Wind & Comparable Races

True wind ranged 4.5–20.9 kn (avg 11.7 kn) — a solid mid-range breeze with a strong puff near the top end. The closest comparable by average wind is race 2 (2026-07-20, "WoW", avg 13.1 kn, 2.9–22.7 kn), the nearest match among all logged races.

Overall the boat achieved 85.3% of polar target upwind, 83.1% on the reach, and 84.6% downwind — all clearly ahead of race 2's 75.3%/68.2%/67.2%, despite similar wind strength. The reach result stands out: 83.1% is a marked jump from the 38.8–46.0% reach performance logged in every recent light-air race (races 8, 12, 13, 15), and well above race 2's 68.2% too — consistent with tonight's note about experimenting with downwind angles and vang sheeting. Upwind TWA averaged 46.6° against a 38.6° target (8.0° wide — footing low), the opposite pattern from downwind, where TWA averaged 146.4° against a 163.9° target (17.5° shy — sailing higher/tighter than target depth rather than pressing on).

Eight tacks lost 38.8% of speed on average with a 7.1s duration and 7.4s recovery; three gybes lost 23.1% over 11.7s. Five mark roundings were logged, each a large bear-away/head-up turn (22–60% speed loss) — expected for rounding rather than straight-line tack/gybe technique. Heel averaged 17.9° upwind, easing to 8.5° on the reach and 6.6° downwind, a fairly powered-up upwind mode broadly in line with race 2's 20.3° beat heel at similar wind strength. The two clearest strengths were the reach jump and beating a wind-comparable race across every point of sail with fewer tacks (8 vs 15); the two most important gaps were the tack speed loss and the opposite-direction angle misses on beat vs run.

Coaching Recommendations

1. Reach performance jumped to 83.1% of target tonight, up from a consistent 38.8–46.0% across every recent light-air race and ahead of the wind-comparable race too — whatever was changed with downwind angles and vang sheeting worked; note it down and repeat it deliberately next time out.
2. Upwind and downwind angles missed target in opposite directions — 8.0° wide (footing low) beating, 17.5° shy (too tight/high) running. Treat these as two separate fixes: point up slightly on the run, foot less upwind, rather than one blanket angle adjustment.
3. Tacks lost 38.8% of speed on average, similar to the comparable race's 40.6% despite otherwise stronger boat-speed performance tonight — tacking technique remains the one area that isn't tracking the rest of the improvement; worth dedicated tacking drills.