Don Woodhouse Wins the SYSCO Summer Series
By Dale Mack

Congratulations to Don Woodhouse and his crew for winning the SYSCO Summer Series.

The late snow melt had the river level high and the current swift.  Except for race 3, the wind was great and you didn't really need to be too concerned about the 3+ knot current your were sailing in.

Don has been noted for his downwind sailing skill, but his summer series success can also be attributed to his improved starts and his ability at calling the laylines better on the way to the windward mark.

By the end of the series everyone's skills had advanced.  The winds had been medium to strong for most of the series.  In some races we flew spinnakers and in others we didn't when the wind's velocity was judged to be beyond our skills with a flying sail.  Thanks go out the crews that helped make it all possible.

Again, congratulations Don.  Well Done!

* Note:  The 6/19 race was abandoned by the race committee due to a lack of wind.

Scenes from the SYSCO Summer Series

Promiseland Harmony

Celeste Togarty & Celeste

Going It Alone
Single handing the last race of the summer series
By Dale Mack

This season I've had the privilege of having two other Fleet 20 members crewing for me (Tim Taylor and John Clark).  After Laura and I returned from our San Juan Islands cruise, Tim, John, and myself discovered that Tim and John would not be available for the last race of the summer series.  Normally I would have just picked up the phone and called one of the many folks who have offered to sail with me, but in this case I decided to do something I hadn't done before, race alone.

I single hand Crocus a lot (one to two times a week), and anyone who has ever been aboard knows the boat has all of its control lines led aft to the cockpit.  Over the last couple of years, I've even flown my symmetrical spinnaker by myself.  I've found that the toughest part about sailing alone is when I have to go to the bow for the whisker or spinnaker pole.  Using my Tiller-Tamer I'm able to leave the cockpit for brief periods in light to moderate air, but in moderate to heavy air I'm pretty much restricted to staying in the cockpit.  I know some folks have rigged a continuous line from the tiller to the bow and back to the tiller that allows them to steer when even on the bow.  I haven't taken this step yet, but I might consider it if I did a lot of solo racing.  For the time being I accept that in some conditions I just won't be using the poles, and thus will have to sail wider angles to the downwind marks.

It's Thursday, July 10 and the wind is blowing in the mid to upper teens.  Normally I would fly the 150 with a reefed main, but instead I opted for the 110 and a full main figuring that with my novice solo racing skills the 110 would give me better visibility.  Once out of the marina the main and Genoa go up and I'm flying upriver toward the race committee boat to check in.  With both sails drawing now I'm sailing back and forth trying to get a feel for the conditions and the boat.  I'm already regretting the choice to use the 110 because the boat isn't pointing very well and the full main has me over powered at times, but there isn't enough time to change headsails and reef the main (one of the down sides of having a rolled 150), so I'm going to be racing with what I've got.  I'm also finding that some of my solo sailing skills that are used to more space around the boat aren't well suited to the close proximity of racing.  For example, on tacks I'm spending way too much time looking into the boat trying to keep lines untangled and not enough time with my eyes focused outside of the boat.  Bottom line, I'm sailing real conservative (keeping my distance from other boats) in order to make up for my inability to stay focused outside of the boat.

Despite my lack of coordination, I manage to get a descend start, but I'm not pointing as well as the Ranger 20s and I always out point the Ranger 20s.  The 110 and the full main are killing me.  I've lowered the traveler to spill wind from the main sail, I've tightened the Cunningham to pull the draft in the main sail back forward in the high wind, I've tightened the outhaul to flatten the bottom third of the main, and I've tightened the boom vang and the backstay to adjust the main's twist and to flatten it.  Despite all the tweaks I'm still over powered so I fall off a little trading pointing ability for speed.

I round the windward mark in a crowd, something I was hoping to avoid since I'm solo.  The downwind leg this going to be challenging, not because of the current, but because I feel it's blowing too hard for me to go forward to set the pole so I can sail wing and wing.  About now I'm really starting to hate my choice to go with the 110 instead of the 150.  I need more sail area, but it's not going to happen.  All around me folks are making choices about whether to fly their spinnaker or go wing and wing.  South of me a Cal 20 has been dismasted, to the northwest three Ranger 20s fight to control their spinnakers when suddenly one of the three wipeouts.  To reach the downwind mark I'm doing a combination of sailing really wide angles as if I were reaching, and sailing downwind wing and wing without a pole and wishing I had the 150 up.  My technique is getting me to the next mark, but I'm watching those ahead of me extend their leads and those behind catch up and pass me.

