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OK, so you own or borrowed a Laser
and/or Sunfish(see the Fleets
page) and you want to race with those crazy people at Marsh Creek. You
may have even raced before and want to start again but you've forgotten a
lot about racing sailboats. Where do you start? You start right here -
that's where! This page is intended to get you started by identifying web
resources, books, and descriptions of racing at Marsh Creek.
First, you need to learn how to sail. We recommend Sailing
Fundamentals by Gary Jobson ISBN: 0-684-84994-1 as a first book
on sailing. A second book would be Sailing for
Dummies by JJ Isler and Peter Isler ISBN: 0-7645-5039-X. Both
are excellent books for learning the basics. The Marsh
Creek Sailboard Shop offers basic sailing lessons and boat rentals.
Knowing how to swim is a plus!
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| Rigging |
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Next, you need to learn how to rig your boat.
If you have a Laser or Laser Radial, you can check out Laser
FAQ-1 and Laser
FAQ-2. These FAQs contain recommendations on books and other rigging
sources. If you have a Sunfish, go to the Sunfish
Association, Tips & Tricks. If you have a two-handed dinghy, check
out Rig Your Dinghy Right by Chisnell &
Hodgart ISBN: 0-07-029123-3. However,
the best way to learn how to rig your boat is to come to
a race and observe how we rig our boats.
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| Rules |
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You need to have a basic understanding of the
racing rules. Check out Understanding the Racing
Rules of Sailing through 2000 by Dave Perry ISBN: 1-882-50244-2.
It has lots of examples. Also go to USSAILING's
rules page - lots of new rules stuff here. On the web, you can go
to drLaser and look under the "Class
and Racing Rules" section.
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| Courses & Starting |
| At Marsh Creek, we sail a variety of courses.
Here are several that we sail frequently: |
 
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T4
= Triangle (windward, reach, reach, windward) with start and finish in
middle of leg). Sometimes we will flip the triangle and put the gybe
mark off to the right instead of the left.
T6
= Triangle (windward, reach, reach, windward, leeward, windward)
with start and finish in the middle of leg.
W3
= Windward/leeward, once around, with start and finish in middle of leg.
W5
= Windward/leeward, twice around, with start and finish in middle of leg.
Notice
that all the mark roundings are to port (the mark is to port when you
round) when the gybe mark is to the left. When the gybe mark is to the
right, the mark roundings change to
starboard (the mark is to starboard when you round). We typically start and finish in the middle of the upwind/downwind
leg because we only have one race committee boat. Some race committees
will restrict sailors from sailing through the starting/finishing line during the
race, but at Marsh Creek you can sail through the starting/finishing line in either
direction (upwind or downwind) during the race. Here's how a typical
3-minute starting sequence is conducted:
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3
minutes before start ... 3 long horn or whistle blasts
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2
minutes before the start ... 2 long whistle blasts
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1.5
minutes before the start ... 1 long, 3 short whistle blasts
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1
minute before the start ... 1 long whistle blast
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30
seconds before the start ... 3 short whistle blasts
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20
seconds before the start ... 2 short whistle blasts
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10
seconds before the start ... 1 long whistle blast
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followed
by a short whistle at 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 second before the start.
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The
Start will be signaled by one long whistle blast.
Every
once in awhile we'll have a general recall signaled only if the Race
Committee can not positively identify all premature starters. Other times
you may be called individually by your sail number as being over
prematurely. In this case, you must sail below the line in order to
restart.
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Tactics & Strategy
(starting, wind, weather,
upwind, downwind, positioning, finishing, WINNING!)
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| Sounds like a lot of stuff, right?...Truth
is, it is a lot of stuff! This is where you put in the work to become a
better sailboat racer. Two very good books on tactics & strategy
are Winning in One-Designs by Dave Perry ISBN:
1-882-50200-0 and Championship Tactics
by Gary Jobson & Tom Whidden ISBN: 0-312-04278-7. On
the web you can go to the drLaser
site and select the "Tactics and Strategy" section - there is a ton of stuff on everything related to tactics &
strategy and links to other web sites. |
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We also recommend
the following Laser books:
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Championship Laser
Racing by Glenn Bourke ISBN: 0-906754-85-2
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The Complete Book of Laser Racing by Dick
Tillman
ISBN: 0071357882
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The Complete Introduction to Laser Racing by Ben Tan ISBN:
9971-88-759-2
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| Boat Handling (tacking,
gybing, trimming, reaching, mark roundings, righting a capsized boat) |
While
all the books listed above deal with strategy and tactics, specific books
such as the Laser or Sunfish books will also address boat handling. On the
web you can go to the drlaser
site and select the "Boat Handling" section. |
| Practice,
Fitness, and Racing |
| After you have read all the books
and visited all the web sites, you are now ready to spend countless hours
practicing on your own. However, we recommend that you read a little
(especially the rules) and come out and race with us. There is always time
for individual practice and study, but the best practice is getting into
an actual race. But if you have your heart set on the countless hours of
practicing, then check out Sailing Drills for
monohulls, multihulls, and sailboards by Rick White ISBN:
1-880871-01-7.
If you are going to do all this practicing and racing, it's
a good idea to get into sailing shape. Start going to the Gym and check
out Sailing, Fitness, and Training by Dr.
Michael Blackburn ISBN: 0-646-30491-7.
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| Boat
Maintenance and Storage |
| All of the above books on Lasers
and Sunfish have boat maintenance chapters.
Unfortunately, Marsh Creek Sailing Club does not have a
clubhouse, club boats, or boat storage. We will probably never have a
clubhouse on the lake, but we are working on club boats and boat storage
near the lake. Marsh Creek State Park does have boat storage around the
lake, but the waiting list is about 7 or 8 years. |
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