I can play all the excuse cards I dealt Das Boot today:
- Crew absenteeism: missing both members of my foredeck crew because of vacation (or hang-overs?).That took our spinnaker out of the game.
- Replacement crew was composed of somebody's mother (a good photographer), neighboring boat owner (a good back-up driver) and a crew from another boat (excellent mainsheet trim).
- Totally late to the start line. (Yeah. That was a factor.)
- Blind-sided by wind change right after the start. Wind dropped from 18 to 10 and veered to the south long after I committed to the Kelp straits.
- Maybe too closely trimmed on beats. But that's who I am. I'd rather point than foot.
Yes. Yesterday was a case where those of us who are kelp-averse, and who always sail out in the current, made out like bandits. With the wind change, we made D-Mark on the 2nd or 3rd tack. Tough luck to the two of you who can't think outside the box!
ReplyDelete;-)
Box? What box? Nobody told me there was a box.
DeleteHow to address these excuses and win the next race:
ReplyDelete1) make absentee crew members ‘kiss the gunner’s daughter’.
2) reward the replacements that did a good job rather than use them as an excuse
3) Fix or replace your alarm clock
4) I have yet to read a good thing about the kelp straits on this blog. Don't go there.
5) Adjust your sails to wind conditions to balance your helm.
PS - don't pay attention to me, I don't race. ;)