I love this week's course! It is a very interesting one, not the least because the weather (SL's conditions) is quite rough here and thus, completing a fast lap is really hard-won.
I had to adapt my way of sailing, especially in the beat through Juneau N & S, leaving the daggers up all the way, since switching them like I usually do was simply impossibly time-consuming after each tack.
I like this course for several more reasons:
First, we sail through islands. I love it! Seeing land around helps me find my bearings: no need for navigation aids nor even a look at the map. One can take cues on the landscape, the marks coming into sight in a timely fashion.
Also, I like the thrill of scraping close to the shore, especially on the FS, where we need to be hiking in and out to maintain balance.
Secondly, I like that we have to sail through all points of sail: beam reach at start, then close reach, close-hauled, then another beam reach, bearing away onto a broad reach, back onto close-hauled, before the final run towards the finish.
It means we keep busy on the boat, always trimming sails, setting spin up, then down, while dealing with the course marks: timing is everything, but some strategy about when and how transitioning from one state to the next is also key.
Finally, I like this course as one can really "attack" it, going for broke at each mark, rounding real close, without touching, like one would do in a ski slalom almost (I know: skiers DO touch the poles).
I mentioned above the thrill of sailing close to the shores. That is also key for a fast lap:
keep trajectories straight and direct, not wasting time meandering. There are a few areas where it is absolutely essential: to and from 1st mark, after the red buoy in Juneau South when aiming for the mark in Prince-of-Wales, and then the next 2 marks (#5 & 6). Keep it short and direct on all these legs.
After #6, there is a trick to prevent stalling at #7: push hard on the tiller, going almost South for a brief moment, coming back to close-hauled (bearing SE, AWA 31-32 / TWA 45) before speed drops below 12-13 knots. You should then clear the island comfortably, albeit almost touching it!! Then, quickly raise the spin as you bear away, building up speed... If done right, there is only 1 gybe to do: just before rounding the last mark. Then it is the short final dash to the line, trying not to tip-over with a forgotten dagger like I did on one of my laps ;D
EDIT: There is one last interesting point about this course, that I have only realized as I am slowly improving my time.
This course is really hard because each step on the way conditions the next one. Let me explain: on my last 2 tries, I messed up my set up at #4... As a consequence, speed was lower over that leg, but, more importantly, I was late at #5 dropping the spin and reeling sheets in. Then, I got at #6 with a slight speed deficit, which in turn made it more difficult to fetch the #7 mark, around the island. I didn't really recover in the 8.39 lap from my poor set-up at #4, but made it a little better in the next lap, probably saving 6-7 seconds there, resulting in the 4-5 seconds gain overall. All the way up to #4 was better in the 8.39 lap.
So, again, thanks to the Hotlaps team, and specifically to Serena and Macz, for setting up this exciting course.
Cheers and Have fun y'All
PS: my take on the course, visually for the FS, sailing solo:
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Sailing with a crew, we can save 2 tacks on the beat form #2 to #3
EDIT 2: 3 tacks should be the way to go even solo. Did that on my last 3 tries. (cf. edited image)
The key is to anticipate and really push hard at #2, using the speed momentum from leg 1>2 to make good grounds on that first close-hauled tack.
Edit3 : Both at #2 and at #6, you need to initiate the turn BEFORE the simcross, wait out the simcross and finish your turn on the speed momentum, then redress before speed dies down...
PS2: I am working on the FS polar -> first look here:
