APRIL 30, 2019
On approaching the harbor, it was
apparent that there was adequate wind for a race. As we left the harbor, we
could see that there was a good northwesterly breeze blowing at about 15
knots. We set the line and called for
course W3. This seemed like a good
course for a barbecue night. We had
about 13 boats out for the fun. We blew
a 5 minute horn and set up for our start.
Pair a Dice wanted to start up
the line (toward the yellow start mark) and accomplished this with Makani off
our starboard hip and Perfect 36 ahead of us off our port bow. As Makani crept up on us we slowed down a bit
which allowed Perfect 36 to be the first to tack over toward the mark. We all made our way toward wharf with
Tusitala first to round and Perfect 36 following right behind them, then
Makani, Patricia J, Pair a Dice and Rosie.
On the long run to Blacks there
was not a lot of change in order and at the finish it was Perfect 36 (41:36),
Tusitala (42:19), Pair a Dice (47:10), Patricia J, with Jason single-handed (48:03),
Rosie (53:40) and Aeolian (54:10). All
times are elapsed and the length of the course was 3.23 miles. I know that
Makani, Pacific Spirit and Auquavie finished way ahead of us but something
happened with their Race QS track so I do not know their times. Special not should go to Avatar which had an exceptional race coming in between Perfect 36 and Tusitala. Unfortunately, Their RaceQS track did not show on my track. We will get to the bottom of the Race QS mystery.
With only “15 knots” of true
wind, it sure was a blustery night.
RACE QS:
There were many more boats out
tonight, but many did not upload their race QS track. Unfortunately we can only count you if your
track uploads. This is a free app that allows us to track all boats in our race
if used correctly. From my experience
there are several things that can cause a Race QS malfunction: battery running out while recording the track
and not having your phone GPS enabled. Also, when I use my phone for Race QS,
it is dedicated to this app, I do not take pictures or take calls while the app
is running. On Pair a Dice, we have
started using two phones (it is a free app) to record. If one malfunctions upload the other. It is still fun to come out and race, but it
would be good to see how you are doing, so it is suggested to record on 2 phones in case
one malfunctions.
Copy and past this link into your
browser to see this weeks track. Remember you must have google earth installed
on your computer for this program to work.
BLUSTERY WIND:
One of the boats indicated the
wind was 15 knots true. It sure felt
like more to me. I was wondering about
the effect of temperature on the effect of wind on sails (this evening was
unusually cool). It made sense to me
that cooler temperatures would have more force than warmer temps. I know we had our 155 jib on this night, but
we were heeling a lot!
It has been shown that cooler air
IS denser and exerts more pressure on our sails than in warm air. One person
even thought there should be a gauge similar to “wind chill factor” used for
sailing predictions. “the wind today
will be 20knots but will feel like 22 knots”
If you want to see the whole
discussion on this topic, google WIND STRENGTH MYTH and read the whole forum on
scuttlebutt-sailing forum.:dock talk: WIND STRENGTH MYTH.
DEALING WITH INCREASED WIND:
We all know our boats and our
limits with regard to wind. On Pair A
Dice, I have a jiffy reefing system and can put the first reef in within 60
seconds. Some people will change to a
smaller jib. Some, rather than changing
to a smaller jib, will move to the outside track which opens the slot and allows
you to keep the larger jib for a little longer.
Once, I was in the Santa Barbara
channel in 40 knot winds, going down wind. We had one reef in and no jib. We determined we needed a second reef in the
main. I gingerly climbed to the cabin
top as the sail was lowered, I needed to thread a line through the second reef
cringle. In 40 knots this is nearly an impossible task , as the leech of the
sail flails wildly. I ultimately
succeeded and we got our second reef in.
When we returned, I was talking to a dock mate
about the experience and his advice was to always have a small line looped
between the first reef cringle and the second reef cringle in the leech. This small line between the cringles should
have a loop tied in it, so when the second reef needs to be used, you can put
the reefing line through the loop, pull the line through the second reef
cringle and tie off the leech part of the sail. Use the Cunningham to keep the
luff in place.
Looking forward to next Tuesday.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A DIce
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