Author Topic: Pearson 323 out duels bigger boat in PHRF race  (Read 9225 times)

The Great Godsea

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Pearson 323 out duels bigger boat in PHRF race
« on: June 12, 2015, 03:07:39 PM »
Not to BRAG or anything (polishing my knuckles on my suit jacket), but I thought my seafaring brothers and sisters would be happy (but unsurprised) to know that last evening we held our own as we pitted our 1980 323 against 2
J80s and a big shiny 40(ish)ft sailboat  in a our first sailing race ever. It was a PHRF race in NY Harbor. It was run by the Manhattan Yacht Club.
It was a ton of fun. We were last across the starting line.
The J80s took off and never looked back, being light and new and fast. the other boat (i'm guessing it was a 37-42') was ahead of us by several boat lengths at the gun. However, the winds were steady but not super strong which i guess played to our strength as a lighter boat and we started gaining ground. just before the first turn we tacked inside them and got around the buoy just upwind of their turn. From there it was into the wind and we really started making our move. The second buoy brought us back downwind and i thought our goose was cooked when i saw him break out the spinnaker. But luck was with us and they never got that monster sail working right and we limped through the 3rd buoy about 100 yards ahead.
In the end, we pulled away and beat him by a good 400 yards.
What a blast. All in best spirit of good will.
Great crew. Our skipper Alex is a serious sailor and knew how to get the best out of The Great Godsea.
I know this is old hat for all of you seasoned sailors, but for me, on my first boat, in my first race, the experience was one to be savored.
I'll bet you've all got taller tales to share and I'm ready to read them.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2015, 03:28:33 PM by The Great Godsea »

selene

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Re: Pearson 323 out duels bigger boat in PHRF race
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2015, 01:46:06 AM »
Excellent!  And well done.

I find that, all things being equal, the wind direction decides the race.  With races which require a lot of beating, we are toast.  Last week we had to beat up a narrow channel for half the race, and we just can't point as high as modern boats, especially racing boats.  Draft keel, track on the toerail...oh, well.  Not dead last, but towards the back.  PHRF never quite seems to compensate. 

But when there is a day which put us on a beam/broad reach, we we do pretty well.  And if we need to sneak into the shallows to avoid a tide, even better!!

Last year conditions were exactly that, and we won the non-spinnaker class (about 15 boats) fair and square, and all but 2 of the spinnaker class (another dozen or so).  The other club demanded to see my PHRF certificate!  :-)

We don't often do that well, but I was more than satisfied when I heard the captain of a racing yacht - modern, carbon fiber sails - admonish his crew: "Come on guys, we have to at least beat Selene"!

My theory is that we can do well, but older boats are less forgiving.  We need to execute perfectly to do well; more modern boats can be a bit sloppy with their sail trim and tacking, and still do okay.

Rusty Pelican

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Re: Pearson 323 out duels bigger boat in PHRF race
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2015, 09:13:44 AM »
I don't race my P323 much now a days, when I was active and when we were on point, my P323 would walk 40' ers.
Tactics and execution plus local knowledge (ie. tides and local wind shifts etc.) can compensate for waterline.
Lately I just crew.
BTW: What is your PHRF rating?
   

selene

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Re: Pearson 323 out duels bigger boat in PHRF race
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2015, 10:48:43 AM »
Personally I am at 183. Lost 6 seconds when I installed the feathering prop.  Incidentally, we also add +6s for our 'Beer Can' races for not flying the spinnaker, which brings me to 189 for those races. Had to pay for a certificate as I was getting too many complaints from people I beat :-).  Came out the same.

Rusty Pelican

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Re: Pearson 323 out duels bigger boat in PHRF race
« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2015, 10:00:40 AM »
Your rating seem fair.