CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING MONTEREY BAY SANTA CRUZ, CA: TUESDAY NIGHTS

10/29/2013

The last Tuesday night of the year did not dissappoint. The wind was from the northwest, sky was clear and the whales seemed to be all over the place. The fall chill is definitely in the air. We decided on a short course: start to mile and back to start. The short course was necessary, little day light left and we had a barbecue to get to.

There were four boats out for the last night this year, Pair a Dice, Pacific Spirit, Free Spirit and Tres Santos. On Pair a Dice, for the start, we were windward of Pacific Spirit in a position they could have luffed us up over the line early. We were seriously stalling coming up on the mark too soon. Rather than luffing us up, Pacific Spirit tacked off and went off on port as we started on Starboard tack. We really felt we had the better of them since we were sailing more toward the mark and they were sailing away from it. The last laugh was on us, since as they sailed off on port tack they had completely clear wind. As we continued to beat our way toward Mile, we were a quarter mile or so east of the mark. When Pacific Spirit tacked out toward the mark, we watched as they ranged ahead on us. They definitely had better speed than we did. When we tacked over to round Mile, Pacific Spirit was well ahead of us. Once we rounded mile, we extended our pole and started closing the gap on Pacific Spirit. If we had a five mile leg, we may have been able to overtake them, but Pacific Spirit rounded well ahead of us. Pacific Spirit won the last race of the season handily. Way to show us how it is done! Congratulations to Pacific SPirit and crew.

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We had a great barbecue at the yacht club with some great discussion on how to keep the ball rolling through this winter and next summer. Suffice it to say, there will be Catalinas out this winter. We will sail, weather permitting, on Saturdays, with a switch to Sunday if the weather is better on that day. Since it is once a week sailing, I usually like to make the most of it and get out around noon or so and Pacific Spirit likes to come out around 2 oclock. We try to set up courses using fixed marks like Mile, SC7 and GOV. If you have never sailed during the winter in Santa Cruz, you are really missing the best of it. Rather than damp fog, we have plenty of sun and 10-15 knots of wind. Personally, I like winter sailing as much as I like summer sailing. If you are interested in crewing on one of the boats during the winter, either comment on this blog, or drop me an e-mail at LLL3@prodigy. net. GIve me your cell phone and your name and we will get you in the crew list for winter sailing.

Thank you to everyone that participated this year. It has truely been a pleasure sailing with and against all of you.

Barry L Keeler

Sailing Pair a Dice

CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING MONTEREY BAY TUESDAY EVENINGS

OCTOBER 22, 2013

You can really feel the fall chill in the air, and it came so quickly. Just this last weekend was hot and sunny. This Tuesday night was cool with a big fog bank hanging just off shore and the sun was already low on the horizon making daylight very short for a sail. To complicate matters, the wind was very light, with a northwest on the outside and an Easterly very weakly attempting to fill in closer to the beach. After some discussion, we decided on course 7: Start to Mile and back to start. Partcipants this night were: Sailing Pair a dice, Pacific SPirit, Blue Ribbon (Homer's C&C 25), Emeritus, Free Spirit, Iris and Tres Santos.

At the start, the transition line between the northwest and the lighter easterly was right at the start line. Since the northwesterly was much stronger, we approached from outside the start line using wind and waves to get our speed up. At the start Emeritus, Iris and Pacific Spirit and Blue Ribbon were just ahead of Pair a Dice. As we all romped toward Mile into the building northwest, most of the boat were sailing lower, further away from Mile, while Pair a Dice attempted a higher line closer to Mile. Emeritus was the first to tack over to the inside, since it was a port rounding around Mile. When we tacked over Emeritus was charging back out and crossed us easily, but attempted to tack over to steal our wind. We easily sailed out of their shadow and quickly tacked over to round mile. We all had to pinch to round Mile, Homer rounding comfortably in front with PAD, Iris and Emeritus following.

We all marched off toward Start right into a broad transition zone. We watched as each of the boats gave up and furled their sails and motored toward the entrance. Even Homer who was way ahead and seemed to be dead in the water seemed to be motoring toward the harbor. On Pair a Dice, I had visions of burgers grilling and was all ready to start toward the harbor when I felt the weakest hint of an Easterly. As the easterly began to fill in, it was not comforting to note that the start buoy was 0.38 miles away. Suddenly we could see Homer sailing back toward start, this race was not over! We crossed easily in front of him and when we tacked over to get around start we went far enough to be certain we would be windward of him for the approach to the mark. Somehow Homer was able to roll us to leeward and beat us by less than half a boat length. Good job Homer and crew.

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We had an awesome barbecue at the yacht club, with great food and company to complete the evening.

Next Tuesday will be our last Tuesday night for this year and will be another barbecue at the yacht club afterward. At this barbecue, I would like to have a group discussion. The floor will be open for anyone that wants to participate and volunteer comments on: Most important thing you learned this season about sailing, what you like most about Tuesday night sailing and how we could make it better.

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Now that winter is coming, let the racing continue! When weather permits, we meet on Saturdays anywhere from Noon on. We set up races using stationary marks such as SC3, Mile and GOV. It is even more impromtu than Tuesdays and with the lighter winds of winter can be very fun. If the weather is inclement on Saturday, we can even change to Sundays if you can make it. Winter sailing in Santa Cruz is not nearly as cold as you would expect since it is nearly always sunny with light wind and no summer fog. We can exchange phone numbers for people desiring to crew and owners needing crew, so be sure to come to the barbecue.

As the harbor shoals over in the winter, keep an eye on the harbor website to see how deep the channel is and the best way out and in.

See you next Tuesday for our grand finale.

Barry

CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING SANTA CRUZ CALIFORNIA TUESDAY NIGHTS

October 15,20113

We are so lucky to live in such a blessed place, and this particular evening was a night that emphasized this point! At first, it seemed a little disappointing as we exited the harbor and saw all of the boats floating around with limp sails! Another night with NO WIND, Bummer! As we approached the start buoy we were impressed with all of the boats in the vacinity. Many more boats than normal and many more non Catalina boats. Then we saw it, A whale blowing in the midst of the boats. It was a time for whale watching. I announced to the Catalina fleet, the racing was on hold until the wind filled in. Somehow, I could just "FEEL" that the wind would fill in. There was a slight easterly blowing as we exited the harbor and we saw the normal northwester blowing outside. Which of the winds would prevail in the end? As we enjoyed the many humpback whales feeding at close quarters, we noticed the wind filling in on the water with a northerly (of all directions) filling in! We quickly called a course for a north wind, not a normal course, but the nights are getting short and the courses are getting shorter! We decided on a start line between Start and Blacks, with start to port. FIrst mark was GOV (to port) and return to start mark taking it to port.

Boats taking part in the fun this night were Sailing Pair A Dice, Aeolian, Emeritus, Iris, Free Spirit, Katrina "Blue Ribbon" (Homers C&C 25), Tres Santos and Bellisima (Chappie's Erickson 35).

Iris did well with her one minute head start and all of the other boats filed in for the normal start. Aeolian seemed to be first at the line with Emeritus edging Sailing Pair a Dice at the start line. We were all marching off to GOV which called for a hard on the wind course. This night was all about boat speed, not tactics since there were no tacks involved. Who could get the best boat speed and sail trim? It seemed like the start predicated everyones position with little change. Aeolian and Iris were neck in neck with Aeolian rounding just ahead of Iris and Blue Ribbon right after them. Emeritus rounded just in front of Sailing Pair A DIce and Bellisima and we were off back to start mark on a reach. Just as the sun was setting, Aelian rounded the finish mark first with Iris hot on their heels. Emeritus, and BLue ribbon were next with Sailing Pair a DIce close behind followed by Tres Santos and Katrina after us. A beautiful evening! The wind ultimately was 14 knots. Not bad for starting out with no wind!

RACING! VS STARBOARD!

I once witnessed a situation where there were several boats sailing toward a mark on port tack in a race with a single starboard tack cruising boat in their way. All of the racing boats were screaming "we are in a race!" while the cruising boat called "Starboard!". Who has right of way and what is the best way to handle this situation?

We have been in many races and faced with this situation. We have been known to hail the other boat "we are racing, do you mind?". This action indicates to the starboard tack boat "we KNOW you have right of way, would you mind altering course so we can continue on?" Often this is just a minor course alteration for the starboard tacker, which they are glad to accomodate with. If you attempt to claim right of way when you don't have right of way, you are butting heads in a loosing situation. Starboard tack always has right of way over port tack! Also keep in mind if one of your competitors sees you not yielding to a Starboard tacker, they can protest YOU!

If you are sailing in a tight pack of boats, you can use the starboard tacker to your advantage. If you are paying attention, these situations don't catch you by surprise. By heading up or falling off a little, you can use the starboard tacker as an "obstruction". You can cause one of your competitors to clear room for you just as if it was a pier or jetty in your way.

I was once in a race and saw a boat sailing parallel to the finish line just ahead of us on starboard. I altered my course so I was set to pass just ahead of the starboard tacker, but not leaving room for my competitor. It slowed my competitor just enough to allow me to cross the line just ahead of them.

