What I learned at the 2009 NACR

[persephone]

So the races have been run. The stories will be told, but what did we learn?
Here's what I learned.
Know your boat. Every last nut, bolt, rope and square foot of fiberglass. If you are going to race in unknown conditions, or in conditions different from where you normally sail any weak parts will make themselves known in the least convenient way possible.
Worn snap hanks don't cut it in gusty winds.
Worn sails won't let you out-point that boat that just tacked right in front of you and is now leaving you in it's bad air.
If you strengthen one part in an assembly the next weakest will break under stress.
Get your boat weighed and measured as early as possible. That way if something isn't right you have more time to fix it.
Test your boat in as many different conditions as you can. Sometimes it takes a different environment for you to notice a problem that is already there.
No matter what, it is up to you as the skipper to say "We aren't racing today". If conditions look iffy and you don't feel good about it seriously consider not going out. The PRO isn't going to be in the water if you capsize, you are!
No matter what the rules say there will always be someone trying to get around them one way or another. In straight time one-design racing the time gained by leaving your anchor at the mooring can easily be lost in a bad tack, bad decision, an adverse shift in the wind or just by messing up.
A yarn telltale on your shrouds is just as effective as the $40 windex at the top of the mast. And a lot less likely to be knocked off.
There are a lot of really nice, interesting people in the Daysailer community.
Lastly, the #1 thing I learned (not from personal experience). BELIEVE THE MANTRA. REPLACE YOUR FLOTATION!

I had a lot of fun. Unfortunately my boat didn't have as much fun as her crew (a few repairs to be made will keep her out of the water for a week or two).

[jdubes]

And your going to leave is hanging like that? Some more info would be great.

1. "REPLACE YOUR FLOTATION"
- What did you see?
2. "few repairs"
- What did you break?
3. "boat weighed and measured as early as possible"
- Why, what happened?
4. "No matter what the rules" people cheat
- Did you actually see people with illegal parts/setup/changes?

I'm planning on doing the NACR in 2010.

[persephone]

Well,
20 boats capsized on Friday, 6 of them turtled. Without proper flotation a sinking would have been possible.
I broke a spinnaker pole end, boom vang bail and I have a crack in the centerboard trunk under the handle.
My side stays were too high, and because I had misplaced them I didn't know they were also too long.
I won't say what I saw, yes I did see people doing things that might have been bending the rules.

[Imgaryo1]

Persephone..If you saw something that you thought was questionable regarding the rules, it is your obligation to yourself, your fellow sailors and the class to bring up the question so that it can be addressed in the proper manner. The class measurer was there and and would have taken a look and made a ruling. That is why there are rules.

[persephone]

Thanks for the input, and the concern. I met Bob there, and if I had seen anything blatant I would have spoken up. I have had private conversations with him after the fact and I think we both concluded that there was probably not any rule bending going on.

[Imgaryo1]

Bob is a good guy and knows the rules like nobody else. I'm glad you looked him up.