Sometimes tactics and strategy are best explained by telling you what NOT to do. Here's an amusing piece about things that I never do (right)...
Popular blogger Tillerman can sum up a situation in an informative and entertaining manner that crosses all class of boats. Here’s a recent report following a cold day of Laser sailing in Newport, RI:
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Even though I am really enjoying the frostbiting this year I am beginning to think that the cold is affecting my brain. I keep making the same stupid mistakes. Here are just four of them...
1) Try and start in the most crowded part of the start line. Yes, I know that the boat end is favored right now but so do 25 other guys and they are all trying to start in the same spot as I am. The one race that I had the sense to find a quieter place a bit further down the line I had one of my best finishes.
2) Sail in another boat's bad air. Sure the course is crowded but why don't I check before I tack that I'm not going to be putting myself three boatlengths astern of some other boat on the same tack, forcing me to gasp for air for a minute or two while I slip slowly backwards relative to the other boat all the time wondering if two tacks to clear my air would lose me even more distance? I lost count of the number of times I did this on Sunday.
3) Approach the windward mark on the port tack layline in a large fleet on a small course. I did this even though I should have known that I would find it impossible to find somewhere to tack and round the mark cleanly. I only did it in one race on Sunday but why do I find it so hard to remember this?
4) If there are a bunch of other boats behind me on the short final beat, make sure I go the other side of the course from them. Duh. What was I thinking? I rounded the leeward mark in 4th place (woo hoo!) and forgot to look which way the pack behind me went, so I didn't cover them. I ended up with one of those persistent lifts out on the right side of the course, sailing a great circle course and never quite laying the finish line while six boats who went left sailed the inside of the lift and passed me before the finish. Ugh.
I only have one excuse. Brain freeze.
Complete post: http://propercourse.blogspot.com/2010/02/brain-freeze.html
