The Carolina Yacht club always does such a nice job hosting
the Easter Regatta. It's always one of my favorites to attend each year and I'm
glad to see the number of boat growing. This year we lucked out with good wind
and weather as Easter being so early this year could have caused weather
conflicts.
I have one quick comment on the "number of
legs issue" that was on race 3 of day 1. I understand the rules of sailing,
although I learned some new ones that day, but they have to look outside the
rules for a moment and see what effect the rulings might have on the venue.
Protesting over half the fleet just doesn't look good and they probably should
have stepped back and saw there mistakes and apologized to the fleet at some
point for their obvious mistake for hailing boats at what appeared to be a
finish line.
I'll admit, testing the Asym the first day in those winds had
me scared. But once we got it up and did a few test jibes even in 18+ I felt
confident flying it. The boat was never out of control and felt safe at those
speeds. The new shute provides lots of good bow lift that the old shute never
had. I do feel that the new muscle position on the boat has to be the guy
trimming that beast however. At some points during extreme puffs trimming was
not an option but you had to sail the boat to where ever you had it set. What a
ride.
I'm glad the fleet moved away from the old design. I think
more one-design fleets need to take notes on what the Escow has been doing. It's
probably why this is the number 6 or 7 most popular one design class in america.
According to Sailing Anarchy.
John Hayashi was an observer at the regatta and had this to
say:
Tuning
Rig tune - Everyone walked the parking lot with a new found friend the Loos
gauge. The magic number most people were using were 300 lbs on the diamonds.
This seemed to work pretty well in Friday's conditions some people stuck with it
others dialed it up more. Given the wind strength and the fact that no masts
inverted either day this is probably a reasonable baseline.
Diamond stays with spreaders - Who says diamonds are a girls best friend. If
your uppers go they do a great job of keep the rig intact. A great side benefit
of this entire change.
Main sheet - Always be aware of how much tension you have on the sheet downwind.
This is very important for the backstay less rigs. No vang and soft eased sheet
does little to help support the rig. Keep the main sheet on bearing off at the
weather mark while setting.
Sail handling
Sets -There were a handful of people that respected keeping the spinnaker out of
the water. Many others were very cavalier with the launching and dousing. They
paid many a price for their actions. In the first race I-14? rounded in second
started hoisting and dunked the spinnaker. His recovery was complete after about
the 25th boat passed him.
An important tip halyard up before even thinking about the tackline. The
spinnakers are way bigger and you can't beat the odds. Do not drive straight
downwind to set with the main out, the sail runs all the wires sandwiched
between the main, hard on the spinnaker and risking trouble.
Control the foot- Never a great problem before but important now. On both sets
and douses keep aware of the bottom of the sail and its proximity to the
surrounding water. This sounds dumb but a few boats guarded the sail and set
well and doused well and gained boat length's like crazy.
Tactics downwind
Chasing the fastest ride - Many boats got this out of the way this past weekend.
Chances are it will rear its head again for a few more times. You get hooked on
a blazing ride and when its over you are left out patrolling the outer
fringes of the race course.
Outer fringes - As noted above getting there is half the fun getting back is
another story.
Working deeper - It worked for a few people as they made out better then the
rest. The top five boats figured it out and it could be seen in the extreme
angle difference of the boats going downwind.
Protect your pole
At the weather mark and leeward mark be aware it is out. At the leeward mark
many boats were maneuvering around after the douses jockeying for position with
extended poles. The situation at the weather market had a few people deploying
the sprits a little early, something to watch out for.
FYI the spinnakers douse easier with the pole in prior to pulling the sails
around.
Diving for the mark straight downwind
We saw a lot of that. It causes big pile ups and some rubbing contact. Besides
it kills spectators to watch it happen.
Speed of the douses
It takes much longer then you think it does and the extra boat length set up
keeps you from rounding way below the mark. Those that pushed it ended up parked
dealing with issues as everyone passed inside. In the rush to douse the
spinnakers almost always hit the water and slowed the process down more so for
those attempting to make up ground by leaving it up that little extra.
