Tis the season for spending the night on your boat, both on the hook and on watch. One of the best parts about sailing on the Chesapeake during the summer is the number of great overnight races that allow sailors to get some legit distance under their belts while still staying on a relatively protected body of water (we said relatively). So sailors, mark your calendars and then start organizing your gear bags: these races require a bit more preparation than your normal weeknight race.
July 10: Eastport YC celebrates the 35th Solomons Island Invitational Race, with boats starting in the Severn River and ending in the Patuxent River. race.eastportyc.org
July 25: The Cruising Club of Virginia Moonlight Triangle Race. Starting in Hampton, racers bang around a triangular course in the Bay and end up back in Hampton in the middle of the night. hamptonyc.com/racing.htm
July 31: The Governor’s Cup Yacht Race, a 70-mile-long overnight race between Maryland’s current capital city to its first (St. Marys City) with a Potomac leg as well. smcm.edu/events/govcup
So what’s the key to success in a long distance race? Seasoned sailors agree: it’s all about maintaining your intensity despite fatigue. “We hike all night and don’t fall into a watch system on races under 24 hours,” says Greg Leonard, skipper of the J/120 Heron who just took third in the Down the Bay Race. “Stay close to the rhumb line, watch out for the pound nets around the edges, and stay out of the wind holes (we’re still working on that one).”
James Gray, the navigator onboard James Muldoon’s Donnybrook for the Down the Bay Race, agrees. “It’s easy to be focused on boatspeed right after the start. Everybody is excited, and you can see all of your competition. But 60 hours later, in the middle of the night, with no sign of your competition, in pouring rain, bad seas, coming on watch with very limited sleep, it’s very easy to get complacent. And you aren’t as focused on how well you are sailing. But you need to be. You need to always be thinking, are the sails trimmed the best they can be? Do you have the right sails up? Are we going the correct way tactically?” Keep your head in the game by getting rest when you’re off watch, fueling up whenever you can, and making sure your whole crew follows along with the same program.
What's in the Bag?
We asked overnight sailors what five things are most important when preparing for an overnight race, and here's what they said.
- A comfy PFD and tether. You'll be amazed how warm they are at night when you're on the rail...
- A headlamp. Wearing it on your head all night will ensure you don't lose it.
- Boots. Despite the "summer" weather, boots are warmer and more protective for everything that goes bump in the night.
- A marine traffic app. Speaking of going bump... stay much safer knowing who else is out there with you.
- A hat. Keeping your head covered is key to staying warmer throughout the night.
