JUNE 13, 2017: JUST WAIT 15 MINUTES

JUNE 13, 2017

JUST WAIT 15 MINUTES

The wind had been blowing like crazy for the last week, so I was wondering what conditions we would have for this night.  Sure enough, the wind had blown itself out and by the time we got to the start area about 6pm, all of the boats were milling around with virtually no wind.  We postponed the start to see whether the easterly or the  westerly would fill in.  Alas about 15 minutes of waiting delivered a fair easterly wind.  We called for course B6 with the potential to extend to B5 if the wind held and gave a 5 minute horn.

 

Once again, Pair a Dice decided not to fight the crowd at the mark and started further down the line in clear air.  We all had to tack over to make the mark and Pair a Dice was the first around Blacks followed quickly by Makani.  Sailing back down wind toward the start mark was rather challenging with pockets of no wind and the waves on our bow.  Somehow Makani was able to pass us and rounded the mark with a healthy lead over us.  In the interim it was determined to lengthen the course to B5, lengthening the course to twice around the marks. Makani sailed off on port tack to the presumed lay line for blacks.  Pair a Dice tacked over earlier and lucked out with much more wind on the inside to allow us to round blacks just ahead of Makani again.  We sailed out on port tack to the layline and tacked over to finish first with Makani coming in second followed by Kicks,  Nidaris II (Santana 30), Wind Goddess and Toad.

We had a great time eating at the crow’s nest after the race.

WIND AND WAVES:

When sailing in Santa Cruz, it is critical to assess the state of the wind versus the waves.  If there is a light wind and you are sailing dead down wind and you have the waves directly on your bow, you can get very frustrated with your lack of progress.  What can you do to get the boat moving?  Why not harden up on the wind so both sails are propelling the boat?  At the same time, you are not taking the waves on the bow, you are taking the waves at an angle and gliding up and over them.  This is counterintuitive to many people because frequently you will be sailing further away from the mark.  As long as you are moving faster and waves are not stopping you, the time will be made up when you tack the other way and are, again, not taking waves on the bow.  I have seen this work out many time to my advantage.  Always pay attention to wind and waves and their effect on your boat!

OTHER REGATTAS:

Sunday, June 25 will be the last day of the SCORE series.  Be sure to come out for the fun!

JACK ONEILL PADDLE OUT:

On July 9 at 11am there will be a paddleout Honoring Jack Oneill off East Cliff drive in front of Jack Oneill’s house at 38^th avenue.  There will be several boats anchoring at that location as surfers paddle out to honor Jack. It is proposed that any sailboats that want to participate should sail outside the circle of surfers to provide a back drop to the event.  I am thinking it would be fun to have some of the Catalina boats sailing in this flotilla.  If there is interest, we could conduct a starting clinic after the event.  We could set another Buoy by the normal start mark and do a couple of countdowns and starts.

We will see you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice