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