Wind & Comparable Races

True wind ranged 4.5–19.4 kn (avg 10.3 kn, direction steady around 248° ±9°) — lighter and shiftier than race 20 (2026-09-07, "Monday Win the Night", avg 11.7 kn), but the natural comparison anyway since it's the same crew repeating a double-handed-with-spinnaker outing just two days later.

Upwind the boat held 79.0% of polar target, a touch below race 20's 83.7% — plausibly just the lighter, shiftier breeze rather than technique, since beat angle actually tightened: TWA averaged 44.2° against a 39.0° target (5.2° wide), notably closer to target than race 20's 10.7° wide. Downwind, run performance read 76.4% of target (TWA 146.3° vs a 150.1° target, 3.8° tighter than optimum) — close to race 20's 78.6%. Reach came in at 68.6%, below race 20's 74.2%, but this time on a real sample (n=447 vs. n=68), so it's a more trustworthy number and the more useful of the two reach readings.

Ten tacks lost 33.4% of speed on average (9.8s duration, 7.2s recovery) — a real improvement over race 20's 44.0%, the best short-handed tacking result logged this season. Five gybes, though, lost 21.9% on average — a step back from race 20's standout 14.6%. Heel averaged 23.3° upwind (higher than race 20's 20.8°) and 6.0° on the run. The two clearest strengths tonight were a much tighter beat angle and a big jump in tack execution; the one gap worth tracking is gybe performance, which regressed from a genuinely good result just two race outs ago.

Coaching Recommendations

1. Tacks lost 33.4% of speed on average, down sharply from 44.0% two races ago — whatever changed in the tack sequence (timing, kite/sheet handling) clearly worked; worth identifying specifically what was different so it becomes the standard routine rather than a one-off.
2. Gybes lost 21.9% on average, up from a standout 14.6% last time out — since this same crew has already shown it can gybe cleanly with the kite up, this looks like an execution slip rather than a structural short-handed limit, worth a quick debrief on what was different about tonight's gybes.
3. Beat angle tightened to 5.2° wide of target (from 10.7°) even in lighter, shiftier air — a genuinely strong sign of upwind trim discipline; the next useful test is whether that angle holds up if the breeze firms up or gets steadier.