The point is to analyze every situation. Sometimes you can POLITELY ask for right of way to your advantage. Other times you can use a starboard tacker to your advantage. Always be aware and think ahead. As stated earlier, these situations don't come out of the blue and may be used to your advantage with proper planning.

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Keep in mind, the next two Tuesday nightsw will be our last for the season. Both the 22nd and the 29th will be barbecue nights at the Yacht club. Plan on bringing your grilling stuff for a friendly finale.

See you all next Tuesday,

Barry

　

　

　

　

　

October 8, 2013 Catalina Sailboats racing in Santa Cruz, California

October 8, 2013

Another great evening sailing in the Monterey Bay. Great wind around 20 knots blowing out of the East with a little Northerly direction. With so much wind , we decided to use course 9, a rather long course considering the shortness of the daylight. The course was start to blacks, SC3 and back to start. We actually had two Catalina 27's which had a 2 minute head start on the rest of us. Other Catalina's out this night were Emeritus, Pacific Spirit, Tres Santos and Sailing Pair a Dice.

Iris and the other 27 had good starts and were off and running to blacks. We (PAD) had a good start right at the pin and Emeritus started right on time a little further down the line. Pacific SPirit was breathing down our necks right at the start. We were able to fend Pacific Spirit off until we all rounded Blacks. In the long run to SC3, Pacific Spirit was able to roll us to windward and Emeritus was right with them. We had the hardest time trying to pass Iris, which was sailing nicely, considering the weird chop that was in the water. The smaller the boat, the harder it is to overcome the disadvantage of chop, but they were doing a great job of it. As we got closer to SC3, we decided to tack off to clear our air from Pacific Spirit and Emeritus. Pacific Spirit rounded SC3 easily with a commanding lead, while PAD and Emeritus were having trouble getting around SC3, having to tack several times. Alas PAD even grazed the buoey as we tried to round. Fortunately, with as much wind as there was, the one turn penalty was not too painful. Right after rounding, PAD headed inside while Emeritus stayed outside, while Pacific Spirit was romping on ahead. When we finally got closer to shore, we turned more toward the mark and were able to set our pole. It seemed like we were closing on Pacific Spirit, but their lead was too much and the crossed easily (about 2 minutes) in front of us. We crossed ahead of Emeritus, which was sailing without a pole, a distinct disadvantage on such a long down wind run. Good job Pacific Spirit!

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Steering in challenging conditions:

I was at the helm of my boat for this night and I found it very challenging. Normally, when steering, you want minimal handling of the wheel and you want to maintain an even angle of heel. On this night, we had many gusts of wind and the waves and chop seemed to be coming from every direction. Normally, you can use the waves to "surf" a little closer to the wind. This night, it seemed every time I attempted to surf, there was chop fighting my attempt. I felt like I was using way too much helm with all of the gusts and definitely lost my cool when attempting to round a mark in close quarters. I am open for suggestions from people more in the know.

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The end of the season is quickly approaching and what a season it has been. Participation has grown almost exponentially this season. Thank you all for making Tuesday nights part of you routine. Keep in mind and plan for the fact that the last two Tuesday night of the season will be Barbecue nights! Both October 22 and 28 will be followed by a barbecue at the yacht club. Lets have a grand finale on the 28th.

Looking forward to seeing you next Tuesday.

Catalina Sailboats racing on Tuesday nights Santa Cruz, California

October 1, 2013

As we left the harbor, it looked like a major float-fest going on. It was certainly a beautiful evening: clear and sunny but verly little wind filling in from the East. We set the course to the shortest Easterly wind course, cut in half. Start to Blacks and back.

Catalinas out this night were: Pair A Dice, Aeolian, Free Spirit, Emeritus, Iris and Pacific Spirit. Joining along were Homer in his C&C 25 and Chappy in his Erickson 35. We gave the Catalina 27's a 2 minute headstart. Somehow, Homer absolutely nailed the start right on time followed closely by Iris. For the 30's and larger boats, Pacific Spirit beat us to the line and we were left with dirty air. Emeritus started further down the line in clear air and was clipping along nicely. Light air sailing is always and challenge, especially when you are being blanketed by your competition. Pacific Spirit sure is a pretty boat, but I enjoy looking at her from her bow rather than her stern! I had Fred Molnar on the helm and he did an excellent job of climbing above Pacific Spirit to get clearer air. Despite his efforts, we still rounded behind Pacific Spirit. As we were fighting it out, apparently Homer rounded Black on the wrong side, and had to go back to round again. Maybe, Homer has determined that the blue course card is too much weight for his boat? He was still sailing very fast.

After rounding Blacks, we were off for the start mark, following Homer, Iris and Pacific SPirit. Homer took start to the wrong side and Iris won, with Pacific Spirit second and Pair A Dice maybe 3 seconds behind Pacific Spirit. Way to go IRIS.

After the race was over, there was still some light, so we sailed out about 2 miles and ran into a pod of whales. Beautiful sunset and whales blowing all over the place. It just doesn't get much better than this.

　

　

　

"It doesn't get much better than this"???. Steve Nieman shared photos from the Wednesday night sail. Where we saw whales spouting and some backs coming out of the water, check Steve's photos out.

CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING SANTA CRUZ MONTEREY BAY CALIFORNIA ON TUESDAY NIGHTS

September 24, 2013

Talk about a carbon copy of last week: Winds from the north in excess of 20 knots with no signs of backing off, clear and sunny. The choice of coarse was simple: course 13 again. We had Andiamo, Free Spirits, Diver Down and Katrina in the mix. After delaying the start by 5 minutes to get everyone to the line, Andiamo and Diver Down were in battle at very close proximity to each other and the start line. PAD and Free Spirit sailed out of the fray and crossed the line on port tack. It appeared that Diver Down and Andiamo had the lead and went inside where Diver Down was successfull in blanketing Andiamo. Diver Down finally tacked outside as we tacked inside. After crossing us, Diver Down rounded GOV just ahead of Andiamo, and PAD followed and we were off to Mile. PAD was able to get the pole out and we were able to close the gap on Andiamo and round just ahead of Andiamo, but still behind Diver Down who was waterlining all of us. As it ended Diver Down was ahead, Pair a DIce was second, Andiamo was third and Aeolian was fourth with the sun setting just as the race was ending. There was an awesome barbecue at the yacht club after the race with many people participating.

RULES_/)

WHEN BOATS MEET:

Section A, section 10 of the racing rules of sailing is straightforward with little room for misinterpretation.

section 10: opposite tacks: Starboard tack has right of way over Port tack.

Probably the most common rule employed in sailing is starboard, vs Port tack boats. In heavy winds it is also the most dangerous if not followed since the boats are moving in opposite directions and serious consequences can occur if miss-haps occur. For this reason I want to share what I have learned about these situations.

The setup: You are on port tack and you see a potential starboard tacker on a possible collision course. The obvious question is: will I be clear ahead, behind or collide? Everyone knows to watch the ranging of the other boat. Few people know that you can have someone on your bow screaming "go for it, we've gottem cleared" and someone on your stern screaming "dip them, we will not clear!" Both observers are RIGHT!, you are set up for a classic "T-Bone". Another factor is waves. I have seen perfectly makeable crossings messed up by a boat wake slowing you down, so MIND THE WAVES when considering crossing situations.

The Dip: If the observer on the stern indicates you must dip, you must plan your dip. At least 4 boatlengths away, you should bear off aiming for the midship of the boat you are dipping. Preferrably, your crew should adjust sails for the new point of sail IN UNISON! If the Jib is eased WITHOUT adjusting the main, you will round up right into the boat you intend to dip, despite your best intentions. When I know I will be dipping another boat, I like to wave them on with my hand (the other helmsperson WILL have their eyes on you). This clears up any confusion indicating "you cross, I will dip!". I will also do this if I am on starboard IF I want the port tacker to cross, I will indicate and go ahead and dip. Done correctly a dip yields very little, since if you come very close to the stern of the other boat, you get a momentary lift from the wind coming off the dipped boat. You harden your sails up and continue on. If the dip is not set up properly with the proper "bearing off" ahead of time, there is no indication that the port tack boat is actually going to dip. In greater wind, this is extremely dangerous. An aggressive Starboard tacker adamantly exerting his rights could be "dead right" if the port tack boat doesn't yield. Waiting for the last moment to make your move can also be disasterous if both boats move unexpectedly attempting to dodge each other at the last moment.

Even the Americas Cup racers had their problems with crossings. The Kiwis almost capsized their boat Saturday a week ago when they were coming in on port and the skipper "crash tacked" without communicating to his crew. His crew probably thought he was going to dip, and he crash tacked instead, screaming "HYDRO" as the boat nearly went over, proving once again the importance of communication, even at the top levels of racing.

Tuesday nights are intended to be fun and educational, bringing all of our skills up to speed. We have many participants that range from rank novices that know little about sailing (let alone racing rules) to some of our finest sailors in the area. It behooves everyone to know who we are sailing against and with. Mistakes do happen as in my own "Mea Culpa" earlier this year. Lets sail and learn together and always keep in mind that when the wind gets up like this last week, consequences of errors can be much more severe than in light wind.

