Time Off Without Practice

I ended up with stress fractures in my foot after a recent ocean regatta. It isn’t quite clear what caused the injury, but it kept me off the Laser for three weeks in the midst of three regattas I’d been aiming toward this year. Finally this past weekend I was able to sail in the QYC Last Blast Laser regatta. The wind speeds were in the mid twenties with higher gusts and even with the radial I was struggling. It was some of my worst racing this year – a few reflections.

I have been looking for some heavy air to practice in all summer and just haven’t quite coordinated any significant practice time when the wind was there. It’s a crucial issue, as I’m particularly inconsistent in heavy air. I get caught up trying to keep the boat flat and moving, and I end up a bit hurried in my maneuvers and often get caught not quite prepared.  

My starts were especially bad. Most races I was second row and not fully accelerated at the horn. By the time I settled into a grove I was way out of it. The wind pressure only accentuated my tendency to hang back a few feet to avoid being over early. One start I was where I wanted to be, but I didn’t have the speed or height to maintain my position and quickly dropped back.

My tacking this season is as good or better than it has ever been, yet I blew three critical tacks during the regatta. On one I was sailing on port tack up the last beat, parallel to the boat I needed to beat. I felt pretty good as I gave up some of my windward gains to move in close enough to windward to make it difficult for her to tack onto starboard. I held my ground until I was in a position to tack for the finish and place her in my bad air. I tacked into a wave (waves on a small lake aren’t that big), stopped in irons and couldn’t get the boat to accelerate until my competition had sailed right by me to finish ahead.

All my tacking drills have been done in fairly smooth water. I was tired and not keeping up with my awareness routines. I fumbled with getting the boat moving; I couldn’t figure out fast enough what to do. After the finish it was clear that I was cold and my failure to bring a warm hat out with me was hurting my concentration.

My jibes were pretty good and decently controlled given the wind speed. This is what I have been focusing on in the last few months and I could feel it in my confidence and in my quick reactions as the boom came hurtling across at the jibe marks. I nailed every jibe.

I had the Laser pretty stable downwind. On one leg six boats were down around and in front of me and I kept my focus on catching the stern waves of the boat ahead and grabbing the inside position at the leeward mark. Each time the Laser started to roll I trimmed the vang and slide the board down a bit; the boat settled and I eased the vang a tad and raised the board back up. No need to stay in the conservative trim state, I felt confident I could reestablish control if it began to get squirrelly.

What could I have done better given the bum foot? No reason I couldn’t have spent time visualizing nailing the starts or working to windward with plenty of power (no pinching). My foot didn’t keep me from paying better attention to the seasonal weather and the need for warmer clothes. And I didn’t spend the time on the way to the club running through my awareness routine – sail trim, boat trim, wind shifts, wind pressure clues, wave path, and competitors.

Still a lot of fun racing and a good group of competitors.

(Thanks to Deb Mason-McCaffery for many Laser pictures on this site.)

Jay Livingston