Wind & Comparable Races

True wind ranged 6.1–21.0 kn (avg 11.1 kn) — steady breeze with one solid puff near the top end, matching the race note. The closest comparable by average wind is race 16 (2026-08-24, "Monday Night", avg 11.7 kn), but that race was sailed fully crewed (5) and flying a spinnaker downwind, while tonight was double-handed white sail only — worth keeping in mind for the run/reach numbers below.

Upwind the boat achieved 84.2% of polar target — essentially matching race 16's 85.3% despite sailing with a third of the crew, a genuinely strong result. TWA averaged 47.9° against a 38.8° target (9.1° wide — footing low), a bigger gap than usual and plausibly a side effect of short-handed trim: fewer hands to fine-tune the traveler/sheet while also helming. Downwind, run performance read 69.5% of target, well below race 16's 84.6% — but that comparison isn't apples-to-apples: the polar table assumes a spinnaker downwind, and tonight was white sail only with two crew, so a lower number here reflects the boat's actual configuration, not a technique gap. Reach numbers (75.9%, n=14) come from too small a sample tonight to read much into.

Nine tacks lost 42.0% of speed on average with an 8.4s duration and 8.6s recovery — the highest average tack loss logged this season among comparable-wind races, consistent with tacking short-handed (no dedicated tailer/grinder). No gybes were logged, in line with a straightforward white-sail course. Heel averaged 18.3° upwind, easing to 2.0° on the run. The two clearest strengths were holding upwind speed nearly level with a fully-crewed spinnaker race and clean, gybe-free downwind sailing; the two most important gaps were tack execution and the wider-than-usual beat angle, both plausibly tied to sailing with just two people.

Coaching Recommendations

1. Upwind speed held at 84.2% of target double-handed, almost identical to a fully-crewed race in similar wind — the boat and crew of two are clearly capable upwind; worth building confidence around that rather than treating short-handed racing as a compromise.
2. Tacks lost 42.0% of speed on average, the highest logged this season — with only two crew, a simple, rehearsed tack sequence (who trims, who drives through the tack, when the jib gets sheeted) is likely worth more than any rig change.
3. Beat TWA ran 9.1° wide of target, more than usual — with less crew free to fine-trim while helming, consider a slightly more conservative (higher) groove upwind rather than footing for speed, since the boat already comes with a corrected-time deficit to make up on a smaller rating.