Four quiet anchorages within an hour of Pier 6
Where to drop the hook for lunch and a swim on a day boat, and which one to choose for
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The Friday night series starts at half past six, off the mouth of Spa Creek, and the start is where most of the race is won or lost. Our racing secretary has watched about four hundred of them from the committee boat.
This is what she tells every new crew before their first Friday, in the order she tells it.
A start line is almost never square to the wind. One end is closer to the first mark, and starting there is worth more than any amount of boat speed. Sail to the middle of the line, point the boat straight into the wind, and look at which end your bow points towards. That is the favoured end.
Do it twice, five minutes apart. On a Friday evening the breeze swings as the land cools, and the favoured end can change while you are still deciding.
Five minutes to the gun off Spa Creek, with the committee boat at the starboard end.
Aim to be one boat length behind the line with thirty seconds to go, with the sails eased and room to leeward. From there you can accelerate into the gap. Arriving at full speed with ten seconds left is how boats end up over early.
“The best start on a Friday is rarely the most aggressive one. It is the one with clear air and a plan.”
If you are over at the gun, the committee boat will call your sail number. Go back, restart cleanly, and enjoy the rest of the race.
Use a transit. Line up the committee boat flag with something on the shore behind the pin, a tree, a chimney, the end of the Naval Academy wall. When the two are in line, you are on the line. Ahead of them, you are over.
Once the gun goes, sail fast in clear air rather than high in dirty air. If a boat to windward is taking your wind, tack away early and look for your own lane. Very few races are lost in the first minute. Many are won there.
New crews are always welcome on a Friday. Ask the racing secretary and she will find you a boat.
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