward. This rotates the chute so the forces tend to
flatten the boat. The rudder is not enough. Another easy rule
we use: "wet side eases." The trimmer who is heading for the
water eases.
- Once again, we learned to foot upwind in heavy air. Crime
Scene remembered this late in the final beat and powered
over us, sheets well eased and sails well twisted. The slot
opens, the main works, the boat levels, and it speeds.
I saw their trim, I thought, "Duh!", imitated them and
sped after them. Having the main flat and travelled down to the
stopper is not enough, you have to ease the jib sheets
or put the lead way back or put the lead outboard or some
combination of these for the conditions.
I would be grateful if any Olson 30 racers who race
regularly in heavy air, such as SF? -- can give me
any tips on speed in 30+ wavy conditions. The lee helm
problem still puzzles me; why with weight aft and on the
lee side was I still fighting the helm to prevent
rounddowns? Perhaps we had the pole a bit too far aft,
going for speed. I dunno.
John
Aliens Ate My Buick 005
Received on Sun Mar 12 16:06:25 2000
