How do you guys in the Great Lakes do against Tarten Tens?  I race against several in our races on SF Bay and the well sailed ones have very good speed upwind and very close downwind inless the wind goes over 20 knts of so and then we have a slight advantage.

The T10 rate 126 and we rate 129.  Most races start in 10-15 knts and end with 18-25 knts of wind.  The water is usually very choppy  (3-4 ft waves, 4-5 ft if the ebb is running - these are not ocean swells, just short choppy stuff the can stop you on a tack if not careful) depending on weather.

Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.

John,

I race PHRF in Vancouver. The T10 is very tough uphill in those conditions.

We have the same problems in any sort of slop. The best solution is to load up the rail with as much weight as you can and sail fast. If you can get enough weight on the rail you can keep a heavy (flat) #1 up. Sail fast and low and let the small fins work.

Just as bad can be a big slop with not enough wind. The T10 seems to eat that stuff. Don't have an answer for that except we can usually make up alot of ground downhill.

I am new racing the Laser 28, but I have a quite a bit of experience on Lake Erie racing in 5 and 6 foot chop.  The following are my thoughts about going to weather and down wind in those conditions.  Let's look each one separately:

Going To Weather

Lighter displacement boats, like the Laser 28, do not have the mass to power through chop to weather like a J30 or J35.  It is very tough to sail to your rating up wind in those conditions. Unless you have actually sailed in those conditions, it difficult to explain it and, to be completely honest, the first time out it can be a little frightening.  As you go into a wave the bow is thrust upward and you sail up hill briefly and slow down.  As you near the top of the wave (not supported at the bow or stern) the weight of boat pushes you down into the wave.  As you go over the top of the wave you pick up a little speed as the bow crashes down into the trough.  In chop 5 feet or higher the boat hits so hard you think the fillings will come out of your teeth or the hull will crack.  Sailing in these conditions you can not sail the same way you do in waves three feet or less.  From my experience you must sail each part of the wave differently.  You must experiment with your boat to see how to best sail each part of the wave.  To keep your speed going to weather, as you start into the wave you can not go perpendicular to the direction that wave is moving, even if the wind has clocked a little in a favorable direction.  You must go into the wave at about 45 degrees. As you go up the wave and the near the top I have found that you can keep better boat speed by allowing (or making) the boat heel to leeward more near the top the wave.  (I know it may sound crazy, but it has worked for me.)  As you start down the wave, bring the boat back upright quickly and hold your 45 degree line.  I am not an expert, but I believe what happens at the top of the wave is that boat does not sink as far into the wave (maybe reduced wetter surface area) as it does when it is in a more upright orientation.  For this reason it does not slow down as much when on top of the wave.  I am sure there are some other dynamics going on, but I have never taken the time to figure it out.  The only thing I can tell you is to try it and see what happens.  Let me know if this works for a Laser 28 as I am on an inland lake we just don't see more than three foot waves.  Use your GPS to compute your average speed.

Going Down Wind

As with going upwind, you have to sail each part of the wave a little differently and learn how to keep your speed up on each part.  Going off the wind you again can not go exactly in the direction the wave is moving as bow may go into the next wave at the bottom of the trough greatly slowing your speed with the deck awash.  This does not always happen since it depends upon the wave height and frequency.  In 5 foot waves on a boat like a Laser 28 when you are at the top of a wave, the rudder can actually come out of the water momentarily causing you to begin to round up or broach if you are not on top of the situation.  It is easier and I believe faster to tack down wind on broad reaches.  Even on a broad reach the rudder can partially come out of the water at the top of the wave.  I have found that if you are flying a chute you must have always have someone on the sheet constantly easing the sheet out a few inches as you begin to run out of rudder at the top of the wave.  On some boats (I don't know if it is true for a Laser 28) you must also ease the main to keep the boat up right to keep the rudder in the water.  On many boats every experienced sailor on board knows (can feel it) when the helmsman is running out of rudder.  On my Laser 28, in three foot waves, no one except the helmsman knows when he runs out of rudder so the helmsman has to speak out and let the trimmers know what is happening.   As you go down the wave you quickly sheet the chute back in.

Jibes are really ugly in those conditions.  Just keep the rudder in water.  There is no way to work foredeck to jibe a chute in those conditions. On long legs you simply take one chute down and put up your other chute on the new course.  The last thing you need is more weight on the bow while you are jibing.