See you all out there this next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A DIce

CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING MONTEREY BAY SANTA CRUZ, CA. September 17, 2013

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

What a difference one week makes. Last Tuesday: overcast looking like rain and no wind at all, with only 3 boats participating in a floatfest. This Tuesday:A clear evening with plenty of wind coming out of the North by the beach and slightly Northwest further out in the ocean.

Since the wind was coming from the North, we chose course 13: Start line between start and Blacks, Gov, Mile, Blacks and finish to port. It sure was great sailing again and we had 6 boats out. It was a pleasure to see Aeolian out again and it was really neat to see Paul Niebank back out. Oh, did I say there was WIND? at least 20 knots.

I attempted to implement the horn system, but since we had limited crew on Pair A dice, I missed several of the signals and we had to postpone the start time to get everyone on the line. Pair a dice had a pretty good start, with Pacific Spirit being the second boat over the line. Since the wind seemed to be the same all over, but there seemed to be less wave action closer to the beach, we headed further in toward the beach, with Pacific Spirit taking the outside course. Mark and I were on the rail studying the wind coming off the beach. A perfect indicator of headers and lifts coming off the beach was how the 2 or 3 boats that were anchored close to the beach were swinging on their anchor. Using the direction these boats were facing allowed us to anticipate headers and lifts as we closed in on GOV. At the same time the wind was decreasing to 16 knots, so we shook out our reef and continued on to Mile and Blacks and Finish. PAD rounded finish first, followed by Pacific SPirit then Aeolian.

It was a gorgeous evening: lots of wind, beautiful sunset on one horizon and a nearly full moon rising on the other horizon.

We had a good turnout at the Crows Nest celebrating an awesome night of sailing and, as it turns out Mark Barshay's birthday. Happy Birthday Mark.

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Keep in mind that next Tuesday is our BBQ night at the yacht club. So bring your grilling stuff.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry

CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING IN SANTA CRUZ ON TUESDAY NIGHTS

September 3, 2013

Conditions: Clear and sunny with steady breeze (10 knots) out of the south west

Course 4: start, wharf, gov and finish with a 6:10 start. Ten boats participating.

The breeze was consistent at 6 oclock with 10 minutes to go to the start. But as the clock ticked down, the wind was dissipating considerably and by the 6:10 start we were all drifting with no wind at all.

How to deal with this one? Suddenly the course chosen seemed way too long! Walter Cronkite, the newscaster was an avid sailor. He once admonished that if the wind is very light, to close your eyes and feel the wind direction on your face. Smokers can watch the direction of their smoke wafting through the air (the only advantage I have ever seen for the habit). Some people like to blow bubbles. THough this technique requires some preparation,it works very well because you can see what the wind is doing on all levels up the mast. On Pair a dice, we were stuck with the old "feel" technique, the problem was, we were all coming up with different directions for the wind. I was on the foredeck and felt like I was performing a pole dance that was a nightmare rather than a dream. Pole on port, then change to starboard, back to port, extended, retracted partially, pole between the shrouds and finally hold the pole in my hand pushing back. I was doing anything I could do to "catch the wind" with proper sail shape. Meanwhile the crew was scanning to see where the wind was going to form first. We noticed Chappy was moving Bellisima inside closer to the beach and we saw the wind forming in there, he quickly took the lead. The boats that made the most obvious move, going outside for the wind got caught with less wind. PAD was straddling between inside and outside and was the second boat to catch the wind forming by the beach. We finally had wind and were moving toward Wharf following Bellisima around and heading toward GOV. We slowly rolled Bellisima to windward and rounded GOV just ahead and we were off toward the finish mark, with Bellisima in hot pursuit. Chappy, who was single handing Bellisima, an Erickson 35, was doing an admirable job controlling his boat and trying to roll us, but we were able to round the finish buoy just ahead of him.

Light wind tactics:

I would say to use all means at your disposal, to determine the direction of the wind at all levels, clear to the tip of the mast. Sometimes, you can use the waves to help to propel you, going downwind make certain the mast is moving fore and aft rather than side to side if possible. This little concept keeps the foils working for forward momentum. Keep trying new things to see what will get the boat moving. In a race, you don't need to be going fast, you only need to go faster than the other boats! Smaller, lighter boats have a distinct advantage in these conditions.

The other crucial question is: Where will the wind form next? Look for wind on the water, what are the flags doing in every location? What are other boats doing in their location? Which way are the anchored boats pointing (assuming no current)? What are the birds doing? Stay away from circling birds, there is no wind under them! Birds sitting in the water normally sit facing the wind. Usually the boat that gets to the new wind first, is the one to take the lead.

See you out there next Tuesday!

                                                     BELLISIMA SAILED BY CHAPPY

CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING MONTEREY BAY AUGUST 27, 2013

Tuesday August 27, 2013

CONDITIONS: Wind East at approximately 13 knots, with clear, sunny skies

Course selected: Course 8 (Start to Blacks, Mile, Gov finishing at Start taking it to port), Start time was 6:15 with the Catalina 27 and smaller boats start at 6:13.

Diver Down and Aeolian were right on time at the line. Pair a Dice and Pacific Spirit did not fair as well and ended up late at the start. We were all playing catch up with Iris which was romping on ahead. For some reason, Pair a dice was able to roll Aeolian to leeward and followed Iris, Tessa and Diver Down around blacks. In the run to Mile, most of the boats ran a little hotter steering above the rhum line to Mile. Pair a dice tried to run straight to the mark. Iris was doing a great job of maintaining her lead and rounded mile pretty much right with Diver Down. In the run to Gov, pair a dice was able to roll Iris to windward. We love our long whisker pole which was a distinct advantage on this particular leg. The further we all moved toward GOV, the wind seemed to die more and more. Diver Down rounded Gov comfortably in front of us and continued further inside, after Pair A Dice rounded Gov, we got caught in a hole of no wind and the current swept us backward around the mark just as the other boats were coming down to round. We finally got some wind and headed further outside where we thought we saw more wind. The boats that took the inside track closer to the beach seemed to be moving in very light wind and were moving into some building wind. Alas the course was too long for most of the boats, as one by one they retired. Diver Down and Pair A Dice were slogging it out toward the outside in very light wind. Alas Bellisima (Erickson 35) joined us outside as the wind started to build again getting up to 15 knots again. Diver Down prevailed once again (by over 6 minutes) and Bellisima was second with Pair a Dice finally rounding third, having to tack again at the last minute to avoid the mark.

After the regatta, we all went to the yacht club for a Barbecue. We had the largest group yet with over 30 people. It was really great chatting and getting to know the participants s a little better. It was good to see almost the whole crew of Pacific Spirit show up for the Barbecue. We also got the lowdown on things that happened during the race, such as Aeolian snagging another strand of kelp which explains why we rolled them so easily. So much for my dream that it was our superior sailing. Those @#$%^ kelp monsters!

INREGATTADAVIDA:

This seems to be the regatta season! In addition to our very fun Tuesday nights, there seems to be a lot of Regatta activity this time of year. The Double Ender was this last Saturday and the first of the Score Series was Sunday. Windjammer starts from San Francisco Saturday morning and ends in Santa Cruz and of course we have Big Brothers BIg Sisters on Sunday. September 22 is the Jack and Jill when husband and wife teams (or any Male-Female pair) can sail their boats against others. Both BBBS and Jack and Jill are a reverse PHRF start, which makes the starts much easier than fighting your way through a forest of boats of various sizes and speeds. Reverse PHRF start means that the slowest boats start first, sailors often refer to these races as pursuit races since the faster boat pursue the slower boats.

My wife chides me with "when will you ever get enough regattas?" One thing that keeps me coming back for more regattas is the chance to learn even more about sailing. Sure, you can learn while just out on a sail, but until you are comparing your progress against other boats (in a race) you have nothing to compare your progress and force yourself to learn even faster. Oh and the social gathering before and after regattas is nothing to scoff at either. I encourage everyone with a boat to participate in as many regattas as possible, just for the fun of it!

SANTA CRUZ CALIFORNIA: CATALINA TUESDAY AUGUST 20 2013

AUGUST 20, 2013

It was a cold damp evening in the Santa Cruz harbor, with a huge cloud bank hanging just off shore. The wind was blowing out of the northwest at around 10 knots. In our sailing around before the start, the wind seemed to pretty similar between inside and outside with possibly a very slight bit more wind inside.

We decided on a shorter course (course 4): start to wharf (SB) GOV (SB) finish at start mark taking it to port. Once again, it is amazing to see all of the boats starting at the same time. On Pair A DIce, we started on starboard tack and were right behind DIver Down and Pacific Spirit, with Emeritus sailing to windward of us. We were stuck in a bad situation with bad air all around, so at the first opportunity, we tacked over and cleared Emeritus's stern. Iris was trucking along nicely on their port toward the pier. As Iris tacked outside, we had to duck their stern. Homer had tacked over earlier and had gone further outside. On Pair a dice, we felt we were getting the best of it, taking advantage of the greater wind that seemed to be right at the edge of the cloud bank. We kept getting blanketed by different boats and had to keep tacking to get clear air. Diver Down seemed to sail further outside than the other boats. With all of the different tactics employed by everyone, Homer rounded Wharf ahead of Iris. We had to pinch heavily to make wharf, but had inside overlap over DIver Down and Emeritus. Somehow, despite bad wind and pinching, Fred was able to coast Pair A Dice around the mark, and it was Emeritus, Diver Down and Pair A DIce headed toward GOv. DIver DOwn was able to open the gap between all of us and we slowly rolled Iris, trying our whisker pole first on starboard, then port. Pacific SPirit was in the thick of the battle also, ducking quickly to windward of Emeritus and rolling them. We all watched as Homer rounded GOv way ahead of everyone, with Diver Down rounding right after them Pair A dice was the third to round with Iris right bihind. We all headed toward start mark. At one point, it looked like Iris was going to roll us until we made a few minor adjustments in our sail trim. Homer was the first to finish, with Diver Down being the first Catalina around the mark. We came in third after Homer and Diver DOwn.

