CATALINAS RACING MONTEREY BAY AUGUST 25, 2015 "SOME THINGS ARE WORTH WAITING FOR"

TUESDAY AUGUST 25, 2015

“SOME THINGS ARE WORTH WAITING FOR”

It was going to be an interesting night with the presence of wind being a huge question.  As we left the harbor, there were about 12 boats milling around.  Since the wind was questionable and we had a barbecue to get to, we chose a short course #4: start, mile finish.  Someone on the radio said that the transition would arrive right at start time.  But we were th

ere for a race and by God we were going to have one.  We gave the 5 minute horn and everyone set up for their start.

On Pair A Dice we were setting up for a starboard start a little down from the start buoy.  Pacific Spirit was directly ahead of us as we stalled to not be early.  It was obvious they were OCS and they dutifully started rounding the buoy to start again (kudos for doing the right thing), when suddenly the wind DIED.  The wind died much quicker than our optimism did.  With the waves on our nose and the dead wind, we were actually moving backward.  Looking through the fleet it was apparent very small patches of wind were moving through the boats.  You would see a boat sprint forward then stop. Toad was the first boat over the line, soon to die in the transition zone.  Everyone was focusing on getting to the westerly winds just outside of the transition zone we were hopelessly mired in.  Many of the boats had caught their patch of wind and were substantially ahead of us.

As usual, Mark was on Pair A Dice and had his “head out of the boat” surveying for conditions everywhere.  Those flags, the anchored boats and of course wind on the water everywhere was being considered.  Mark announced that we should turn toward the harbor to catch the building Easterly.  As I was considering the illogical move of sailing AWAY from the mark to get wind, Pacific Spirit turned and went directly for the building easterly and seemed to be picking up speed.  We followed suit and immediately started sailing.  After bobbing for over 45 minutes it was exhilarating to be sailing again. We sailed toward the wharf, picking up more speed the further we went.  We set our pole and turned toward Mile, seeming to close the gap with Pacific Spirit.

The rounding at Mile got to be very interesting with Pacific Spirit clear ahead and Makani,  Aeolian and Odonata just ahead of us.  We had all taken different paths but ended up at Mile at the same time.  After Mile, most of the boats turned and headed further inside on starboard tack, while Aeolian and Pair A Dice took the port tack on the now predominantly Northerly wind.

AEOLIAN AFTER FINISH HEADING TO BBQ

At the finish, Pacific Spirit was one minute ahead of Pair A Dice followed by the Saber 34, Aeolian, Perfect 36, Kicks, Makani and Toad.

We had a great barbecue at the club with many discussions about the sailing that night.

Dealing with Transition zones:

Transition zones are a way of life sailing in Santa Cruz so learning how to deal with them is critical to do well.

-Critical in any light wind situation is having a clean bottom on the boat. 

-Another concept:  in very light wind DO NOT buck the waves, let the waves roll under the boat at an angle even if you must sail away from the mark. 

-Where is the wind building?  Use anchored boats, flags, birds and wind on the water to determine this. 

-Use sails to turn the boat rather than the rudder, if you have a large jib, you may need to furl some of it to steer using the sails. 

-Last tip is to remember we are on sailboats, we need wind to move, get to the wind even if it means sailing away from the mark!

Other Regattas:

Last Sunday was the first of the SCORE series.  It was a great day for a sail with 13-22 knot winds on the course.  This first of the series was a run from Moss Landing around wharf mark and finishing at Gov.  Though we motored down early in the morning for this race, it was a blast.  These SCORE races are a blast, and you can register on SCYC.org if you have a Monterey Bay PHRF certificate.

September 12 and 13 is the Down and Back.  This is another long race, down to Monterey on the first day and back home the next.

You’ve been learning about racing all summer.  Now is the time to apply that knowledge in a sanctioned race!

See you next week.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

CATALINAS SAILING MONTEREY BAY AUGUST 18,2015 'A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT FOR A SAIL'

August 18, 2015

A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT FOR A SAIL!

The predictions were for light wind and as I saw the ocean, there were no white caps.  The flag on the Crows nest looked like there was a little more wind than on the water.  We swapped to the 155 and left the harbor.  There were 11-12 boats milling around and we picked course #4: start, wharf, gov, finish.  We gave our 5 minute horn and watched as all of the boats set up for their start. 

