FIRST SAIL OF THE
SEASON
Last Tuesday, we tried
but failed miserably. There is something
about pea soup fog allowing only 50 yards of visibility combined with no wind
that dampens the sailing spirit. Still,
Pair A Dice and Kicks motored out to the start area just to be sure.
The predictions for
tonight were 12 to 15 knots of breeze and the predictions were spot on! We motored out of the harbor with 5 or 6
boats out. There was no start buoy so we
dropped one attempting to be square with the wind and the lighthouse
jetty. The course was called: Start mark
to Mile, Gov then finish at the start mark.
A five minute horn was given and everyone set up for their start.
Pair A Dice came off the
line further down from Equanimity and Odonata and just leeward and behind
Kicks. We quickly realized it was going
to be a long slog with Kicks giving us bad air so we tacked over just as we
crossed the line. Everyone else sailed
out for a bit before tacking over. As we
sailed out, we found we were nearly going to make mile on port tack. We ultimately tacked over for mile and
actually cleared the whole fleet. Kicks
had retired due to mechanical issues.
Pair a dice was first around Mile followed by Homer on Equanimity. We continued our slog toward Gov and Homer
did a stint wing on wing DDW. Homer
passed us and rounded Gov ahead of us and was off to the start mark.
At the finish, it was
Homer followed by Pair A Dice, Odonata and Aeolian. We had a great time at the Crows nest after
the sail.
Tactics:
I have found when Homer
does something unusual in sailing, it is best to pay attention. Rounding mile right behind us, the natural
inclination is for most sailors to try to steal the wind from the boat in
front. We see it all the time, two boats
tangling with each other going down wind and with all of the maneuvering both
boats get slowed down. Homer did the
smart thing: sailed his boat away to separate from the competitor in front and
it paid off for him. I’m going to remember this for future use.
Other Regattas:
We are all bringing our
game up. Sailing better, using tactics
and generally racing better! The SCYC
will be having their Commodores regatta this year on April 29. This is just like the Big Brothers Big
Sisters regatta being a reverse PHRF start.
I love these “pursuit races” where slower boats get a head start and the
faster boats do what they can to pass the slower boats. It would be awesome to see a large
representation of the Catalina fleet in this race. You can register for this regatta on the club
website at SCYC.org.
NEXT WEEK IS THE LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH: CATALINA BARBECUE NIGHT AT
THE CLUB. BRING YOUR FAVORITE GRILLING
FOOD. BAR WILL BE OPEN.
For those that did not
get a course card, the information is copied below.
2017 Catalina Tuesday Courses e=mc2
|
Whiskey, NW wind, 1st mark Wharf
(start line SM & S 330M)
|
Miles
|
|
W 1 Start,
Wharf, Mile, Blacks, Finish(stb)
|
4.04
|
|
W 2 Start,
Wharf, Mile, Gov(stb), Finish
|
3.93
|
|
W 3 Start,
Wharf, Blacks, Finish(stb)
|
3.23
|
|
W 4 Start,
Wharf(stb), Gov(stb), Finish
|
3.07
|
|
W 5 Start,
Wharf, Finish
|
2.68
|
|
W 6 Start, Finish at Gov (stb) (line from
Gov to SC Wharf)
|
1.31
|
|
|
|
Mike, S wind, 1st mark Mile (Start
line SM & JLH 310M)
|
M 1 Start,
Mile(stb), Gov(stb)
(finish line is end of SC Wharf to Gov)
|
2.24
|
|||
|
M 2 Start,
Mile, Finish
|
2.17
|
|||
|
M 3 Start, Finish at
Mile (Line from Mile to Wharf)
Bravo, E wind, 1st mark Blacks
(Start line SM & BP 352M)
|
1.06
|
|||
|
B 1 Start(stb),
Blacks(stb), Mile(stb), Gov(stb), Finish
|
4.03
|
|||
|
B 2
Start(stb), SC3,Blacks, Finish(stb)
|
3.04
|
|||
|
B 3 Start(stb),
Blacks(stb), Mile(stb), Finish
|
2.72
|
|||
|
B 4 Start(stb),
Blacks, Gov, Finish
|
2.43
|
|||
|
B 5 Start(stb),
Blacks, Start, Blacks, Finish(stb)
|
1.12
|
|||
|
B 6 Start(stb),
Blacks, Finish(stb)
|
0.55
|
|||
|
Golf,
N wind, 1st mark Government
G 1 Start,
Gov, Mile, Blacks, Finish
|
(start line SM & BP 352M)
(stb)
4.03
|
|||
|
G 2 Start,
Gov, Blacks, Finish(stb)
|
2.45
|
|||
|
G 3 Start,
Gov, Finish
|
1.98
|
|||
|
G 4
Start, Finish at Gov (Line from Gov and Wharf) 1.31
Oscar, Other
F
1 Start at Mile(stb) (start line contains Mile and JLH), Wharf (stb) 1.48
|
0.96
|
|||
|
Gov(stb) (finish line is end of SC
Wharf to Gov)
|
|
|||
|
F 2 Start at Mile
(start line mile and sc wharf),
|
1.50
|
|||
|
Wharf, Mile (finish line mile
and sc wharf)
|
|
|||
2017
Catalina Tuesday Courses p2 f=ma
1. All
marks are left to Port unless designated (stb) which shall be rounded to
Starboard.
2. Both
the start and finish line shall be a line containing Start mark and designated landmark.
There may be a temporary mark placed to designate the other of the line (will
be announced)
3. When
starting, the start mark shall be passed within 10 boat lengths per the course
description.
4. When
finishing, the finish mark shall be passed within 5 boat lengths per the course
description.
Any
foul shall be exonerated by one tack and one jibe in the same direction,
executed as soon as clear from other boats.
(a 270° turn)
Monitor
VHF channel 69 at start time. There may be a boat sighting the line to call
“over early” boats. If called over early
and do not restart properly, you will not be given a finish.
MARK DESCRIPTIONS AND LANDMARKS
Wharf=
Wharf Mark SC Wharf= End of
Pier BP=Blacks point
S=
White House at Schwan Lagoon JLH=Jetty
light House SM=Start Mark
|
Blacks
|
Yellow
Ball
|
36º 57.22' N 121º 59.29' W
|
|
Gov
|
White
Ball
|
36º 57.47' N 122º 00.72' W
|
|
Mile
|
Whistling
Buoy
|
36º 56.35' N 122º 00.56' W
|
|
SC3
|
Yellow
Can
|
36º 56.49' N 121º 58.00' W
|
|
Start/Finish
|
Yellow
Ball
|
36º 57.09' N 121º 59.62' W
|
s