AUGUST 27, 2019: PEA SOUP FOG-UST EVENING

AUGUST 27, 2019

PEA SOUP FOG-UST EVENING

The predictions for wind were dismal for this evening but when I got to the harbor, the flag was showing a healthy northwesterly breeze even though it was very foggy.  We left the harbor around 5:20 and searched out and found the start mark (thank God for GPS).  With the wind coming from 230, we set a line.  Being a barbecue night I wanted a short course and chose B5: Start, Wharf, finish.  We blew a five minute horn and set up for our start.

We were late getting to the start line, having sailed out further than we should have and had to start on port ducking a couple of boats.  Sailing inside was giving us flatter water but when we saw the wind dropping, we tacked out to stay in the wind.  It was a surreal foggy evening with boats appearing out of the fog and fading into the fog.  There were also many crossing situations which occurred without incident.  Tusitala, Avatar, Perfect 36 and Makani were first around wharf and we all set our poles for the downwind run to the finish line. Once again the decision had to be made: outside for better wind, or inside for a straight line to the mark.  Pair A Dice steered the Rhumb line straight to the mark.

At the finish it was Tusitala 39:40, Avatar 39:56, Perfect 36 ??, Pair a Dice 40:59, Makani 41:01, Pacific Spirit 42:37, Nidaros 45:30, Kicks 46:40, Aeolian 48:51 and Sandpiper 51:56. The length of the course was 2.68 miles.

The Race QS track for tonight can be found at: https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011635&divisionId=61441&updatedAt=2019-08-28T02:04:54Z&dt=2019-08-27T17:30:02-07:00..2019-08-27T19:04:49-07:00&boat=Dice&model=J24&time=1566957145441&focus=Dice&rival=Makani&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.951802&lon=-121.994395&tilt=1&range=659&heading=230  

   

Though it was pea soup fog and a fitting last sail for the month of FOGust it was a very fun evening. It was great to see everyone at the barbecue.

CROSSING SITUATIONS:

It was a beautiful thing to witness all of the crossings without incident.  It adds a different dimension when boats appear out of the fog and you have less time to ascertain whether you will cross or need to duck. There are varying degrees of “ducking”.  Sometimes the port tack boat needs to perform a deep duck which is very apparent and satisfying ;) to the starboard tack boat.  Sometimes the starboard tack boat will just clear ahead of the port tack boat even if the port tack boat steers a straight course.  Keep in mind that, when ducking another boat you want to pass as close as possible to the stern (WITHOUT HITTING) of the boat to take advantage of the lift experienced from the Starboard boats wind.   In these close situations where very little altering of course is necessary, the starboard tacking boat will be screaming “Starboard, STARBOARD!”.  In situations like this, if on port tack, I use hand signals waving them on so they know I am aware of them.

RACE QS:

I keep pushing this app because it is how we record the finishes but we can all learn from these tracks and become better sailors.  On Pair A Dice, we have two phones recording the track in case of a malfunction.  If there are no problems, the track on the second phone can be discarded.  It is best NOT to upload two tracks because you will have both tracks on top of each other.

It has been suggested that we have one Tuesday of the month to meet after the race at the yacht club for discussion on tactics, rules and how to use Race QS to help improve our sailing.  Since we have the barbecue on the last Tuesday of every month, we could have these discussion sessions on the first Tuesday of every month.  While the barbecue night is a big social event with excellent food being shared by everyone, the emphasis on the first Tuesday would be discussions about sailing, racing (tactics and rules) and the use of Race QS.  These events would be held downstairs at the club where we have chalk boards and a TV to play the race QS tracks for discussions.  Please indicate whether you would be interested in having these meetings.  

