JULY 28, 2020: INCESSANT WIND

JULY 28, 2020

INCESSANT WIND

Predict wind showed lighter wind toward shore and possible weakening as the evening progressed.  I had my 155 jib on the boat and, with these predictions chose the easier course and kept the big sail on. As we left the harbor just before 5:30, this looked like a mistake.  The wind was blowing 18 on the inside with more wind the further out we went.  We called for course Whiskey 1 and gave a 5 minute horn.  We usually blow the horn over the radio so everyone gets the same signal, but had a radio malfunction at that very instant.  Thanks to  Chris on Odonata for stepping in and giving a 4 minute horn to keep everyone in sync.

On PAD, we had broken our cardinal rule of not venturing too far from the start area and barely made it back for the start. We started on starboard tack right at the outside end of the line.  We had a reef in the main and a 155 jib partially unfurled.  Though we trimmed well, it did not feel as efficient as a 135 jib feels in this type of wind.  There was a whole pack of boats that sailed out with us and a few boats went inside.  Outside had more wind and chop and inside had smoother water.

As it turned out, the results were mixed showing that both inside and outside courses worked. At Schuyler mark Aquavie (outside course) was first, then Odonata (inside course) was second Perfect 36 (outside) was next and Patricia J (Inside) was next followed by Pacific Spirit, Pair A Dice, Sophia, and Nidaros.

After rounding Mile, Odonata and Patricia J sailed outside for the greater wind while the rest of the boats tried to sail straight toward the next mark: Blacks.  On the approach to Blacks mark, the wind seemed to lessen a little.

At the finish it was Aquavie 48:13, Perfect 36 52:54, Patricia J 54:18, Odonata 55:10 Pair A Dice 57:31, Pacific Spirit 58:59, Nidaros 1:02:20 and Sophia 1:03:16.  All Times are elapsed and the course distance is 3.9NM.

Race QS:

Once again, we had 8 boats running this app and about 15 boats out for the fun.  You must run this (free) app in order to be counted.  The track for this night can be found at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=65788&updatedAt=2020-07-29T02:35:22Z&dt=2020-07-28T17:45:01-07:00..2020-07-28T19:30:07-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1595988124346&focus=Pairadice&rival=Pacific%20Spirit&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.952817&lon=-121.996005&tilt=40&range=658&heading=196.

CORRECT EQUIPMENT FOR THE CONDITIONS:

On Pair A Dice, we had the wrong sail up for the conditions and paid the price on the windward leg.  On the downwind leg, we unfurled the rest of the headsail and shook the reef out and made up some distance.  In retrospect, we should have had the 135 on.

“CATCH A WAVE AND YOUR SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD”

The Beach Boys had this song that professed this thought.  I believe the same philosophy applies to sailing when conditions are right.  Tonight the conditions were right on the downwind leg from Mile to Blacks.  The wind was blowing about 20 with white caps that were large enough to catch.  Ask any competent sailor about steering and they will say “a straight course is the best course”.  I beg to differ with this opinion in some situations. 

On this night I compared my boat to Pacific Spirit on Race QS.  By the time we had rounded Schuyler mark, Pacific Spirit had a huge lead on us (510meters).  As we increased our sail area by unfurling the jib and taking the reef out of the main, we had decreased their lead to 396 meters by the time we rounded Mile. On the run from Mile to Blacks, Pacific Spirit steered a perfectly straight course (check out the tight cluster of dots in the arc ahead of their boat on race QS).  I was catching wave after wave and closing the gap with each wave. By the time we rounded Blacks we had decreased Pacific Spirit’s lead to 80 meters.  Another factor besides waves are that we had more sail area. The crew of Pacific Spirit are a great crew and they sail their boat well!  Looking at the track of Pair a Dice, I am steering all over the place as I caught waves.

 

So how do you maximize the effect of waves on a sailboat?  Do you ever see a surfer catch a wave and ride it straight to the beach? NO, they turn and ride the wave across its face where they can go 4 to 5 times faster than riding straight to the beach.  As a wave comes behind the boat, you will naturally get a little surge of speed, I like to turn and surf the wave diagonally to keep in the wave as long as possible.  On this night I was checking my GPS and was getting speed up to 7.9knots.  By turning diagonally down the waves, I can keep the boat up to these speeds for 4-6 seconds per wave.  It is not just the power of the waves though.  By turning diagonally, you are sailing hotter which keeps your speed up also.  So it is the symbiotic nature of using both the power of the wave and sailing a hotter point of sail that gives the advantage.  Try it, you might like the sensation of catching and wave and being “on top of the world”.

