We had a great day sailing out on the Magothy River. Our 3 TR teams battled each other non-stop today, with a guest appearance from Washington College. Our 3rd TR team took on WAC in our 420’s, while our two top teams sailed each other in FJ’s, in a brisk, gusty, shifty westerly. The course was set up for fan viewing from the dock, and provided interesting wind shadows/shifts that made the games very interesting.
Hats off to our 3rd team for competing on par with a college sailing team; in fact, they won at least 2 games, and were close in all.
Our RED team today, against a mostly freshman BLACK team, was superior. Black gave a hard fight, but the experienced boat-handling and gear-shifting of our top Red team was just too much for Black.
NOTES

• you must load up and pinch, load up and pinch an FJ off the line and generally upwind in good breeze and flat water. Don’t always pinch, but sailing the FJ like a 505 or a 420 (bow down and fast) is not fast.
• Mainsheets are there for a reason. Change trim in changing condition, but err on the side of keeping it in
• Keep your gosh-darn boat flat in all conditions
• Work hard at downwind transitions and boat-handling. This was the cause of several TR lost places and positions today for Black (and in a few cases for Red as well)
• When losing, hitting corners are usually very risky. In fact, when winning hitting corners is risky too. Work hard to sail lifted tacks and keep yourself in the game, and force the other team to work to cover you.
• Don’t hit one corner and then the next
• weight trim is crucial, and not necessarily the same for all crews. Notice how Aidan Morgan positioned in the boat today; in lulls and lighter wind he was further forward than most other crews, and this was very fast.
• Keep your boat between your opponent and the next mark. This is simple, but it was not always followed today
• SLOW EARLIER on downwinds, well before you get to mark 3!! There is no first place boat if youre in second in a losing combination. Sucker that boat to get ahead and slow earlier!
• Overlay mark 1 on starboard (when you can) to have room to go low… Red did this pretty well
• Overall, sail the first beat more like a fleet race.
• Shift gears better. There were a LOT of lulls…. the boats have controls that you are allowed to control, and you can move your weight too. Do it.
• If you’re looking around a lot right after the start, especially as a driver, that’s bad. Focus on winning speed at the start. Trust me, no one is that far away from you at the start. Thejob of looking MUST be taken over more by the crews, but minimize it for both of you whenever possible. Good TR starts should be windsprints.
• Too many unnecessary fouls today. Part of this was poor boat-handling in bigger winds. We have to stay out of foul trouble