Day 3 - Race 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIM2zSRRLsY

Day 3 - Race 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1G9jiEABdQ

Day 3 - Race 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCqZx-b08ws

Man, I'm greasing that mast step from now on! Great video Mike!

My comments on the day one video: This is a very useful video. Most other videos just show the boat going at speed in a straight line, they look cool but there isn't much to learn from them. This video concentrates on the transitions where all the hard work is done, much better.

Great vids.
Start Race 2 Day 3 , I bet Alex was PISSED.

You Guys Rock!

...the ole under the pole technique, Eh?

Does that help prevent wiping out? The over the pole boys seem to be doing a lot of barrel rolls.

I noticed the skipper handing the crew a line after he hiked out when going upwind, was that the mainsheet, or something else?

Also, I noticed that the skipper would hike out while the crew hoisted the spinnaker. I thought the skipper was supposed to hoist the spinnaker. Is your technique standard practice in the class?

Yeah, dammit. Let the skipper get the kite up and down for a change.

Crew Union #723

We have ways to deal with your kind.

What? JC did it on Sunday and he was super fast!

Crew raising the kite is standard practice in crewed spinnaker rigged catamarans...period. Unless you've knocked your crew out with a dogbone, so I guess their are exceptions.

I guess this is a way that cats are different than when I sailed monohulls. In my Laser II, the skipper hoisted and doused the spinnaker while the crew readied the spin pole, jib and guy... or maybe it's the difference between an asymmetrical spin and a symmetrical one?

Probably...on the cat, it's two lines to hoist the chute so the crew almost always does it. I stayed on the wire to keep the boat as powered up and fast as possible during the rounding. The trick is not turning the boat too sharply and literally turning the boat out from under your feet! That was me driving in those races. We do sometimes pass the mainsheet to the crew when driving - it helps the skipper focus on driving as smoothly as possible. It takes a bit of practice for the crew and skipper to get into sync.

Typical windward mark rounding goes something like this (I'm crewing)

1. On Layline, hand mainsheet to skipper
2. Come in off trap (skipper should ease to keep hull flying, but account for crew off wire)
3. Ease jib, windward board up, rotator off, cunningham eased (this should all happen between weather mark and offset)
4. Tack line out
5. Hoist like nothing else matters
6. grab sheet and trim (sometimes skipper will hand you the sheet if they're nice)
7. Kick joyriding skipper off trap if they are still there
8. Hook in, get back in the footstrap, maybe a chicken line
9. send it

I may have forgot something... but that's basically how it goes. The Skipper should also raise the leeward board while you are hoisting, not like they have anything better to do.

Why is the crew trapping so high? Waves?

How does this happen from the wire? Pull up lines lead aft and out?

On our boat we went with a board uphaul line that goes from the handle of the board, through a block lashed on the port shroud, then to a purchase under the tramp. Uphaul line comes out from under the tramp about halfway between the starboard shroud and the aft beam. Our system needs some work, it was a kinda rough solution before NAs. We didn't want to drill through our boards, so we went with the line to the handle.

I do raise the board with an up-ucker line. It's tied from the port board to hiking strap so I can reach it - but only right after I come in while crew is finishing the hoist. The best chance to get that board is when turning the boat to dip down low to make the spin hoist easier - the boards are pretty unloaded for a second or two then. The crew has their hands full with the kite so if I can get it at that moment, it's easy.

It's an infusion so it wasn't designed with this uphaul line in mind - but the board is drilled and the line gets sucked into the unmodified daggerboard trunk. It works well.

Nice vids!
Your boat seems to squeek alot on a port tack... did you forget to grease the wheels?

It's a speed secret!

Or...it could be my mast-step. About everyone that sailed by waiting for a race to start had some sort of comment on it. I hate greasing them because I always end up putting fingers in the mast base when loading on the trailer and get covered in it. I'll be seating the mast base - ball with epoxy stick to see if that will take care of it.

We use whipping wax on the ball. Works perfect. Reapply about every six months. The little ball of the wax I have will likely last a lifetime.