So, today was the Turtle Rock Race on Lake Allatoona from Harbor Town Marina to Turtle Rock. Last year we led the entire race on Strange Bird, our Sea Pearl Trimaran, until the turn to the NW where I chose the right side of the channel due to Red Top Mountain being off the port side figuring the wind would die close in but run over to my side. Ooops, ended up getting passed by a Sun Cat and Hunter 23.5 and with the handicap the Sun Cat, sailed by Scott Windemeir of the FL 120, won and we came in third.
This year we knew we weren't going to be in the front of the fleet but hoped to place with our PHRF of 305. The race started with 3kts gusting to 5. We crossed the start line in 5th place out of 7 boats which isn't bad. Turned northerly with a wind shift and started catching up with a couple of boats doing 2 - 2.5 kts but the wind was puffy. Poled the genoa out and jumped to 3kts. We were creeping ahead of a Hunter 23.5 with just a 110 jib and main and the Sea Scout Cal 25. Made the turn into the big S turn leading to the Atlanta Yacht Club and the wind started getting getting even flukier, this was an hour and a half into the race. Ran up on a Rhodes 22 and stalled! Both of the boats that were barely behind came up to starboard and stalled just in front of us so there was a wedge in front of us. Started tacking to starboard to avoid everyone and Urchin suddenly started jibing to port behind everyone else. We were in some kind of vortex of light/no wind with weird currents! No matter what we did we just kept spinning while the other boats scattered ahead of us. I was getting the regular comments from Becky; "Do something, we aren't moving/why does this always happen/I don't understand!" and after the third 360 I said the heck with it, dropped the motor down, and fired that mother up. Went about 100 yards and killed the motor and voila, we were sailing again. The Hunter 23.5 had motored off the starboard bank after turning with no control, like we did, and nearly grounding. The Rhodes went way off to port and was able to tack back to the turn, finally. The Sea Scout boat just kept creeping along and finally found the wind to make the corner. We caught up with two of them after the turn with the genoa poled out again wing on wing. Gave it another hour and then withdrew because the dogs were ready for a potty break. Mountain lakes are not my friend, yet. Finally figured out how to have my iPhone take Jpegs but they are too large to post. I'll work on it. I think we're doing alright learning to sail Urchin, but it is a steep learning curve.
Ed, Your statement:
Quote from: Ed on Oct 18, 2025, 06:45 PMI think we're doing alright learning to sail Urchin, but it is a steep learning curve.
You think YOU'VE got a steep learning curve!! :o
Soon, I'm going to be dealing with what's basically an Optimist Pram, with Delusions of Grandeur!! :P
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With a LWL of 10 feet 5 inches, no less! :-X
The thing about the Windrose, is that though it looks like a keel boat, it really sails and handles more like a dinghy.
That strongly swept back forefoot, gives an LWL of 15 feet 10 inches, so the front foot and a half of the boat is not really in the water, even though the fore sail goes all the way up there. So the fore sail can horse the nose around, because there is not enough hull in the water compared to say, a more bluff-bowed Potter 19 to prevent the sail's influence on boat direction, overcoming the rudder forces.
The other side of the coin, is that
Urchin can really pirouette in nearly her own length with the swing keel down and that maneuverability can bite you with adverse currents under the hull.
For decades, in the Columbus Day Cruising Regatta my Nemesis >:( was the (typically) light wind Sunday Start, near Black Ledge in south Biscayne Bay. It sits at an angle to the incoming (or out going) tides and and flows a stream of water, backwards from what you'd think. The tide can be coming in from the East but the current under the hull is blasting at you in a Southerly direction. Since the Sadistic Race Committee Boat starts the race line to the north and into the wind, you've got a double-whammy in light airs:
Tacking in light airs and adverse currents affecting the hull.
For YEARS, I would tack right up to the starting line and stop dead, when the hull hit that current. :'(
Try again on a different tack, same problem. Try gybing and would only manage to fall back further and further.
Very Frustrating. >:(
The last few years, I finally developed a usable, though unconventional tactic, to deal with that meddlesome Black Ledge current vortex.
I would go well upwind and just East of the Committee Boat, before the race. When everyone else is in the starting field, I was well away from that, waiting for the 5 minute warning. When the 5 minute horn went off, I would scream downwind, hugging the Committee boat as closely as I dared and J-hook around its' stern and slingshot across the starting line at whatever angle kept me moving. Sometimes, the only workable angle would take me from the committee boat clear across the line to the far race marker, just to keep moving.
Once over the line, I would bear off east or west depending on the conditions, until I was well out of that Black Ledge tidal influence, then get back on the course to the finish line. 8)
The point being: What's happening
under the hull, is just as important as what you see on deck with the sails. And that goes double, for light winds.
Quote from: Ed on Oct 18, 2025, 06:45 PMWe were in some kind of vortex of light/no wind with weird currents!
Been there, Done that.
This tactic may seem a little off-the-walls, but bear with me; after all I had over 45 years in that boat, to make every kind of mistake there was, before learning this!! :-[
Before you go out next time, crank the swing keel up all the way, while counting the turns on the crank handle.
Different diameter swing keel cables and different winch spool diameters mean it only works with what you've actually got, not what I remember doing.
Let's assume for the sake of argument, it's 60 cranks from fully down, to fully up.
Your operative numbers will be 20 and 40, or 1/3rd and 2/3rds up.
A current flowing past the keel will tend to "weather vane" that NACA 0015 foil and exert more influence, than light winds over the Genoa or Drifter/Reacher can overcome. Also, currents just under the surface behave differently than currents further down, in the 4 to 5 foot range. For deeper currents, crank to 1/3rd (20 cranks) so the tip of the keel is out of their influence. If the winds are pushing the nose of your hull one way and the currents are pushing the hull the other way, then this partially retracted (1/3rd) keel form will roughly resemble a fin keel sailboat in hull dynamics.
When the currents are closer to the surface and the winds are forcing the nose around, before there is sufficient way on (again in lighter airs) or because there ISN'T any current below, then crank the keel to the 2/3rds position and the hull form will now roughly resemble a full keel boat, in its hull dynamics. In effect, the nearly raised keel will provide sufficient lateral resistance (when compared to a lowered keel) to being swung around by the fore sails, to allow you to get some way on.
Once the winds are up a little by all means, lower the keel all the way down, again.
Those characteristics seem to happen in mostly light airs and ESPECIALLY with adverse currents.
Once your boat speed is up to 3 or 4 knots, none of this applies, but in that 1 -3 knot range it pays, to pay attention.
Quote from: Ed on Oct 18, 2025, 06:45 PMNo matter what we did we just kept spinning while the other boats scattered ahead of us.
Yup.
Classic feedback loop: Current pushes on keel, swinging the hull out of the wind ever so slightly, then the fore sails drag the nose of the hull around, until you either crash gybe or chicken gybe and once you've executed your inadvertent 360ยบ, the process repeats
ad infinitum until either the wind picks up or you get out of those competing forces, above and below the water.
About the only way out of that loop is to crank the keel to 2/3rds and ease the foresails until you get clear of the Twilight Zone, as counter-intuitive as that sounds.
Quote from: Ed on Oct 18, 2025, 06:45 PMWe were creeping ahead of a Hunter 23.5 with just a 110 jib and main and the Sea Scout Cal 25.
I was greatly impressed, you were able to get ahead of some larger boats! ;D
THIS, is my Usual View of the Fleet: :'(
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So don't beat yourself up too much; you sound like you're doing wayyyyy better than I ever did!! :P
Hope this helps,
Charles Brennan
On my phone I use this "image size" app to reduce pics. I do one pic at the time. If I need to do a bunch, I use either laptop or desktop with photosizer which CB recommended. See pic for app icon.
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