Newbie

[Craig]

Hi All!

I have been sailing a few years now and am very intrigued by the concept of singlehanded racing.  I have not done much singlehanded sailing yet, but hope to do more. To date, I have done no racing, but will be crewing this winter/spring.

 I have a Catalina 30 now.  I enjoy taking my family out for day sails, but they are not interested in going as much as I would like, thus my interest in single handing.

I am interested to find out what kind of boats you all sail?

Also, any suggestions to help me get started?  The icicle series?

Thanks in advance. 

[Kevin Box]

The Catalina 30 seems like a good boat for shorthanded sailing and I’m surprised that there aren’t more on the race course in general, considering their numbers in the area. 

Apply for your PHRF rating at:  http://phrfgb.com/  You need that to get started and it’s cheap.

To be competitive, think about a folding prop, a clean bottom and decent sails.  PHRF and, I guess any rating system, assume that your boat is optimized for racing and has flawless crew work.  If you don’t have the above, minus the flawless crew work, you can still come out and have a great time.  Just don’t be complaining about your rating when you’re dragging a big 3-blade fixed prop and a fuzzy bottom around the course in 5-10 kts of breeze. 

The important thing is to just start doing it.  Read books, internet articles and anything else you can get your hands on.  I was a cruiser first and then a racer.  I can't tell you how many hours or days I could have shaved off of a passage with the knowledge I've acquired through racing.   

Come out for the Icicle series and don’t miss the after party.  Free rum, beer and snacks, plus a chance to talk to other skippers and see what they’re doing.  I hope to see you there.

[Craig]

Thanks for the insight.  I will try to make it out to give it a go for at least one of the icicle races.

For now I will be content with trying it out before I start sinking money into a folding prop, etc.  I do have decent sails and a clean botton.  At this point, developing my sailing skills will probably yield the greatest improvement.

Thanks again!