TUESDAY JULY 22, 2014: CATALINA SAILBOATS RACING IN MONTEREY BAY: RACING WITH THE WHALES

Tuesday July 22,2014

RACING WITH THE WHALES

Cloudy, foggy, low marine cover, blowing stink, no wind at all, cold, damp, wet and wild, white knuckle ride: all typical descriptions for sailing in Santa Cruz but not tonight!  We had a very clear, warm evening with 12 to 15 knots of wind blowing out of the northwest with abundant LARGE sealife apparent everywhere.  With about 10 boats out for the fun and steady wind, we decided on course four: Start, wharf, Gov, Finish.  We decided on a shorter course so the wind wouldn’t die on us again before we all finished the course.

For our start on Pair A Dice, we wanted to be on the line at the pin, but found we were a little early.  We went through stalling maneuvers early so we could speed up at the last and hit the line at speed. We were happy with our position at the start, but were surprised to see Makani upwind of us and slightly ahead of us.  We slowly crept up until we were lee bowing him and tacked over for wharf.  Homer had tacked over earlier and was way inside. Makani sailed out a little further then followed us over.  Ultimately we were able to point a little higher and Makani ducked below our stern.

Pair a Dice rounded wharf comfortably ahead of Makani and the fleet. We romped on into Gov, keeping an eye on Makani as they attempted to pass us to windward.  We rounded Gov and set the pole on our way to the finish, keeping our eyes on the wind.  Any dying of the wind could mean the whole fleet compressing down on us.  The wind held for us and we rounded start/finish just ahead of Makani followed by Pacific Spirit. We were sailing the line between start and the lighthouse to witness one of the closest finishes to date as Aeolian squeaked by Blue Ribbon at the finish.

This night was very special: clear, flat water, warm and whales all over the place.  It is very difficult to concentrate on sailing and racing with so many whales splashing all over the place.

Equipment and winning races:

I  have owned my boat for 13 years and have made modifications and added equipment that make sailing and racing much easier.  Some of the modifications I have made that have helped are: installation of inside jib tracks with adjustable fairleads (better pointing),installation of solid vang and garhauer traveler. I also installed enough blocks so the mainsheet can be easily and quickly tuned and adjusted without the normal leading of the mainsheet through deck fixtures to the cabin-top winch. This normal arrangement makes it difficult to quickly adjust the main sheet.

I have also experimented with different whisker poles, settling on a forespar telescoping pole which I modified by installing a jam cleat to hold the extending line in the correct position.  Also having a proper inventory of sails for different conditions helps.  My biggest jib is a 155.

Though all of these modifications help, they certainly don’t win races every time.  One tactical blunder or even a strand of kelp can leave you staring at the sterns of boats sailing ahead of you.

 

THIS COMING TUESDAY THE 29^TH WILL BE BARBECUE NIGHT AT SCYC.  BE SURE TO BRING YOUR FAVORITE GRILLING FOOD.

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

 

 

CATALINA SAILBOATS RACING MONTEREY BAY TUESDAY NIGHT: WHEN THE WIND GODS SMILE

JULY 15, 2014

WHEN THE WIND GODS SMILE

It did not look like a good night for sailing, overcast and gloomy. Hot, humid and muggy to boot!  I cheered up a bit when we exited the harbor and saw 8-9 boats milling around the start mark and more boats coming out of the harbor. The wind seemed like it was not going to die off, coming from the South at 8-12 knots.  I could not find an appropriate course on the chart so decided to improvise with: Start-Mile-gov-start/finish with a 6:10 start time.

 On Pair a dice we decided to run the line and harden up right at the start on starboard tack.  We had a good start but Makani was to windward and ahead as we started.  We tweaked our sails for maximum trim and slowly sailed ahead of them and were able to climb up enough to lee-bow them.  As we approached Mile, we were trying to decide when to tack over to close the gap between us and Mile when we sailed into a huge lift that nearly took us right to the mark.  The wind was not holding up as well as predicted and we saw many boats behind us sailing in less wind.  We made certain to overstand the mark so we would not have to tack more than once since a tack in light winds is very costly.  As we rounded mile, it looked like no wind at all at Gov and we thought we would see compression of all of the boats around that mark.  We checked for all signs to see what the wind was doing toward shore: Flags on the pier and Casino, which way were the anchored boats facing?  As we approached it looked like the wind was filling from the north so we took the mark more to the north to compensate.  As we approached Gov the wind actually increased as we looked back on the other boats on a glassy, mirror of an ocean.

