Harry Melges On Getting Out Of A Tight Spot

Last month we set UKA UKA Racing's Jonathan McKee a series of challenging theoretical tactical scenarios to try to extricate himself from. This time it is the turn of Harry Melges, the tactical brainpower behind Brian and John Porter's highly successful Full Throttle crew to find a way out of the same tactical puzzlers.

In all of the scenarios below the following apply:

• - You are racing in a sixty boat championship fleet
• - In open sea conditions
• - An 8 -12 knot breeze is oscillating through 15 degrees every 8 minutes
• - You are sailing a properly prepared, well set up boat with a highly capable helm and crew

Scenario 1 - Clean start at the wrong end of the line...

IM24CA: Despite all of your best efforts in the prestart preparation, a last minute shift means that you and your team have lined up at the wrong end of the line. You are up at the committee boat and in the first few seconds after the gun you get that sinking feeling as you see the boats at the pin are already well advanced on you. The only bonus is that you got a clean start and are in clear air. At that moment you are expecting a mid fleet weather mark rounding at best.

How do you react? What do you do next and why?

HM: No worries. Knowing that it is shifting 15 degrees every 8 minutes, I tack under the group and lead this pack to the next shift.  

The key is to stay calm, sail fast, stay in phase with the shifts by keeping your head out of the boat and let your boat speed and boat handling help get you back to the lead pack.  

Picking your lanes is key to keep clean air whenever possible and be in phase with the shift to take early advantage of the next one.

Scenario 2 - Bad start at the right end of the line...

IM24CA: You got your prestart preparation right and you lined up down at the well favoured pin end of the line. Unfortunately the helmsman failed to ‘pull the trigger' early enough and you were slow off the line. After a minute of sailing you are being squeezed by the boats below you and there is a pack of three boats waiting to roll you to windward. Your predicted windward mark rounding position is looking like tail end Charlie right now.

How do you react? What do you do next and why? 

HM: I quickly look for the earliest opportunity for a clearing tack.  If I still like the left and/or it is a right hand phase then I get back on starboard tack as quickly as possible.   If the port angle is looking OK and we're not hung up on the left then we work the lanes and shifts up the beat to try to salvage a respectable position at the top mark.

Scenario 3 - First windward mark at the back of the fleet...

IM24CA: You round the top mark on lap one and as you head off down the spreader leg you estimate that you are in the bottom twenty of the fleet. As usual the bulk of the fleet has stayed on starboard on the run with about twenty percent of the boats opting to gybe on to port. What should your strategy be on this downwind leg? What options are open to you to start to make gains? What do you do next and why?

HM: More than ever you have stay cool and maintain a sound strategy.   You cannot look for the home run to get you out of trouble every time you find yourself in a tough spot.   You have to stay with your normal tactical game. Plan to pass boats one at a time. Sometimes you can take many boats in one go, but the best approach is to chip away bit by bit and not take flyers.  The only time for considering the flyer option is when the percentage chance of success is very high or when you find yourself toward the end of the race and have not had the success you need.  The majority of the time, making sure you stay ‘in the race' and using your boat speed, boat handling and great tactics will pull you up through the group to a respectable finish.

Scenario 4 - Approaching the leeward gates in a midfleet position....

IM24CA: Halfway along the first downwind leg you are lying around midway in the fleet and are starting to think about your leeward mark rounding. (In the distance) you can see that the first ten boats have all gone to the right hand (looking upwind) mark. What opportunities are there to make gains? What do you need to think about in order to position yourself best to do this? What conversation do you have on the boat at this point?

HM: There are almost always gains to be made at the leeward gate. The key is to exit the gate at maximum speed, in phase with the breeze, in a clear lane and going the right direction.

Sometimes it is beneficial to split and go to the least crowded gate but this decision depends on downwind traffic and the expected upwind traffic after the mark.

I would also be weighing up which side of the beat is better, has been better or looks better now. 

If one of the leeward gates is heavily unfavored and a further distance to sail then it is usually best to round the favoured gate with the group and clear as quickly as possible. 

Sometimes a lot depends on the manoeuvre necessary to round the favoured gate.  If it is light air and you have to do a gybe take down to go around the favoured gate it is sometimes better to go straight in to the opposite gate and minimize any speed loss. 

Summary:

IM24CA: What do you consider to be the most important things to remember or think about as a tactician when you are trying to dig yourself out of a poor position?

HM: Keep your cool and stay positive for the team. Get your head out of the boat, keep the boat going fast and sailing hard so that you can stay with the group and chip away at your position.

As always, time in the boat pays dividends when you are looking for consistently strong finishes.  The more confidence you have in your own abilities as well as your team's abilities and your boat speed, the easier it will become to consistently achieve great results.  

I find the best way to achieve this is to sail as many regattas as possible to stay connected and stay confident as no one likes to spend ours training and not racing!

Sail Fast and Have Fun!