Jim Allen Gives Lots of Tips

By Susanna Tellschow.

Wednesday, February 9. Jim Allen gave lots of great racing tips to a group of Lansing area sailors at a February 9 Seminar held at the Hannah Community Center in East Lansing.

Among the points Allen made were:

• Puffs on smaller lakes are often tied to the terrain. When the wind comes from a certain compass point, the puffs will tend to show up in a particular area of the lake. A Pontiac sailor recorded over a 5 year period where on the course the sailors who won their races sailed and where the wind was coming from. He found a very high correlation.
• It is very important to get the most out of every puff.
• Know where you want to be on the course. That will determine whether you duck or tack and impact other decisions.
• There are times to start on the least favored side of the line just to get clear air or pursue a windier side of the lake. The favored end not always be the best choice.
• Find clear air and more air. Bear off a bit to get away from someone if necessary to clear your air.
• A transit at the start is critical to take advantage of mid-line sag.
• Time your tack to intercept a puff on the edge that will give a lift instead of just aiming for the middle. Puffs tend to fan out on the edges, one side giving a lift, the other a knock.
• Downwind, the "knock side" is advantagous - but it's far more important to just stay in the puff, not sail out of it trying to favor a side.
• Good communication between Skipper and Crew is critical to getting the most out of puffs.
• Take a knock going upwind if necessary to get to more wind beyond.
• Check your equipment thoroughly before racing. Allen told of being in a round-robin regatta where they got the boat in the last race that everyone had been slow with. Looking at the sail, it looked hooked in and funky. Someone had put the battens in backwards. Once fixed, the boat sailed well.
• Don't trim to a preplanned chart of what fits one set of conditions or another. Rather, adjust the boat while sailing, visually checking the sails and shaping them until they look right. The chart may be right, but double check against the real conditions.

The event was sponsored jointly by the Lansing Sailing Club and the MSU Sailing Club.