This race was not over yet! All we needed was for the wind to stay with us until we got to Start/Finish.  We were very fortunate to ride this puff all the way to the mark.  We were followed by Blue Ribbon, Diver Down, Sea Quake (C&C29), Makani then Pacific Spirit in a hard fought battle in slow motion.

I wish I could say that we predicted all of the variant wind conditions.  I felt sorry for the boats that got caught in very little wind and quit to motor in.  Lord knows I have been in enough of these slow motion, get-your-calendar-out-for-the-finish-time races.  All I can say is sometimes it seems like the wind gods are smiling on you! Thinking back, I should have bought a lottery ticket that night!

HOW GOOD IS YOUR GAME?

It has really been fun seeing everyone pull their game up this season.   Last week after 4 miles of racing we had 5 boats round Blacks at the same time!  I have been an avid racer for several years, even competing in 2 national regattas.  I must say national regattas are the ultimate high!  How do you prepare for these regattas? You race in every venue possible: Tuesday nights, Big Brother Big Sister, the Score series (SCYC), Midwinters.  The list goes on and on.

There are several basic steps you must complete to compete in many of these regatta’s.  In order to register you must have an affiliation (yacht club membership).  Of course in our venue, you can’t go wrong joining the SCYC.  An alternative is to join US Sailing for less than $50 a year.  After you have your affiliation set, you will need a PHRF certificate.  This is a form asking about your boat type and sail inventory and costs $20 a year.  After these two steps, it is good to have a regular committed crew that works well together.

It is great fun getting together for our Tuesday nights, but when you start racing in official races and do well, you actually get hardware (trophies) to show to your friends. 

Looking forward to next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

TUESDAY JULY 8: CATALINA SAILBOATS RACING IN MONTEREY BAY. PROPER TACTICS WINS RACES

Tuesday July 8, 2014

PROPER TACTICS WINS RACE 

As we were exiting the harbor, there was plenty of wind coming from the northwest, but a cold damp fog bank hanging off shore.  With 10 to 15 knots of wind and no hint of it backing off, we decided on the same course as last week: course number 1, with a 6:10 start time. We had twelve boats out for the fun.

Once again, it was an exciting start, with all major contenders right on the line on time.  On Pair A Dice, we were happy with our start being to windward of Makani and another boat just ahead of us and to leeward.  We were happy with our position until we noticed Diver Down creeping up behind us just windward of us.  We tacked over and ducked Diver Down trying to use the inside advantage, but found we were in the wind shadow of Pacific  Spirit which was trying to close the gap Iris had opened with their head start.  We attempted to sail lower to pass Pacific Spirit but were not able to pass them.  We finally tacked over for clear air and passed in front of Makani.  We thought there was more wind outside where the fog line was, and  continued on outside separating from the rest of the fleet.  When we finally tacked over and approached the layline for the wharf mark rounding, we realized our error in separating so much from the fleet as Iris, Diver Down, Pacific Spirit, Blue Ribbon and Makani had all opened a sizeable lead on us.  We finally rounded Wharf and started toward Mile trying to close the gap.

We rounded Mile and extended our pole. As we witnessed Iris, Diver Down, Pacific Spirit and Makani all in a pack aiming low to Blacks, we attempted  to sail higher like Blue Ribbon thinking we could heat it up to round the mark.  It was amazing after over 4 miles of racing to have 5 boats rounding Blacks all at once with Pair A Dice in close pursuit.  We all tried to judge the best layline to make the 5 boatlength finish area by the start/finish mark, but we all got headed and had to tack over to make the line. Blue Ribbon was the first over the line followed by Diver Down, Iris, Pacific Spirit and Makani with Pair a Dice coming in sixth.

