CATALINA SAILBOATS RACING MONTEREY BAY ON TUESDAY NIGHT: OCTOBER 28, 2014 THE END OF THE SEASON

THE END OF THE SEASON

October 28, 2014

SKUNKED!  We can’t be skunked with no wind on our last Tuesday night sail.  We have not been skunked on any Tuesday night this season.  We had nine boats out for a float-fest?  But wait, you can feel the whisper of a wind from the East.  Looking to the East there was a band of dark water on the horizon. We picked a short course for the limited wind and  light: Start, Blacks, Finish. As we started the count down, it seemed like the wind was actually blowing from the south.

On Pair A Dice, we were a little early to the line and had to stall.  Homer was right on line right on time and Kicks was also there but a little further down the line.  We threaded our way between Blue Ribbon and Kicks.  On the way to Blacks there were many headers and lifts.  It was a game to see who could take advantage of these shifts in the very light wind.

At Blacks it was Odonata, Kicks and Blue ribbon rounding with a substantial lead over Pair a Dice.  After rounding Blacks, Blue Ribbon and Kicks headed outside looking for more wind as Odonata set their spinnaker in the non existent wind.  We were all bucking the swell in the light wind.  On Pair A Dice, we set the pole on port and took the rhum line toward the mark.  We noticed the poled jib was getting backwinded, just as Blue Ribbon was catching a filling Easterly and sailing very fast toward the South.  We doggedly sailed straight toward the mark, but switched the pole to starboard.  Odonata’s spinnaker filled beautifully as they sailed over the line in first place.  We limped over the line in second, Toad was third, then Kicks, Blue Ribbon, Aeolian, Sea Quake and Free Spirit.

We had a great turnout at the barbecue with lots of food and sailing talk.  You would have never known that there was a World Series game on the TV in the Yacht club.  That’s OK, everyone knows that sailors don’t take the World Seriesly.

This Season:

For 13 years some of us have been enjoying Catalina Tuesday.  The early participants KNEW we had something very special and FUN! We tried many different ways to get the word out, but with little success in increasing the number of boats coming out.

For all of those years we raced with two or three other boats.  After each race, whether it was Tuesday night or a regatta, on Pair a Dice, we always discussed in detail three questions win or lose:  What did we do right?, what did we do wrong? What could we have done better? These discussions often continued in E-mails during the week after each race.  It was these e-mail discussions that lead to the development of sailingpairadice.blogspot.com. 

During the season, I have attempted to share the little things we learn while racing and sailing.  Sailing is unique in that people are always sharing the things they learn.  I encourage everyone to share in these discussions on your boat after each race.  This is the way you can really advance your sailing skills: always keep an open mind and learn more.  You will keep learning more, but you will never know it all.  To me, this is one of the things about sailing that keeps me coming back: always learning and knowing there is even more to learn!

I hope to see you guys out there this winter on the weekend and the mid-winters regatta.

Thanks to all of you for participating this summer and I hope to see you out there next summer.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

CATALINA SAILBOATS RACING ON TUESDAY NIGHTS OCTOBER 21, 2014 A NORTH WIND BLOWS

A NORTH WIND BLOWS

Tuesday October 21,2014

Finally, we got a good North Breeze and a chance to use one of the courses on the “North Wind” part of the card!  Even though the nights are getting shorter and there was a big swell, we had 5 or 6 boats out for the fun.  We decided on course #15.  This course uses a start line between the start mark and Blacks, around Gov and back to start.  Since there was no designation in the course for rounding Gov to port or starboard, the instructions at the beginning of the card “all marks shall be left to port unless designated as SB” applied.

The start had Pair A Dice, Diver Down and Pacific Spirit charging off the line.  Pair A Dice started with clear air but Pacific Spirit had better speed and was sailing windward of us.  Diver down got caught in a position to leeward of both Pair A Dice and Pacific Spirit.  When we started getting the shadowed by Pacific Spirit, we tacked over for clear air.  Once we got in clear air, we tacked over again.  By tacking over earlier, rather than later we were able to take advantage of any lifts on our way to Gov.  When we met up with Pacific Spirit and Kicks again, Pacific Spirit was just ahead of us and Kicks had to tack over to avoid T-boning us.  Pacific Spirit went for a starboard rounding and Pair a Dice took it to port.

The long run back to Start had Pair A Dice leading with Pacific Spirit and Diver Down striving to outsail each other for clearer wind.  It looked like Pacific Spirit was second over the line and Diver Down was third.  Kicks had lost a piece of equipment overboard and were doing “man overboard drills”.

Winter sailing:

We are rapidly approaching the end of the season.  Next Tuesday is the last Tuesday night sail of the season.  What are your plans for winter sailing?  There are many winter sailing options.  There are races sponsored by Santa Cruz yacht club including the midwinter series of regattas. Find out about these on their web site SCYC.org.

People frequently say “sailing in the winter? Too cold for me!”.  Of course sailing in the rain is no fun, but frequently there are perfectly sunny days with 12-15 knots of wind and NO FOG.  I absolutely love sailing in the winter here.  Frequently a few boats go out and race on either day of the weekend (whichever day has the best weather).   Let me know if you want to be kept in the loop on these informal weekend get togethers.

_’)                            _/)

NEXT TUESDAY IS OUR LAST TUESDAY SAIL OF THE SEASON.  THERE IS ALSO A BARBECUE AT SCYC AFTERWARDS.

BRING YOUR FAVORITE GRILLING FOOD.

See you next Tuesday for a short sail and a great Barbecue!

Barry

 

CATALINA SAILBOATS RACING MONTEREY BY ON TUESDAY NIGHTS: OCT 14, 2014 'ONE GNARLY EVENING'

ONE GNARLY EVENING

Tuesday October 14, 2014

I started this Tuesday morning like I usually do with a cursory look at Sailflow to see what kind of wind we would have.  It was a dismal forecast of 8-10 knot breeze and I was wondering if we would even be able to race in these conditions.  I was quite surprised when someone commented on how windy it was outside.  On the way to the harbor, I was wondering if we would have the time to swap out the 155 for the 135.  Sure enough as I pulled up to the boat, my crew was already in the process of changing the headsail.

As we motored out of the harbor, there was 15 knots of breeze in the harbor and it looked like victory at sea out in the ocean. There were already two boats out so we ventured on out.  The waves at the harbor entrance did not look too bad, but as we sailed further out toward the start buoy, the waves got bigger and steeper with a very short period.  It took tremendous concentration to keep the boat going straight up the faces of the waves and angling down the backs.  The slightest distraction would douse the whole crew with buckets of water.  Four boats ventured out: Free Spirit, Aeolian, Pair A Dice and Kicks.  Free Spirit was heading for the harbor as we were leaving the harbor.  As if to lend credence to the conditions we were fighting, a 32 foot sailboat lay grounded on seabright beach next to the harbor entrance.   Aeolian went over toward the pier and lowered all sails to motor into the harbor.  Kicks was just coming out when we decided to head back in to the harbor.  There was no way I wanted to negotiate the entrance in diminished light.  Suffice it to say, the boats that did not come out did not miss much, except a little learning experience.

Back at the Crow’s Nest we discussed the various techniques we all used to get into the harbor.  Someone asked me why we sailed into the harbor with both main (reefed) and the jib (partially furled).  There were several decisions that came into play.  Someone thought it would be good to decrease sail area by furling the jib and someone else pointed out the danger: the boat would be out of balance and if a wave caused us to broach, we could get rounded right up into the rocks!  We could have lowered all sails, but doing so would leave us with no control if something should happen to my small, 11 horsepower engine.  Another problem that occurs in rough seas is dirt getting stirred up in the fuel tank and clogging filters.  Engines seem to have perfect timing to go out just when you really need them, so it is usually best, in gnarly conditions, to at least have some sails up. Of course a boat without a folding prop and a strong engine could feel safer motoring in with no sails up.

