[Capri25]

[dallas johnson]

Hey,

OK, so I sold my boat and you're likely wondering why I should be cluttering
up your e-mail box with a capri 25 list server e-mail. Well...every year
around Commodore Cup time I get the SAME conversation over and over again
from my Capri friends about how they lost the race because of weeds on their
keel.

So...below are listed the once secret methods we used to NEVER lose a race
because of weeds. We found plenty of ways to lose races, but never lost
because of weeds. I once drilled a hole in the bottom of my boat to try and
clean weeds (which the fleet subsequently outlawed) so don't think I haven't
thought about this.
  1.. Fill all nicks and polish the leading edge of your keel. Insure that
the leading edge is not concave from top to bottom. Consider not using
anti-fouling paint on the leading edge.
  2.. Borrow a mooring for a couple weeks and let the milfoil motion "sand"
your leading edges down to mirror finish.
  3.. Before the start, the quickest way to clean weeds is to go on a beam
reach and swing that rudder 180degrees until the boat is going backwards on
the opposite tack. Not only does this clean weeds, it really wakes the crew
up and scares your fellow competitors.
  4.. While sailing upwind in light air, try a hard roll tack. The sudden
rocking of the boat will help pull weeds off. Lost time: zero.
  5.. While sailing upwind in medium air, if the boat feels slow over trim
your main for a second while you send two or three crew to the leeward rail.
This rocks the boat to leeward and causes the keel to momentarily stall,
which will wash weeds off like a garden hose. Lost time: one boat length.
  6.. While sailing upwind in heavy air, simply over trim the main for a
second until you see the keel has stalled. Again, this washes the keel off
immediately. Lost time: 1/2 boat length.
  7.. While sailing downwind in light to medium air. We only did this if we
felt really slow, but it was a popular trick during CC races where we often
intentionally sailed through weed beds for tactical advantage. Have all your
crew run from one side of the boat to the other several times to rock the
boat. It sounds funny, but it works. Really, I'm serious. Check your knot
meter before and after to see how your speed is. Lost time: zero if you
properly scull the rudder.
  8.. Leeward mark roundings. Don't be afraid to over trim the main and make
the boat over heel while going around the leeward mark. Sure, it's not
pretty, but you don't lose much and it's yet another way to make sure the
keel is clean. Just make sure your crew doesn't fall off. Lost time: 1/2
boat.
  9.. Do these things on a regular basis while racing. If you know you have
weeds, it's already too late. If your crew doesn't think you are obsessed
with cleaning weeds, you're not trying hard enough. Paranoia is your friend
here. Lost friendships: a couple.
  10.. Be cognizant that weeds floating on the surface are always worse
after a 180 degree wind shift from the day before.
A spin will cost you 20 boat lengths. Backing up will cost more. DON'T DO
IT.

OK, I feel sooooo much better to have gotten that off my chest. Have a great
race on Saturday and don't be afraid of those weed beds around the island.

dallas

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