September 15, 2015
WARM NORTH WIND
It was a perfect night for a Catalina Tuesday, with warm
wind blowing nearly straight off the beach.
All sailors know that when the wind blows straight off shore, you get
great sailing on very flat water: the ultimate sailing experience.
We set a up for course 14, using the line between start and
blacks as the start, around Gov (P) around blacks (P) and finish with the start
buoy on starboard. As it turned out, it was a perfect course since
everyone needed to tack at least once to get around Gov. We came off the line
on starboard tack just behind Odonata and just to windward of Sea Quake. Since the wind was so gusty and we were short
handed, we had put a reef in just before the start. Having a reef in helped us stand up
straighter and we slowly passed Odonata to leeward. I chided Odonata for not having a reef in,
knowing that the Santana 22 is built reefed being built for San Francisco. Odonata finally tacked off and Pacific Spirit
was sailing away from us. Tonight was a
night when waterline definitely made a difference!
Pacific Spirit rounded Gov comfortably ahead of Pair a dice
and Pair A dice was just ahead of Odonata for the rounding. Once Odonata popped their chute, they slowly
crept ahead of us. It was only fair; We
water-lined them on the way to Gov and they kited ahead of us on the way to
Blacks. For some reason, I zoned and did
not think to shake out the reef.
Finally, a couple of 100 yards from Gov, Jeff asked me to shake out the
reef. Once we did, we started at least
keeping even with Odonata. Once again,
Pacific Spirit rounded Blacks with a comfortable lead and we rounded just
outside of Odonata. On the way to the
finish line we got a gust and a burst of speed.
As we approached the finish line, It looked like a dead even tie between
us and Odonata. Pacific Spirit finished
with a substantial lead followed by Pair a Dice and Odonata in unison. Kicks followed then Thalasia, Sea Quake,
Aeolian and Toad.
Reefing:
It seems to defy logic.
Decrease sail area to improve performance. I have witnessed this phenomenon frequently,
as I am sure all sailors have. Being
able to reef quickly and efficiently is crucial. On Pair A Dice, we have it set up so one
person can put a reef in within a minute. Everyone should know the conditions that
dictate to put a reef in for their boat.
Sometimes this can be changed by other factors such as crew weight. In the recent score race from Moss Landing to
Santa Cruz, I only had one other crew member for ballast. We normally reef at about 21 knots
apparent. On this day, I noticed we were
heeling 30 degrees at 18-19 knots.
Though some of this was caused from over sheeted sails, with the low
ballast aboard, we should have reefed at 18-19 knots. By reefing, you keep the boat sailing more
upright, can point better and everything just seems more manageable!
See you next Tuesday.
Barry L. Keeler
Sailing Pair a D
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