It was a very tight race all around the course. Great starts by all boats, tight roundings at WHarf and Gov and all boats finishing within 5 minutes of each other. ANother great night of sailing and racing Catalinas on Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz.

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KICKING IT UP A NOTCH:

We all enjoy our Tuesday nights racing against similar boats in our relatively unstructured environment. The fact that our starts are so close in itself shows everyone knows how to start correctly. We all have the opportunity to carry our racing abilities to the next level. This Sunday the 25th is the first day of racing in the fall Score races. All you need to enter these races is a Monterey Bay PHRF certificate, which is pretty easy to get. After your certificate, you can register online. All information is on line at SCYC.org under racing.

It would also be good to get a large turnout of Jammers (Jib and Main) boats in the Big Brothers BIg Sisters regatta on September 1. This is really a fun event and a good cause to boot. It is a reverse PHRF race, so the slower boats start first. This is a fun time for everyone.

I am looking forward to seeing you next Tuesday night.

 

 

 

 

 

AUGUST 13 CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILNG TUESDAY NIGHTS ON MONTEREY BAY

August 13, 2013

Another awesome night for sailing the Monterey Bay out of Santa Cruz. This night the wind was particularly steady coming from the East. We decided to sail Course 8 which is: Start, Blacks, Mile, Gov and end at the start mark. We decided on a 6:10 start, but extended to 6:15 when it was apparent Pacific Spirit was coming out of the harbor and would be late for the start. On Pair A Dice, we decided on a Starboard tack start, right at the pin and timed it perfectly, with DIver Down in hot pursuit. Iris had a great start and did an excellent job of keeping ahead of us all with the 2 minute head start given the 27's. Iris was first to round Blacks and start toward Mile, with PAD second and Diver Down following. WIth the strong easterly blowing (18 to 20 knots) there was definitely a weird chop in the water which was really slowing the smaller boats down, but Diver Down just seemed to glide right through the waves. About 2/3 of the way to Mile, DIver Down rolled us to leeward and just kept on going. Miraculously, Iris was maintaining their lead over both PAD and Diver Down. Diver Down rolled by Iris on the way to GOV and rounded GOV before both Iris and PAD.

On the way back to the start mark, we all seemed to use different tactics. Iris and Diver Down sailed further toward shore before tacking back out. PAD, after rounding GOV immediately tacked back outside. Ultimately, DIver Down tacked back out and stayed on port tack clear to the layline to start mark. Iris tacked over early and PAD tacked just before the layline to the finish mark, hoping for a lift that would carry us around the mark. Though we did get lifted some, we still had to tack to clear the mark. Diver Down won this one hands down, with PAD second and several boats crossing in quick succession after us. Aeolian, Pacific Spirit and Iris.

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RULES, TACTICS AND TUESDAY NIGHTS:

We are getting quite a turnout for our Tuesday nights. It is really great to see everyone bring their game up and getting more competitive. Since there are many of us that enjoy both Tuesday and Wednesday night sailing, it is important to differentiate the difference between the two nights. Wednesday night is party night and is definitely a HOOT. All the boats are out in their splendor, and alcohol is everywhere. Though rules are generally followed such as starboard vs port crossing rights of way, there is little reason or care to observe all of the rules. On Wednesday nights, if you round a buoy the wrong way or can't quite make it, just sail on: nobody is keeping score. You cannot get a less challenging start than a rabbit start like on Wednesday nights. Generally, there are some boats that take the race seriously, but most boats are there for the event rather than a race.

Tuesday nights, though very fun, are meant to be more educational. What better way to learn how you are doing than to sail against similar boats, complete with a start line and everyone observing the rules. Like Wednesday nights, there is no committee boat and protest panel. We are all on the "honor system". You know when you are "Over Early" or if you didn't round a mark appropriately. If a mark is touched, we do our turns even if there is no protest panel. It does no good to cross the finish line earlier than everyone else if you did not follow the rules. Despite best intentions, some of us infringe on the rules and "in the heat of the battle" neglect to take our turns. I am guilty on this count resulting in disqualifying my boat for the race (see Mea Culpa on this blog a few weeks ago).

I know this area of rules and lack of knowledge about them keeps many boats from participating actively, even on Tuesday nights. I am seeing multiple Catalinas that are out on Tuesday nights, nowhere near the start line and not even following the course. These may be the boats that lack knowledge on the rules and "don't want to get in the way of those that know the rules".

There are many books and articles in sailing magazines about the finer nuances of the rules. But to get started there are just a few you really need to know and observe. The primary rules, used in almost all racing are in section A of the rule book- Right of Way when two boats meet. Rule 10 says a boat on Starboard tack has right of way over a Port tack boat. THis means the port tack boat must YIELD to the Starboard tack boat. Rule 11 Two boats on the same tack overlapped: the windward boat shall yield to the leeward boat. Rule 12: same tack NOT overlapped: the boat clear astern must yield to the boat clear ahead. This means if you are overtaking a boat, you must keep clear of the boat ahead. Rule 13 says that any boat that is in the process of tacking must keep clear of other boats until it is hard on the wind. Above all of the rules is the primary rule: avoid contact at all times. Whenever boats collide, there is someone breaking a rule. This gets interesting on Tuesday nights because there are no protest panels. As stated earlier, we are on the honor system, just out for some fun sailing and to LEARN. If any right of way rule is broken, the proper thing to do is to take a two turn penalty (two 360 degree turns) as soon as is possible when clear of other competitors.

We will see you next Tuesday.

Barry L Keeler

　

CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING MONTEREY BAY TUESDAY NIGHTS AUGUST 6, 2013

Tuesday August 6, 2013

Another awesome day for a sail, with steady 20 knot winds from the northwest. With this much wind and no sign of it backing off, we decided on course 1 again. On Pair A DIce, we decided to do a port tack start right at the pin and ended up following Pacific Spirit right on the line. Iris and Tessa (Hugh Rideouts boat) started two minutes before us. Aeolian started on starboard and went a short distance, then tacked over on a track further outside than us, but slightly behind us. There was enough wind that the bad wind from Pacific SPirit did not seem to slow us down much. We headed lower trying to roll Pacific Spirit to leeward. By the time we got to Wharf mark, Aeolian rounded first with Pacific Spirit right behind. Pair A Dice was a distant third followed by Iris and Diver Down.

By the time we rounded Mile, Pacific Spirit and Aeolian still had their lead on us, but seemed to take different paths to Blacks. Aeolian apparently thought the finish mark was Blacks and rounded the wrong mark. Pacific Spirit took a wide turn around Blacks, and we took a closer turn but Pacific SPirit still rounded in front of us (again). As it ended up Pacific Spirit crossed the line comfortably ahead of us, with Pair A DIce coming in second. Aeolian eventually discovered their error and came back to round BLacks with DIver Down and Iris. From our perspective, it looked like DIver Down was third and Iris was fourth.

Tactically, Aeolian did great starting on starboard and going outside to get clear air. Until their error thinking start was Blacks, they sailed a perfect race. Our thought was that with the wind being only slightly more outside, we could take advantage of flatter water inside, but this gambit did not work for us.

We met at the Crows nest afterwards for dinner. Normally, Mark and the crew from Aeolian are the first ones there, but this night they were not. It was not until Vance showed up and asked if Paul was ok that we found out what happened. As it turns out, in the rounding of Blacks, as Aeolian jibed around the mark, Paul caught the boom square on his forehead. Mark had to rush in and take Paul to the Emergency room. After x-rays and tests, it turns out Paul is ok other than being a little shaken and a few stitches.

SAFETY AT SEA:

Whenever a misshap happens at sea, I believe most sailors have a knee-jerk reaction and think "these guys are rookies, and this could never happen to me because I'm smarter...". This goes for all misshaps, from the tragic loss of "Low Speed Chase" on the Farallons to a simple scraped knee. Suffice it to say, if an accident can happen on Aeolian, it can happen to any of us.

To some of us, safety is automatic and others of us give little thought to it. I try to be the former but frequently find myself in the latter camp. An example is when we went to San Diego in 2010. We left the harbor on a Friday night in a heavy fog. The ocean was very calm like a lake and we motored out of the harbor. As we exited the harbor, Mark set the rules for the trip: everybody not in the cabin, must have a lifejacket on and tethered in at all times. At the time, I respected this edict, and felt remiss in the fact that it wasn't me that had made it. Time and again, Mark has advised me about things that are not safe, always thinking about safety.