A proper tack:

One of the maneuvers that sailors must complete that can lead to big gains or losses is tacking.  Done correctly, you lose little, done poorly and competitors will leave you behind.  While the helmsman plays a crucial role, the crew’s actions can improve or destroy a tack.

The following are my observations of  what constitutes a perfect tack.  The proper tack begins with a helmsman announcing their intentions, waiting for the “Ready” signal from each crew member.  The loaded sheet should be uncleated or taken out of the self tailing jaws in preparation.  As the helmsperson begins the tack, he announces either “tacking” or “helms to lee”.  The mainsheet trimmer can travel up on the main to help turn the boat. The helmsperson begins the tack by turning the wheel quickly until the boat is head to wind.  One exception is in very light wind, this turn of the wheel should be much more gradual so there is not much drag from the rudder.  As soon as the boat is head to wind, the loaded jib sheet is released.  The crew member releasing this sheet should make certain the line is free to go (not tangled or lines being stood on.)  Stalling momentarily with the boat head to wind, accomplishes two goals: coasting directly upwind and it gives the crew time to get most of the sheets in while the sails are not full. The helmsperson after the momentary stall, continues on with the tack until the boat is between  3 to 10 degrees beyond hard on the wind.  Less in more wind and up to 10 degrees in very light wind.  This allows the boat to accelerate.  As the boat accelerates and the helmperson comes up to hard on the wind again, the crew cranks in the sail until it is almost touching the spreader, while someone goes forward to skirt the jib.  What is fun is to practice tacks to see who can tack the boat with the least drop in speed in the process.  I encourage comments from readers on ways to improve this maneuver.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: WHAT A DIFFERENCE 24 HOURS MAKES!

Midwinter series:

This winter, SCYC will be putting on the midwinter series.  It is time for all of us to show off what we have learned this year on our Tuesday night sails.   These races are very fun and often run in very light conditions and a perfect way to get introduced to fleet racing.

See you out there next Tuesday,

 

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

CATALINA SAILBOATS RACING MONTEREY BAY ON TUESDAY NIGHTS: OCTOBER 7, 2014 A CARBON COPY TUESDAY

 

A CARBON COPY TUESDAY

OCTOBER 7, 2014

Repetition is normally boring!  Two perfect evenings of sailing that are carbon copies could never be boring.  We had the same wind as last week, the same sunny weather and the same number of boats (11) out for the fun.  With the light being so short, we decided on the same course as last week: Start, Blacks, Gov and finish.

On Pair A Dice, we were a little late to the line and watched as Homer forced Aeolian off for barging and we followed Homer’s Blue Ribbon.  With him just ahead and to windward, we were not in good position.  Makani was steaming up behind and to windward of Homer.  Fortunately with our bad position, it was not a long leg to Blacks.   Makani and Homer rounded blacks and immediately got tangled with each other trying to out maneuver each other.  We rounded blacks right behind them and aimed for clear air further out than they  were on the race to GOV.  It was quite a drag race as we all tried to get downwind as fast as possible.  We set our pole on port and heated up first outside then jibed and heated it up inside.  As we reached Gov we were clear ahead of Makani and Blue Ribbon and after rounding, we headed inside until we got headed and tacked out.  It seems the further we got outside, we got lifted more and more until we were not far from the finish mark when we tacked over and finished first.  Pacific Spirit was second followed by Makani, Blue Ribbon, Diver Down, Kicks, Emeritus, Aeolian, Sea Quake, Andiamo and Free Spirit.

It was a beautiful evening with the sun setting on one horizon and the full moon rising on the other.

Tactics:

When going down wind it is very important to have a good whisker pole to hold the jib out to windward. With Pair A Dice we have found the best angle of sail for maximum speed is with the windex pointing “at the box” one of the two tabs you look at on the mast head that help you determine if you are hard on the wind.  Pacific Spirit used this very concept to move rapidly through the pack on the down wind run.  As Makani and Homer were sailing straight down wind (wing on wing) we heated up and pointed directly ahead of them, as we approached the zone for the mark we straightened out to break the overlap.  This worked well for us as we rounded the mark well ahead of the other boats.

THE PACK MOVING TOWARD GOV

Kick it up a notch:

MAKANI AND BLUE RIBBON

I can say we have all improved our racing abilities this summer!  Why not engage in other races through the winter to keep your skills up?  SCYC is putting on the midwinter series.  This is a series of races through the winter and they actually have a jib and main division which is right up our alley.  Unlike our Tuesday nights, we actually have a committee boat and trophies are handed out.  I think its time to kick it up a notch and have a great showing in the midwinter series. Who know, you may even get some hardware (trophies) to hang on the wall!

Do not forget about the predicted log regatta also.  This will be a great way to test your seamanship and knowledge of boat speed and distance travelled.

SUN SETTING ON ONE HORIZON: MOON RISING ON THE OTHER

 

See you next week,

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

CATALINA SAILBOATS RACING MONTEREY BAY ON TUESDAY NIGHTS: AN INDIAN SUMMER'S EVE

AN INDIAN SUMMER’S EVE

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

During the regattas this last weekend the wind was all over the place.  From nuking to light it seemed to vary by the day and even the hour.  For tonight we had the fortune of a great Easterly filling in at around 8-10 knots.  We had eleven boats out for the fun.  We decided on a course that we have used before that plays heavily on a strong Easterly: Start, Blacks, Gov and back to start.  It had to be a quick course because there wasn’t much light left and we had a barbecue to get to!

On sailing Pair A Dice, I had determined that the heading hard on the wind was 60 degrees, so I set up sailing away from the line keeping 60 degrees on the compass roughly lined up with the start mark.  The problem was estimating the time to the line since sailing away from the line we were bucking waves and going the opposite way we would be surfing and going much faster.  Somehow we made the jibe at the right time and only had to stall a little at the line and ended up over the line first with some larger boats attempting to roll us to windward.  We scalloped up enough to leebow first Diver Down then Pacific Spirit.  Slowing these boats down allowed us to round blacks first and we were off on the long run to Gov.  It was interesting watching all of the boats behind us.  The ones using whisker poles were able to accelerate through the pack.  Odonata  was flying its spinnaker and showing the advantage of spinnaker use in downwind sailing and was moving quickly through the pack.  All the boats did their best to prevent getting their wind blocked by other boats.

 Finally we rounded Gov. and started our way back to the start mark.   The most critical decision was: inside or outside?  We decided to sail inside for a while 

and then tack out.  This seemed to work well, since the wind difference between inside and outside was not that much and the start mark was straight up wind.  We were able to maintain the lead to the finish  and were followed by Blue Ribbon, Pacific Spirit, Diver Down, Odonata (Santana 22), Sea Quake (C&C 29), Makani, Iris, Kicks, Aeolian and Andiamo

We had a great turnout for the BBQ with close to 50 people joining in the fun.

EXPANDING BOATING HORIZONS;          

Santa Cruz Yacht Club is hosting a brand new kind of regatta.  They are calling it a “log regatta”, and it is being held October 18.  How good are your boating skills and your knowledge of boat speed and navigation?  I think it would be fun to find out.  Sailboat and power boats will be participating.  The only instrument you can use will be your senses and a compass (no gps, watch, or speedometer).  The course will be over 11 knots long and you must judge how long it will take for each leg.  Your accuracy in these estimates will be how you are scored.  Your times for each leg will be recorded and documented  and the boat with the most accurate estimates will win.  If we get five Catalinas or similar sailboats, there will be a first and second place trophy for our division. Keep an eye on the SCYC.org website, which is your portal to the regatta network.  The notice of race and rules for this “regatta” will be posted after October 4. The fee for entry is $10 and it seems like it will be a blast!  Lets show the power boaters and other sailors what us Catalina sailors can do!

See you next Tuesday.

 

Barry L Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

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