Tactical errors:

The thing that is so great about our Catalina Tuesdays is the ability to analyze your performance after each race. I encourage all crews to go through this exercise, even if you win!  Get opinions from the whole crew:  What did we do right?  What did we do wrong?  How could we improve in the future?  It can also be a learning experience for the skipper by getting opinions and self analysis.  Questions such as: Was I using too much helm? Was I pinching too much?  Were my tacks smooth and efficient?   Once again, it is all about learning and improving your sailing.

Our analysis on Pair a Dice came up with several major tactical errors for this night.

- We should have analyzed the direction of the wind to determine to preferred end of the line.  This night, the pin end was not favored and Diver Down correctly chose the right end of the line.

-We sailed too long in Pacific Spirit’s bad wind and attempting to roll them to leeward got us even further from the mark.  We should have tacked over for clear air much sooner than we did.

-We separated ourselves too much from the fleet sailing way outside and when sailing further in got headed horribly.  We should have tacked over to take advantage of the header rather than sailing even further from the fleet.

Here’s looking forward to next Tuesday for some more fun!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

 

 

 

JULY 1, 2014 CATALINA SAILBOATS RACING IN MONTEREY BAY: THE IMPORTANCE OF A GREAT START

JULY 1, 2014

THE IMPORTANCE OF A GREAT START

Another beautiful Santa Cruz evening. This time it was overcast, but there was a steady 10 knot breeze coming from the northwest with a little south in it.  Since there was no hint of the wind dying off, we decided on our most ambitious course: course number one with a 6:10 start time.  There were 9 boats out for the fun.

On Sailing Pair A Dice, we were early to the mark and had to stall to prevent going over the line early.  Meanwhile, both Pacific Spirit and Makani timed the line perfectly  and came charging across the line, right on time with speed.   At least three boats had the idea to get outside to more wind, but with both Makani and Pacific Spirit to our windward we had to tack over to clear our air. Makani sailed a little further, then tacked over attempting to cover us.  Meanwhile Pacific Spirit got the better of it with increasing wind outside and nobody giving them bad wind.   After we tacked over toward the wharf, we noticed that Makani was slightly upwind but behind us.   We slowly pinched up to the point where we were lee-bowing them, giving them bad wind and slowing them down.  We went clear to the lay line for wharf and tacked over.  Pacific Spirit did very well outside and rounded wharf comfortably in front of all of us.  Pair A Dice rounded just ahead of Emeritus and Aeolian.

On the slog to Mile, Emeritus tried valiantly to steal our wind, but we were just able to keep clear.  When just downwind of a competitor, you can tell if you are in their bad wind by looking at their windex on their mast: if the tail of their windex is pointing at your sail, you are screwed.  You must do everything you can do to prevent this position!

We rounded Mile and headed to Blacks. With our whisker pole working well, we pulled ahead of Emeritus and closed some of the distance between Pacific Spirit and us, but they rounded Blacks comfortably in front of us.  Pacific Spirit won tonight with a wide lead over Pair A dice  which came in Second, followed by Aeolian then Makani.

Another great night of sailing exemplifying the importance of a good start.

Great Starts:

Learning how to start well comes with practice.  What better way can you get practice starting than Catalina Tuesdays?  From my experience the best starts in our heavy boats consist of hitting the line right on time (better to be late than early) at speed in clear air.  Sounds pretty complicated and it can be for sure.  Starts always seem to have more boats in close proximity, so it is critical to know the rules and how to use them to your advantage. Tonight was a perfect example of how difficult it can be to overcome the advantage of a great start.  Pacific Spirit and crew executed a perfect start and never looked back.

There are several things a sailor can do to improve starts.  I think the most important way is to learn time and distance.  Simply how long will it takes to cover a certain distance?  The good starting skippers always have a sixth sense for this skill.  This is something that comes with practice in normal sailing.  Pick a spot in the water and estimate how long it will take to get there at your current speed.  With practice you will get better at this.  After learning this skill, it is also important to know rules and tactics which can be learned by reading the many books on these subjects.

We will see you next Tuesday. 
 

 

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

                       Makani trying to roll us

    Toad tacks for wharf

 
Pacific Spirit in the lead