I always make certain during a race, that everyone wears life jackets, but what good does a life jacket do if it has a pull cord and you are not conscious? How often do auto inflate life jackets inflate accidentally rendering you immoveable and useless? After this incident with Paul, I think I will take my chances with a non inflate life jacket. Better to be a little uncomfortable and know your life jacket will work if needed.

In racing, we often get caught up in the action and we do things we would never think of doing in a normal situation. Someone once told me that after years of racing, he was finally ahead of all the boats that normally beat him. Suddenly, a wave swept the deck and a spinnaker was swept overboard. He confessed that for about 10 seconds he was thinking "its just a spinnaker, forget about it" before reality set in and he went back and got it. Would "Low Speed Chase" have sailed inside of a surf line if there wasn't a race on? My point is that we should all strive for safety, even more in racing situations.

Stefan is a crew member of mine that is our mainsheet trimmer. When we jibe, he always announces to the crew in a very loud voice, so everyone can hear, "heads down! JIBING". There is no question what is happening. Stefan constantly has his eye on the masthead fly and will aprise all of us whenever we are "SAILING BY THE LEE", letting us know to keep an eye out for an accidental jibe.

Sail safe and we will see you next Tuesday.

CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING SANTA CRUZ CALIFORNIA 7/30/2013

JULY 30, 2013
Another night with great wind, and this time from the South-west, between 10-15 knots.  After missing out on last weeks sail and barbecue, I was really looking forward to this night!
We decided on course 2, with a start at 6:15.  On Pair-A-Dice we decided on a port tack start at the pin end, while Diver Down and Pacific Spirit started on Starboard and headed outside.  Homer, on his C&C 25, stayed on port and nearly sailed to the layline before tacking over on starboard to head toward Wharf mark.  On Pair a dice, we were trying to play the middle of the course, tacking whenever we detected a header.  Iris had sailed, like Homer, staying on port tack until the layline out to wharf mark.  As we aproached the layline to Wharf, Iris was already charging toward the mark on starboard tack, leaving us no option but to lee-bow her.  It was quite a surprise to see Diver Down rounding Wharf with Homer following shortly after. Aeolian also had a comfortable lead on us at wharf.   We were approaching Wharf pinching to make it, when Pacific Spirit came in on port just before the mark.  Rather than duck our stern, they opted to tack over early, but couldn't quite clear the mark and had to turn around at the mark in order to round it correctly. 
It was quite a progression toward Mile, with Diver Down and Homer way out in front, followed by Aeolian, Pair A Dice and Iris, then Pacific Spirit.  For some reason, we were able to slowly close the gap between Aeolian and as we rounded Mile, Aeolian was just ahead of us with Iris right behind us.  As we all marched toward GOV, we were able to roll Aeolian to windward.  There was something happening that couldn't be explained by superior (?) sail and boat handling.  We rounded Gov well behind Diver Down and Homer and comfortably ahead of Aeolian.  Iris was sailing nicely and was keeping right up with us.
As the race ended, Diver Down was way out in front of most of us  with Homer close behind.  Pairadice was third with Iris right behind.
As we congregated at the yacht club for the barbecue, we were all talking story.  It was only then that we found out why we were able to pass Aeolian so easily.  They had been attacked by a kelp monster. Mark said it was more like an island he was dragging behind him!  We on Pair A Dice could sympathize with their predicament, having experienced this same phonomenon a month or so ago.  It was great to see some of the crew from Pacific Spirit at the barbecue.
Tactical lessons:
It was really interesting on this night that the two leading boats took completely different courses.  Diver down going outside and Homer going completely inside, so the middle of the course didn't work out for Pair A Dice on this particular night. 
Another lesson that all of us are learning is the importance of avoiding the heavy kelp strands we have in Monterey bay.  It is incumbent on the foredeck crew to aprise the skipper of kelp in the water.  When telling the skipper about kelp, don't just say "kelp ahead".  Say something like: "we have kelp ahead, come up 5 degrees" or whatever course to steer through the kelp.  The foredeck has a much better perspective and should be the "eyes" for the skipper who can't see as well from his perspective.  Be particularly on the lookout for kelp when there has been a big swell running, which tends to tear kelp from it's anchor and send it floating.
If you do get ensnared in kelp, Fred Molnar swears that spinning a quick 360 will clear the kelp.  This may be a quicker maneuver on a Santana 22 (Freds boat) than on a heavier keel boat, but should be considered as an option to clear kelp.  Frequently we will use a boat hook to snag kelp caught by the rudder.  Obviously, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure!
I am looking forward to next Tuesday.  See you out there!

CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING SANTA CRUZ ON TUESDAY NIGHTS: jULY 16, 2013

TUESDAY JULY 16, 2013

Another night with great wind and it was out of the northwest, with not a hint of an Easterly wind forming. What is amazing to me is that we are getting a consistent number of boats out, but different boats show up every week. This night Emeritus and Wind Goddess joined in and Homer brought his C&C 25 (?) out for the fun. It was also great to have Jack Mcdermott down from the city sailing on Wind Goddess. The decision was unanimous: Course #1 (Wharf, Mile, BLacks, Start, all to port).

On Pair a Dice, we knew that a port tack start was preferred, but felt it was safer to start on Starboard to prevent any surprises on the line. We were right on time at the pin and forced Wind Goddess (coming in on port) to duck us. We went out a short bit and Aeolian went inside on port tack. After our short run out on Starboard, we tacked over and all indications were that there was even more wind than the 21 knots apparent that we were experiencing, so we put in a reef. Trying not to sail to the corners, we tacked outside in front of Aeolian, as they had tacked over to get outside for the better wind. When we saw we could clear them with a tack, we tacked back over on port again. Aeolian just kept on sailing further out, following the adage: sail to the wind! As we sailed further inside, the wind was getting lighter AND we were consistently getting headed. We kept going, thinking we were nearly on the layline to clear wharf. This was our big mistake. Aeolian was romping in much more wind and when we rounded wharf it was Aeolian first, Homers boat was second with us right on top of Homer's stern. Homer attempted to point higher to prevent us from rolling him to windward, but we finally succeeded and rounded Mile comfortably ahead of Homer, but still behind Aeolian, which had extended there lead over us. Getting tangled with other boats does takes it's toll on your position.

Aeolian finished comfortably ahead of us, then we crossed with Homers boat finishing after us. Another night with Aeolian showing us all how to do it!

_/) _/) _/)

THOSE !@#$%^& MECHANICAL MALFUNTIONS:

Racing sailboats in high winds really puts our boats (and US!) through the paces. There was talk of one of the boats thinking they were going to lose their mast because of a bad shroud. There may have been other mechanical problems other boats were dealing with. One of my friends lost his forestay on the way back from Monterey this last weekend, but was able to save his mast by quickly turning down wind until he could support the mast with a halyard. On Pair A Dice, we have had our share of winch troubles. So how can you prevent these catastrophies and how do you deal with them when they occur?

Preventive maintenance is key. I recently cleaned all of my winches and relubricated them. I was quite surprised how bad they really were. Inspecting the boat frequently will find little things like an important shackle, nearly undone. When was the last time you, or someone else, climbed your mast to check out the fittings at the top using a magnifying glass? Hairline cracks and signs of wear are precursers to impending problems. Lubricating all of your shivs and blocks, keeps them smooth. Keeping your rigg properly tuned is crucial since a loose mast slopping around increases forces exponentially. It is also good to tune your crew in to the little things that lead to breakage. Jerking on a line to open a jaw on a whisker pole can unwind even the strongest circlip, while a gentle pull will accomplish the task without the damage.

When a malfunction does occur, obviously reduce the load on whatever is broken. Having adequate tools on board and being mechanically inclined helps a lot. Every sailor should know how to tie a rolling hitch to help unwind an over-wrap on a winch.

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This coming Tuesday, we will be able to barbecue at the yacht club. Once again the club will not be open, so we must bring everything (food, beer, wine). The crew of Sailing Pair A Dice did it last month and it was really fun, but needed more participants.

I will be out of town, but my crew will be there. Have Fun!

CATALINA SAILBOATS SAILING SANTA CRUZ: TUESDAY JULY 9

TUESDAY

JULY 9, 2013

It seems like our Catalina Tuesdays is finally getting some recognition and more boats seem to be participating. As all of our proficiencies improve, our starts seem to be getting more intense with the line getting very crowded. Additionally we are attracting new to Catalina Tuesdays, very competitive sailors which increases pressure on all of us to improve our game. This improvement in all of our abilities has been a goal of mine for a long time and I thank each boat and crew for their participation.

On this night, we had an excellent Easterly breeze blowing and decided on the Start, Blacks, SC3, start course. We had problems with our GPS and finally decided to use a horn signal at 5 minutes, 1 minute and at the start, which seemed to work well. On Pair A Dice, we did not geta a good start and ended up in the foul wind of Diver Down and Pacific Spirits on the way to Blacks. We tried to fall off to increase our speed and clear our air. This tactic normally works if used against boats of equal speed, but did not seem to work well in this case because the other boats were moving so well. We rounded Blacks behind most of the other boats and watched as they started their march to SC3, increasing their lead on us. We were really studying the conditions: "what could we do to improve our position?" We studied the wind on the water versus the other boats and noticed that all of the boats ahead of us were standing straight up, they had all sailed into a hole and there was more wind inside, so we tacked back in to the kelp line again. In order to round the mark, we had to return to the transition zone that was forming around it. As we were approaching the mark, the Jib didn't seem to be doing much good, flopping back and forth, so we furled it for a few minutes to let the wind sort itself out and we ghosted around the buoy.