Verbal communication
Everyone does need to talk more on the boats to make everything work just a
little bit better. We gleaned this information dockside from a lot of crews and
skippers. Note extreme communication at maximum volume does little to help
retrieve soaking spinnakers, it does attract marine wildlife though.
Have fun
The boats are moving way faster and things are happening pretty quick. Take it
all in and enjoy the thrill. Every boat at the regatta had a great story about a
monster ride. If you have never sailed an E now is the time.
Walter Prause, SC-3, on his Charleston experience.
I have to admit it was a little intimidating to go out with the new rig for the
first time to practice on Thursday. The breeze was a northerly 15-18 knots.
Little did I know how fun it would be. After getting a few hoisting/dousing
issues out of the way, we had a great practice. It was definitely a different
boat. It was strange to jibe with the main nearly all the way in. I was sure the
boat was just going to spin out on me but it was quite controlled as long as you
were moving fast, the kite got around in a timely fashion and filled quickly.
Friday was a lot of fun. The breeze went to the right as predicted and kept the
committee on their toes. Unfortunately not all of the competitors got the course
change, which was broadcast on VHF and was posted on the course board, when
there was a brief postponement. While this made for some unhappy campers that
afternoon, it really had little affect on the overall standings. There was a
great deal of learning going on both upwind and downwind. We had a bit of a time
finding the groove upwind but had great downwind speed, when we went the right
way. I did get to witness what it looks and sounds like when someone sticks
their pole into another boat. It was really loud and the pole broke clean at the
deck. I think Will Demand has a bit of work to do where he was hit.
Saturday the breeze was on a little harder, probably 15-20 knots out of the SW.
The learning curve was a bit steeper than on Friday. There were a number of
capsizes, including us in the first race. We did manage to right the boat, sail
it out from a nearly full swamp and finish 19th. There were two rigs in the
water, one broke when righting a capsize and one due to broken shroud(s). We
timed one of the downwind legs, approx. 1.1 miles, at
4 min. 30 sec. from rounding to rounding. I think we may need to move the
outside bailers inboard and back by the skipper as the bow really lifts up and
the water is at my feet. There was even some water exiting the transom holes at
times.
I thought that I had gone fast in an E before. I WAS WRONG. We had a blast, we
learned quite a bit and look forward to the season.
-------------------------- Mon 3/31/2008 11:26 AM
Charlie Johnson on HO-50 says:
Having been originally opposed to the conversion, I now have mixed emotions.
Based upon the Charleston experience, the asymmetrical has certainly made the
boat faster when it blows, and I must confess it was a hoot. It also certainly
does make the decision to jibe more spontaneous. However, I question the
argument that it makes the boat more "user friendly". While avoiding putting
someone on the deck to jibe under adverse conditions may appeal to some, I think
is was a part of sailing the scow that I liked, and with practice did not
require either unusual skill or strength. Conversely, while the asym makes life
easier for the jibman/jibwoman, controlling the asym is a handful in heavy
weather. It also requires much more attention for the entire crew on the
downwind leg than the earlier rig. As someone that sails on a lake crowded with
other racing classes, fisherman, and powerboats, visibility is going to be a
serious problem. My guess is it is also likely to be a problem with the kind of
light and shifty air we often experience at Hopatcong.
While I am clearly a novice in terms of sailing experience with the new rig, my
perception is that it also puts considerably more pressure on the hull. During a
screaming reach on the second day at Charleston we separated the deck at the
port chain plate and had to drop out. I was sailing an updated 2000 Melges, and
I really don't think that the older hulls are adequately stressed to handle the
new rig in heavy weather. Fortunately we have @ 20 lbs of weight which will now
be replaced by multiple gussets. There were numerous other equipment problems
(rudder separations and rigging failures) which suggest this may be the case.
On balance it was fun, but my perception is that based upon the Charleston
experience, it required less in the way of downwind tactics, and I'm not sure
that the benefits exceed the drawbacks in terms of expense and loosing members
who have chosen not to convert.
--------------------------- Fri 3/28/2008 1:57 PM
Robby Wilkins, SC-27, contributes:
Thursday morning, blowing 20-22 knots with puffs pushing 25. What we thought was
not your best day for flying the asymmetrical for the first time. We immediately
discovered the boat easier to handle, bow up all the time and just haulin ass.
