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Sanctuary Point Drags

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Created by KA360 > 9 months ago, 14 Feb 2015
KA360
NSW, 801 posts
15 Feb 2015 12:41AM
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Sanctuary Point Drags




The Sanctuary Point speed strip was the venue for today’s Speed Sailing Drag Race trial event.




We were expecting 18-20 knots and set a very broad course to take advantage of the usually smooth water on the speed strip. Unfortunately, we started with an overcast sky and the wind never had a chance to kick in properly. Light rain sealed it and the ACT Gustbusters and other local windsurfers were forced to postpone the race to another day!



With no GPS needed and a total equipment cost of less than $200, the racing format involved a short and simple one-on-one downwind drag race from a seated start on pontoons, feet in the straps and sails powered up to a marked finish line near the boat ramp.




It was good to trial the set-up and run through the motions to iron out any unexpected bugs before the real thing anyway. We sent the kids down for a run to make sure it was functional although the wind was really much too light even for them.
We are expecting several advantages over other racing formats. The seated start on the water means that there is no need to use timing watches or awkward beach starts.



The defined start and finish lines will hopefully be an improvement on more informal drag races that start with a nod and may not have an agreed finishing point.



This race format also has the advantage of being more spectator friendly than a lot of other windsurfing events since spectators can tell who the winner of a heat is immediately. It will be interesting to see freestylers on freestyle boards competing against speed boards with cambered sails. Seeing when the overall speed of the race boards begin to compensate for the acceleration provided by the freestyle boards. Wondering if the acceleration of a light-weight sailor will win out over the top speed the heavier sailors can muster up.

It is always possible to change the point of sail - not essential to run downwind as crosswind would work perfectly well too with an added advantage of needing less effort to get back upwind to the starting line, making it quicker to start another heat. To increase the skill set, you can always add a buoy to make the race two-way and include a gybe. Or to go even further, adding a pool noodle to jump over instead could turn it into a superX drag race!

The race set up was simple and didn’t need an army to arrange. A starter and two competitors is all you need taking it in turns to compete (loser becomes starter). It is great that all competitors can use the same water under the same conditions in this adrenaline pumping race. It should hopefully provide much more of a level playing field and the satisfaction of getting immediate feedback of your performance. Nor’easters are forecast for the rest of the week so we’ll hopefully get a chance to run it again soon!



Dezza
NSW, 919 posts
15 Feb 2015 7:43AM
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Can't wait to race keith down that course

powersloshin
NSW, 1654 posts
15 Feb 2015 8:52AM
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Awesome, must be a lot of fun. We couldn't do it in Botany, would be swamped by jet-skys and police....

fjdoug
ACT, 540 posts
15 Feb 2015 10:52AM
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I remember a teenager suggesting the above at a sailboard club meeting at the Y 30 years ago

didn't get many green thumbs from the triangle sailors back then.

keef
NSW, 2015 posts
15 Feb 2015 11:04AM
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Select to expand quote
Dezza said..
Can't wait to race keith down that course


Dezza ill check it out today

Windsurfunstu
NSW, 177 posts
15 Feb 2015 2:16PM
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Well done guys. That looks like its going to be fun. You'll have to get some footage of the action. I try to get down and have a go when I'm back on the water.



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"Sanctuary Point Drags" started by KA360