SEPTEMBER 6, 2016
CURRENT EVENTS
There were small craft advisory warnings for further out in
the bay, but predictions for an Easterly close to the harbor. The Easterly was definitely blowing when I
got to the harbor. We sorted out crew
issues. Last week I had 8 people on
board, this night I had 3 crewmembers.
We decided on course B4 again and gave the 5 minute horn at 6pm for a
6:05 start.
In the 5 minute countdown, the wind seemed to be waning just
a bit. Pair A Dice was way too soon at
the line and we slowed the boat down to let Pacific Spirit start ahead of
us. Since we were closer to the buoy, if
we had kept our speed up, Pacific Spirit would have caught us barging. Homer on Equinamity also got an excellent
start. Once we got over the line, rather
than sail in bad air we tacked over since there was no way to fetch the mark on
one tack. Homer and Pacific Spirit
rounded Blacks just ahead of us and Makani was right on our stern as we
rounded. This was going to be a good
race!
As we approached the kelp line, it was apparent that there
was a strong current flowing west. With
this information we decided to sail closer to the beach to take as much
advantage of the current as possible.
The current also helped stream the kelp so it was easy to not pick up
any hitch-hiking strands of kelp. We
seemed to gain on the boats that were sailing further outside. At Gov Equinamity was first to round followed
by Pacific Spirit, Makani and Pair A Dice. The three leaders headed outside and Pair A
Dice tacked over back inside for cleaner air.
We sailed to the kelp line and tacked over toward the finish mark. At the finish, it was Equinamity, Pacific
Spirit, Makani, Pair A Dice, Kicks, Nadaris II, Sea Quake, Aeolian and
Odonata. All boats seemed to finish
within 5 minutes of each other making for a great race.
Reading Currents:
We did well on Pair A Dice until we sailed inside. I thought
we were far enough out to avoid the westerly current, but it was strong enough
to set us back. Indications that the current
was still in effect where we were was that the kelp was still streaming to the
west. Also, the kelp on the start buoy
was indicating a westerly even as far out as the buoy when we were starting. Lesson: Don’t sail up stream!
Tacking properly:
We were having problems on Pair A Dice with proper
tacking. I was frustrated as I was
trying to get the jib in because it was hung up on ‘something’. The ‘something’ that was keeping it from
flowing through properly was the fact that I was standing on the sheets! While racing, I will pile the sheets up on
the bench to prevent this in the future (you’d think I would know by now!)
Watching other boats tacking indicated that several are
having problems with this aspect also.
This is a critical time to pay attention and do things right. After passing through the eye of the wind,
the boat has slowed dramatically and you need power (wind in the sails) to get
the boat moving again. While racing it
is critical for the crew to get the jib in as quickly as possible. Note: you do not want to get the jib all the
way in until the boat has come back up to speed again on the new tack.
Other Regattas:
Everyone is bringing their game up nicely. Now is the time to set up for an official
race. The yacht club is putting on the
midwinter series. The first day of
racing will be the third Saturday of November.
You will need a PHRF certificate to compete. Many of us are going to be sailing in this
regatta. Come and join the fun. The information is available on the website: SCYC.org.
On September 24 and 25, the Veeder cup competition will be
down in Monterey. In the past, it was two Santana 22’s that competed. This year it will be two Santa Cruz 52’s that
will compete, Elixir from Santa Cruz and one from Monterey Yacht club. If you
have never sailed to Monterey, this would be a great time to go. We should have a group of boats go down to
cheer our boat on in this race. It will
be a fun event.
I will see you next Tuesday!
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A DIce
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