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