2022 Contender Canadians

The 2022 Contender Canadians took place at the Outer Harbour Centreboard Club during the first weekend of October. Day 1 was sailed in light wind, with most of the four races run in 3-5 knots, and one race maybe hitting 8 knots. The forecast for Day 2 was supposed to be fun, but only the first race delivered a solid 12-13 knots, and it diminished from there.

Newcomer to the fleet (sort of), Raines Koby demonstrated he’s a light air demon and cleaned up, taking home the perpetual trophy to add to his collection (that 2021 Champ Peter Hale reluctantly bestowed upon him). Results are here.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who came out to support this event, especially our act PRO Paul McHugh. He promised to be back next year!

And here are Raines’ insights:

Hopefully this doesn’t put anyone to sleep. Actually, if you have a problem falling asleep read this this repetitively and it should help. Frankly most of what I will say you heard it all before, but here I go.

I still feel relatively a newbie sailing the Contender both from a boat handling and rig/foil optimization standpoint, so no valuable tips for you on that front. I’m making a list of learnings on that so I don’t slip backwards the next time out. Memory is not what it used to be!

My relative strengths for the regatta were up and downwind strategic and downwind boat speed.

Fortunately, I mounted my Albacore compass just before heading out and thus had a good sense of lifts, headers and mean wind to guide upwind strategy. The easterly is relatively stable, at least vs northerlies, but provided meaningful shifts which delivered a few “save my ass” recoveries when I got it right.

Upwind I don’t think it was about picking a side as both sides proved to win at times or make no difference and I had no idea how to predict which would be better except for race 10. So, I followed my compass for input. I tried to stay on the lifted tack as much as possible. I told you, you may not learn much! I did choose to sail through some headers if I thought they were short-lived, or I was close to the top of the course and treated them as a persistent shift. Ok on the breezy first race Sunday when I forgot how to tack I did sail through a header two instead of risking a swim.

On day two as the day progressed it seemed the puffs were tied to starboard tack lifts and so it paid to be right or to windward of the enemy. The last race there was a persistent shift and going right paid particularly on the second windward. I went hard right and stretched well out. Additionally at the top of the course coming into the mark on port often delivered more pressure and port tack lifts. No question my compass was my best friend.

Downwind I seemed to have a speed advantage. I’m not sure why. All controls (vang, outhaul and cunningham) where fully off. The board was up almost all the way. Sometimes if it got a bit more reachy with pressure I vanged a tad. I really didn’t pump or rock when it was legal or not legal. At sat as far forward as I could in the cockpit with feet sticking out to leeward most of the time. That’s my favourite position in the Contender. Being a slob. I concentrate on steering in the same direction of the wave as much as possible to generate a baby surf. I also heeled my boat to windward more than others. That’s an Albacore thing and is programed into me likely for the rest of my life. It didn’t seem to hurt and I think it helps the boat roll down those 4 inch rollers a bit.

Strategically, coming around the windward mark I would pretty much head at the leeward mark. I re-learned that Contenders are dogs dead downwind, so I would heat it up a bit whenever I felt the boat speed fall off. As long as speed was good, I kept aiming for the leeward mark. I saw Peter and others go low of the rhumb line early on the downwind leg and look great with better pressure, but it seem to die out 1/3 way down and they suffered from sailing more distance. The wind was obviously shifting so there was a certain amount of drunk sailing heading up and down as shifts came thru on the downwind legs as well.

Well that’s all I have. If you have actually read this far I’m impressed. Clearly you drink too much coffee otherwise you’d be snoring.

Raines