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Racing Rules of Sailing

Notes from Dick Rose RRS Seminar Seattle Jan 16 2009

Rules expert Dick Rose presented a lecture on the new rules (RRS 2009-2012) for marks and obstructions (Section C) in Seattle on Jan 16, 2009. Here are the notes I took. It seems that the biggest changes to the Section...

A Glossary of Lake Washington Sailing Winds

The Doughnut Wind... The Tennis Club Breeze... This article is a fun look at some of the sailing winds found on Lake Washington in Seattle.
Puget Sound Laser Racing Resource Guide

Looking for a local Laser race in your part of the Pacific Northwest? Here's a guide to all the venues around Puget Sound that are Laser racing friendly.
Seattle (Lake Washington) Local Knowledge

Introduction Lake Washington is one of the two primary one design racing venues in Seattle, the other is Shilshole Bay. Lake Washington is a deep-water lake, with depths to 200 feet, bordered by Seattle on the west, Bellevue...
Shilshole Bay (Seattle) Local Knowledge

Introduction Looking past the breakwater at the north end of Shilshole Bay marina to the main racing area just beyond. There are two primary racing areas at Shilshole. The main racing area is just west of the Shilshole...

Learning with the Letts

A weekend of racing Thistles with top-notch crew Terry Lettenmaier and Laurie Weitkamp yields new insights for the driver of Thistle 3669.
Tactician to Driver: Tack NOW! Five ways to call for a tack

You’re sailing upwind. The tactician calls for a tack. The driver steers the boat through the tack. The crew tacks the sails and moves to the other side of the boat. Simple, right? In practice, however, there are different...

J/24 Seahood Repair

The first of many J/24 winter projects has been completed on #4000 - fixing a waterlogged corner of my seahood.
Rebuilding Andersen Bailers

Like most of you who sail dinghies, my Thistle (3802, built in the early 90’s) suffered from leaky bailers. My Thistle came with Andersen SuperMax bailers. At the end of last season (2008), my boat was taking on a large amount...
Rebuilding Harken 150 Cam Cleat

A winter project on my J/24 resealing deck hardware led me to examine all the cam cleats. Some had a large amount of UV damage to the plastic. This article describes how I rebuilt my Harken 150 Cam Cleats.
Sealing the Deck of a J/24

My second winter project for 2011, re-bedding some of the deck hardware on my J24, Mousetrap, has been completed -- see this article for details. Mousetrap spent most of the winter months in a warehouse drying out. During that...
Thistle Floatation Project

Last season, my crew and I had an unfortunate turn of events including a roll in heavy winds followed by a Pitch Poll. Once we righted the boat we found the bow and stern very low in the water...

Raising and Lowering a Thistle Mast

Raising a Thistle Mast A Thistle mast can be raised with just one person but is easier with two people. Here's the method with two people: Position the mast track down with the butt of the mast on or just aft of the mast...
Thistle Rigging: Looking at Jibsheet Blocks

The 17 foot Thistle is a 60 year old American design. While the class operates under tight one-design rules, there seem to be nearly endless variations in rigging. Here's a pictorial look at how some Thistles have rigged...
Thistle Rigging: Looking at Traveler Controls

The 17 foot Thistle is a 60 year old American design. While the class operates under tight one-design rules, there seem to be nearly endless variations in rigging. Here's a pictorial look at how some Thistles have rigged...
Thistle Rigging: Lose the Mainsheet Cleat!

A recent trend in the Thistle class is to race without cleating the mainsheet. Some Thistle sailors have removed the mainsheet cleat altogether, while others have installed a “lunch cleat” to have a free hand between races....

Two Franks on Mainsail Trim

Weatherly, Thistle 3669, has worked up to some good results in the last year or two. In doing so we have started paying closer attention to our performance against known good sailors. Last season we realized a dificiency in our...

Beat Upwind in Three Phases

You’ve just started, now what? Upwind beats have three distinct phases: Set-up, Beat, and Prepare to round.
Getting Ahead at the Windward Mark: Stay High or Go Low, Bear Away or Gybe

Ideas for getting ahead at one of the most important points in any race.

Determining the Favored End of the Starting Line

Introduction In a perfect, though boring world, every starting line would be exactly square to the wind and there would be no reason to start at one end instead of the other. In the real world, it is the rare starting line...
Get Ready to Race: A Pre-start Checklist

Golfers call it the setup routine. Plant your feet, form your grip, address the ball, do the waggle (a la Kevin Costner & Renee Russo in Tin Cup), focus on the ball, and swing. The better the golfer, the more consistently...
The Z Flag Starting Penalty

The Z flag is one of several flags that a race committee can use to penalize boats that are OCS (on course side) before or at the start of a race. The use of the Z flag is described in rule 30.2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing....
Three Steps to Consistent Starts

Most of us can get a good start once in a while. The challenge is to be good regularly. Here are three simple steps – Ready, Set, Go! – to help build consistency in your starting. Ready: check the wind 10-20 minutes...

Weather Links for Seattle

Lake Washington on RaceOneDesign Shilshole Bay on RaceOneDesign Puget Sound overview on RaceOneDesign National Weather Service 7-Day Forecast for Seattle National Weather Service Hourly Weather Forecast for...

Surviving Cancer to Race Again, Part One

It all started after last October's One Design Fleet Championship regatta on Shilshole Bay, a Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle tradition. It was a windy regatta, as they usually are in Seattle that time of year...
Which Asymetric Kite Boat?

The eternal question of 'which boat' has been hoisted again. In an effort to help an inquisitive friend I've compiled a collection of the many pros and cons that have been bouncing aimlessly inside my head. The Laser and Thistle...