OCTOBER 23, 2018: HIGH WIND ALERT

OCTOBER 23,2018

HIGH WIND ALERT

As I approached the harbor, it appeared a light Easterly breeze was blowing.  As we left the harbor, there were already about a dozen boats out for the fun.  With the wind coming from about 80 degrees, we set the buoy and called for a short course B5: start to blacks twice around.  We gave a five minute horn for a 5:50 start and set up for our start.

On Pair a Dice, we thought the buoy closer to land was the favored end and since we had pretty good speed running the line, this is how we started.  As usual in very light wind conditions we started looking around for signs of wind on the water.  We saw a huge patch of rippled water closer to land and headed for this area of apparent more wind.  We watched as all of the other boats tacked over to get outside. We observed the tacking angles and saw that we were being lifted and the boats on port tack were getting headed.  We thought we had it nailed! Then we watched as Tusitala rounded first followed by most of the fleet, while we were fighting in a breeze that was very light and shifty. Given the deteriorating wind, I called for a shortened course to finish at the finish mark (once around).  To complicate things even more on Pair a Dice we noted that there was a westerly current fighting our attempt to get around the mark.  At a point when we had no steerage, along comes Aeolian screaming in from outside on startboard tack (where was he finding  wind for all that speed?).  Aeolian graciously ducked us (thank you Mark!).  It did not even occur to me that we should have done a turn.  As slow as we were going, doing a turn would have taken a very long time (is the Crow’s Nest open for breakfast?)

At the finish, it was Tusitala 30:22, Nidaros 31:19, Kicks 32:38, Perfect 36- 32:45, Avatar 33:15, Aeolian 36:52, Sandpiper 43:17 ( all times elapsed and course length was 0.55miles.  Pair a Dice could not find enough wind to finish: DNF.

SANDPIPER SAILING INTO THE SUNSET

VIEW FROM AEOLIAN

VIEW FROM PAD: SUNSET IN THE WEST

MOON RISE IN THE EAST!

HIGH WIND ALERT:

On Pair a Dice, we were so focused on the usually reliable indicator of ripples on the water, we did not think that the wind was higher off the water and not contacting the water.  These are unusual conditions, but are magical when they happen.  My lesson learned for this night was to be more observant in light wind and realize that not all wind contacts the water. Maybe observing how fast boats are moving in apparently smoother water could be an indicator to watch for. Kudos to the boats that saw this on this night and took advantage of it.  We just never got the HIGH WIND ALERT memo!

SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE!

Another lesson I learned tonight.  In our mad scramble to grab the buoy and being “late to the party” we were motoring as fast as possible and noticed Tessa sitting in the waning light with no motor on.  We checked to make sure they were OK and they affirmed that they were fine.  At the dock, the crew of Tessa informed me that it was such a magical evening with the sunset in the west and the moon rising in the East that they were just enjoying the ambiance.  Sometimes we need to stop and smell the roses AND enjoy what we have.  What a gorgeous night!

NEXT TUESDAY IS THE LAST TUESDAY SAIL OF THE YEAR AND WILL ALSO BE A BARBECUE NIGHT AT THE CLUB. BRING YOUR FAVORITE GRILLING FOOD FOR A GREAT PARTY.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION THIS YEAR.  IT HAS BEEN A FANTASTIC YEAR!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice