JULY 23, 2019
NICE SAILING
This was the evening
of nice sailing and increasingly competitive sailors. Skies were clear and
warm, and there was a nice 6-10 kt breeze out of the southeast that held up for
the whole evening. The course called was Start, Blacks, Gov, Finish.
Kicks was standing in for Pair-a-Dice in setting up the race (thanks, guys!).
The start was a
clean one; I heard that one of the boats was over early, but did the proper
thing by returning back behind the line and restarting. All but two boats
went for the starboard end of the line, where there was a bit of a crowd scene.
The other two started in clean air on the port end. The short upwind leg
to Blacks didn't allow much time for the fleet to spread out, so the approach
and rounding were rather crowded and, occasionally, exciting.
After rounding
Blacks, there was a fairly dense parade down to Gov, with most boats winging
their jibs out on whisker poles. New to the race, Bodacious jibe tacked
outside, which worked because when they jibed back for the mark they were in
second place behind Tusitala. The boats that stayed close to the rhumb
line had to contend with each other, with some blocking the breeze for the
boat(s) ahead of them. Some were catching up to the boats ahead, and had to
decide whether to pass to windward or to leeward. Again, the rounding at
the mark was rather crowded, but in smaller clusters as the fleet was beginning
to spread out.
The nice breeze held
for the final upwind leg. Some boats had success tacking up closer to the
shore, while several went farther out. Most of the fleet tacked up the middle.
There didn't appear to be a clear advantage with any of these strategies,
however. The first boat to finish, at least of those who recorded their
tracks, was Tusitala, followed by Bodacious, Patricia J, Pacific Spirit and
Avatar. On corrected time, the top four finishers (not counting Bodacious which
didn't have a PHRF in the system) finished within a minute of each other. I
think everybody finished the race, as the winds were good and the course not
excessively long.
There was the usual
crowd for dinner at the Crow's Nest. I know that some boats like to have
their own post-race gatherings, but all are welcome to join us on the back
upper deck at the Nest where we get good service and it's quiet enough that the
band doesn't drown out the lively conversation. Tell the guy collecting the
cover charge at the bottom of the stairs that you're with the sailors, and you
won't have to pay the cover (it helps of you look nautical).
Remember that next
week is the last Tuesday of the month, so we will be barbequing at the SCYC
clubhouse. Bring something to grill and something to share. The
bar, as usual, will be open.
Doug.
Thank you Doug for the excellent
recap. I was in Vegas and witnessed the
race on the net through the harbor-cam looking out of the harbor entrance. It looked like an awesome evening with many
boats.
From Race QS the finish times were:
Tusitala 39:53, Bodacious 40:45, Patricia J 41:15, Pacific Spirit 42:34, Avatar
43:12, Kicks 45:50, Makani 45:55, Toad 47:13, Aeolian 47:38 and Sandpiper
51:28. All times are elapsed and course
distance was 2.43 miles.
The race QS link is below:
We will see you next Tuesday for another sail and
barbecue.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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