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Tartan Ten RattyMontrose HarborChicago, Illinois |
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Ratty is berthed in Montrose Harbor, Chicago, Illinois. Our first year we planned to race in Wednesday club night races, Jib and Main. After the crew was used to the boat, we raced club races in the Tartan 10 class. Having won some races, we are looking forward to a more advanced Tartan 10 racing program. We sail out of CCYC's Montrose Harbor (4400 North). On Wednesday nights, we get together hopefully about 17:15 - 17:30 and leaving about 17:40 - 18:00 or so.
Weekend club races have us getting together around 11:30 and leaving around noon for a 13:05 start.
RATTY is a Tartan 10. Basically, the Tartan 10 was the first big "one design" boat, ignoring rating rules for handicapping different boats -- intended to compete with similar boats. While there are other boats meeting this description, the Tartan 10 today remains an economical and easy to handle boat.
In Chicago there is a large one design fleet, so the possibility for very competitive racing also exists.
If you are interested in finding out more about the boat, the National Class Association has information, and there is an article about the boat, in the sailing hall of fame. The Chicago class has a web page, as does the Corinthian fleet.
In her first race, RATTY took a first place. In the second season we collected a trophy for club racing.
We started out not approaching racing at a super intense level, although we like to try to win. But the Tartan 10 class tends to bring out the competitor in everyone. With adequate crew and preparation we look forward to racing in the very competitive one design races.
In 2010 we raced our first Mackinac race and were happy with our placement -- better than most of our rivals, ahead of some very fast boats -- but the T-10 class front runners are quite good. Consistent crew work, three pretty good helms, and good judgment about conditions and trends were advantageous, and we see room for improvement.
What's it like to crew on Ratty? You have the ability. We've raced with everyone from experienced sailors, who race their own boats, to one person who had never been on a boat before.
The most valuable thing a crewmember can do is to show up regularly. As we work together as a team, the crew is also increasing their own knowledge about sailing and the boat, which is invaluable in improving our performance.
As we become more accustomed to the competitiveness in the T-10 class, we are continuing to refine our plans. More distance race? More weekend races? It takes crew.
So, we look forward to improving our preparation and sailing skills.