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