JUNE 5, 2018: TRANSITION ZONES

JUNE 5, 2018

TRANSITION ZONES

On my lunch break, I checked predict wind which was calling for 25 to 30 knot winds clear until 7pm.  I was cursing the fact that we had the 155 jib installed.  When I finally arrived at the harbor, you could see that the wind was dissipating from the looks of the Crow’s Nest flag.  As we left the harbor there was plenty of wind left for us to play in. We set the buoy for the inside of the start line, called for course Whiskey 2 and gave a 5 minute horn.  Scotty on Rosa Nautica volunteered to be sheriff for the night. 

We decided to start half way up the line on starboard tack.  Pacific Spirit had the same idea and we both crossed the line together. We traded tacks on our way to wharf and they finally rounded wharf just ahead of us.  We also rounded Mile just behind Pacific Spirit.  On the way to Gov, we all entered a transition zone as we saw the easterly filling from the Pleasure point area. We all slowly got through the transition zone and made our way back to the start/finish mark.  On this night the easterly was definitely stronger toward shore and both Pair A Dice and Pacific Spirit rode the stronger wind clear to the swim buoys along shore.  We both tacked out toward the start mark but on PAD we noticed that we were returning to the transition zone and tacked back in for the better wind inside.  Pacific Spirt and several other boats stuck it out and seemed to catch the northwesterly toward the finish mark.

At the finish Pacific Spirit crossed at 1:23:26 and PAD crossed at 1:24:40, Kicks at 1:34:22 and Nidaros II at 1:44:25 (all times are elapsed time).  The length of the course was 3.93 nautical miles.

TRANSITION ZONE:

It is a fact of life that we often have transition zones in our waters.  This is when there is a northwesterly on the outside and and easterly building on the inside.  When this occurs, there is an area where there is little or no wind that must be crossed to finish the race. 

There are several tricks to use in these conditions.  First, use every indicator you can find to tell the direction that the new wind is blowing: flags on land, which way are anchored boats facing?  Pay close attention to birds, both floating and flying.  Birds will usually sit in the water with their heads toward the wind.  On this night we saw about 5 birds flying (soaring) directly toward the beach.  This told us the wind was from the north at THEIR altitude. The wind will frequently be different at different heights.  You must decide whether to trim sails for the lower wind or the wind aloft.  While trimming sails in these conditions, no winch handles! You need to be able to switch sides easily NEVER letting the jib backwind.  Sometimes, you can detect an area where the easterly and northwesterly are very close to each other. You can use these areas to minimize time in the transition zone.  Use whatever legal means you can to get through the transition: waves and currents may be used advantageously.

In 2009, we competed in a national regatta in San Francisco.  We were in the first race of the regatta and the winds were unusual to say the least.  It was one of those days when everyone was using anchors to keep from be swept away by the 2 knot current from the ebb tide.  In these conditions, we found ourselves in last place as we rounded the last buoy before heading for the finish line.  We looked out and saw all of our competitors in no wind and being swept by the current again.  We had plenty of wind as we rounded the last mark and immediately sailed back along shore against the lighter current near shore.  When we saw an area where the two different winds were close together (reading the wind on the water), we crossed into the different wind and used the current to carry us through the finish line.  We startled the committee boat as we crossed the line.  There was a 45 minute cutoff time for the race, meaning any boat that finished more than 45 minutes after us was not counted.  We were the only boat to finish in our class and we had many compliments payed to us by our competitors.  This was only made possible for us because we knew how to deal with transition zones which are common here, but almost never seen in the bay.

RACE QS:

Though we had over a dozen boats out for the fun, only about 6 of us used this app on this night.  I encourage everyone to use Race Qs for your own education and in order to be counted for the race.

We will see you next Tuesday.

Barry L Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice