300 log : Chiller 1 at TISC

Date: 13th January
Venue : TISC
Race : 45 minute handicap
Tide : 1 hr after the start
Conditions : NE f4-5 (maybe 6 in the gusts?).  Lots of wind-over-tide chop
Result : 5th 300 of 6, 11th of 22 boats.

First race in the Chiller series at TISC.  The nice thing about TISC is the contrast in conditions to Slipper - the race course is far more tidal, the fetch for the wind is much longer, and this leads to interesting wind-over-tide chop.  I spoke with Dave after the race and he observed that these are probably close to the conditions that we may have in the nationals in September in Stokes Bay, so excellent training.

Positives:
- Downwind was great.  We had a long run into the tide from Stanbury to Snowhill, and chop that was slightly slower than the boat.  Dave and Andy rounded far ahead at Stanbury, I'm not sure but I would say I took 150m out of them downwind.   There were times where I was catching waves both BTL and BRing, and putting an extra 4 knots on boat speed.  Still lots to do though, I've no doubt there is another 15-20% of speed available with the right technique.
- Good gybe in difficult conditions at Snowhill.  Lots of chop around the buoy at Snowhill, and I decided to gybe early in flat water and come into the buoy BTL.  Andy and Dave both capsized at the mark, so a good decision.  At that point in the race we rounded onto a broad reach to Copyhold, I was leading the 3s and thought I was home and dry - not the case!
- Upwind was good.  F5, 70 kgs and 10m2 of sail aren't usually a recipe for upwind speed, but it seemed to be working well, thought I was catching Hugh, Andy and Mark.  Was trying the whole windward heel thing, but it is really hard work in those conditions.  Did seem to be pointing though.
- Didn't feel tired at any point in the race, and could fully hike throughout and keep working the boat through the waves.

Not so greats:
- Poor start.  I set up for the line too early, and was not close enough to the edge of the channel.  Also set up to leeward of the L4000 which was not a smart move, was it really realistic to expect to keep the L4000 from sailing over me?  I think not!
- A nasty capsize on the broad reach from Snowhill to Copyhold.  As we rounded Snowhill I thought the angle was perfect to get to Copyhold - tight enough to be sitting on the sidedeck, and fully powered through the chop.  I'm still not sure how the boat capsized to windward in this seemingly stable set up, maybe not enough vang ?  Anyway, a full on windward capsize and immediate turtle, took an age to recover.
- Must lengthen the toestraps, tacking was a nightmare!

In terms of 300ing, not a great result compared to my brethren.  But I take solace in the fact that the downwind practice is starting to pay dividends (now need to add stability on a BR to the Mr Cockerill list).

Really enjoyed the race, lets hope for similar conditions over the series!

Update : Guidance from  Steve C this morning re broad reaching in stronger winds.  Started with the view that some boats have points of sail that are just plain difficult, finished with some thoughts on rig set up.  Anyway, I'm looking at another low water session at TISC this weekend if anyone fancies it!