FINALLY SAILING AGAIN
The long wait was over. The harbor was finally open and we were able
to sail on our first Catalina Tuesday of the season. With all of the anxiety
over the entrance and the necessity to report in to the harbor office before
leaving, it was not surprising that we only had 4 boats out: Pacific Spirit,
Sea Quake, Kicks and Sailing Pair A Dice.
We definitely had wind in the 20
knot range. Without any of the racing
buoys in place, we dropped a start mark and set a course: start, Mile, Gov, back to start. We delayed the start a couple of times to
give Kicks time to approach the start.
On Pair A Dice, I wanted to start a little down the line from the star
mark, which allowed us to not have to pinch to make Mile. Pacific Spirit started right at the
mark. In retrospect, starting at the
mark, Pacific Spirit had the favored end of the line. Note to self: always surmise which is the
favored end of the line!
As we slogged toward Mile, it was
true that we did not need to pinch as much as Pacific Spirit did, but we were
still not able to catch PS and they rounded well ahead of us. We were not able to close the gap on the way to
Gov or back to finish and Pacific Spirit finished well ahead of us. Sea Quake and Kicks followed.
The harbor is now open with no
restriction and no necessity to call in.
The sounding chart at this point looks like it is wise to exit closer to
the west jetty than the east. There is still a little shoaling closer to the
east jetty. I realize that I may have
been a little precautious in last weeks post.
Though what I said about surfing a wave into the harbor and bottoming
out is still a hazard to be avoided, the harbor seems to be sufficiently
dredged to be safe at this point.
Though we only had 4 boats out on
Tuesday, nearly everyone showed up to the yacht club for the barbecue. It was great to see everyone getting
reacquainted after a longer than normal winter.
I am looking forward to seeing
everyone out this coming Tuesday.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A DIce
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