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