First time racing

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TangaraToo

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I've been invited to join a crew racing a Dehler 32 in the Solent.
I learnt to sail racing dinghies and have been sailing 30' yacht mainly single handed for last 3 years so the sailing aspect is not a concern for me.
However, never been part of a racing crew before. Really don't want to unknowingly commit a cardinal sin on my first day.
Plan is to just do as asked, help where I can and observe. Anything I should be aware of?
 
That sounds like a good plan to me! I would say that compared to the clothing you would wear cruising in the same conditions you will probably end up wearing one less layer but going for waterproofs, especially on the lower half, earlier than you would normally.
And if you're not doing a task, sit on the rail!

Otherwise, enjoy!
 
Can you have a chat with the owner / skipper before hand and find out what they want you to do.
Also - can you get some familiarisation time before the first race. Even if it's knowing what methods / commands that boat uses, which line is which etc.

Doing it in slow mo to start with away from any time pressures on the actual race track is a lot easier than when approaching a mark with boats coming in from all directions and a skipper yelling at all and sundry.
 
If the boat's well organised they'll probably allocate someone to guide you as a first-timer. As Flaming says, you'll probably spend most of your time out of the cockpit, probably most of it sitting on the rail.

Wear sailing gloves. Even if you're used to handling lines bare handed when cruising, you're still likely to be going up an order of magniture in the wear and tear you put on your hands.

The biggest factor in how warmly you dress is whether you're going to be trimming or not. In any event, you've done dinghy racing so a bit of spray and cold won't be a surprise.

And beware you could get addicted to racing.
 
Enjoy yourself, dont worry. The one thing that really irritates me with new crew, and I admit most of mine are cruising sailors, are the ones that dont pay attention and instead spend time looking at the other boats. The objective of racing is to win - social life begins after racing
 
Paying attention is a good point - thinking 'what's happening next or what may happen next' is a good thing. EG downwind leg, if we gybe is everything ready; upwind leg, we're on port there's a starboard tacker coming are we likely to duck or tack under the lee bow. No harm in asking what's the next move if you're not getting communication. Should be possible to enjoy during and after the race with a bit of luck!
 
Thanks all.
Clothing not an issue as have multiple layers from base layer out. I always wear sailing gloves.
No chance of me not paying attention, if anything I am little too competitive. Racing is racing :) Even cruising I wanted best speed from boat at all times.
I'm hoping my dinghy racing experience will at least let me understand what is going on and what needs to happen.
Looking forward to my first day out.
 
There is a book that was written specifically for dinghy sailors converting to racing yachts. It is called Racing Crew, 2nd ed. (1995), by McKeag and Edgerton. Copies are available very inexpensively on Amazon.

Hope this helps!
 
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