On Pair A Dice, we wanted to be on starboard for the start, but down the line a bit  from the buoy for clear air.  As it turned out, we were a little early.  To make matters worse, Makani was on the line just waiting for us to pass them to windward so they could luff us over the line.  We quickly tacked over, went back down the line a little and started off on port tack.  With this position we were the furthest boat inside toward the beach.  With the wind we had, we were able to slowly pinch up and  Lee bow Diver Down that was trying to pass us to windward.  Diver Down tacked over for clean air and we continued on inside.  As we sailed further inside, we kept expecting the wind to die, but it just kept on blowing.  The wind seemed to be a little more outside, but we did not want to tack over and buck the waves.  All of the boats except us tacked over to the outside and we just kept on going straight toward the wharf.  About the time we thought we were on the layline for wharf we got a huge lift.  We decided to go until the lift started decreasing.  Finally we tacked over for wharf and came pretty close to laying the mark.  Pacific Spirit passed right in front of us and rounded wharf just before we did.  Diver Down and the rest of the fleet rounded and we all headed toward Gov.

We attempted several maneuvers attempting to steal Pacific Spirit’s wind but to no avail.

After rounding Gov , Pacific Spirit lead the whole way and rounded the finish mark just ahead of Pair A Dice quickly followed by Diver Down.  The rest of the boats finished with Kicks, Odonata , Makani and Thallasia rounding next.  We had 11 boats starting and finishing the race  tonight.

Tactics:

It is amazing how sailing so far inside seems to have worked so well for us.  It is critical when following this tactic to be sure the wind is consistent.  Many boats attempted to tack outside for more wind, but taking the waves on the nose seems to have slowed them down.  The lift we experienced toward wharf was a 15 degree lift which prevented us from tacking as early as we wanted to, since we would be headed after tacking.   We finally tacked over when we saw the wind start clocking back to a header.

Waves:

Sailing in Santa Cruz is different than most sailing venues because of the ocean waves.  I often say how you handle waves while sailing in Santa Cruz is critical.  Going to weather, taking waves on the bow can dramatically slow your boat.  When this is happening, even cracking off 5 degrees and taking the waves at an angle can lead to dramatic increase in speed.  When sailing down wind, get the crew out of the cockpit and on the bow will help get more momentum out of waves.  When I am on the helm and feel a wave coming behind me, I will crank the wheel over for a very brief moment, so the rudder catches the energy of the wave.  This cranking of the wheel is certainly controversial and flies in the face of the “minimal rudder movement” preached by many top sailors.  It may be my imagination, but sailing against other boats on the same downwind angle, I have seen small gains by using this technique.  How do you use waves in your sailing?  Leave a comment.

NEXT TUESDAY WILL BE BARBECUE NIGHT AT THE YACHT CLUB.  BRING YOUR FAVORITE GRILLING FOOD!  THE CLUB AND BAR WILL BE OPEN.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

CATALINA SAILBOATS RACING MONTEREY BAY: AUGUST 11, 2015 THE WIND GODS

Tuesday August 11,2015

THE WIND GODS

The first sight of the ocean delivered a view that left no doubt there was plenty of wind for this night.  There were about 10 boats milling around, waiting for the start.  We called for course 3: Start, Wharf, Blacks finish and gave a 5 minute horn.

With this many boats, as bad as you want to start on port tack, it is way too risky.  Very risky when you consider how everyone is bringing their game up with excellent starts.  We fell in line with the rest of the starboard tackers and were fortunate enough to establish a position windward and behind most of the fleet, pinning most of them.  Finally Pacific Spirit tacked over onto port and we tacked to cover.  We all made our way toward Wharf with several crossings taking place and boats all ducking appropriately.  At Wharf, Pacific Spirit was just ahead of Diver Down and we followed them on Pair A Dice. 