Chute sets and take downs took longer, but everything else was much easier,
especially the jibes. Should have made this change 10 years ago.
Friday, breeze was in the 15 knot range with bigger puffs. Chute sets took
longer and absolutely have to keep the chute out of the water on sets and take
downs. Once chute is up, put it on a plane and go. A blast.
Saturday 18 knots with bigger puffs, except for sets and takedowns, boat was
much safer and easier to steer downwind, put it on a plane and boat becomes very
stable. The gybes are much easier, because you are much more focused on getting
the main across, then backing the chute, we were always under control.
Suggestions, chute bags need to be moved forward, had a hard time getting chute
all the way back on the takedowns. Always use gates at downwind marks, because
it takes so long to get chute down, need to spread fleet out some to avoid
collisions and ensure weather takedowns.
Will Hanckel, SC-22, says: I think the move to the A sail is one of the best
moves the class has made. The boat is much easier to sail, faster, and more
tactical downwind. I am looking forward to racing more with it.
---------------------------- Thu 3/27/2008 9:26 AM
Bob Cole, KU-9, relates his fist asym experience:
My first experience steering the asymm was Thursday March 20. We waited to the
late afternoon for the air to diminish after a strong front had passed through,
so we set the sail just once, did several jibes, and doused. We were lucky to
have aboard Eric Oppen of Quantum Inland Sails and Eric had worked on the sail
we were using. I was a nervy helmsman and didn't know what to expect. My first
experience was actually quite comfortable and I was able to settle down. I was
fortunate to also have aboard David Moring a former E skipper and Eric Hall who
has asymm experience on I20.
On the first race day, we learned quickly at the top mark to go as low as
possible for room below boats. Our first set we got rolled and actually had the
feeling of a forced jibe as the air passing a boat to windward did a kind of
vortex over the large barrier created by the asymm to windward.
Anyway, once the sail was up we jibed away for clear air and moved out nicely.
The sail makes the boat feel as though its on a permanent beam reach.
Lively. Constant feeling of acceleration.
Once the boat is at speed turning more downwind can be done with little loss of
speed. We used a scallop course to heat and bleed.
I like the lift of the bow and the relief from wave considerations.
The jibes were easy. Very little main sheet action is required. At first we used
a slow and constant turn. Later we found a rhythm of fast-slower-fast allows the
clew to pass nicely between the luff and the forestay and the sail pops into
action well and faster.
The douses all went well since we put the put the boat very broad and very flat.
We did have a small problem of blowing the end cap off the bowsprit but learned
a stop knot in the sprit line will prevent overfull retraction.
This was a good first experience made better with the help of my crew and the
folks at Henry Colie Scowworks and John Hayashi at Windward Boatworks.
The conversions all held up well in very breezy conditions.
----------------------- Thu 3/27/2008 8:49 AM
John Porter, GA-11, new to acing an E-scow
I have raced all kinds of boats all over the world. This was our first e-scow
experience and we learned more than a few do's and don'ts. I've grown up with
the Charleston group and it's always great to mix it up with these guys. They
are experienced, fast, and always fun to be around. The rest of the E sailors
were helpful with boat set up and this is what really makes a class.
Having sailed the M24, I was amazed at the acceleration of the E in comparison.
This was truly a wet-n-wild ride. With great competition, an extremely fun boat
and now the simpler and faster A-rig, I believe the E fleet to have great growth
potential in the South.
I'm hooked - see you at the next event!
----------------------- Thu 3/27/2008 7:49 AM
Augie Barkow, V-37, overcoming adversity to win the Charleston event
The Charleston Easter regatta was, as usual, a great event. Great wind (10-18
east(fri) and 12-15 west turned south on Saturday), alway nice breeze in spring.
The Carolina YC was ready for us and everything went smoothly.
Our trip started with a phone call on Wednesday learning that the front bunk
broke loose and the boat slid forward and dropped on the trailer bunk arms,
creating 2 fist size holes in the hull. regatta ending??? not a chance. John
Hayashi was down there and he grabbed the boat and spent all Thursday and
Thursday night fixing the holes and we were ready to sail Friday morning. 1
major "mishap" overcome.
We sailed out and set the kite for the first time, WOW. The boat was great,
feels like it was meant to sail with such a sail. After a few ups and downs with
the spin, we sailed the day with big smiles on our faces and the downwinds were
a blast. We did lose our end cap at the first leeward mark and had to sail the
rest of the race with the kite on the bow eye, but even that was not that bad -
a bit slower though. John was there to drill some more holes and secure it back
on for the rest of the day. #2 mishap overcome
The third race was kind of a "mishap" all together for everyone except the 7
boats that read the course board, but we broke our main halyard right off the
starting line and the main came down and that was it for the day, for us anyway.
#3 mishap
4 on the high side all weekend and great weather made for a prefect Easter spent
on the water. 70 and sunny with great breeze. Seems like I said that last
year???
To all those whose boats are still tucked away on garages, get ready for some
fun downwinds, Angles are hotter, crosses are more exciting, gains and losses
are bigger, sets are key and the fun level just stepped up a few notches. I am
sold. Great vote everyone.
------------------------- Thu 3/27/2008 6:34 AM
Lee Alnes, W-25, had crew Charlie Helms and Mark Dunsworth sharing his first asym experence.
Thanks for capturing "history in the making". We really had fun with the new
rig. I already told Andy Burdick and Harry Melges that if we are not doubling
fleet sizes within the next 3-5 years we are doing something wrong in marketing
this new rocket ship. I agree with the comment that it was under sold to the
fleet.
Here is the note I sent out to our fleet on 3/25/08 9:59 PM:
Greetings E Scow Sailors:
Team Euphoria is back from the first Asym E Scow regatta since the rule change
and I have to say this new rig is FANTASTIC! We left right after the last race
to start our 21 hour drive home so I have not seen results posted yet but I
think we ended up at least in the middle of the 27 boat fleet. I think we had
finishes of 15, 14, DSQ, 10, 7, 6 if we counted right. The DSQ was kind of a
group thing � major RC screw up caused most of us to sail the wrong course, but
the rumor was that they were going to allow a throw-out to try to make things
right.
Our conversion worked out perfectly thanks to the fine work done for me by
Charlie Helmes. We made two key changes to the boat since last fall: We moved
the chainplates back and converted to the swept back spreader configuration
which allowed us to get rid of the backstays, and we added the bow sprit and
made all the changes to convert to the asymmetrical spinnaker. We sailed with a
full inventory of new North Sails which looked great.
The result is a wonderful new boat. The E scow is reborn and it is really fun
now. I was absolutely impressed with how well balanced the boat feels and how
natural the Asym kite works with this 80+ year old hull design. This is well
beyond any E scow sailing you have done before in terms of speed, excitement,
safety and ease of boat handling. If you are on the fence about converting, I
can tell you it is well worth the time and money.
Some comments posted by competitors on SailingAnarchy.com when asked how they
liked the change:
�To answer your question in a word���.PHENOMENAL!�
�The Asym rig was under-sold!�
�We had an absolute blast!�
�In 12-17 knots�at least 25% faster�.my personal opinion.�
�Sailing the boat in a blow (+20) is very easy�
�jibes are no problem�
�getting the big sail up ��..and down ��..is hair-raising�� if you have any hair
left.�
�Catching shrimp is a bummer� �.. if there were any shrimp in Charleston Harbor
before we started the regatta��.there are none left�
We sailed six heavy air races in Charleston with myself steering, Mark Dunsworth
flying spinnaker and Charlie Helmes in front trimming the jib, hoisting the
spinnaker and handling the tack line. Friday saw winds in the 12 to 18 range and
Saturday we had breeze in the 15 � 18 range gusting to 25. Our A scow experience
definitely paid off as many teams had trouble with the basics of sets, jibes and
douses. Everyone is learning and everyone was sharing tips which is something
really cool about scow sailors. Mark got a pretty good work out on the spinnaker
but for smaller folks a fourth crew would be able to help out.
There are no clear answers regarding tuning and set-up anymore. Mast rake is
different due to the diamond stays and the pre-bend in the mast. Tension on the
sidestays is generally much tighter than before. If you don�t own a Loos tension
gauge you need to get one to tune the boat.
My inexperience with tides and current was a problem, but fortunately Mark had
sailed Charleston Harbor twice before in his collegiate racing career and his
advice was very valuable. Despite the advice, I managed to T-bone the committee
boat at one start and ended up starting hundreds of yards behind. Fortunately it
was the first day and many folks had spinnaker trouble so we caught 10+ boats by
the finish.
Sailing the boat with no backstays is really nice. It took a while to get used
to it because every tack and jibe I found myself thinking about the self
preservation instinct that comes with those darn things. By the second day I
wasn�t even thinking about it anymore and was just enjoying the safe ride.
We had some truly incredible spinnaker runs in the big breeze, but yet it was
not scary at all. Jibes are quite easy once you get the hang of it. We were
going so fast off the wind that most the time I had the main sail trimmed as if
we were going upwind. That�s how much �apparent wind� we were experiencing due
to our speed. If anything the downwind runs were too short, lasting only a few
short minutes � barely long enough to �do the laundry� before we had to take the
big sail down.
Some additional changes of note: the full deck cover barely goes around the
diamond stays and could use some tailoring, we had some tailoring done to our
full envelope traveling cover to make it fit, I think we will want a larger
spinnaker bag (on the same frame) as the new sail is a lot of extra cloth to
stuff.
All in all we had a really great time in Charleston. Great town to visit if you
have never been there. I look forward to a great summer and a very successful
future of the new E scow.
I can�t wait to get back on the water! Let me know if you have any questions or
need help with your conversions.
--------------------------- Sun 3/30/2008 5:24 PM
Gary from MA-6 writes:
Needless to say if you look at the scores, Peter and my, MA-6, Easter regatta
was not our best. However we did learn a number of things about the new chute
and so the view from the back goes something like this:
Race 1 Friday blowing 8-12knots generally from the east somewhere, current going
out against the wind. Coming into the first leeward mark, needless to say no one
had great technique. The general approach was to come in hot and then head
downwind 2-3 boat lengths from the mark to get the chute down. This caused a
massive pileup especially since speed over the ground with the adverse current
without the chute was very slow. We managed to be inside, got squared away and
were swept into the mark. All aspects of that rounding were slow. Needs to be a
faster technique of getting the chute down to avoid congestion or perhaps just
more practice.
Race 2 Friday blowing 8-12 knots generally from the east somewhere, current
going out against the wind. Coming into the first leeward mark hot, start to get
the chute down but did not release the sprit. Will Demand shows up in the gap,
no reason to go into right or wrong, in either case break off the sprit on
Will's boat. Things to be learned: Get the sprit back in early as we later
gathered it does speed the take down. The sprit is a dangerous thing in
congested areas.
Race 3 Friday I am not going to go into but it was a mess. What was learned is
to reconfirm the course that is posted on the committee boat after every
restart. Seems sort of basic.
Race 4 Saturday blowing 12-18 knots generally from the west, current going out
with the wind. Beautiful sailing, no chop upwind against the tide. We finally
have everything together, cranked up the tension on the rig to around 700lbs,
vang on hard, outhauls out, approach the first weather mark in the top 5, life
is good. Come around the mark, ease the vang slightly, set the chute are ready
for the ride of the regatta and get hit by a puff. The weather upper stay parts
and then the lower and the whole rig goes over the side. The upper parted at the
turnbuckle in the swage. Since the stays were only one year old could have been
the swage??? The lower breaking and the diamond rig staying in tack saved the
mast. With the new chute the loads on the rig are higher and so attention is
going to have to be paid to strengthening the rig.
Race 5 and 6 Saturday. Needless to say there was no race 5 or 6 for us. But it
did blow somewhere around 16-22 knots and the good news was that the destruction
was very limited.
----------------------------------------
Rick Turner, CH-6 had a few qu0tes to
p[ass on:
� sailing the boat in a blow (+20) is
very easy� �jibes are no problem�
�getting the da big sail up ��..and down ��..is hair-raising�� if you
have any hair leftJ�
�Catching shrimp is a bummer� �.. if there were any shrimp in
Charleston Harbor before we started the regatta��.there are none left�
Angles are different sailing downwind.
EVERYBODY is still learning�����..!
-------------------------------------------------------------
3-25-2008 Dave Bargar, CH-4, had
these comments to his fleet (CH) about Charleston
All good !!!! The rig is tight giving it a higher performance feel with the
addition of the diamond stays up top. This seems to be true up wind as well as
down with the added dimension of the main vanged for performance and inversion
protection. Once we hit the windward mark and the pole was set the fun really
began. A crew that coordinates well will have a strong advantage, so Marc, your
group training idea is excellent. We were very awkward the first day getting the
chute up as well as down. We sat in the wrong place on the boat. It seemed
natural to sail "hot" with four on the high side in the big air, but we learned
the fastest way down hill was to drop two crew into the boat, bear off and ease
the chute. This made for speed and shortened the legs. We learned to keep the
lines and chute out of the water - definitely slow. Lines easily jammed under
board and if chute even contacts the water surface, it seems to get ugly quick.
The crew has to keep this stuff cleaned up. The bow man has to be quick on the
halyard (about 6 feet more distance too) and then move right to the tack line to
pull the chute forward. Then damn, it is a great ride! To quote crew Chad, "that
was the best near-death sailing I've done in a long time". I think he was
talking about the speed, but now that I think about it, it could have been a
skipper commentary. The gybes are fine. The crew again just needs practice and
timing. The occasional twist Chris mentioned is preventable if we practice line
handling and timing with the rotation of the boat. Still getting used to boards
way down off the wind. Overall, it's a gas. You'll be glad you made the
investment.
More comments from Chris Creighton, CH-7, in an email to his
Chautauqua fleet:
I will throw in a few comments from a novice perspective!
WHAT A BLAST!
Winds were blowing steady 12-18 (puffs to
20)��all weekend.
(Note for those that left Sat afternoon�winds picked up on Sunday to 18+ and
this morning
when we picked up our boat to head south���..22+ (3-4 rollers w/ample white
caps!)�.we caught a nice couple
of days, all things being equal.
Jib man gets the big break�.after he rips
a muscle in his back raising that big ass sail!
Setting the Tack Line is a workout as well�..
Middle guy better have some pipes in
15+��the load on the sail is incredible�..
Gybing the chute is pretty simple (Dave and I both had an hourglass episode�.do
not know if that is typical or due to the big air).
We delayed releasing the sheet until we
were into the turn�blew off the sheet and snapped it around to the leeward side.
Worked relatively easy everytime.
The boat absolutely smokes downwind��need
to smooth driving the boat off the wind during puffs..else
you can literally jerk someone right out the boat. At times you felt that
a seat belt would have been helpful!
1.5-2 mile legs only took about 4-5 minutes�before you knew it�you were bearing
off to douse the chute.
The ASYM is all of 20% faster in
comparable air over 12 (we didn�t sail in less than that all weekend).
Guarantee all who have yet to sail will love the new rig.
It would have been nice to warm to the
nuances of the asym in lighter AIR��as we tipped within 5 seconds of
popping the chute (I know�.DA of the weekend award!)��but once we set the chute
and had a chance to gybe a few times.
The tip about keeping the chute out of
the water ��is not to be taken lightly��the asym chute absolutely will auto fill
with water.
Windward take downs were smooth��MEXICAN will work good�in lighter air�but in
15+, we did not attempt! From my perspective�do not take down to leeward
unless you absolutely have to�it is light and the boat is flat.
I would be nice to have Dave/Marc weigh in with their
comments/tips��.
To quote Dave�.the first time out with the ASYM�..he felt
like he was sailing with all thumbs�..IT IS THAT different from the old rig.
Enjoy!
NCESA OFFICE: P.O. Box 3022, Madison, WI
53704-0022, 608-347-1480,
lon@E-Scow.org
