Lets talk about waves. Waves are caused by
the surface friction of wind on the water, and lifted by the same
sucking force that propels a sailboat. When they become bigger, the
gravitational force of the water within them becomes its own impetus
for movement: the water at the peaks of waves wants to flow downhill
into the trough. There are different surface currents within waves –
fast downwind current on the faces, and a slight back eddy on the
backs; a pretty good diagram of which can be seen here:
http://misclab.umeoce.maine.edu/boss/classes/SMS_491_2003/waves/wind_wave.jpg
Upwind, we find superior speed by minimizing our
time in the greatest negative current, and maximizing our time in the
positive current. Thus, we head up the face, and down the back. This
is made possible by the apparent wind lift we experience sailing
uphill, and the header we get as the rig swings forwards to go
downhill. A couple of things go into mastering this technique:
steering with weight and body movement, reading the telltales well to
keep great speed, keeping the boat in contact with the wave (no
pounding) and having the rudder move small, smooth amounts to
compliment body movement and head up the face. After watching video and talking about wave
phases on Saturday, I saw sailors getting more dialed in with the
waves on Sunday. Here's the link to a short video we watched of the
2010 World Champion (good onboard footage of smooth movements through
waves), followed by some of our upwind practice video:
Downwind in waves, the Opti can be a
sweet ride, but as I tell my self in the Snipe (which surfs and has hard chines like the Opti) "I get to the windward mark, and then I start to work hard." Sailors got to work on their pumping and weight movement
and got some pretty extended surfing. The goal is to stay on the
downhill face of the wave (where there is the most downwind current)
as long as possible. To get there, you need to be close to the speed
of the wave – if the boat is too slow the wave will just roll past
it. The pumping and movement should be very intuitive, move forwards
when the bow lifts to correctly trim the hull and build speed. When
the bow dips, pump your sail in and shoulders out and back to
initiate surfing. As the wave rolls by, stay on it longer by again
moving forward. In the following video, we see Garret (who I call Grant LOL) begin moving
fore and aft more than his teammates and gain a couple wavelengths on
them. But then, they reel him in before the mark – he stays too far
back in the boat too long (stern drags, not enough speed to catch a
wave) and gets a little bit of bad air. When your going downwind at
close to the windspeed, small pressure differences from even slightly
disturbed air can mean the difference between surfing and not – get
a lane on the edge of a group, not between boats!
On a unrelated but equally paramount topic: we struggled at times this weekend with our attitudes and maturity, both with classroom time and Saturday's workout. While I respect that the weekends are your fun time and coaches in the past may have tolerated or felt they couldn't change the group behavior, I think its essential to everyone's progression as a sailor that we strive to be more self-motivated, mature learners. Inattention in the classroom leads to a lack of retention on the water - for example I'm still having to remind sailors of obvious things like pre-stting their Daggerboard bungie for the downwind leg before the weather mark. Im seeing too many sailors infected by what Pat Riley calls "the Disease of Me." Ex: my legs hurt, I want to go in, Im sad because Im not winning, I want to swim, etc... Avoid the temptation to make excuses, and "fill your mind with what matters" - giving your best effort, learning, and treating each challenge as an opportunity. Do this and you will see both your individual learning curve and your team progress much more rapidly. Excellent Sunday workout, and I hope to see continued improvement in the team dynamic through our next practices!
No comments:
Post a Comment