The long parade to Blacks saw each boat attempting different tactics. Wing on wing pole on port or jibing to see if that worked better.  At one point one boat veered dramatically toward another.  From our perspective, it looked very close.  On  Pair a Dice we heated up and sailed outside looking for more wind deploying our jib and pole on starboard.  Though it appeared we were gaining on the two other boats, we still had to steer down toward the mark.  As we approached Blacks, the boat that had veered toward the other earlier did their 360 penalty turn. We still had a chance for second. We rounded blacks just in front of the penalty boat.  We sailed a little further inside to avoid the bad wind from Diver Down and sailed into lighter and lighter wind, while Pacific Spirit headed outside.  Ultimately, this smart move gained their lead again.  At the finish it was Diver Down, Pacific Spirit and Pair A Dice.  Behind us the transition set in and all of the boats were sailing wing on wing on an Easterly wind toward the start mark.  It was quite a photo finish with Aeolian squeaking ahead followed by Tres Santos, the Saber 34 the Catalina 27 and Sea Quake.  A great night for sailing.

Sportsmanship!

It is really exciting to see our fleet improving tactics, strategy and sportsmanship. Observing the rules of sailing, yielding right of way when appropriate and taking penalties when appropriate.  Of course when startling things happen while racing, inappropriate language may be used as a natural reflex.  As long as apologies are offered later, and appropriate penalties are taken and no damage or injuries occur, we all will continue racing and learning.  It is an honor to sail with and against such a classy group of sailors!

There were several crossing situations on the windward leg.  It is said that a duck performed correctly loses very little and if the lift from the other boat is taken, you can even gain.  Diver Down was performing text-book perfect ducks, coming close to the stern of the other boat and taking advantage of the lift.  It was a thing of beauty to witness and learn from.  Though ducking twice on this leg, they went on to win! Good job Diver Down!

A PHOTO FINISH

See you next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

CATALINA SAILBOAT RACING: AUGUST 4, 2015, CLEAR AND WIND FROM THE SOUTH

TUESDAY AUGUST 4, 2015

CLEAR AND WIND FROM THE SOUTH

Checking Predict wind and Sailflow in the morning, it looked like we were in for a blow this evening.  Indeed the wind was light during the day and started to increase as the evening ensued.  In the harbor it felt very windy but there were no white caps outside.  We stayed with the 155 jib, which worked out perfectly since the wind was 15-18 knots from the south.

Looking at the course chart, someone said “where are the south wind courses?”  We had to improvise and came up with Course 6*.  The * indicating to finish at the start mark rather than Gov.   We gave a 5 minute horn and all of the boats started setting up for their start.  With the wind from the south, it gave the pin end a dramatic advantage.  Everyone knew this and all boats converged on the pin.  We were in the pack also, and with about 30 seconds to the start, I saw a path through the following boats and jibed around for a port tack start behind all of the starboard tacking boats.  It turns out Pacific Spirit had the same idea and started on port with us down the line.  Pair A Dice was slightly to windward behind Pacific Spirit.  We tacked toward Mile early so we would not get shadowed by Pacific Spirit.  We crossed Makani but Diver Down had us clear ahead in our crossing.  Diver Down is one fast boat.  Good job Vance and team! As any competitor would do, Diver Down tacked to windward of us but were not able to steal our wind.  As we approached the layline for mile, we knew Diver Down would tack on our wind.  With disturbed wind it would be difficult to clear mile, so we overstood the layline as did Diver Down.  Finally we tacked over for Mile, but overstanding allowed Makani to cross in front of us and round Mile just ahead of us.

At Mile, Pacific Spirit rounded with a comfortable lead, followed by Diver Down, Makani, and PairADice.  Behind us, Aeolian an Olson 30, Perfect 36, Toad  and Kicks rounded.  We all surfed our way around Gov and reached toward start with little change in the standings.  At the finish Pacific Spirit finished with a comfortable lead followed by Diver Down, Makani, Pair  A Dice, Olson 30, Aeolian, Perfect 36, Toad and Kicks.  It was a great race for all of us, congratulations to Pacific Spirit for their win.

Tactics and Rules:

Nothing gets more exciting than a start with good wind with one end of the line heavily favored!  Everyone wants to claim the favored end.  It is a beautiful thing to see such a competitive atmosphere and everyone following the rules of sailing. 

Once again the inside (port tack at start) was the favored move.  Pacific Spirit opened a huge lead over everyone by following the line clear inside before tacking out for Mile.  Why does this work so well?  I believe it is a combination of a current that sometimesheads toward the wharf, flatter seas and more protected (flatter water) when finally heading toward Mile.  The inside track seems to work IF the wind is consistent across the race course.

We had a great dinner and discussion at the Crows Nest after the race.

Hope to see you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice