Ahoy! Castle Harbor Boating held its Saturday Races in 0-5 knots of South winds this past Saturday...Seven boats answered the starting signal... In Race #1 notice how BARBARA ANN executed a dip start. In light winds and long starting lines this is a great tactical move. Because it gives you extra speed and if you are over the line at the start (like they were) it is easy to dip below and restart. This "hot" angle of sail gives you the momentum you need to come off the line at full speed and get into a clear lane. This technique will not always work if the line is short or crowded. At 10:45 minutes into the video notice how VIOLET, steered by Taylor Larimore is in last place at the first mark. They set up for a buoy end start which looked favored at one point but the wind shifted 20-30 degrees to the right about 1 minute before the start. So they were caught on the wrong side of the shift and rolled by the fleet. Notice how VIOLET holds low on the second leg from the beginning. This is done to set up an inside overlap position at the next mark and they succeed in getting the overlap on three boats which allows them to move up from seventh place to fourth place. This is a great tactical move. A well-executed mark-rounding then moves VIOLET into third place (at 13:50 minutes). The first and second place boats headed high of the next rhumb line and didn't have their sails trimmed correctly whilst VIOLET did and she used her extra momentum to blast through to leeward and gain the lead. TIP: In light winds like we see today, the best wind indicators are the masthead fly (a.k.a. "Windex") or cigarette smoke. Some sailors use the magnetic tape (from the old style audio cassette tapes) hung on the shrouds and I carry a cassette in my sea bag for this purpose. Laser World Champion Peter Commette told me that the magnetic tape in the cassette by Christopher Cross with the song "Sailing" works the best (hehehehehe) ....and if you forgot this song just go to this link for the music video version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7khQNR7s1Ho The video footage of Race #2 was lost ... BARBARA ANN was in the lead for most of the race but near the finish VIOLET caught a slight puff and came in on a fast close reach to win by a nose. Today was a momentous occasion in the history of Castle Harbor Boating ... a longtime supporter, famous author, lifetime sailor, Battle of The Bulge Veteran who was awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French government, bon vivant and great guy by the name of Taylor Larimore celebrated his 90th birthday today. And to top that all off, he steered VIOLET in Race #1 from last place at the first mark-rounding, to first place at the finish!....It was amazing to see him perform this feat with ease and grace at the age of 90. Taylor has been sailing these waters since 1935! Here is how he got started: the Hurricane of 1935 was the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in recorded history. Storm surge in the Upper Keys reached 20'. Taylor lived in Miami on Brickell Avenue in a waterfront home and the hurricane deposited a 12' sailboat called a "Pumpkin" in their front yard. Taylor's father placed an ad in the newspaper "Lost and Found" section and nobody claimed it....so Taylor had a boat to sail. He has been sailing ever since. Three cheers for Taylor!!!! Taylor told me: 'Winning the difficult race and being with my family and closest friends on my 90th birthday was one of the best days of my life!' ​Results were: 1. VIOLET (Taylor, Bill, Mel) 1 1 2. CASHEW (Dave, Shereen, Andy R) 3 3 3. BARB ANN (Obie, Burley, Brian, Andy B) 5 2 4. CELIA (Nuno, Jose, Eduardo, Nicole) 4 5 5. PEANUT (Leo, Cliff, Raul,Augustine) 2 dnf 6. FILBERT (Ted, Gil, Pat, Andrea) 6 4 7. PAUL (Don, John M, John C) 7 6​ See you next week!

• published: 26 Jan 2014
• views: 28