JULY 24, 2018 VICARIOUS SAILING

JULY 24, 2018

VICARIOUS SAILING

Hi Barry,

Enough crew showed for us to go out. Don and Mike were on board and we picked up a hitchhiker at Aldo’s. Gunter waved us over and jumped on board. There was a big South swell and Tusitalia was parked at the harbor mouth but decided to turn back. We waited until the set passed and motored out without problem. Nidaros 2, Avatar and Kicks joined us. A 27 came out to play as well. We had a little trouble setting the mark. As Don was streaming it, he caught a huge kelp patty and had to let go. There were kelp patties all over the place torn up by the swells. We called a delay and came back to pick it up. Of course the kelp fouled our prop and we had to back down to free it. Finally got the mark set for a good East breeze. We called Bravo 2; Start, SC3, Black’s, finish. We had the Start buoy end and the other boats were spread out down the line toward the pin. Avatar and Nidaros tacked ahead of us, Mike thought we had better wind inside and we actually went a little way into the kelp before tacking out. The current kept us from picking any kelp up. When we tacked out, we tacked back as soon as we could clear the kelp field. The wind was better inside as predicted for an Easterly, but the combined South swell, left over NW wind waves and a building Easterly chop slowed us down. It was like being in a jeweler’s cleaning tank. We twisted the sails off a bit and “powered up.” When we tacked near the lay line, Avatar passed clear ahead and we almost had to duck Nidaros. After rounding, Mike took us in just a little way. Again, it was to get better breeze. We set the pole and soon passed Nidaros. Mike asked if we could see the mark. I took a look and we were dead on it! Avatar got there first and we hardened up and headed straight for the Finish. With the wind at about 120 all the usual angles were changed. The course was much easier. Avatar was ahead of us. Have to see the RaceQ track to find out if we got them on corrected. We were lucky and got in between sets without having to wait. I put the boat in bow first again as there was a lot of surge. It was a beautiful evening. Gunter said he had a lot of fun. We did, however, have to explain what a winch was and how to use it. Thanks for the opportunity to sail your boat.

Stefan

Thanks Stefan for the excellent report and for taking care of my boat.

Race QS shows Avatar finishing at 46:05, Pair a Dice 47.52, Nidaros II 49:22 and Kicks 56:33.  All times are elapsed time and the length of the course was 3.04 miles.

WAVES:

With the harbor office issuing warnings about large swells at the harbor entrance, I think it is good to discuss waves.  After years of surfing, I have had a lot of experience in dealing with waves. 

Most waves we deal with are storm generated.  The size of the swell is determined by the strength of the wind and the amount of area the storm covers.  During our summer months, a lot of our waves are generated by storms in the Southern ocean since it is winter in the south.  What is so important for us in the Santa Cruz Harbor is that our harbor faces due south so all of the swell energy is directed straight up the harbor.

The storm generated swells travel away from the storm and as they travel over a large distance, will organize their energy into sets.  If the storm is a long distance away, like New Zealand the characteristics of the sets will be well defined.  Characteristics to watch for are time between sets and which waves are the biggest in the set. A swell coming from New Zealand often will have 20-30 minutes between sets, allowing easy exit from the harbor and easy entry into the harbor. I compare it to crossing a street: you don’t step off the curb with cars speeding toward you and it is better to not transit the harbor entrance with big waves breaking. Always wait for “traffic” to clear. The trained eye can definitely see sets approaching from off shore.   Winter waves are a lot different, with sets a lot closer together with the surfers dream: corduroy to the horizon!

One other consideration is what causes a wave to break.  Obviously, it is the shallower water near shore. As waves travel toward shore, the bottom part of the wave slows down due to friction with the bottom and the upper part of the wave continues at a faster pace causing the top of the wave to cascade down the face and “break”. Waves will break in 1.3 times their wave height.  This is a convenient way to see how deep it is where waves are breaking.  Granted a 3 foot wave breaking in 4 feet of water will just crumble down the face in what surfers would call a “mushburger” without much energy. 

When you get a wave with a lot of energy, travelling over long distances in very deep water that suddenly meets a very shallow bottom, you get a very powerful wave where the crest pitches out and forms a tube.  Surfers describe these waves as breaking “Top to Bottom”.  The top of the wave pitches over clear to the bottom of the wave in a “totally tubular” way. These waves are very powerful and are the types of waves that accomplished surfers crave.

To summarize:

·    >   RESPECT THE SURF, NEVER LEAVE OR ENTER THE HARBOR WITHOUT PAYING ATTENTION. SURFERS SAY "NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON THE OCEAN".

·       > CHECK THE HARBOR WEBSITE FOR THE LATEST SOUNDING MAP OF THE HARBOR

·         >THOUGH THE WATER MAY BE DEEP ENOUGH FOR YOUR KEEL, YOU DO NOT WANT TO SLAM DOWN THE FACE OR OVER THE BACK OF A WAVE AND BOUNCE OFF THE BOTTOM

·         >IF CATCHING A WAVE IN THE HARBOR, STEER STRAIGHT DOWN THE FACE OF THE WAVE IF POSSIBLE (SET UP FOR THIS IN ADVANCE).

·         >TIME THE SETS FOR SAFE EXIT AND RETURN TO THE HARBOR.
>     >ALWAYS CONSIDER THE STATE OF THE TIDE.  A SWELL CAN BREAK WITH LITTLE POWER ON A HIGH TIDE AND TURN INTO A GRINDING FREIGHT TRAIN AT LOW TIDE.

·        >MY PERSONAL RULE: IF THERE IS A 5% CHANCE OF CRASHING IN THE HARBOR ENTRANCE (EVEN WITH TIMING THE SETS PROPERLY) WAIT FOR A BETTER DAY. THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES I HAVE CHOSEN TO NOT GO OUT.

I will see you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair a Dice