We will see you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

AUGUST 20, 2019; EVENING OF ENDLESS TRANSITIONS

AUGUST 20, 2019

EVENING OF ENDLESS TRANSITIONS

When I got to the harbor around 4pm, the flag was very limp on the Crows Nest, but I could feel a little breeze on my face so I felt encouraged.  We have been here before: light wind at 4pm and the wind builds for our races around 6PM.  We left the harbor around 5:25 and witnessed a fair South-Easterly blowing, but not strong enough to set the buoy for a start line.  Sure enough by 6pm the Easterly had died with many boats engaged in a float-fest WAITING for a call on the course. Wait for an Easterly or go outside?  The decision was made when I noticed a multi-hull sailing with speed around Mile buoy. Kicks also volunteered that there was 8-10 knots of breeze around mile.  I called for a course starting at mile: Mile (start line an extention of Walton lighthouse and mile buoy) to wharf (port rounding) finish at mile (taking Mile to port).  It did not seem like an ambitious course, but it would do.  As most of the boats got to the mile buoy area, we blew a 5 minute horn and set up for our start.

It was WONDERFUL to be sailing in great wind for the start.  Some boats started further out where there was better wind.  Pair A Dice started pretty much at mile buoy and was making good progress toward wharf.  As we sailed closer to wharf mark, there seemed to be lighter wind inside.  Many boats saw the lighter wind inside and tacked back out to the better wind.  We sailed on in and did experience more wind as we approached the mark, but suddenly there was no wind and we saw an easterly filling all the way out to the point!  We decide to capitalize on the Easterly and sailed down-wind toward the mark.  By the time we rounded the mark we were WAY BEHIND many of the boats that had sailed outside for the better northwesterly breeze.

 

As we sailed back toward mile, there was a “parking lot” on the way to mile consisting of all of the boats that tried to capitalize on the Northwesterly alone.  They were caught in the transition zone!  As we sailed into the pack of boats, trying to use the Easterly breeze, we suddenly caught a wisp of northwesterly breeze and were able to pass many of the parked boats.

At the finish it was Tusitala 37:07, Pacific Spirit 38:59, Avatar 42:46, Nidaros 45:10, PAD 45:21, Aeolian 47:22 and Sandpiper 1:31:52.  The course length was 1.5 miles.

Though it was not a long course, with the “evening of endless transitions” it was definitely long enough!

We had a great time socializing at the Crows nest after the race.

Race QS:

More and more boats are uploading their tracks.  This is a good sign and necessary to be counted. The track for this night can be seen at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=61242&updatedAt=2019-08-21T02:55:36Z&dt=2019-08-20T17:44:37-07:00..2019-08-20T19:55:24-07:00&boat=Pair%20a%20dice&time=1566355732902&focus=Pair%20a%20dice&rival=Tusitala&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.941563&lon=-122.009832&tilt=1&range=1517&heading=295

CONSIDERATIONS ON TOWING:

On this night Pair a Dice could not get the engine to run and needed a tow.  Scottie C on Rosa Nautica was kind enough to assist.  There are several factors that need to be considered when being towed. First is the attachment point on both boats. You want to make certain your attachment points are sturdy enough to handle the load.  Boats are built to withstand excessive loads, but consider if you have a single cleat on your boat and you tie to that cleat.  With the influence of waves and other factors, if you have two 15,000 pound boats surging and catching up, these loads can be astronomical.  The “weakest link in the chain” comes into play.  For our tow on this night we constructed a bridle from two winches on the cabin top with a loop at the bow.

 The second consideration is what line to use for the tow?  Would you rather have a steel cable towing you or a bungee cord?  The steel cable would not be forgiving at all and could rip cleats out of your deck.  A rubber band would be too springy, but a NYLON line would be the perfect compromise.  Most lines these days are promoted for not stretching. Sometimes stretch is good!  This is one of those times, use nylon for the tow line for its stretchiness and flexibility.  It may save your boat!

The towing boat should travel at a steady speed that is not too fast to avoid excessive loads.  Thank you to Scotty and the crew of Rosa Nautica for their expert assistance.

NEXT WEEK IS THE LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH!  BARBECUE NIGHT AT THE CLUB.  BRING YOUR FAVORITE BARBECUE FOOD TO THE CLUB AND MEET AND GREET THE PEOPLE YOU SAIL WITH! BAR IS OPEN! CLUB MEMBERSHIP IS NOT REQUIRED!

I am looking forward to next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

AUGUST 13, 2019: LOOP DE LOOP

AUGUST 13, 2019

LOOP DE LOOP

By the time I got to the harbor around 4 pm, there was an easterly already showing on the Crow’s Nest flag. The Easterly seemed to build as we approached 5pm.  We were going to have fun tonight!  We left the harbor around 5:20 and headed out into the ocean where the Easterly was even stronger.  I felt rather ambitious and called for course B1 like last week.  There were several boats a little late for the 6pm start time so we postponed to 6:05 to give them time.  In the 5 minute delay, the wind seemed to be dying a little so I announced our most favorite course for Easterly breeze: B4.  We gave a 5 minute horn and set up for our start.

Everyone was setting up to start right at the Yellow Buoy, trying to get as close to Blacks on their first beat.  Pair a Dice was about 3 rows back from the first boats over the line.  We all tacked our way to Blacks with Avatar opening a healthy lead over all other boats and rounded Blacks first.  I was not sailing my best and ended up “kissing the mark” as we rounded Blacks.  We sailed clear of everyone and took our 360 Loop de Loop then set off for the long run to Gov. 

Once again, there were some boats trying to sail closer to shore to take advantage of any current that would help them.  I thought I saw more wind just outside the kelp line and stayed more on a rhumb line for Gov.  This seemed to help as we seemed to gain on some of the boats sailing closer to the beach in lighter wind. Of course our 155 Jib also helped with this.  Avatar was first around Gov followed by Pacific Spirit, Pair a Dice and Perfect 36.

On our way back to the finish line, everyone seemed to be tacking quite a bit to stay in the wind. If you went too far out, the wind seemed to die a little.  At the finish it was Avatar 38:15, Pacific Spirit 44:21, Pair A Dice 45:12, Perfect 36 45:41, Nidaros 47:10, Aeolian 40:05, and Kicks 53:29.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 2.43 miles.

We had a great group of people dining at the Crow’s Nest with many great conversations.

EAST vs WEST:

One conversation was about Easterly wind and Westerly currents.  When discussing wind direction, you refer to the direction the wind is coming from.  We enjoyed an Easterly wind coming from the East on this night.  When describing currents, you describe the direction the current is flowing.  On this night we also enjoyed a Westerly current (flowing from East to West).  I had never thought about this, but this is one of our topics discussed tonight.

Race QS:

More people seem to be using this app.  It is a great learning tool.  To see tonight’s track, click on:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=61089&updatedAt=2019-08-14T02:30:16Z&dt=2019-08-13T17:45:02-07:00..2019-08-13T19:30:04-07:00&boat=Pair%20a%20dice&time=1565743521787&focus=Pair%20a%20dice&rival=TOAD&tab=fleet&view=auto

TO THE FOR-DECK CREW:

It has been said, to be a great for-deck crew, you need to have the agility of a ballerina and the strength of a linebacker.  I left the safety of the cockpit to help the for-deck crew set the whisker pole and was told I was in the way. I really appreciate a good for-deck crew.  I love watching a competent for-deck crew at work.

PASSING COMPETING BOATS:

When you have a competing boat right in front of you, and you are sailing faster, How do you pass them?  Do you pinch up and try to pass them to windward or fall off to pass them to leeward? Until recently, I have always thought it was best to pinch up to windward.  I am now a convert to falling off quickly and passing to leeward.  If done correctly, you are in the dreaded bad wind shadow for a few seconds before you are in clear air.  After passing the boat you can pinch up to tack ahead of them. To pull this off you must be sailing faster than the boat being passed.  Faster boats are usually: lighter, have better sails, cleaner bottom or several other reason.

KISSING A MARK:

It does not take much; bad judgement, an unusual wave at the wrong time, currents working against you.  It happens to all of us, the boat (or any part of the boat or crew) touches the mark and you must do a 360 penalty turn.  A 360 can be very painful in light breeze. Generally, it is best to start a 360 doing a tack, back-winding the Jib to help pull the bow around, then complete the 360 by Jibing.

I usually will have a visual on the mark and will sit on the rail to see the mark.  This night, I thought we had it made and did not follow this strategy and did not see the mark until it was too late.  Though I am not homophobic, in my opinion kissing a mark is never a good thing!

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

AUGUST 6, 2019: BRAVO ONE

AUGUST 6, 2019

BRAVO ONE! 

    

As I left my house in Aptos around 3 o’clock, I noticed a fairly strong Southerly wind which should equate to an Easterly on the ocean.  I was a little surprised to see a northwesterly when I got to the harbor around 4pm.  Within a half hour the northwesterly was dead and I could see the wind change to north and then easterly.  By the time we left the harbor around 5:20, the Easterly was very apparent on the water.  We were going to have a great sail!

We set the red mark to establish the start line and called for course Bravo 1.  Bravo one is the longest course for Easterly breeze, but it appeared that the wind would would not fade.  We blew the five minute horn and set up for our start.  There were 16 boats out for the fun.

Since the first mark (Blacks) was to be rounded to starboard, we planned to start halfway down the line trying to have clear wind.  As it turned out we were a little late to the line and ended up starting right at the start mark in about third row behind many boats.  We trimmed our sails and were able to sail a little higher than the other boats to get clear wind.

There were quite a few boats rounding Blacks simultaneously, without incident! It is great sailing with a bunch of boats, everyone observing the rules.  Then it was off toward Mile buoy with the waves right on our bow.  On Pair a Dice, we ran off wind further from the pack for three reasons: to get clear air, deploy our whisker pole to our advantage AND to take the waves at an angle so they would not slam into our hull and stop us.  We gained on several boats using this strategy.

After another very crowded rounding at Mile, we all surfed our way toward GOV.  Some of the boats seemed to catch better wind and extended their lead. After GOV, once again the decision was whether to stay inside or go outside for the beat back to the finish line? At the finish, it was Tusitala 47:59, Pacific Spirit 49:22, Patricia J 49:39, Perfect 36 51:34, Makani 52:21, Pair A Dice 52:42, Nidaros 53:36, Aeolian 55:41 and Kicks 56:41.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 4.03 miles.  There were several boats that were way out in front (Yellow Belly, Auquavie and others) but without Race QS tracks, I could not ascertain their finish time.

It was a great night for sailing, with the wind holding up for the whole evening.  A great night for Bravo 1!  We had a great turnout at Crow’s Nest with awesome discussions about sailing!

Race QS:

This is a free app that you can download on your smart phone and is the only way we can recognize your excellent sailing and your position in the race.

There is a lot of information you can get from this app. Here is an example of the information on a tack that was done tonight that I would consider to be the perfect tack.  Note these aspects of this tack;  

Time lost: 0 recovery times:0 Duration 14 seconds, Min SOG and VMG 2.6 and 2.2 oversteering 0 and tacking angle 93 degrees.  I have not seen a tack better than this, pure textbook! Congrats to Stuart and team on Makani for an excellent tack!

The track for tonight is available at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=60868&updatedAt=2019-08-07T05:51:40Z&dt=2019-08-06T17:45:00-07:00..2019-08-06T22:43:49-07:00&boat=Pair%20a%20dice&time=1565143001523&focus=Pair%20a%20dice&rival=Makani&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.953970&lon=-121.993126&tilt=1&range=693&heading=74

DEALING WITH WAVES:

Waves can be very frustrating to deal with.  If they are straight on your bow, each wave will slow your boat down if sailing upwind.  I have found it best to crack off a bit so the boat can glide up over the waves at an angle which allows the boat to keep it’s speed up.  Going down wind and down waves can be very exhilarating if you know how to surf the waves.

GOING TO WEATHER:

Studying the Race QS track for tonight, I really learned something about the importance of attaining clear air.  After rounding Gov, Pair a Dice tried to sail a course as close as possible to the wind, even though we were getting bad air from a boat that was to windward of us. Makani, which rounded Gov right behind us, immediately sailed out until they had clear air and extended out for a huge lead on us.  Lesson learned: do whatever you have to do to get clean air!

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS (BBBS):

This is always a fun regatta and this year the event will be this Sunday 8/11.  It is a reverse PHRF start or a pursuit race.  This means the slowest boats (with largest PHRF rating) start first.  It is a fun regatta and and a good cause.  Make it if you can!

See you next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

JULY 30, 2019: CLEAN SAILING, CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH

JULY 30, 2019

CLEAN SAILING, CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH

When I first got to the harbor, my heart sank.  The Crow’s Nest flag was so limp, I had to check twice to see if there was even a flag hanging.  After two weeks away, I NEEDED a good sail.  The prospects did not look good.  As we left the harbor there was an easterly filling in with enough wind to have some fun.  We set the mark and called for course B4.  I knew with the fluky wind, there was a possibility I would have to shorten course.

On Pair A Dice, we thought we would set up to start down the line a bit for clear air. As we timed our start, the wind died and we were late to cross the line.  Aquavie, Kicks and Perfect 36 had excellent starts!  The beat to Blacks was short and sweet with Sagitarius, Aquavie, Perfect 36 and Nidaros first to round. 

The run down to GOV got very interesting as all of the boats ran into a hole right after rounding Blacks. For about 5 long minutes we all sat with no movement at all.  Finally the wind started filling in and everyone had to make a decision: Take an outside or an inside course?  It sure looked like more wind outside and several boats started out, but it seemed like a big area with no wind was blocking access to it.

With the barbecue waiting and the light wind, I called for a shortened course to finish at the line between GOV and the end of the wharf.  At the finish line it was Nidaros 37:44, Kicks 40:09, Avatar 42:10, Pair A Dice 43:03, Pacific Spirit 46:10, Aquavie 46:35, Makani 47:33.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 1.46 miles.

After turning the corner at GOV, the wind filled in and we had a wonderful sail back to the harbor.  It was great to be back to clean sailing with a clean bill of health! 

We had a great barbecue at the club with many people attending.  How can you go wrong with great food and great company?

RACE QS

There were several boats out tonight that did not have Race QS running.  Running Race QS is the only way we can recognize you on the course.  It is a great (FREE) app that runs on your smart phone that can yield valuable information about your sailing and boat handling.  Drop me an email if you are having problems using this app. I have even resorted to having two people run tracks on Pair A Dice in case one track does not upload properly.  You MUST use this app to be counted on Tuesday nights!

 The track for tonights sail is at:

 https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=60739&updatedAt=2019-07-31T18:00:26Z&dt=2019-07-30T18:00:02-07:00..2019-07-30T19:33:38-07:00&boat=Pair%20a%20dice&time=1564534876878&focus=Pair%20a%20dice&rival=Pacific%20Spirit&tab=fleet&view=follow&lat=36.951258&lon=-121.993217&tilt=75&range=11968&heading=5

INSIDE OR OUTSIDE?

This is a critical decision in any race with an Easterly wind blowing and a course running parallel to the beach.  You are always looking for where the wind is the strongest and frequently the Easterly will be stronger toward the beach.  I know, as I was steering I was looking for patches of more wind on the water and steering toward these small patches of wind while avoiding the glassy areas on the water.

 It is also critical to observe which way the current is going.  You can tell this by the way the kelp is streaming.  If it is all streaming the same way, this indicates a strong current.  I would estimate on this night that there was a 1 knot current closer to shore sweeping toward the wharf. With all of the kelp streaming one way, it is usually easier to pick a path through a kelp bed without picking up kelp hitch-hikers.

We will see you out there next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice