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