Thursday, March 12, 2020

MARCH 10, 2020: AWESOME FIRST SAIL


MARCH 10, 2020

AWESOME FIRST SAIL!

The predictions for the evening were diverse, but the consensus was that the wind was going to be light.  Through the day there were widespread sprinkles of rain in the area.  I was not surprised when I got to the harbor and saw no wind at all showing on the Crow’s Nest flag.  Oh well, got to get out there to see what we have.  As we left the harbor at 5:35 conditions were perfectly glassy with no wind except a small texture appearing on the water out toward the point at Steamer Lane.  Since GOV is one of the few marks available for us to use at this time of year and the wind was appearing in that area, I guided everyone over to GOV for the start.   It was amazing as we set the mark for the start line, the wind seemed to go from 0 to 15 in less than 5 minutes.
 
We set the line and called for the course: Start line at GOV, Schuyler/Wharf, Mile and finish at the start finish line (at Gov).  With the limited light, I wanted to start at 5:45 and we had 8 boats out ready to go.  We gave a 5 minute horn at 5:45 for a 5:50 start.  Everyone got off on a good start, except PAD as we pasted the buoy we had set for the start line and had to do a 360 to exonerate. 
After a long winter of light breeze, we all seemed to acclimate to the incredible wind as we all made our way to Schuyler/Wharf.  We get spoiled with the big yellow marks that SCYC puts out which are very visible in nearly all conditions.  Currently the mark at Schuyer/Wharf is a small red buoy that seems to be barely above water.  Though we all had the mark on our GPS, it was still a struggle actually locating it.  There is something about the waves and the unusual lighting that made it nearly impossible to find. We finally saw it as we rounded it to go to Mile Buoy with Pacific Spirit leading the way, followed by Patricia J (sailed SOLO by our fearless commodore Jason Lauer) and Pair a Dice.

As we sailed to the finish line the wind seemed to be getting weaker. At the finish, Pacific Spirit was first (31:57), Patricia J (32:37), Pair a Dice (34:02), Avatar (34:48), Kicks (39:32), Dusk to Dawn (41:02),Nidaros (41:23) all times are elapsed and the distance of the course was 2.61 miles,  Sea Quake was out but did not run a Race QS track.

The Race QS track can be seen at:

NEW FORMAT STATUS:

I attended the regatta committee and I have good news.  The regatta committee gave an enthusiastic thumbs up for our event.  They agreed it was not necessary to use regatta network to register for this event.  The consensus of the committee was that a reasonable fee for participants would be for SYCY members to pay $35 for the year to register their boat. For non-members of SCYC, their registration will be $50 for the season for their boat.  Even as a non-member, this works out to less than $1 per race.  If someone, (like a visitor to the area) wants to register for a single race, the fee would be $1.  Please print and sign the registration form at the end of this blog and give it to me with your check (made out to SYCY) or cash for registration whenever we see each other.  New course cards with SI’s will be coming soon. 

STAY TUNED ON VHS 69:

We should all turn our radios on and monitor channel 69 when we get to our boats and as we set up our boats.  This way we can communicate an early start if we can.  We could also communicate with each other if crew is needed.

A FAST 360:

Fred taught us tonight the fastest way to conduct a 360.  I was amazed how well it worked.  With 15 knots of wind we started the tack and did not release the jib sheet.  The jib was violently back-winded forcing the bow of the boat around. As we finished the 360, the jib sheet was already tight and we were still in the race.

STAYING FIT!

There was talk of conducting a MOB drill tonight, but as the race finished the wind died and we did not  do our exercise on PAD.  When I got to the dock, Peter on Sea Quake was wet all the way to his knees.  As they got into the greater wind at the start of our race, they had only 2 people on board.  The boat lurched, Peter slipped and actually dipped into the water nearly to his waist.  Peter is no slouch and is proud of the exercises he does on a regular basis, one of which is doing 9 (NINE) pull-ups!  He said if he was not doing these pullups, he would not have had the strength to pull himself back aboard.  Congratulations on keeping up with your exercises Peter.


2020 Tuesday Night Developmental Race Series

Each Tuesday Night of 2020 during Daylight Savings Time

Santa Cruz Yacht Club, Santa Cruz, CA

Notice of Race

Invitation: The Santa Cruz Yacht Club invites interested boats and their crews to participate in
a developmental racing skills series.

Rules
The Regatta will be governed by the rules as defined in the Racing Rules of Sailing.

The Sailing Instructions will change RRS 40 so that flotation devices are worn regardless
of the display of Flag Y. Full text of this and other changes to the racing rules will appear in the SI’s.

Eligibility and Entry:
The regatta is open to boats berthed in, and visiting, Santa Cruz Harbor.

Eligible boats may enter by completing the attached entry form and returning it with the entry fee to SCYC before participating in the race series. The yearly fee is $35 for SCYC members, $50 for nonmembers and $1 for a single race.

Schedule:
Each Tuesday Night of 2020 during Daylight Savings Time Racing will be held
1755 hrs First warning signal Race 1
Following the racing on the last Tuesday of each month a post race debriefing and potluck barbecue will be held at the SCYC Clubhouse

Scoring: The racing will be boat-for-boat.   Boats may be scored via uploading of their recorded .gpx tracks to RaceQs ( https://raceqs.com/ ).  However, being a developmental regatta, the races may also not be scored. 

2020 Series Entry and Waiver Form

Each Tuesday Night during Daylight Savings Time

Santa Cruz Yacht Club, Santa Cruz, CA

Entry Form

Name: _____________________________ Sail Number: _______________
Address: ___________________________ Boat Name: ________________
City/St/Zip: _________________________ ________________
E-mail: ______________________      Cell Number:_____________________
(E-mail and Cell number will be available to other participants)

Waiver and Release of Liability
In consideration of my entry in the Regatta on behalf of myself, my heirs, successors and
assigns, I hereby waive any and all claims, actions, suits and demands against Santa Cruz
Yacht Club, the respective officers, directors, employees, and agents (all the forgoing
hereby referred to as “the Hosts”) for any personal injury (including death) or property
damage resulting from the negligence or other acts of omission by the Hosts or any of
them as a result of my participation in the Event and do hereby release and discharge the
Hosts there from. I acknowledge that participation in the sport of sailboat racing involves
substantial risk of personal injury or even death and I hereby assume the risk of any such
injury that may occur while participating in the Event.
I agree to be bound by The Racing Rules of Sailing and any other rules that govern this
event.

Owner/Skipper __________________________ Date ________________
Entry Fee - $35 for SCYC members and $50 for non-members for the series and $1 for a single race.

Payment options:
Cash
Charge to SCYC account (Member # ___________)
Check (Check Number ____________) payable: Santa Cruz Yacht Club
Payment received by _______________ Date ________________


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