My approach to the downwind mark has me getting there in a crowd.  Not wanting to interfere with others who might be a bit more serious about the series' final results than me, I take the mark wide and leave lots of room for others.  This final leg to the finish line is to windward.  After having loosened everything for the downwind leg, I reach back and tighten the backstay, and move to the boom vang to adjust the twist in the main sail.  The wind's velocity has diminished a little, so I don't feel as over powered as I did on the first windward leg.  I've accepted that the boat isn't going to point well, so I focus on maximizing my speed to the finish.  The hum from the keel cable confirms I'm going faster.

Looking back on my experience I've identified several things I can practice to become better at solo racing.  Here's a few of my learnings:

• Keep your focus outside of the boat.  As a skipper with crew I've never had a problem with this, but solo I just wasn't prepared for managing both the skipper and crew jobs.  When I sail solo I don't tend to sail close to others.  When you race solo, the start and the mark roundings can be very intimidating if you aren't in complete control of the boat.  Those around you are depending on your boat handling skills and knowledge of the rules of racing to avoid problems.
• Line management is crucial to boat handling.  If I had to identify the one thing that interfered the most with me keeping my attention focused outside of the boat, it would have to be line management.  In close proximity to others, I always seemed to have a tangled mess of jib sheets and main sail sheet.  While line management is just as important when sailing with crew, it can get right down dangerous solo if suddenly you can't tack or gybe because you didn't keep the cockpit tidy.
• Learn to cross sheet.  Cross sheeting is the name given to the method of bringing a jib sheet up to the high side of the boat in order to keep the crew's weight high (very useful in high wind).  I was cross sheeting all the windward legs of the race.  Basically you use the low side winch normally, but then also bring the sheet to the high side winch with one wrap so you can cleat the sheet on the high side.  Cross sheeting works well in all wind strengths.
• Reef the main before giving up on the 150 Genoa.  Lots of heavy air sailing on San Francisco Bay taught me that the boat will often sail better and more comfortably with a reefed main and 150, than with a full main and a 110.  In hindsight I wish my desire for better visibility afforded to me by the 110 hadn't overshadowed my better judgment regarding sail selection.
• Practice, Practice, Practice!  I'm going to start practicing my tacks and gybes when solo sailing as if I were getting ready for the next race.  Getting more coordinate in the cockpit will help keep my focus outside of the boat.

Looking back at the race, I'd have to say I sailed pretty poorly.  I was slow, sloppy, and felt uncoordinated most of the time, and yet, I also have a wonderful sense of accomplishment.  It was my first race solo and I managed to get around the course without fouling anyone, or hurting the boat or me.  I learned a lot and I know I'll race solo again.

Fleet 20 St. Helens Cruise - September 6-7
By Dale Mack

Installing a Spinnaker Pole Track on the Mast
By Dale Mack

Most folks get by with just installing an eye on the front of the mast which they then use for their whisker pole and spinnaker pole.  The first thing you notice with a single eye is that it seems too low for the spinnaker and too high for the 150 Genoa.  If you plan on racing your boat, the best solution is to install a track on the front of the mast.  The track should be 1" wide.  A three to four foot long piece will be long enough (it's typically available in pre-cut four foot lengths).  The vertical center of the track should be 42" from the bottom of the mast on an old-style boat (1970-1985) and 39" for a new-style boat (1985-1995).  The track will have holes spaced in it that accept the pin on the pole slide to hold the slide in place. A separate countersunk set of holes are for the bolts that hold the track to the mast.  You will have to carefully drill and tap the holes in the mast for the bolts that hold the track to the mast.

Tapping Holes

The one inch wide track typically uses 1/4" x 20 Phillips flat-head machine screws.  Use a No. 7 or 13/64" drill bit followed by a 1/4" x 20 tap.  Be mindful, that not all one inch track uses the same size fasteners.  My one inch Genoa car tracks use 7/32" fasteners.