OCTOBER 15, 2019: MULTIDIRECTIONAL WIND

OCTOBER 15, 2019

MULTIDIRECTIONAL WIND

I got to the harbor at around 3:30 and there was still a northwesterly wind showing on the flags.  The crew all got to the boat in time for a 5pm shove off giving us time to set the line for a 5:45 start.  As we sailed around killing time, we noticed that the wind seemed to be building and was blowing stronger further out.  With such awesome wind (and no hint of an Easterly) we called for course Whiskey 5 and gave the 5 minute horn at 5:40. 

On Pair a Dice we wanted clear air on starboard tack somewhere in the middle of the line.  With about 2-3 minutes to the start, we were on port approaching the line with a crowd of boats already approaching the line on starboard tack.  We spotted a hole in the line of boats and tacked over for a good start with clear air.  We sailed out a little and tacked over toward the wharf.  We sailed in until the wind seemed to lighten then tacked out.  We had several crossing situations with Tusitala and Pacific Spirit with no incident. 

At Wharf mark, Aquavie was first around followed by Pacific Spirit,  Pair a Dice and Tusitala.  After the Wharf rounding, the wind seemed to be dying and was very confused.  Haven’t we been here before?  Studying the water, there seemed to be a Northerly blowing straight off the beach.  Once again on Pair A Dice, we tried to sail straight toward the mark and soon found that we were sailing hard on the wind of a fairly strong Easterly.  As it turns out, the boats that sailed closer to land capitalized on the Northerly, and opened their lead while beam reaching to the mark.

At the finish, Pacific Spirit 47:22, Aquavie 49:07, Tusitala 49:40, Pair A Dice 50:23, Perfect 36 1:00:17, Dusk to Dawn 1:01:06, Nidaros 1:02:35, Sandpiper 1:03:10 and Kicks 1:04:33.  The distance of the course was 2.68 miles.

We had a great race and everyone finished in the final stages of the sunset.  With the wind starting from the Northwest and filling in from the North and East, it certainly was a multidirectional wind evening.

Race QS:

Just another reminder: you must run race QS to be counted. This is a great tool that can reveal how you can improve your sailing.  My attitude is that PHRF is a four letter word and I do not handicap boats.  We have a diverse group of boats and by noting the elapsed time for each boat and the distance of the race, it’s pretty easy to do the math and see how you did against other boats.

The track for tonight can be found at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=62645&updatedAt=2019-10-16T02:06:20Z&dt=2019-10-15T17:30:29-07:00..2019-10-15T19:06:07-07:00&boat=Pair%20a%20dice&time=1571189542788&focus=Pair%20a%20dice&rival=Tusitala&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.949629&lon=-121.995979&tilt=17&range=1695&heading=320

EARLY START:

It was great to see everyone out on time for the early (5:45) start.  We will continue to start at 5:45 till the end of the season.

JUST ANOTHER NIGHT ON PAIR A DICE
WHATS NOT TO LIKE ABOUT TUESDAY NIGHTS?
(PHOTO FROM 10/8)

POST SEASON SEMINARS:

A lot of interest has been expressed in having seminars on Tuesday nights after the time change and sailing stops.  The first of these will occur downstairs at the yacht club on November 5 at 6:00 and the topic for this night will be how to use Race QS.  We will continue these meetings until interest wains.  We have many talented sailors in our group and there are many topics that can be covered.  Rules, Tactics, cruising destinations and other topics will be covered.  If you have something you would like to share in these meeting, let me know.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice