AUGUST 1, 2017: FINALLY SOME WIND! BUT

AUGUST 1, 2017

FINALLY SOME WIND!  BUT

As I approached the harbor it was apparent that there was a lot of wind with the flag on the Crow’s nest showing a strong northwesterly.  Anticipating the wind would die down, we kept the 155 jib and headed out of the harbor.  I could not believe the number of boats out and the number of boats still coming out of the harbor. Ultimately there were close to 20 boats out for the fun. There was a thick fog bank undulating back and forth between engulfing the whole fleet and leaving the bay with clear visibility.  With the strong wind coming from the northwest, we called the course W3: start, Wharf mark, Blacks, finish and gave a 5 minute horn.

On Pair a Dice, we wanted to do a port tack start, but thought it too risky with so many boats out.  As it turned out, we had a clear line and were able to start on port, only having to duck a couple of boats which were on starboard tack. There were several boats that started on port tack with us.  The march was on to Wharf mark and one by one the port tack boats tacked over to outside.  It sure felt great to be in some wind again! At Wharf it was Homer on Equinimity and Perfect 36 first around first with Pair A Dice following. 

On the long sail to Blacks, the fog came back in to obscure many of the boats.  We saw many “fog-bows” which were shafts of light shining through the fog giving a surrealistic effect.  Equinimity and Perfect 36 took a line further outside while we followed our GPS and attempted to rhumb line it to the mark. 

At Blacks, Equinimity was just ahead of us with Perfect 36 right behind us.  As soon as Equinimity rounded, they headed straight back out for more wind.  We decided to sail a little further along the shore to avoid sailing in disturbed air.  As it turned out, we sailed in to a hole of no wind and took forever to sail out of it with the waves on our bow.  Equinimity had read it right and finished 15-20 minutes before the rest of the boats. As Homer said later, over dinner, “sail for the fog line for the wind!”  Most of the boats got stuck in the transition zone at blacks as we patiently waited for the easterly to fill in to finish the race.  Understandably, food at the Crow’s nest sounded like a better idea than bobbing in a transition zone and many of the boats motored in to the harbor.  Honorable mention goes to those that finished!  After Equinimity, Odonata and Toad followed with Pair a Dice, a Ranger 33, a Tartan and Kicks sticking to it to the end.

We had an awesome evening with great wind, BUT the transition zone got us toward the end.

TO THE BEGINNERS:

We have several boats that are venturing out for our Tuesday evening “Cattle Drive”.  I want to extend a hearty welcome to all of you! Please keep in mind that racing sailboats is a learning process.  Be assured that every boat you see leading the pack started racing by coming in dead last.  As you learn more, you will start working your way up through the fleet. Just be observant of what works and what does not work and keep learning!

FINER NUANCES:

Sailing in very light wind is one of the most challenging things we do.  In transition zones, like we had at Blacks, I find it useful to close your eyes and feel the wind on your face.  Of course the wind will fill differently at different levels, so you need to also look at the windex on the top of the mast.  Always remember that any wind (going to weather) SUCKS the boat along.  It does not PUSH the boat.  This means the sails must often be relaxed a little to get air flowing around the front of the sail!  You watch your tell tales on the sails to gauge how successful you are in doing this.

Looking forward to next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice