SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
A SECOND WIND EVENING
I got to my boat around four o’clock and gave a cursory look
at the Crow’s Nest flag. I am getting
less interested in the “read of the flag”.
All that matters is what we have at six oclock on the start line and for
the evening! Still, there was a mild
easterly that was apparent on the flag.
As we left the harbor around 5:30, there was a good easterly blowing as far
as we could see. We set the line and
called for course B3: Start, Blacks (stbd), Mile (stbd) and finish at the
yellow start buoy.
We had 17 boats out for the fun. We gave the 5 minute horn
and everyone set up for their start.
With the prediction that the favored end of the line (at the start mark)
would be very crowded. I set up to start down the line a little hoping for
clear air. It is amazing to me how the
starts by all of the boats get better as the summer progresses. This night was exemplary with very few boats
being late to the start line.
The beat to blacks was short and sweet with over 10 knots of
wind propelling all of us. After
rounding Black point buoy, all boats set up for the long slog into the waves
toward Mile. It was very difficult to
get clear air since we were sailing a line basically straight to Mile leaving
us to the mercy of all of the windward boats.
At about 100-200 yards from mile, the wind suddenly died and the ocean
looked like a parking lot with most of the boats floating motionless. I announced over the radio that the course
would be shortened and the finish was to be the extension of the line from
Walton lighthouse through mile buoy. I
felt there was no way anyone wanted to drift slowly back to the finish line.
At the finish, it was Pacific Spirit 33:26, Nidaros 35:05,
Tusitala 36:13, Makani 37:15, Perfect 36 37:43, Aeolian 41:10, Kicks 41:42 and
Pair A Dice 42:00. All times are elapsed
and the course distance was 1.63 miles.
After each of us rounded Mile and headed back toward the
harbor, the wind came back up to over 10 knots for a great sail back to the
harbor. I cannot ever remember an
easterly wind that died and then came back later in the evening. Many of the boats stayed out after the race
to enjoy the beautiful evening. It
seemed like the ocean got its second wind for the evening.
We had a great crowd dining at the Crow’s Nest after the
race. We kept adding more and more
tables to accommodate all 26 of us!
RACE QS:
I know we had 17 boats out for the evening but only about
half of the boats tracks uploaded. Some
have asked why their tracks do not show.
I suggest the following tips on getting your tracks to appear. Before you leave the harbor, preset the start
to 17:45 (5:45) and be sure to mount you phone parallel to the center-line of
the boat, face up and top of the phone pointing toward the bow. Our phones are very sensitive and in order to
record the boats motion, you do not want it floating around in a sail bag. I usually get two people to run the app on my
boat, but only one will upload. Once the
race is over, hold the phone in your hand and press the flashing red light in
the upper right corner. A menu comes up
with several options. I click on “save
and upload” and the track goes to the “cloud”.
Somehow any boats running the app at the same time in the same location
is gathered and replays on your home computer.
The track for tonight can be found at:
There is some interest expressed in getting together at the club to review Race QS tracks and have discussions on tactics and rule. Stay tuned for further developments on this.
LESSONS LEARNED:
On this night, like usual Pair A Dice sailed a straight line
to the mark: mile. We should have done
like many of the boats and steered a course closer to the wind. The line that we took, left us constantly
dealing with b
ad wind from the windward boats.
It is true that Kicks beat Sailing Pair A Dice tonight! Kicks
finish ahead of us was well done, congratulations! Dan Medler who has been a longtime crew of
Kicks is a great guy. He loves to win, whether it be backgammon or
sailing. When he wins he loves to
perform a “victory dance”. The first
time I witnessed this dance, I thought he was having a seizure and cleared
sharp objects away from him so he wouldn’t hurt himself. Watching his dance is
like looking at a train wreck, you have to look, but wish you never saw it. Yes, we had to witness his dance on this night. If you have never witnessed his dance, count
your blessings. The dance is much worse
than the defeat!
HOW FAR WE HAVE COME:
Years ago we had a “healthy group of four or five boats” that came out every
Tuesday night for an impromptu night on the water. Todd Johnson who sails on Kicks now, had this
tee-shirt made to celebrate the “crowd” we had on the water. At that point he was sailing his Catalina 30
“Odyssey”. Thanks to all of you for
participating in our Tuesday nights. It
has really been fun to see the group grow and share in the fun we are having!
I look forward to sailing with you again next Tuesday.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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