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:
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
No comments:
Post a Comment