Well yet again the forecast was very accurate over the bank holiday weekend and as it was my first time out in over two weeks due to holidays, I was really looking forward to getting back in the action.
Sunday saw two races back to back from one of the clubs set courses. The wind was a bit shifty but was about a force 4 so just getting to where the Farr starts to perform well. A good start and first to the windward mark which I was happy with considering I have to free the boat off compared to other boats in the fleet such as the blaze and Lasers. For a small boat the Farr is great upwind when you can get out on the wire and get her flat.
Half way round the 1st race and I was sitting pretty just behind the 1st Blaze. This was a combination of good boat speed and using the tide as much as possible to aid boat speed. On the final leg the Blaze had just got away from me a bit (this was due to being a little lazy on the downwind leg and not really working the boat) so I ended up about 150m behind him.
Race 2 and I was getting tired and thinking about it, I think this was a combination of only eating breakfast and playing in the breeze in between racing! The wind seemed to have dropped off a bit and this meant putting in even more work to keep the boat going fast. So as you can imagine the mistakes started coming. I missed my footing during a tack and T bagged myself, rushed a tack which resulted in the slowest tack ever, so not my best racing performance!!!! At the half way point I sorted my life out and really worked hard (I must of as I got a sweat on!!) on the downwind leg using the slight swell to aid boat speed and body weight to stop the bow from digging in. Ended the race feeling happy about the second half but knowing my mistakes were going to be very evident in the results.
Results
Race 1: 1st
Race 2: 3rd
When I looked at the corrected time it was very close with the Blaze on 2208 and me on 2209. One point in it which meant the T bag cost me!!!!
Monday
Monday saw lighter breeze and it was a continual battle with the boat. It was those conditions in a trapeze boat you hate. Not really enough to get out on the wire and stay there so you end up going in and out and in and out and in and out and in and out and....... (you get the picture!). To round up the racing on Monday all I can say is bloody hard work!!!! In all fairness it was good to race in a variety of conditions so the handicap can become clearer. The issue with handicap racing is every boat has its day. For example on the Monday the snipe was always going to fair well. Light winds with a lightweight crew and a boat that is great in light breeze. When the breeze gets up the trapeze boats start to come through. Racing in light air in the Farr is still a challenge mentally. Keeping your cool when the rest of the fleet seem to be going faster and trying to think tactically still keeps you interested even when its not seat of your pants stuff!!!
Not sure of the results for the Monday as I had to get home for grub so I bailed before the results were released. I would think about 4th or 5th out of the fleet of about 9 boats.
One of the members was out taking pictures so I have asked him to send any of the Farr he took over so I can upload them which should be fairly soon.
Great stuff Ewan.. I'd love to see any pictures! Sacre Blue's mast is set up for a lighter helm so I wouldn't punish yourself too hard for the lower end speed reduction. All things being equal, with a boat more accurately set up for your weight, I think you would be generating more power in the lighter stuff and achieving the same sort of race position as in the heavier air. So it's less about the general Farr 3.7 performance envelope and more about the specific set up of your Farr 3.7. Remember there is quite a lot of flexibility in the One Design rule set to tune to your needs.
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