The next dilemna was inside or outside? Would the Easterly fill in stronger than the northwesterly? We decided to go to the kelp line hoping for the Easterly, as the other boats were rounding the mark, the westerly seemed stronger outside and they all stayed in the westerly. We thought we had made the wrong choice, until we saw a boat inside further towards the finish mark heeled way over. In these conditions, the race is never over until you cross the line ahead of your competitors. On this night our "inside gamble" worked out well. Pacific Spirit came in second and Diver Down got third. In my opinion, this kind of night is when lighter boats often do better than longer waterline boats, since it takes more wind to move the larger mass.

I am looking forward to see you all out there next Tuesday.

*************

Our next night that we can use the yacht club for an after race barbecue is July 23.

Catalina Tuesdays: Sailing Santa Cruz July 2, 2013 MEA CULPA

Tuesday July 2, 2013

MEA CULPA

Finally, we had a night with wind and no fog. Those Laser sailors really missed the best of Santa Cruz conditions by only one week. There was not even a hint of an Easterly beginning and therefore, there were no transition zones to deal with. We decided to use course #1 with a start time of 6:10 with Iris starting 2 minutes earlier. On Sailing Pair A DIce, we decided a port tack start would be best and further from the start mark being better than right at the start mark. Watching Iris take the same approach confirmed our thoughts that this would be the best approach.

We were early to the line and had to stall and run the line and harden up for the start, with Diver Down on our starboard quarter. Pacific Spirit started right at the mark, so they were about 4 boatlengths to windward and behind us, but slowly closing the gap. My goal on this run was to pinch up, without loosing speed to steal their wind. I kept the Jib inside telltale almost flying straight up without loosing much speed. With the help of the flat seas, I was able to accomplish my goal and Pacific Spirit had to roll us to leeward. As we tacked for Wharf mark, Pacific Spirit was ahead of us,but lower. Iris had sailed further inside and may have fallen into a hole (of less wind). On the way to Wharf, Pacific Spirit was able to roll us to windward just as we approached the mark and Diver Down was breathing down both of our necks. We rounded Wharf just behind Pacific Spirits and followed by DIver Down. On the way to Mile, DIver Down passed us, as I cheered them on: "go gettem Vance", hoping she could do something to slow Pacific Spirit down. We all rounded Mile with Pacific Spirit, DIver Down and Pair a Dice in quick succession. Pacific Spirit and Diver Down left a little inside room at Mile and we were able to slip inside, between the mark the their boats. In the progression to Blacks, all three boats were in a dead heat, with PAD somehow sandwiched between Pacific SPirit to windward and DIver Down to leeward. PAD finally made a move and quickly got to windward of Pacific Spirit, which stole their wind and they immediately fell behind. Then it was PAD and Diver Down neck in neck and in very close quarters. Our boom over the SB side and their whisker pole over their port side were like dueling swords, though never quite touching. I was steering from the rail, like I am prone to do and sensed that we were getting very close so attempted to compensate, but "compensated" in the wrong direction! With my back toward Diver Down, I was clueless until I heard Vance scream "heh, heh, HEH!". They immediately compensated for my dumb error, which really caused them to fall behind.

Let it be known, Sailing Pair A DIce is not perfect, we pay attention to details and we do well, but we do make our share of mistakes. The sound of two boats colliding is abhorrant to me, thank God, Vance was able to clear us without a collision. One big lesson for me from this incident: WHEN IN CLOSE QUARTERS, STEER FROM BEHIND THE WHEEL. This prevents the confusion of turning the wheel up or down and also gives better vision of your proximity to the other boat. Mea Culpa.

This also showed me, that you can have better tactics (setting up for an inside overlap at the mark and passing boats to windward) and mess up and lose a race. The proper thing for me to do would have been a 2 turn penalty after not yielding proper right of way. A two turn penalty was not even in my thought process at the time, I was so embarassed with my stupidity. In our discussions at Johnnies after the race, it became apparent to me that this would have been the proper thing to do. This race was definitely won by DIver Down with Pacific Spirit second. Way to go guys and gals!

We will see you all next Tuesday!,

TUESDAY NIGHT 6/25/13-CATALINAS SAILING MONTEREY BAY : HOW TO SET AN ANCHOR

TUESDAY JUNE 25, 2013

Tuesday, I was volunteering for the yacht club setting up for the Laser Nationals, so I had my eye on the conditions as they developed through the day. It was not looking good. There was not a whisper of breeze all day and the rain made it even more depressing. Imagine hanging out with a bunch of teenage Laser sailors itching to go sailing without any cooperation from the elements. I resigned to go out anyway on Tuesday night, for a soggy floatfest.

I was somewhat surprised as I pulled over Murray Street bridge, to see wind on the water and the rain had also subsided. We headed out in clear conditions, but were soon engulfed in pretty heavy fog. Shortly after getting to the start mark, another sailboast appeared in the fog; it was the only other Catalina joining us that night. It was Joel on Tres Santos. We had 10 knots of wind and no rain. Since Joel had no GPS, we wanted to make sure he made it back to the harbor and stayed close by his boat. It was a great experience sailing in such mystical conditions. We went to the club and fired up the Barbecue for some burgers and Ahi, for a great end to the night.

THE ART OF ANCHORING

Anchoring is something you never hear racing sailors talk about. Indeed, many excellent racers really have no clue about anchoring. Fortunately, I have been on my share of bareboat charters, where anchoring is often required. A well set anchor is essential if you want to sleep through the night peacefully.

EQUIPMENT OPTIONS:

When chartering, you are stuck with the equipment that comes on the boat. Even though you are not familiar with the equipment, you can almost be certain that charter boats have more than adequate anchor tackle, with a lot of chain and a windlass to help deploy and retrieve the anchor. I have never seen a charter boat with the rode marked off to show how much rode is out. If you are not familiar with a windlass, listen closely when the equipment is explained. Frequently chain will come around the windless and be fed through a ring to the anchor locker. If the locker is not deep enough, the chain will pile up. If this pile is not cleared by hand, it will cause the windlass to skip.

On your own boat, you can set up an ideal system, with your favorite anchor and rode (with your ideal amount of chain and line) and all marked off so you know how much rode you are deploying. The type of anchor to use depends a lot on the type of bottom you plan on anchoring in. Preferably, you want to anchor over sand, mud or fine gravel. For versatility, I like my Danforth, but some of the new anchors like Delta or CQR are also preferred by many cruisers. The purpose of the chain is to lower the angle of pull on the anchor to assist in setting the anchor. Obviously having an all chain rode is best if you have a windlass to pull all of that weight back on board. An all chain rode guarantees the the angle of pull on the anchor will always be low. This same effect can be achieved by using a kelet which is simply a weight that is lowered partially down the rode after the anchor is deployed.

ANCHORING TECHNIQUE:

You can have the best anchoring equipment money can buy, but if your technique is poor, it will all be worthless. Good, expensive equipment is no guarantee your anchor will hold. I think the most important consideration is the bottom conditions. Check your charts to see what the bottom is like, preferably sandy, mud or gravel bottom. Avoid anchoring over a reef, especially if you are leaving the boat or sleeping on the boat. I prefer to anchor in water that is 30 feet or less of water. If the water is deeper, it gets difficult to deploy enough rode for the proper scope.

Other considerations for your anchoring location are proximity of other boats. Are they on anchors or mooring balls. Mooring balls have very short scopes and boats on anchors swing completely different. Without vast experience, you would not set an anchor in a crowded mooring field, though I have seen it done very skillfully. Proper etiquette requires leaving enough space between you and other boats.

You must also consider how much tidal variation is expected and whether the winds and currents change direction. If wind or current changes, the anchor may come loose as the direction of pull is changed.

So you have picked your perfect spot over a perfect bottom and proper depth and the wind and current is not expected to change direction. Pull up to your spot preferably under engine power pointing the bow directly into the wind. With the last forward momentum of the boat, turn the boat so the boat is broadside to the wind. Wait until the boat is pushed sideways by the wind. As the boat starts to move, slowly deploy the anchor and rode. If you let the rode go too fast, all of the anchor chain ends up in a pile on top of the anchor, defeating the whole purpose. As the boat is moving sideways downwind and you have about 3:1 scope out, the anchor will hold and the boat will suddenly swing with the bow directly into the wind. At this point, you can but the engine in reverse and back down hard on the anchor. While backing down, look sideways toward shore setting up a range to see if the anchor is dragging. With an all chain rode, the person on the bow can touch the chain. Vibrations felt on the chain indicate the anchor is dragging. An anchor set in sand properly is nearly completely buried in the sand. Once the anchor is set properly, I would let out additional rode. I usually feel pretty safe with 5:1, some people recommend 7:1.

Things get very interesting when there is a lot of wind, because if the boat is moving quickly downwind and the anchor is not set, the anchor can skip over the bottom like a stone skipping over a lake surface. The secret is to deploy the rode slowly, to give the anchor a chance to settle in.

CONFIRMING THE SET OF YOUR ANCHOR:

If you plan on sleeping on your anchor, or are leaving the boat for an extended time, you must confirm a proper set. In the tropics, I always dive on the anchor to verify the set. It is horrifying to see a bruce anchor with one of the claws on an outcropping of rock, just waiting to slip off. Regardless, always look around to get ranges set up to tell if you are drifting. At night use a puck compass to get bearings on lights or landmarks on land or other boats. Write these "LOP's" down to verify you are not drifting. Alas, it is always good to use your GPS anchor alarm.

With enough experience, you will learn your own favorite techniques and be able to sleep peacefully on your well set anchor.

CATALINA TUESDAYS, SANTA CRUZ: JUNE 18 "LET THERE BE WIND!"

JUNE 18, 2013

THE WIND FINALLY COMES

The turnout for this Tuesday night was a little light with only 3 boats showing up. It seems the heavier winds keep many of the boats from coming out, even though our heavier cruising sailboats are made for these conditions. At the start mark, we were seeing in excess of 20 knots and there were rumors of 30 knots out at mile buoy. We all opted for a course that would keep us all inside in more protected waters. We decided on course 3, even though the wind was more from the north and I was told, "you know we can lay the mark with no tacks!", I thought it would be ok. The Participants were Sailing Pair A Dice, Pacific Spirit and Aeolian. Two Catalina 32's picking on a lonely 30: Game ON! Start time 6:15. I am still trying to get the horn signals down, so some of the signals were missing. It makes it interesting, trying to sail a boat in 20+ knots of wind, tracking time and where did I put the horn!?

We got off to a start with PAD ahead of the pack, but had to stall so we weren't over early. Both Aeolian and Pacific Spirit hit the line running and it was quite a jog to Wharf, our first mark. Two minutes before the start, we on PAD decided to put a reef in, but as we sailed toward wharf, it seemed to be a mistake. The wind was coming in gusts, separated by sections with very little wind. Aeolian, the only boat without a reef in AND flying a 110 jib, had a distinct advantage in these conditions. Of course their excellent boat handling didn't hurt them either as they passed both PAD and Pacific Spirit. Aeolian was the first to round Wharf.

As we approached wharf, we noted that the mark was right in the middle of light wind (those transitions zones will get you every time) and we had a reef in. We shook the reef out before we rounded wharf. Pacific Spirit shook their reef out as they rounded. Having our reef out gave us a huge advantage and we romped on ahead of Pacific Spirit. By the time they got their reef out, we had a substantial lead on them, but Aeolian was taking us all to school, teaching us how it should be done.

Aeolian rounded Blacks way ahead of PAD. Pacific SPirit could never completely close the gap on the lead PAD got rounding Wharf. Then it was the short beat to start, with Pacific Spirit rapidly closing the gap on PAD. The course was just short enough to prevent them from overtaking us. Aeolian got first (AGAIN!), Sailing Pair A DIce got second and Pacific Spirits, breathing down our necks got third. And yet another fantastic, exciting Catalina Tuesday.

At Johnnies afterwards, it was decided that the course should have been more inside, like GOV, Blacks finish. Oh well, Aeolian sure showed us how to sail on this night.

_/) _/) _/)

-I should have looked at all of the courses when selecting. Since the wind was from the North with a little West in it, I only cosidered the Northwest courses and should have looked at the North Wind courses. This left no room for tactic, it was all sail trim and boat handling.

Next Tuesday, after sailing, we will meet at Santa Cruz Yacht Club. The club will not be open, but we will be using the Barbecue to cook food. We must all bring our own burgers and buns. Any salads or other dishes people want to bring would be good. It would be good to have a good turnout. This would be the perfect venue for some people to see what the club has to offer and a better setting to meet and greet fellow sailors.

There is some interest in exchanging crews between boats. When some boats are out of commission for some reason or other, the crews want to participate in Catalina Tuesdays and would like to get on other boats. I have always found it interesting sailing on other boats. It's all about sharing knowledge. You may get on another boat and know more than anyone else on the boat, or it could be flipped, where you are the one learning. It's what makes Catalina Tuesdays so much more fun than Wednesday night: the opportnity to learn. If you would like to share crew or want to sail on any other boat, respond to the comments below. If you need to contact other boats and don't have contact info, call me on my cell 234-0322.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry L Keeler

Sailing Pair A dice

　

CATALINA TUESDAYS IN SANTA CRUZ: JUNE 11, 2013 ROUND AND ROUND WE GO

JUNE 11, 2013

ROUND AND ROUND WE GO

This was a special night for me. Our commodore at the yacht club had expressed an interest in our Tuesday night outings for quite some time. Finally on this night he was joining us to find out what Catalina Tuesdays was all about. Rob Schuyler, our commodore is no slouch when it comes to racing. He has won the Santa Cruz 27 Nationals multiple times and I was really excited to sit front and center to see how he does it.

The night was another Santa Cruz stellar night, with an Easterly blowing at about 10 knots. We finally decided on course 9 with some modifications so that we finished taking the start mark to starboard rather than port. This course would take us from start to blacks (SB) around SC3 to port and finally taking the start mark to starboard. We gave Iris, the 27 a 2 minute head start and watched as they nail the start right on time. Sailing Pair a Dice, with our fearless commodore at the helm ended up barely making it to the start line in time for the start, being too far away before we even started the countdown. We ended up in a "barging situation" with Andiamo and ended up hitting the mark. After our penalty (our first round about) we had all of our "ducks in a row" looking at their sterns. The Easterly wind really seemed to be filling and was stronger nearer to the beach. We called the lay line to tack over to clear the mark on starboard, but somehow got headed and cleared the mark alright but on port. The influence of too many Wednesday nights sailing was prevailing in all of our minds: "Just continue on, who cares if we rounded the mark on the correct side anyway" . But wait, this is Tuesday, we follow the rules, so we turned around and rounded properly (our second round about), poor Aeolian got suckered and followed us. It should be stated at this point: "never EVER think Pair A DIce NEVER makes mistakes!". By this time we had quite a few boats ahead of us and it was time to reel them in.

I climbed up on the windward side and was amazed at Rob's finess with the wheel. I have always enjoy sailing on an Easterly wind, surfing the waves into the wind. The exhilaration of catching the wave and then the letdown as the wave leaves you behind and you slow down again in anticipation of the next wave to push your forward. The cycle keeps repeating itself, pickup, let down over and over. Somehow, with Rob on the wheel, there was no slow down between waves! How was he doing this? The boat never slowed down between waves: physically impossible! I got my range finder and sure enough, we were reeling the boats in ahead of us, little by little. Could they possibly be in less wind, and we were just compressing on them? As we headed out straight toward SC3, Aeolian split tacks with us and went back toward the point. Pacific Spirits had a strong lead and Diver Down, Iris, and Andiamo were in hot pursuit. We noted how well Aeolian had done going inside (must be better wind inside). Our goal, as soon as we rounded SC3 was to GET INSIDE to the better wind. As it turns out, the boats staying outside got stuck in a hole and got left behind: sometimes the shortest way from one point to another IS NOT a straight line. Joe taught us long ago: "go where the wind is" RIP Joe, we miss you!

Pacific Spirit kicked butt once again! Diver Down was second and Pair A DIce was third. Somehow, I just can't remember who was DFL... but it was all fun at Johnnies after the race!

_/) _/) _/) _/)

At Johnnies, I asked Rob how he did the thing with the waves: simple, just bear off before you lose your speed as the wave leaves you behind. It is a beautiful thing, melding the power of the surf and the power of the wind to maintain consistent speed. I thought I knew a thing or two about surfing and sailing, but obvisously still have a lot to learn!

I also learned, by observing, how important it is to note how boats that split tacks with you did as you meet again. The fact that Aeolian had done so well inside confirmed our belief that there was more wind inside.

I apologize for the course alteration (rounding start to starboard for the finish). It confused a lot of people and I have to realize that our "SI's" may not be perfect, but you can't change SI's on the fly. We will improve on the sailing instructions next year, but I will attempt to not institute changes while on the course in the future.

I have received positive feedback on our sound system: Short beep at 5 minutes, 4 minutes and the start. Long beep (4 seconds) at 1 minute. This is very similar to the sounds given by race committee boats and helps boats that don't have a timer or GPS on board.

I want to encourage the beginners in our group of sailors to keep on showing up. There was a near miss a couple of weeks ago that scared the bejesus out of all involved. These things happen in sailing, and though disconcerting, we can't let them discourage us. Keep on coming out and keep on learning. Most important, show up at Johnnies after the race to discuss things that happened. You may learn a lot from the very experienced sailors in our group.

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Please note: We are set to use the Yacht Club BBQ on Tuesday June 25, after the race. This is NOT next week, but the week after next. We will need to bring our own fixings and food, but it should be fun. Anyone who is not a member and wants to see what the club has to offer should try to come.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing PAIR A DICE

　

　

　

　

TUESDAY JUNE 4, 2013

While I was gone on vacation, I understand there were some exciting times. On one Tuesday there were 35 knot gusts and sailing Pair a Dice had only 2 people sailing the boat. Thank God they were excellent sailors. On the same night Tres Santos blew out their main sail. I really appreciate the dedication people are showing to our Catalina Tuesdays.

The night of June 4 showed consistent winds between 13 and 18 knots from the northwest, with no hint of an Easterly filling in. I had reservations for Johnnies for all of us at 7:45, so we couldn't use a long course and chose course 3, with a 6:10 start time. With Homer's suggestions and talking to at least one other boat owner, it is apparent that many of the boats are operating without timing devices. We have decided to implement a horn system similar to the horn system used in normal racing along with a count down on the radio, so everyone will know the time of the start. We will perfect this with time, but the intention is to give one short (2 second) blast on the horn (with count down over vhf channel 69) at 5 minutes, 4 minutes and at the start. There will be a long blast (4second) at one minute before the start. This will be an immense help to boats without GPS or time pieces.

Once course 3 was decided and agreed upon, we decided on a 6:10 start time with the 27 given a 1.5 minute head start. Since I had Fred Molnar (an excellent sailor) on board, I put him on the helm. We somehow ended up on a Port tack at the start ahead of everyone else. We sailed for a few minutes on port tack and Fred called for a tack over to the outside. I noticed that every time we got into a consistent header, Fred called for a tack. We rounded Wharf just ahead of Aeolian, then it was the long slog to Blacks with Aeolian hot on our tail. We finally rounded Blacks just ahead of Aeolian and continued to the finish for another win.

At Johnnies after the race, Dave, who was on the 27 asked me point blank: "why did you tack outside? Everyone always stays inside as long as is possible." I referred him to Fred who was on the helm. As an aside, Dave is also an excellent sailor, he was fordeck on Moorgasm, which took fourth in the nationals last weekend in the Moore 24 nationals (congratulations!!!). This regatta was a very competitive 31 boats fighting it out. In short, THIS is what I appreciate about our Catalina Tuesdays. What other venue is available for people to go out, compete, then discuss tactics afterwards: What a learning opportunity! Discussing tactics after the race with top notch knowledgable sailors, and the price of admission? being there!

The real world of sailboat racing;

Ultimately, everyone moves from the casual racing style we so enjoy on Tuesday nights and endeavors to compete in a real regatta, put on by the yacht club. This is not such a huge leap, but you do need to know the flag system used. After spending this last weekend on the committee boat for the Moore 24 nationals and Santa Cruz 27 nationals, I acquired a little knowledge on the flags used in racing. The sequence goes like this. At five minutes before the race, there will be a horn blast and the class flag goes up. This flag designates what class will be racing: delta (D), Foxtrot (F) etc. These classes are all designated in the Sailing Instructions (SI's) for the race. You need to know what the FLag that represents your class looks like. When it is raised, your class is in sequence. By this time, there should be a course flag designated. Courses are layed out in the SI's and are designated by number flags: course 1, 2...etc. At 4 minutes before the start, the P flag goes up on the committee boat, with a short blast on the horn. At 1 minute to the start, the P flag comes down with a long (4 second) horn. At the start, there is a horn. Believe it or not, with a few races under your belt, all of this becomes second nature.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry L Keeler

Sailing PAIR-A-DICE

　

　

　

MAY 14, 2013

Another Tuesday, will there be wind?   As we left the harbor, there were rumors of an Easterly blowing just an hour or so earlier, but all we could see was a north-westerly that was attempting to fill in to the inside.  After four defeats, Sailing Pair a Dice needed a win.  We decided on  course 4 with a start of 6:10, everyone was in agreement.  Our problem on Pair A Dice was we were too far from the start buoy to make a proper start and by 6:10  we were about 30 seconds late to cross the line, but everyone was stuck in the predicament of trying to get their boat moving in the light northwesterly with the chop right on the nose, stopping us every time we got any forward momentum.  It was a real struggle, with Aeolian and us fighting our way outside to where there was some wind. We find it best , when faced with a swell on the nose, to crack off a bit so you can take the waves at an angle.  This prevents them from stopping us.  You never get this discussion in sailing magazines, since many races are on smooth, lake waters.  I often say that, when racing in Santa Cruz, what you do with waves will lose or win races.  We all tacked our way toward wharf and ultimately Aeolian and PAD ended up there at the same time.  PAD with an inside overlap (Rule 18.3) at the 3 boatlength zone had rights to room at the mark.  We immediately both started our move toward Gov, with PAD trying to climb on top of Aeolian to steal their wind.  Finally we succeeded and with our greater pole length, were able to extend our miniscule lead over Aeolian.   We were feeling rather smug about this until we noticed Andiamo rounding wharf rather late and using the outside wind to work their way East to a narrow transition zone, while we were stuck in the doldrums.  One by one, all of the boats were getting frustrated with these flukey conditions and started going in, so it was Andiamo and Pair a Dice fighting it out to the finish.  Man it is a long distance from GOV to start and on this night, it seemed like start was a mirage, way off in the distance, as both boats attempted to use each lift and header to their advantage, inching our way to start.  Finally, we were both on port tack making our way up to the SB tack layline.   PAD tried to use every wave to steer closer to the mark and was closing the wide gap between ANdiamo and PAD.  Finally, at the SB tack layline, we had converged and were right next to ANdiamo.  When we tacked, we were directly behind Andiamo.  With their bad wind, we slowly fell behind and came in about 2 boatlengths behind them at the finish mark.  We love tight races.  

Lessons Learned:

Don’t get blinded by your closest competitor.  We were so focused on rolling Aeolian, we didn’t see the wind outside that let Andiamo get ahead of us.  It was a brilliant move Andiamo made and all of us on PAD were envious of their position.   As an afterthought, on the final SB tack layline to the finish mark, we should have sailed a boatlength or two further.  We could have avoided the bad wind and possibly fallen off to steal their wind.   It was all good, because we love tight races, its what keeps us alive and craving to learn more!

Please note,

I will be gone for the next two weeks on vacation, but the crew will take PAD out and hopefully win a few in my absence.  The absence of a blog and recaps does NOT stop Catalina Tuesdays and a good time. 

Sail on and Fair winds!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice (PAD)

CATALINA TUESDAY RACES

May 7, 2013

Matthew 20:16 says:"So the last shall be first, and the first last". How does this apply in the world of sailing and in particular Catalina Tuesdays?

Once again we had an awesome night with plenty of wind and from the Northwest this time. However there was an ominous fog bank obscuring Mile buoy. We finally decided on course 3 and gave the 27's a 2 minute head start. On this particular night we had 9 boats participating and most boats started on port with Pacific Spirit, Sailing Pair A Dice and Diver Down right on time at the line on starboard tack. Though Pair a Dice was following Pacific Spirit, it did not take Diver Down long to roll us to windward. For some reason pair a Dice was really bogging down and just couldn't get up to speed. As soon as we could clear Diver Down, we tacked over for clear air, once again further out than the port tack starters on a parallel course. We were noting our boat speed versus the wind we had and for some reason, we were about 0.3 knots slower than we should have been. This slowness bore itself out with every crossing: not once could we cross in front of any boat, every boat seemed to be going faster than us! Tacking on our normal lay line for the wharf rounding, we could not even round without another tack, consequently we were the last boat to round Wharf with all of the boats spread out in front of us. It was quite a sight seeing so many boats sailing wing on wing straight down wind. Even though we did close the gap a little, we never rolled a single boat downwind, even with our whisker pole extended to the max. It was quite a sight as we were closing in on Blacks to see Aeolian and Diver Down fighting it out for the lead. Finally we rounded Blacks as Aeolian crossed the line just ahead of Diver Down and Pair a Dice coming in DFL.

I am not much of a Biblical scholar, but I guess Mathew 20:16 offers some validity. In past years, Aeolian has routinely placed poorly in our Tuesday night races, but they seem to be the boat to beat this year. Sailing Pair A Dice has done very well in the past, but came in DFL on this night.

As we were motoring in the harbor, I glanced over the stern and saw something large and brown streaming behind the boat KELP! I put the boat in reverse and when the kelp passed by the prop, it nearly stalled the engine.

　

LESSONS LEARNED:

I frequently tell people: "If you are sailing with a dirty bottom, you are not racing, you are day sailing". Nothing against day sailing, it is very fun, but if you are racing, a clean bottom is essential. I go to great lengths to keep the bottom of my boat clean. Before many Yacht Club races, you always see the big boats backing down to clear the kelp and some boats even have windows in the hull to be able to see if the is kelp hung up anywhere. How is it that kelp or a dirty bottom can slow a boat down so much? Consider the importance of laminar flow over the bottom of the boat, versus the turbulence caused by scum or bulbs of kelp. In order for the keel and rudder to provide the lift they normally do, the less turbulence the better the lift. With all of the turbulence from the kelp, we were unable to round Wharf on our normal lay line. I propose it is much more than the drag of the kelp, it is the destruction of the lift normally provided by keel and rudder. I would guess that we would have been better dragging a bucket in the water behind the boat, than having the kelp preventing the laminar flow on the bottom foils.

There are many facets to winning sailboat races. Boat preparation, steady hand on the helm, a crew that can handle the sails efficiently, ability to read the wind and proper tactics. After this night, I found that a clean, unobstructed bottom is more crucial than anything else.

Hope to see you next Tuesday.

　

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice