Julye 26, 2016: RETURN OF THE FOG MONSTER

JULY 26, 2016

RETURN OF THE FOG MONSTER

After spending four days in Vegas and 113 degree temperatures, it was a welcome sight to see the fog when I returned home Monday evening.  Sure enough it remained for our Tuesday night races.  It always adds an element of mystery when you can’t see further than a quarter mile and you cannot see what competitors are doing.  Even though the fog seemed to dampen enthusiasm with only 5 boats out, we still had good wind to hold a race.  We called for course M2: Start, Mile, start-finish and gave a 5 minute horn.

With the wind almost from due South, Pair A Dice set up for a port-tack start while Kicks and Pacific Spirit came in on starboard.  After clearing the two starboard tackers we marched on toward Mile. Pacific Spirit was closing the gap on us from behind, while we kept a close eye on them.  Finally they tacked over to starboard which did not surprise me since it looked like there was more wind on the left of the course by the appearance of the water.  Ultimately, staying on port tack to the lay line paid off because there was even more wind on the right side of the course.

On a night like this we were depending on our GPS to determine laylines.  This is much different than judging laylines by sight.  Since we had our 155 jib working, we opened a small lead on Kicks who was right on our heels. At Mile, Pair a Dice rounded first with Kicks second, Pacific Spirit third and Hamachi and Tara (both Santana 22’s) following.

On the run to finish mark we were not able to extend our lead on Kicks but still limped over the line just ahead of them.  Kicks was followed by Pacific Spirit then Hamachi and Tara.

We had a great time at the barbecue at the club discussing tactics while letting the heat from the barbecue keep us warm despite the fog.

Rules:

Last week I admonished participants to follow rules, start appropriately and round marks.  I was not at Gov last week when all boats seemed to converge on the mark at the same time, so I do not know the specifics.  I do feel it is appropriate to discuss mark roundings and the rules pertaining to oundings. The rule that governs these situations is rule 18 of section C.  Specifically 18.2, 18.3 and 18.4.  Since mark roundings are often an intimate affair it is a good idea to know the rules, your rights and your obligations. Simply put the rule starts the moment a boat reaches the 3 boat zone.  This 3 boat zone is determined by the first boat that enters the zone.  The zone would be completely different if a 22 foot boat entered the zone first over a 30 or 36 foot boat.  It is a great idea to mark off in a parking lot exactly what 3 of YOUR boat lengths look like. Keep in mind when judging this distance, the helmsman is closer to 4 boat lengths from the mark!

It is always a good tactic to PLAN and set up so you are the inside boat upon entering the zone.  You have entered the zone when any part of your HULL is entering the zone.  Your rights and obligations are determined by overlap.  Overlapping another boat is when any part of your boat (ie spinnaker in normal position) is inside the plane established by the transom of either boat.  You are overlapped if neither boat is CLEAR AHEAD or CLEAR ASTERN.  Frequently you will see the tactitian standing at the transom declaring whether or not there is an overlap. In a dispute, the burden of proof falls on the boat claiming to have achieved overlap.  Neighboring witness boats are a help in the protest room in these situations.

In a situation where there are multiple boats entering the zone at the same time, an overlap established with your closest boat will give you rights to mark room with all boats that are overlapped with this boat.

Frequently when rounding a mark, sailors like to swing wide so they can pass the mark on their new course.  If you are enjoying rights to mark room and are the inside boat, you must not swing wide and must make a “seamanlike turn” around the mark. If you are the outside boat you must allow room for the inside boat to make their turn without hitting you (Rule 14).

It is a very good idea to review and know these rules if you plan on entering sanctioned races because these situations can get very exciting and can land you in the protest room if not conducted appropriately. There are many books and magazine articles that explain the finer nuances.

Looking forward to next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

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JULY 19, 2016 WHICH WAY TO GO?

JULY 12, 2016: STRATEGY VERSUS TACTICS

JULY 12, 2016

STRATEGY VERSUS TACTICS

The prediction was for light wind so I was not surprised to see an easterly wind blowing when I got to the harbor.  We switched out to the 155.  You must have the right equipment for the conditions!  With the hellacious traffic on the way to the harbor, we were late and did not start until after 6.  We gave the usual 5 minute blast on the horn.  Our course was start, Blacks, Gov,finish, keeping us inside for the light easterly that was blowing.

It has turned into quite a game for our starts.  It seems someone will always try to barge and someone will always push them above the mark.  We have all been on the giving and the receiving end of this arbitrage.  Peter on Sea Quake loves this game and is quite adept at calling people on their barging attempts.  We were lucky enough to catch him at his own game and pinch him off at the mark.  Turnabout is fair play.  All part of the fun of sailing!

On Pair A Dice, we thought we saw more wind outside of Blacks and my first thought was to “go with the wind” and sail high of the mark.  This was a strategic move, going where the wind is.  Someone pointed out that going high like this would give Makani an inside overlap at Blacks.  Time to use “tactics”, so we fell off to go down to cover Makani.  It was not long before we had gassed him and slowed him down.

On the way to Gov, we tried various whisker pole configurations even putting the pole between the shrouds at one point. The wind seemed to be dying as we ghosted along at less than 1 knot of speed. We slowly inched our way to the mark and finally jibed around it. Indeed, the wind on the way to Gov was so light, many of the boats were retiring.  Food and drink at Crow’s nest is more appealing than sailing at less than 1 knot!

On the way back to finish, the wind filled in nicely and I studied my prostart to track our bearing and the direction of the wind.  Finally we got headed to the point I felt it was time to tack.  Taking this tack on a header gave us a lift that almost took us to the mark.  Pair A Dice was lucky enough to round first and Makani seems to have inched out a very slight win over Perfect 36.

Strategy vs Tactics:

Any race requires the use of both Strategy and Tactics.  Using strategy is sailing the course as if there were no other boats out sailing the course the fastest way possible using various wind pockets and direction. Tactics are how to deal with other boats, either impeding them with bad air or using rules to your advantage.  You should always use both in any race, but knowing which one to emphasize is a trick that is hard to master.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

July 5, 2016:STUFF HAPPENS

Tuesday July 5, 2016

STUFF HAPPENS

There was obviously a lot of wind and we changed out to the 135 for the conditions. As we left the harbor there were 4-5 boats already out and another 4-5following us out.  We chose our longest course: Start, Wharf, Mile Blacks and finish.  We gave a 5 minute horn at 6:00 for a 6:05 start.  Looking around, about half of the boats had a reef in.  The wind was just under 20 knots so we did not reef on Pair a Dice.

We timed the line pretty well and had a pretty good start on the line.  The only problem was the boats in front of us giving us bad air. When we finally had a chance to tack over we had to duck a starboard tack boat putting us further back in the pack.  We sailed in until we saw a bed of kelp and took a hitch out to clear the kelp. With the wind dying inside we took a gamble and tacked back toward the wharf mark.  The question we each had was “will we make it around the mark?”  We all knew it was going to be close.

Makani had a better layline and was charging toward the mark while we were pinching.  We at least had inside overlap for clearance at the mark.  We tried to “shoot the mark” heading directly into the wind but watched in horror as we brushed the mark and watched it spin.  We immediately sailed to a clear area and did our turn, watching many boats pass us in the process.

We slogged on toward mile buoy with Kicks passing us to windward along the way.  It seems like all boats were ahead of us at this point.  We deployed our whisker pole and it was enough to extend a lead over Kicks on the way to Black buoy.  After rounding black we tacked out toward start a little early and had to “shoot the mark” at start to get within the 10 boat lengths from the mark.  At the finish it was Sagitarius in first again followed by Pacific Spirit, Mistress Quickley (SC27), Makani, Perfect 36, Pair A dice, Kicks and Toad.

Shooting the mark:

This is a new technique to me and I am still trying to grasp the concept.  You are close to making it around a mark.  It could be you misjudged the layline or got headed and you use the “shoot the mark” technique to clear the mark.  You pinch as much as you can and see you will not clear the mark.  The helmsperson falls off for speed about 2 boatlengths from the mark then uses the energy to head directly into the wind trying to clear the mark. Sail trim is everything in this maneuver.  Jib trimmer must not let the jib backwind at all.  As the mark approaches abeam, the main should be released relieving any pressure that might push the boat toward the mark. Just as the mark is abeam the jib can be sheeted in again to help the boat clear the mark.  Obviously, by our demonstration tonight it does not always work.

Taking a Turn:

While racing, things do not always happen as planned. Hitting a mark requires a one turn penalty.  While the rule books call for two turns in failure to yield right of way, most sailing instructions call for only one turn in all situations.  On Catalina Tuesdays we will observe one turn penalties for all infractions.   When taking a turn, the rules call for doing it as soon as you can get clear from other boats.  This does not mean to sail the rest of the course doing the turn whenever you want.  You must get clear and do your turn. On this night we did a jibe first to clear ourself out of the way of competitors. 

We had a great discussion at the Crow’s nest over dinner and beers.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice