Uncle Al's
Pictorial Pearls of Wisdom
 from the Warm Water Regatta
a potpourri of educational items suggested by the photos

...As they near the leeward mark (hidden here) they will get to obey rule 21: keep clear of capsized boats.
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Question: If the W and the Laser were on a collision course, who would have to keep clear? Answer: Both boats are on starboard, so it'll be a case of windward-leeward. And when a running boat meets one that is closehauled on the same tack, the closehauled boat always works out to be leeward. So ... Mike in the W would be the burdened boat here.
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Note Mike sitting aft here as the boat nears planing speed. This gets the bow up, a much less capsize-prone way to sail, since the pointy bow can't dig in which in turn makes the boat far easier to keep under the control of the rudder.
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A thing of beauty! Note how Dwight has straightened his rudder to briefly keep the boat sailing straight downwind until the main completes its gybe - the proverbial S-gybe, perfectly executed!
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...Note how, as the boom starts to come across, Scott is steering as if to abort the gybe and ...
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... comes out of a tough gybe steering a straight course and under full control.
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When was the last time you saw this this approach to a gybe in a Wayfarer - pulling the mainsheet in to help the boom gybe??? Just the way they tell you to do it in the manuals. Most of us helms in W's are too lazy to do it that way, though. It's easier (and safer!!!) to get the crew to grab the vang and wing the main across once the pressure on it begins to ease. This allows the helm to concentrate on his steering which in this stuff is a full-time job!
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