OCTOBER 8, 2019
SHORT SAIL, STEADY
WINDS
I was surprised that Predict wind actually predicted an
Easterly wind for this night. When I got
to the harbor around 3:30, the wind was still northwesterly as I meandered
about getting the boat ready. By the
time we left the harbor around 5:20, the Easterly had started filling in. As we
set the line mark square to the wind, we noticed that the line was skewed
toward Blacks. We decided to do a
downwind start and called for course G2.
We blew the 5 mminute horn for a 6 pm start.
On Pair a Dice we set up for a starboard tack start running
the line. Aquavie was leeward to us, so
we slowed down before the start for a clear path to the start line. As always on the run to Gov, there are
several options: outside for more wind? Inside for more wind and current? Or rhumb
line to the mark? On PAD we took the line straight toward Gov. Tusitala and Perfect 36 went outside, while
Auquavie, Kicks and Pacific Spirit went inside closer to the beach. I was
surprised that we seemed to be making progress on the inside boats, so the
current seemed to not be working. Pair A Dice was first around Gov followed
closely by Tusitala and Aquavie as all boats rounded in quick succession.
On the beat back to blacks, PAD did their best to cover our
closest competitor (Tusitala). As we
rounded Blacks Aquavie was hot on our stern. At the finish, it was: Pair a Dice
45:56, Aquavie 46:43, Tusitala 47:38, Pacific Spirit 48:05, Perfect 36 49:30,
Sandpiper 53:49, Kicks 57:26 Aeolian 59:16. All times are elapsed and course
length was 2.45 miles.
It is amazing to
me how close all of the boats were at the mark roundings which demonstrates
that of all of us improving our game as the season progresses. With the early
sunset, it was a short sail but we had steady winds.
RACE QS:
The track for tonight can be found at: https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=62527&updatedAt=2019-10-09T02:24:26Z&dt=2019-10-08T17:45:03-07:00..2019-10-08T19:24:05-07:00&boat=Pair%20a%20dice&time=1570586356792&focus=Pair%20a%20dice&rival=Tusitala&tab=match&view=manual&lat=36.950930&lon=-121.993083&tilt=1&range=7116&heading=0
SPEED TO POINT!
My crew called the perfect tack for the layline to
Blacks. As we tacked, the crew got
nervous because our line was below Blacks making it look like we would not be
able to round. I was just employing something
I learned in a North Sail seminar: You
must have speed first before you can effectively point. I fell off a little to get the speed up, then
pointed up to round the mark. Speed
first, then point!
ANCHOR MANAGEMENT:
On our red ball we have a small dinghy folding anchor with 4
arms that unfold. Tonight as we
attempted to retrieve the anchor we found it was stuck. We immediately did all
we could to stop the momentum of the boat and get the rode onto a winch. In do
this, it is critical to keep body parts
(fingers) from being caught between the rode and parts of the boat as the
forces can be incredible! We engaged the engine and slowly backed the boat
so that the rode was straight down from the cleated rode. As waves passed under the boat, the motion
will usually break a stuck anchor free.
After a few minutes, our anchor did “break free”. As we retrieved the anchor, one of the arms
had broken off. This shows how effective this technique is, that you can
break an anchor trying to get it back.
One wonders what would have happened with a more substantial anchor?
Where is the weakest point?
EARLIER START?
Several of the retired members of our group are thinking an
earlier start (5:30) would be better with the shorter days. I know there are a lot of crew members on
several of the boats that still work or come from over the hill and would be
excluded. In deference to these crew
members, we will keep the 6pm start unless the vote is unanimous to start
earlier. We have 3 more Tuesdays before time changes and our races will cease
for the season.
INTERESTING VIDEO:
This is a you tube video I came across that I found
interesting. It is about 25 minutes long
and is about a guy single handing a boat through 45-55 knot winds sometimes
very close to exposed rocky shoals. It
should be interesting for people who have never experienced these conditions.
We will see you next Tuesday.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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