A Bunch of Definitions Part 1

A lot of these will come in handy for people at Brooke Gonzalez this weekend. I got booted off the wheel of the M32 last night because the traveler guy had an injury which would have made doing traveler not so fun for him. So I did traveler and was in charge of monitoring relative performance of the boats, and observing differences in our setups. I wished the whole time that we had a voice recording of the session as we were speed tuning against a boat that just-named College Sailor of the Year Nevin Snow was driving, with a bunch of match race world tour guys sailing with him. Almost everything we said was stuff that civilians wouldn't have understood but that every sailor needs to know.

If you are one of the people going to Bermuda, good luck have fun keep your eyes open and CLIP IN EVERY FRICKING INSTANT YOU ARE ON DECK. I DON'T CARE. NO VIKING FUNERALS, PLEASE!

If you are sailing 420s or 29ers, please start using these terms in the boat. Even if you are sailing Lasers, please use these terms in your head as the words you think will become the words you say. I once met a Laser sailor who insisted on calling the cunningham the "ooker" simply because that's what he had taken to calling it. It stands out to me 20 years after I heard it, because it was probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I'm not kidding. Also talking to your coaches (assuming you have good coaches, as you will at Gonzalez) becomes much easier when you use the right words correctly. 

It's possible that every other post for the next few weeks will just be definitions.

These are in random order.

VMG - Velocity Made Good. Imagine that there is some magical place that is the source of the wind you are sailing in. Imagine it is very far away. How fast you are getting to that magical place is your VMG. If you are going downwind, VMG is how fast you are getting away from that magical place. VMG has nothing to do with a mark or a finish line or Bermuda (Bermuda Race starts today), or anything other than that magical source of the wind place. The formula for determining your VMG is very easy. It is VMG = Cos(TWA) x Vs. "Vs" stands for "Velocity, ship" in sailing instrument-speak but you can call it "boat speed." Everyone else does. VMG relates to how well you are sailing the boat. A wind shift does not change your VMG.

VMC - Velocity Made good on Course. VMC, as opposed to VMG, has everything to do with how fast you are getting to the next mark, the finish line, Bermuda (Bermuda Race starts today), etc. When you are talking about your rate of progress to a hard, fixed destination, you are talking about VMC. In short course racing, it is almost never called "VMC" for a couple of reasons that are not important now. You will hear people saying things like "VMG to the mark" instead, and that is fine in every respect. The important thing is to differentiate - VMG used on its own means "progress into the wind" (or away from the wind if you are going downwind), and if you want to express your rate of progress to a point, you need to call it either VMC or "VMG to (whatever fixed point you're trying to get to)." VMC relates to how well you are sailing the course. A wind shift does change your VMC. 

TWA - True Wind Angle. The angle, in degrees, between your current course through the water and the wind's direction. If your heading is 300 and the true wind direction (TWD) is 345, your true wind angle is 45*. Bonus question 1: if your heading is 300 and the TWD is 345, which tack are you on? Bonus question 2: if your heading is 300 and the TWD is 345, what would you assume your heading on the other tack will be? Bonus question 3: if your heading is 300 and the TWD is 345 and you are going 7 knots, what is your VMG?

Gauge - Pronounced "gage" not "gowge." Two boats are sailing on the same tack, in close proximity to one another. If one is gaining windward distance relative to the other, that boat is "gaining gauge." If the leeward most boat is the one gaining gauge, they are said to be "closing gauge." If the windward boat is doing the gaining, you usually say they are "opening gauge." A boat that is gaining gauge is also frequently said to be "elevating" relative to the other. If you have better pointing, you will gain gauge and elevate. Gauge is basically interchangeable with "height." If you are gaining gauge, you are gaining height. There are times when it is more specific to use one than the other but you are far from needing to worry about those.

Track - Two boats are sailing on the same tack, in close proximity to one another. A boat that is going forward relative to the other is said to be gaining track. It's also simply referred to as going "bow forward." Tack is used interchangeable with speed, and also "bow forward." It's all about how and when you use them, but if you say "we're going bow forward on them" (for example) everyone on the boat will know what you're talking about. 

If the two boats in this picture are doing things right, they will just about be wearing out the words and phrases in today's definitions set. 

Net Gain or Loss- Net gain or loss is your comparative VMG relative to other boats on the same tack that are immediately around you. Imagine you are sailing against one other boat. If you are gaining gauge AND track, then you are definitely making a net gain. If you have really good pointing but your speed is not as good, if your pointing advantage is bigger than your speed disadvantage, then you are making a net gain. On the boat, you might say "gauge to us, track to them, net to us." That is a VERY efficient way of saying "we're point better than they are, but they are going a little faster than we are, and I think overall that our VMG is a little better." You could also say "height to us, speed to them, net to us" and everyone would understand you. It's all about efficient communication. The magic is in being able to decide what the net actually is. Very easy to do when there is land behind the other boat (as people who wen to FL this spring would have learned), quite not easy when you aren't looking at land behind the other boat. It's an ability that develops over time with LOTS of practice. 

Foils - Collective term for your boat's sails, rudder, and daggerboard/centerboard/keel. They are all foils. Often people mean "underwater foils" when they say "foils" - they mean to exclude the sails. Learn to deal with that one.

Blades - The underwater foils, referred to correctly. Many Laser sailors own "blade bags." Get it?

Flow - The appropriate fluid moving over a foil. For sails, the appropriate fluid is air. For blades, it is water. If you have air flow on your blades, things have gone or are about to go really quite badly. "Flow" is the opposite of "stall."

Stall - When the appropriate fluid is NOT moving over a foil. When you overtrim the main and the top batten telltale dies and points straight down, you have "stalled the main." Stall can happen from bad trim, or from pointing too high or from pointing too low. Very good sailors learn to feel flow and stall at all times, and can tell when the boat is gaining better flow or is about to stall. 

That's enough for today, I have to go build wheels. If you are at Brooke, pay attention, take notes, and use the right fricking words, okay?