AUGUST 9, 2016: LIGHT WIND FROM THE SOUTH

AUGUST 9, 2016

LIGHT WIND FROM THE SOUTH

It looked like a light breeze. Was it from the northwest or from the South?  It was not until we left the harbor that it became apparent that the wind was almost directly from the South.  It was time to look at the “south wind” part of the course chart.  We called for course M1: start, Mile finish at Gov.  We gave a 5 minute horn and everyone started jockeying for position.

On Pair A Dice, we wanted to start at the buoy on starboard tack.  We were way too early and went through several stalling maneuvers and finally ended up at the mark on pretty good time.  Steve Niemann on perfect 36 was too soon over the line.  Kudos to him and his crew for doing the right thing by rounding the buoy to start again.  Mistress Quickly (SC27 Evan Diola and crew) did a great job leading the way.  Pacific Spirit was also in good position.  We had our 155 jib on and it was working very well, helping us in leading the pack.  Once we rounded Mile it was a long slog to Gov for the finish.  As the wind lightened inside many boats seemed to compress on us.  Pacific Spirit was breathing down our neck, but we ultimately inched over the line ahead of Pacific spirit but sufficiently behind Mistress Quickly.  It seems like lighter boats move faster in light wind.  The excitement was not over. After we crossed and Pacific Spirit crossed, Sea Quake and Perfect 36 were in a dead heat for the finish.  From our perspective on the line, it looked like Sea Quake inched over just ahead of Perfect 36. We had Nidaros II (Santana 30) out for the first time who came in next then Aeolian and Kicks.

PHRF and other races:

We just had the Big Brothers Big sisters regatta this past Sunday.  This is a reverse PHRF pursuit race where slower boats start first.  In these situations if all boats were sailed perfectly, all boats would finish at exactly the same time. Pair A Dice was doing pretty well and was the third boat around the second mark (SC3) after 4 miles of sailing. Then we had the first misshap of the race. As we rounded the mark and tried to harden up on the wind, the lazy jib sheet snagged on the port side bow cleat.  For an excruciating 30 seconds we were not able to achieve a proper course.  Pacific Spirit rounded perfectly and climbed ahead of us.  Of the Catalina’s Pacific Spirit was one of the first over the line.  Compliments to Pacific Spirit and crew for an excellent race.  Not bad for the first time they have been in this regatta.

Using kelp to your advantage:

I have talked before about using kelp to see which way the current is flowing.  On this night we used kelp to our advantage in another way.  You can actually use a heavy bed of kelp to scrub the bottom of your boat.  Mind you, this will do nothing for heavy growth.  I had my bottom scrubbed for the BBBS regatta and knew that I had very light, one week old growth.  This is the kind of growth that even the light brush of kelp against the hull will clean away.  If you try this maneuver, be sure to back down to clear the Keel and rudder of any strands of kelp before racing.

See you next Tuesday,

Barry Keeler

Sailling Pair A Dice