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
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