Yachts & Yachting — March 2018

Nigel Austin

D-Zero

Val Millward

Challenger

Eleanor Craig

Laser Radial

Andrew Snell

K1 keelboat

Russ Clark

Fireball, crewing

for wife Penny

Ben Schooling

Musto Skiff

Harry George (age 13)

420, crewing for

dad James

haveto write the course down –

often making a note of the colour of

the mark. Don’t be surprised if the

windward mark is to starboard either!

“We love the big fleet handicap races

as you get so many different classes

which makes for very interesting

races, especially the events which run

three handicap starts on the Saturday

andapursuitontheSunday.Quite

often you get the top UK sailors race

too,whichisarealplusasyounever

know if you’re going to beat them.

It’sgreattomeetsomeofthebig

namesinthedinghypark,likeSaskia

Clark, Ian Walker and Nick Craig!”

On the water

Once you are on the water the fun

can start but it’s here that a little

expert advice can really help...

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS

Ben Schooling says:“Playtothe

strengthsofyourclassoryourhandicap.

IntheMustoSkiff,forinstance,Itry

nottostartaboveaMerlinRocket

or an RS400, which can point much

higher off the line, but at the same

time I’m aiming not to start below a

National 18 which is a wind vacuum.

Beawareofboatsaroundyou.Mostof

us are used to class racing and even in

development classes, speeds and angles

are pretty similar. Handicap racing with

everything from Toppers to 49ers is

very different so keep your wits about

you.Sailingconservativelycanpayoff

bykeepingyououtoftroubleandnot

getting involved in luffing matches.

“Thedecisiontoholdthekiteonthe

reaches of a trapezoid course is always

tricky.OnthetopreachIwouldtend

nottounlessIcanclimbhighand

be confident I won’t have to drop it

againbeforetheturningmark.Itend

to go high or low of the rhumb line

andnotpassanyboatstoocloselyto

avoid getting into any situations.

“Onthebottomreachthekiteis

alreadyupsothetrickisjusttocarry

it as long as possible. When the time

comestodropit’sbesttotryandfind

alulltogiveyourselfthebestchance

ofstayingincontrol;don’twaituntil

thegusthitsandyou’reontheedge!”

POSITION FOR CLEAR AIR

Andrew Snell says:“Maintaining

clearwindiskey.Youneedtobe

more conscious and aware of other

boats around you than in single-class

fleet racing, especially with faster

boatsovertakingyouandgivingyou

dirtywind.Tackoffandalwayshunt

outclearairasmuchaspossible.

“In the slow and medium fleets, you

can end up with lots of boats ‘rafting up’

around marks, particularly in lighter

winds. Be conscious of that and if you

foresee that happening, try to position

yourself to avoid it. On a run or broad

reachcomingintoaleewardmark,

maybeholdbackandlettheraftgo

roundinfrontofyou,sothatyoucan

takeatightexitroundthemarkand

beinniceclearwindonthebeat.

“In one design fleet racing, you

may have settled into a position half

waythrough,andbackoffabit.Ina

handicap race you need to keep pushing

on, all the way to the finish. The racing

iscloseandeverysecondcountsat

Maintaining clear wind is key. Be aware of

other boats, especially faster boats overtaking

Above

In handicap

racing every

second counts;

work the boat as

hard as you can

DINGHIES WINTER WINNERS

Our panel of winter sailing experts

March 2018 Yachts & Yachting 41