Wind & Comparable Races

True wind ranged 0.6–14.0 kn (avg 6.1 kn) — light again, closely matching race 7 (2025-09-17, avg 6.6 kn, 0.1–12.7 kn), the best available comparable since both are light-air Wednesday nights from the same season. The crew was down to two rather than three; that difference may partly explain the generally lower percentages of target below and isn't something the data can separate from technique.

Overall the boat was further off target than the comparable race: 58.8% of polar target upwind and 67.4% downwind, versus 66.8%/71.1% for race 7, with the reach again the weakest point of sail at 46.0%. Upwind VMG averaged 2.31 kn against a 3.41 kn target (68% of target VMG, down from 73% previously), while upwind TWA (43.6°) tracked the 42.5° target closely — so, as in the comparable race, the shortfall reads as a speed gap rather than a pointing gap. Downwind told a different story: average TWA of 136.1° ran about 9° shy of the 145.3° target, meaning the boat sailed noticeably higher than optimal rather than pressing to depth — a clearer angle gap than anything on the beat.

Four tacks lost 31.8% of speed on average and took 13.5 s to recover, both worse than race 7's 23.5%/3.6s, and only one mark rounding was logged — too few to break out leg-by-leg performance. No start-of-race data is available (this race also predates gun-time anchoring). Heel while running averaged 8.7°, noticeably higher than race 7's 3.2° downwind heel, alongside the shallower downwind angle; the data doesn't establish that heel caused the shy angle, but the two appearing together on the same point of sail is worth watching. The clearest strength this race was upwind pointing, again within about a degree of target; the two most important gaps were tack execution and downwind angle.

Coaching Recommendations

1. Tack execution was worse than the comparable race on both loss (31.8%) and recovery time (13.5s) — drill light-air tacks specifically to bring recovery back toward the ~4-6s range seen elsewhere.
2. Downwind TWA averaged 9° shy of target (136.1° vs 145.3°) — work on pressing to a deeper downwind angle rather than sailing high.
3. Reach has now been the softest point of sail in both light-air races on record (46-52% of target) — worth dedicated reach-mode speed testing.