SEPTEMBER 12, 2017: OVERCAST WITH CHOPPY SEAS

September 12, 2017

OVERCAST WITH CHOPPY SEAS

Once again the flag on the Crow’s Nest showed we had plenty of wind coming from the northwest.  Coming to my boat, I was wondering if I was even going to take the boat out with most of my crew gone.  At the last minute a critical crew member showed up and we drafted Drew from another boat.  The combination of vacations and regatta committee meetings can leave some of us short crewed.  As we left the harbor, I was surprised at how choppy the seas were.  At least it looked like the wind would hold.  After some discussion we decided on Course G3: Start, GOV, Finish.  We gave a 5 minute horn  for the 12 boats that were out for the fun.

On Pair A Dice, we really wanted to start on port tack, but knew this was too risky.  We opted to start on starboard tack and tack over to port at the earliest opportunity.  In setting up for the start with the 12-13 knot winds and going down the waves, we were afraid we were getting too far down the line.  Frequently with waves on the bow, the time it takes to cover distance going into the waves is much longer than covering the same distance going with the waves.  This makes judging starts very difficult.  As it turned out, we covered the distance back toward the start mark and were going to be early for the start.  With one minute to go to the start, we spun a circle to kill time.  In doing this maneuver it is critical to observe two points: give yourself enough time to complete the move and give yourself time to get back up to speed. We find that frequently this maneuver takes at least 1 minute to accomplish.  It is critical to spin completely around and come up to speed as quickly as possible.

 We were a little late off the line so there were many boats in front of us for the parade to Gov.   This was turning into quite a “reach a thon”.  Some of the boats were using the choppy conditions to their advantage surfing whenever possible. Other boats seemed to be on a line to lay the mark. 

As we all sailed inside closer to the mark, the wind intensity and direction got very unpredictable and several of the boats in the lead had to tack several times to get around Gov.  At Gov, Homer rounded just ahead of Aila (Beneteau 34) and Nidaris and Pacific Spirit.  Aeolian rounded just ahead of Pair A Dice and we were all off on the run back to finish mark. 

  Everyone seemed to be rhumb lining it to the mark.  On Pair A Dice we thought we could heat up a little and sail further outside then turn down, set the pole and sail wing on wing toward the mark using waves to our advantage.

At the finish, it was Homer followed by Nidaris, Pacific Spirit, Aila, Pair A Dice (less than a boat length ahead of Aeolian!). Next was Kicks, Rosie (C&C23), Sirene, Sea Quake, Ranger 33 and Irish Mist (Catalina 34).

It was a short night and all boats finished the course.  It was great seeing all of the new people at the crows nest after the race along with the usual people that always come.  We all learned an important piece of information as Dan (from Kicks)  introduced himself as “Handsome Dan”.  We had fun with that one!

IMPROVING STARTING ABILITY:

One critical skill for your crew and skipper to learn is proper starting strategies. You can break this down to three important skills to master. The first is Time and distance. While sailig at any speed, how much time will it take to cover a certain distance?  You can develop this skill while sailing. Sight any object ahead and guess how long it will take to reach the object at your current speed.  The better you get at this game, the better your starts will be.

It also helps to go out with your crew and practice.  Sail by a buoy, taking the time as you pass it, sail awhile and return trying to be at the mark at a certain time. Practicing this move will help compensate for unusual sea states like we had on this night.

The third skill that must be mastered is knowing the rules well enough to know your options instantaneously when another boat does something unexpected.  Reacting to these unexpected actions quickly and correctly will have a huge impact on how well your starts come off.

There are other things to consider on starts such as which is the preferred end of the line and also port tack start versus starboard tack start.  I will discuss these considerations in a future blog.

OTHER REGATTAS:

Do not forget the upcoming regattas being put on by the club.  Saturday September 23 is the Jack and Jill regatta. This is always a fun event, the only stipulation is that each boat is sailed by one male and one female.

The very next day, Sunday the 24th is the second of the SCORE series.  There were no Jib and Main boats in the first event of this series, so we can all start off the same.   We are all having fun on our Tuesdays!  Lets see how many boats we can get out for this series!

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I will be out of town next Tuesday, but Homer will call the course for next week.  Have a great one.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice