JULY 2, 2019: LIGHT, HEAVY, LIGHT

JULY 2, 2019

LIGHT, HEAVY, LIGHT

I was at the harbor all day and was intermittently checking the flag on the Crow’s Nest as the day progressed.  There was not much wind showing through most of the day, but around 3 PM the northwesterly started showing, but by 4:30 it was already dissipating.  The crew showed up and we left the harbor at 5:25 and there was still a northwesterly showing outside.  We set the buoy for the line and called for course Whiskey 4: Start, Wharf, Gov finish.  We had 19 boats out for the fun!

On Pair a Dice, we have had difficulty getting a good starts recently with all of the traffic on the line.  On this night, I  was intent on getting a start in clean air so set up for a start on the inside end of the line.  We accomplished a good start with clear air with most of the fleet to leeward of us.  The wind at the start line was very light but we all anticipated getting outside where there was a very apparent northwesterly blowing.  As we got out to the 15-17 knot wind, one by one the boats tacked over with Zoop and Aquavie clearing us with no problems.  We sailed a little further into the wind before tacking over.  On port tack we sailed in until the wind started getting light again and tacked back out for more wind.

At wharf mark, it was Zoop, Sagitarious and Aquavie first around the mark.  We all anticipated the lighter wind inside and did everything we could to keep the boat moving.  Watching the boats ahead, we thought  we saw an easterly developing. There was a gradient at work, so you could not depend on reading the windex at the masthead. 

We all rounded Gov and headed back out to the better wind to get to the finish line.  At the finish, it was Aquavie 1:00:52, Pair A Dice 1:06:42, Tusitala 1:07:07, Perfect 36 1:09:52, Nidaros 1:10:30, Aeolian 1:15:13, Rosa Nautica 1:15:52, Sandpiper 1:29:19 and Kicks 1:32:02.  The length of the course was 3.07 miles.  It was an evening that started with light wind at the start, heavy wind outside then light wind again on the inside: Light, Heavy, Light.

Race QS:

I keep promoting this app, because it is the only way for me to record the race.  I realize there were many more boats out (Zoop, Sagitarious, Pacific Spirit) but there were no tracks for me to record for these boats.  Download this free app, you will be amazed at the information you will get out of it AND we will be able to record your results.

LIGHT WIND SAILING:

I already mentioned the gradient that was working in the light wind areas.  All sailors are accustomed to checking the mast-head windex for wind direction. It seems to me that maximizing the wind in the largest (lower) part of the sail is most effective in keeping the boat working.  On Pair A Dice, we have cassette tape strips taped to the shrouds at about 6 feet off the deck.   Checking these strips of cassette tape and comparing the wind direction below versus the windex allowed us to capitalize on the lower wind.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing Pair a Dice