OCTOBER 9, 2018: LURKING IN THE SHADOW

OCTOBER 9, 2018

LURKING IN THE SHADOW

I was encouraged to see a good northwest breeze blowing when I approached the harbor.  As we left the harbor at around 5:30 there were already some boats out and several more following us out.  With such limited time before sunset, we called a rather modest course Whiskey 5: Start, Wharf, finish. And set up for the start.  We came off the line on starboard tack and with the wind blowing from 240 degrees we made our way toward wharf mark with several close crosses with other boats.  On Pair A Dice we were trying to take advantage of the shifting winds. When we sailed into headers, we would continue into the header for a bit, then tack to take advantage of the lifts.

Once again Avatar was first around wharf mark followed by Pair A Dice, Nidaros II and Pacific Spirit.  On the long run back to finish line, we were all struggling with the waning breeze which was shifting all over the place. My favorite indicator, the windex, seemed to be spinning like a slowly spinning top.  To make matters worse, we seemed to be trapped just leeward of Nidaros lurking in the shadow of their breeze.  It seemed like the windex on Nidaros was honing in on us like a magnet attracted to steel. The only thing that saved us was the variability of the wind direction and we finally broke free from their shadow.

 

At the finish, it was Pair a Dice (1:06:43), Pacific Spirit (1:06:45), Avatar (1:07:04) and Nidaros (1:10:48). This was one of the closest finishes we have had all season! All times are elapsed and the length of the course was 2.68 miles.

     

                                                 A VERY CLOSE FINISH!

SAILING IN THE SHADOW:

When caught in this situation, you must do everything you can to keep the back of the windex on the other boat from pointing at you.  Make certain you are trimming sails a well as you can in the disturbed air.  It often helps to take a course further away to lessen the effects of the shadow.

PAIR A DICE LURKING IN THE SHADOW OF NIDAROSII

EARLIER START?

There has been a lot of talk about starting earlier for the last two Tuesdays.  I am cognizant of many people that work and some that travel from over the hill, so I resist this.  I do not want to exclude those that have other obligations.  This being said, let us try next week for a 5:45 start and a little shorter course so more boats can finish!  We will see how it turns out.

I will see you next Tuesday.

Barry L Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice