SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 NORTH BY NORTHWEST

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

NORTH BY NORTHWEST

We showed up to the harbor and it sure looked like a north wind in the harbor.  Since Pair a Dice decided she needed the night off, I sailed on Kicks with Todd Johnson and crew.  It is always nice sailing on OPB (Other People’s Boats).

As we left the harbor at about 5:25, the North was very apparent but the northwest was still blowing outside as evidenced by the way the boats outside were sailing.  Getting a bearing on the wind direction was a real challenge with the wind changing every few seconds, but I think we set a line pretty square to the wind. We called for course G2: (Start, Gov, Blacks finish) and gave a 5 minute horn.

On Kicks we wanted to start on starboard halfway up the line, but we were a little early and stalled to make the start.  There was quite a crowd of boats at the yellow ball end of the line. After the start, the decision, once again had to be made: inside or outside?  We sailed for a while into the northwesterly breeze (which was a header), but thought it would be better inside where we could sail the northerly straight for Gov.  Several other boats had the same idea.

At Gov, it was Perfect 36 followed by Pacific Spirit, Avatar and Tusitala.  After rounding Gov everyone sailed straight for Blacks.  It seems on downwind runs, there is seldom any change in leading boats.

At the finish, it was: Perfect 36 34:07, Pacific Spirit 34:55, Tusitala 35:23, Avatar 35:58, Patricia J 37:15, Nidaros 38:35, Kicks 39:22, Rosa Nautica 43:34 Sea Quake 43:54 and Aeolian 45:11.  The distance of the course was 2.45 miles.

It was a great night sailing with a beautiful sunset and awesome wind from the North inside and Northwest outside: North by Northwest.

RACE QS:

AWESOME! We are getting more boats showing their tracks.  The tracks for tonight can be viewed at: https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011635&divisionId=61981&updatedAt=2019-09-18T02:31:48Z&dt=2019-09-17T17:34:33-07:00..2019-09-17T19:31:45-07:00&boat=Sea%20Quake&time=1568771129058&focus=Patricia%20J&rival=Kicks&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.954574&lon=-122.000280&tilt=1&range=2018&heading=360

 AWARENESS:

After the race, we cruised around the bay a little enjoying the evening sail.  We picked up the mark and started sailing for the harbor.  I was so enthralled with the evening and enjoying the sunset.  Mark Frasca who sails frequently on Kicks noticed that Sea Quake was trying to sail up the harbor with a North breeze and tried to raise them on the radio. “Something must be wrong”.  Tusitala replied that they were towing Sea Quake in (engine trouble).  Once again my thought was to speed up in front the towing operation and Mark thought it best to wait to see that all was ok.  Meanwhile, Kick’s engine was overheating and we needed to add water to the heat exchanger.  We put a notice out that we may need a tow in and Scotty C on Rosa Nautica volunteered even though he was already in his slip!  We got the water in and Kicks engine cooled down immediately so we were OK.  As we came in the harbor, Sea Quake was at the gas dock and needed  a tow to their slip which Todd accomplished using his dinghy.

My point in recounting all of this is recognizing the caliber of people we are sailing with.  I have sailed a lot with Mark Frasca and have always been amazed at how AWARE he is.  Tonight was a perfect example.  I was totally clueless on how Sea Quake was entering the harbor, but Mark noticed and was ready to take whatever action was necessary to see that all boats got in.  On top of this for Scotty C to recognize our call and offer to come out again if needed was above the call of duty!

The caliber of people that engage in sailing is one of the main reasons that draws me to the sport.  It is a true honor to be associated with all of you!

MECHANICAL ISSUES:

It seems several boats have had problems recently, Sailing Pair A Dice is no exception. Fuel was not getting to my engine which I thought was a fuel leak letting air into my lines.  As it turns out the fuel intake tube that goes from the fuel tank to the engine was totally plugged with dirt which explains why I was not getting fuel.  Just one more thing to be aware of.

NEXT TUESDAY IS THE LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH: BARBECUE AT THE CLUB AFTER THE RACE!  BRING YOUR FAVORITE GRILLING FOOD AND MEET AND GREET YOUR FELLOW TUESDAY NIGHT SAILORS.  THE BAR WILL BE OPEN!

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair a Dice (but on Kicks for this night)