CROW’S NEST AFTER RACE:

It has been proposed that we could meet at the Crow’s Nest after the races, like we used to.  They now have the tents on the beach where they serve dinners.  I checked and they said we could seat up to 10 people at a table (keeping social distancing).  Even though we cannot sit in a tightly knit group as before, we could still dine together after the sail.  I am not putting pressure on anyone, but I do feel this would be a safe venue, with the breeze blowing and the open air (wear a jacket), the chance of infection is low in my opinion.  I will call and make arrangements for next week and see how many show up

I will see you next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

JULY 21, 2020: VICARIOUS IN LAS VEGAS

JULY 21, 2020

VICARIOUS IN LAS VEGAS

 I got married on July 21 twenty-nine years ago in Las Vegas.  Our custom is to take a vacation back to Las Vegas every year at this time to celebrate.  With Covid, I was very apprehensive about travel of any kind, but with my wife’s insistence we flew to the city of lost wages.  I obviously was not able to participate in the race, but enjoyed it vicariously over the net via the harbor’s web cams.

It looked like about a 10 knot breeze from the normal (240 degree) direction and the course Whiskey 3 was employed once more.  It looked like a clean start (from the web-cam and raceQS track).  As usual, the fleet split up with Sagittarius, Perfect 36 and Patricia J sailing outside and the rest of the fleet sailing the inside course.  At Schuyler mark Sagittarius was first around followed by Patricia J, Perfect 36, Pair A Dice, Odonata, Nidaros, Sophie, Toad and Natori.  There were 13 boats out, but only these nine had tracks on Race QS.

All boats rounded Blacks and made their way back to the finish line.  At the finish, it was Sagittarius 48:08, Patricia J 51:49, Pair A Dice 52:32, Perfect 36 54:27, Odonata 56:18, Nidaros 58:56, Sophie 59:18 and Toad 1:05:23.  All times are elapsed and the course distance is 3.55NM.

Race QS:

We are getting more boats to use this app.  It is a free app that runs on any smart phone and is the only way to be recorded for these races.  It also provides a wealth of information on how well you are handling your boat. Race QS track for this night is at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011074&divisionId=65631&updatedAt=2020-07-22T02:38:01Z&dt=2020-07-21T16:32:18-07:00..2020-07-21T19:36:54-07:00&boat=Odonata&model=J22&time=1595384797110&focus=Odonata&rival=Para%20Cat%2030&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.953331&lon=-121.996857&tilt=1&range=1720&heading=214

COVID SAFETY:

I was very apprehensive traveling to Las Vegas during this pandemic.  I went with one caveat: If people were not wearing masks, I was going to stay in my hotel room the whole time!  I am happy to report that EVERYONE in the whole airport and planes was required to wear masks the whole time.  Walking into the hotel, getting in line to check in, they used a forehead thermometer and only allowed one person to perform the check in procedure.  Everywhere I looked, every person had a mask on. 

Getting to our room at the Bellagio, there was a packet on the table complete with 2 masks, hand sanitizer and 2 metal pocket styluses with a rubber pointer to touch any public thinks like elevator buttons.  There were employees everywhere wiping disinfectant on public surfaces.

How to safely allow people to gamble with social distancing?  At the Bellagio, for the 21 tables, they only allowed 3 people per table and had plastic partitions between players.  Craps tables were the same, with only 6 players allowed per table and plastic partitions between players. As usual, they allowed each shooter to select a Pair-A-Dice. Slot machines were only open every other machine.  On top of this, there were washing stations (sinks with running water and soap) available for use on the casino floor.  There were multiple stations with hand sanitizer, masks and latex gloves for people to use.  The only time you could lower your mask was to drink or smoke and if you did not replace your mask immediately, the dealers would insist that you put it back on.  No-one was allowed to walk around with masks not covering their mouth and nose. There were absolutely no shows that were open.

How could they employ social distancing at the tables in crowded Las Vegas?  The crowds were only about 10% of normal for this time of year.  It was a good trip and I felt safe in the environment.  The only bad thing about it was the necessity to enjoy our Tuesday night racing vicariously.

If you have never seen the fountains at Bellagio, you may enjoy this short clip taken from the 32nd floor.

I will be out this coming Tuesday and will see you then.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

JULY 14, 2020: OVERCAST WITH LIGHT SOUTH WIND

JULY 14, 2020

OVERCAST WITH LIGHT SOUTH WIND

From the Aptos perspective, I detected a southerly wind and anticipated an Easterly wind night. When I got to the harbor, there was a little wind showing on the Crow’s Nest flag.  When we exited the harbor there seemed to be a southerly wind and sure enough when we came head to wind, the direction was from 210.  This is a 30 degree southerly shift from the normal 240 degree direction.  We had a couple of new boats out with a total boat count of about 12.

We called for course Whiskey 3 and gave a 5 minute horn.  We had set a very long line and on PAD, we considered a port tack start but decided to do the normal starboard tack start.  At the start, sure enough we had several port tack starts that only needed to dodge 1 or 2 boats.  Right after the start, I noticed difficulty in getting Pair A Dice up to speed.  The wind was a little lighter than anticipated and there was heavy chop which we had to fight through.  We made a few adjustments and finally got the boat up to better speed.   We sailed out to the layline and tacked over.  Many of the boats had sailed inside which looked like a better course (little change in wind and flatter water).

At Schuyler, the first boat around was Sagittarius followed by Zoop, Perfect 36, Nidaros, Pair a Dice, Toad and Natori.  On the way to Blacks, we thought we had seen more wind outside so we sailed a hotter point of sail outside, ultimately setting our pole for a more downwind sail to Blacks.  At Blacks, the boats rounded in the same order as at Schuyler except PAD had inched ahead of Nidaros.

At the finish, Sagittarius (no Race QS track, no time), Zoop 50:03, Perfect 36 52:48, Pair A Dice 55:53, Nidaros 57:40 and TOAD 1:05:16.  All times are elapsed and course distance was 3.55 NM.

RACE QS:

As usual, we had 6 boats running Race QS tracks tonight, once again about half of the boats.  Running Race QS is the only way to be counted in these races.  Race QS is like our race committee giving us the finish time on each boat.  I do not calculate PHRF differences, but I do give finish times and course length so people can ascertain how they did against another boat.  The track for tonight’s race is at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2020-07-15T02:33:01Z&dt=2020-07-14T17:45:04-07:00..2020-07-14T19:31:20-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1594774849782&focus=Pairadice&tab=setup&view=manual&lat=36.952739&lon=-121.997397&tilt=19&range=723&heading=224&rival=The%20Perfect%20Thirty-six

As an example of the advantages of using this app, check the track for Pair a Dice vs Perfect 36.  I was at the helm of PAD on this night and what I learned by looking at this track is that I need to improve my steering.  This is shown by the dots on the cone in front of my boat wandering all over the place as the dots in front of Perfect 36 were much better showing a tight cluster of dots.  I was comparing our tracks on the windward beat to Schuyler.  You can learn a lot about improving your boat handling by using this app!

INSIDE VERSUS OUTSIDE:

On Pair A dice, we sailed way too far outside.  The wind was slightly stronger outside, but it was not worth fighting the waves.  Once we tacked over, we were quartering the waves on our bow rather than sailing into them.  The boats that went inside had smoother water and gained on the boats that went outside.  There is an axiom in racing:  Sail the longest tack first!  With the 30 degree southerly shift in the wind, the longest tack was inside.

THOUGHTS ON BOAT SPEED:

At the start, we were having problems getting the boat up to speed.  A friend told me once: “All sailing is, is doing 1000 things absolutely right.”  It is not really that complicated.  We immediately made sure we were not trailing kelp.  We noticed the wind was only 8 knots (apparent) and we had the boat set up for stronger wind.  We relaxed (loosened) the sheets and fell off a little but still had the waves on our bow.  As we were hoisting sails in the harbor, we had tightened the halyard for stronger wind which we should have loosened as the wind decreased.  And always remember: First speed, then point.  In other words, you cannot point without getting the boat up to speed first.  

Another idea is to center the weight on the boat  (weight midship) when going through waves.  This decreases the hobby-horsing motion of the boat.  When going down wind (as well as down waves) always have people move forward on the boat.  Any surfer will tell you that weight forward helps catch waves and if you can catch and stay in more waves while sailing, you will do better.

NEW COURSE CARDS

New course cards are ready and have the Sailing instructions on back.  These are laminated, as before and resistant to water.   Fill out the waiver and send it to SCYC  (244 fourth ave, Santa Cruz, Ca 95062, ATTN: BARRY)along with the registration fee ($20 for SCYC members and $35 for nonmembers) we will get a new course card to you.  These fees are for a  Covid shortened sailing seas2020 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: ________________

Boat make and model:_____________________ PHRF:________________

City/St/Zip: _________________________ Boat location(slip#)__________

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 for series: $20 for SCYC members    $35 for nonmembers

Payment options:

Cash

Check (Check Number ____________) payable: Santa Cruz Yacht Club

Payment received by _______________ Date ________________

 on.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair a Dice

JULY 7, 2020: SURPRISING GUST

JULY 7, 2020

SURPRISING GUST

During the weekend, the news was commenting about the high winds we were to experience this week.  Predict Wind gave a much more accurate prediction and the wind was barely noticeable on the Crows Nest flag.  It was time to haul out the 155 jib!  As we were leaving the harbor at about 5:15, it was amazing how much South was in the wind which was confirmed when we took a reading, it was coming from 130 degrees at about 5:30 so we set a line square to that direction.  As 5:15 approached, the wind was going more East, but still very light.  In an attempt to be sure all boats could finish in this light wind, I came up with an impromptu course of Start to Blacks, the pin end of start line and finish at start mark.

As all 18 boats were setting up for the start in the very light wind, I was impressed that everyone got a clean start off the line.  By the time we got to Blacks, the wind had increased to the point that the whole race was going to be over in 10 minutes or less.  I announced a lengthening of the course to go around Gov and finish at the start buoy taking Start to port.  At Blacks, Aquavie was first followed by Perfect 36, Sweet Pea, Avatar, Pair a dice and Nidaros. 

             

On the run from Blacks to Gov, the question is always: outside course or inside course? It seems all of the boats went outside except for Pair A Dice.  We wanted to take advantage of more wind since new easterlies usually build more inside.  This required that we sail through some kelp beds, which can be a dicey proposition.  We rolled the dice and carried on going the inside route.  With Stefan at the wheel, I went forward to guide the path through the kelp.  This was when I noticed a very westerly flowing current that had all of the kelp flowing away from us, making the path less risky.  The westerly current was helping us, almost like riding a conveyor belt.  At Gov, Pair a Dice was first around followed by Zoop, Perfect 36, Avatar and Aquavie.

Zoop, Guenther and New Wave rounding GOV

On the beat back to start/finish, we sailed further out to avoid the adverse (for this point of sail) current toward the beach.  We sailed out until we saw the apparent wind decreasing a little and tacked back inside. At the finish it was Zoop and New Wave (no Race QS tracks for either), Pair a Dice 54:48, Patricia J 55:39, Perfect 36 57:00, Avatar 58:03, Nidaros 1:03:01, Aquavie 1:05:39, Sweet Pea 1:07:46 and Sophia 1:19:12.  All times are elapsed and the course distance is 2.80NM.  The surprising gust that appeared as we rounded Blacks stayed long enough for all boats to finish!

Race QS:

Par for the course, we had 18 boats out tonight and only 8 ran the race QS track.  The only way to be counted in these races is to run this free app on your cell phone. This app is also a fantastic way to improve your sailing.

You can review tonights track at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011635&divisionId=65323&updatedAt=2020-07-08T02:22:44Z&dt=2020-07-07T17:19:17-07:00..2020-07-07T19:22:40-07:00&boat=Dice&model=J24&time=1594169744372&focus=Dice&rival=The%20Perfect%20Thirty-six&tab=setup&view=helm

THE WEST CURRENT INSIDE:

Using this west flowing current can offer a tremendous advantage.  From my experience, this current is more predominant when the Easterly wind is blowing.  I believe both the Easterly wind and current are caused by heavier Northwest winds outside.  All of the predictions for high wind were actually true, but it occurred off shore.  This creates the Santa Cruz Eddy which is the reason the Easterly wind and current happen.  You can ascertain which way the current is flowing by looking at how the kelp is streaming in the water and by looking at buoys.  Any line or kelp that gets hung up on the buoy will help detect currents and their direction.

HOW TO INCREASE BOAT SPEED:

There are many ways to help increase your boat speed. Many of these techniques were covered in our Tuesday night sailing seminars last winter. If your boat is in the water, like mine, one of my favorite ways is to keep the boat bottom clean.  I am not suggesting to have a diver clean your boat every week!  For less than $20 of material and ½ hour of time,  you can build a bottom cleaner that can reach to the bottom of the keel.  These devices do not work if you have 3 months of reef clinging to your bottom, but if you have a diver clean your boat, and use the device once a week, you will notice a vast improvement in boat speed.  Using this device, it takes about 10 minutes to clean one side of the boat.   I keep some of these devices (made of PVC pipe, floating foam and mat) on my boat which is at Q16.  Please feel free to copy the design.

See you next Tuesday,

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

JUNE 30, 2020: LAST TUESDAY OF JUNE

 JUNE 30, 2020

LAST TUESDAY OF JUNE

I had checked Predict wind for the forecast and the prediction was decreasing and even dying wind.  As frequently happens, the predictions were wrong and the wind seemed healthy in the harbor and on the flag at the Crow’s Nest.    Arriving at the start mark the wind was about 15 knots from 230.

We got ambitious and called for course W3 and blew the 5 minute horn for a 6PM start. 

On Pair a Dice, we determined there was no favored end of the line since the line was square to the wind.  Our strategy was to start right at the inside end of the line on starboard tack.  As it turns out, we were a little early and had to run the line a little to start on time.  One by one all boats tacked over to sail inside.  As PAD went further inside, we noticed the wind was dying so tacked back out, basically tacking down the middle of the course.  At Schuyler mark, it was Patricia J, Perfect 36, Pair a Dice, and Avatar.

On the run back to Blacks, we thought it best to stay outside for the greater wind, but noticed an Easterly building toward the beach.  We headed down to get through the transition zone and, as usual getting through the zone was excruciating and slow until we got into the Easterly.  Several boats headed outside again but we noticed that the Easterly was very strong toward the beach and sailed clear to the kelp line before tacking back out.  What a treat to start the race in 15-18 knot wind from the Northwest and finish the race in 15 knot wind from the East! At Blacks,  Patricia J had a healthy lead on PAD, as we all made our way to the finish line.  At the finish, Patricia J was well ahead of all of us (no Race QS track, no time), then Pair a Dice 1:02:43, Avatar 1:03:47, Perfect 36 1:04:12 and Odonata 1:10:15.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was 3.23 NM.

Race QS:

It is a shame that only four boats used this app tonight when we had over a dozen boats out for the fun! This is a free app for your phone that allows us to record your time.  If you are so inclined and want to check your performance against other boats, you can calculate by using PHRF difference and course length.  Additionally, this app can show you how efficiently you are sailing showing your angle of heel, SOG, VMG and efficiency in tacking. It is a great learning tool, so please use it to improve your sailing and to be counted!

The course for tonight can be found at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=65164&updatedAt=2020-07-01T02:34:22Z&dt=2020-06-30T17:45:01-07:00..2020-06-30T19:34:14-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1593569225938&focus=Pairadice&rival=Odonata&tab=fleet&view=follow&lat=36.954155&lon=-121.996115&tilt=5&range=453&heading=339

SAIL TOWARD THE NEW WIND:

As the Easterly was filling inside, there was talk of tacking back out for the wind outside.  Fred insisted: “Sail toward the new wind!”  I had never heard this before, but getting into the stronger Easterly toward the beach sure helped us on this night.

VALUABLE CREWMEMBERS:

As a boat owner, I really appreciate my valuable crewmembers.  Any skipper realizes that doing well requires a team that works well together. What makes a valuable crewmember?  A valuable foredeck crew handles the whisker pole or spinnaker efficiently.  Crew that can get a jib in quickly when tacking, or keeping the main properly trimmed. The tactician apprises the skipper of things that are happening on the water.  Steering a boat in a race requires a lot of concentration (for me) and having someone apprise me of what other boat are doing and whether they are a threat is critical especially during the starting sequence. 

I will see you out there next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice