08/18/2020: RED SKY AT NIGHT, YEAH YEAH

AUGUST 18, 2020 

          

RED SKY AT NIGHT: YEAH YEAH

It was looking pretty dismal on my arrival at the harbor.  Heavy smoke clouds choked the sky and seemed to be inhibiting the wind also.  We got the boat set up and set off once crew arrived.  As we exited the harbor, it did not look much better.  We detected a light wind from 100 degrees and set a mark for the line.  I hesitated to call a course since the wind was so light, but as 6pm approached, we could see an Easterly breeze filling in.  We called course B5 and blew a 5 minute horn for the start.

On Pair A Dice, we considered a port tack start at the beach end of the line, but with 20 boats out thought this would be risky.  We decided to start at the start mark end of the line and join the pile up of the other starboard tacking boats.  After the start, it seems boats were all over the place.  Some went inside for the building Easterly, others went outside thinking there would be more wind.  At Blacks, the first around was Jersey Girl, Aquavie, Patricia J, Nidaros, Pacific Spirit, Odonata, Pair a Dice, Toad and Sweet Pea.  Before all boats had rounded Blacks, it looked like the wind was getting lighter so I shortened the course to finish at the start mark.

On the run back to Start/finish, we considered setting a whisker pole.  We opted not to since the wind was oscillating to a beam reach point of sail. At the finish, it was Aquavie 28:55, Finn (Guenther Vrolop),  Patricia J 29:14, Pacific Spirit 32:02, Nidaros 32:30, Pair A Dice 33:01, Odonata 34:00, Toad 38:37, Sweet Pea 39:16.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 0.9NM.

It was a surreal evening with the light wind, and smoke hanging heavily in the air.  It was a red sky at night, sailors delight but I don’t think this is the red sky this sailor’s rhyme refers to.

RACE QS:

With 20 boats out for the fun, we only had 8 boats running race qs tracks tonight. You can preset the start for 5:45 so you don’t forget. You must run Race QS to be counted!  The track from tonight can be found at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=66442&updatedAt=2020-08-19T02:14:31Z&dt=2020-08-18T17:45:02-07:00..2020-08-18T19:14:17-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1597801356280&focus=Pairadice&rival=Jersey%20Girl&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.953784&lon=-121.992616&tilt=25&range=1082&heading=219

If you are having problems acquiring the app or setting it up, drop me an email at sailingpairadice@gmail.com with your questions.

VAGARIES OF THE WIND:

We all know that light wind sailing is the most difficult.  Difficulties arise in interpretation of normal signs of wind.  We all know to look at the water for texture indicating wind on the water.  In light wind, not all wind contacts the water as demonstrated by feeling wind on your face and the boat sailing along in totally glassy water.  The opposite can also happen, great texture on the water, but no wind to fill the sails.  The “joys” of sailing in light wind!  In these conditions, I find it most helpful to observe what other boats are experiencing.  As we sailed out to try to clear Blacks, the texture on the water indicated great wind outside with a boat right in the middle of the textured water not moving at all.  I instructed my crew to watch the wind indicator so the moment the wind decreased, we would tack back inside.

Another phenomenon that we are experiencing this summer in light wind is varying direction of wind at different heights.  I have seen 20-30 degree differences between the mast head and what we are seeing on deck.  In this situation, I steer by the jib tell-tales not the windex at the mast head.  Most of the sail area is below, so this is the area you want to keep working.

   

KICKING ASH!

With all of the fires in the area, there is a steady stream of falling ash.  I do not know the effect of ash on fiberglass, but it is probably better to spray it off now than to scrub it off later.  Time to “Kick Ash” off the boat!

BARBECUE:

We had a barbecue after the race at the club.  About 20 people showed up.  Thanks to Mike Gross for doing all of the cooking and running a tight ship.  Everyone was socially distanced wearing masks when not eating or drinking. Each person was instructed to use hand sanitizer on approaching the serving station.  Only one person (Mike) touched the serving utensils.  We were all outside which greatly decreases the chance of infection.  We had a bucket for people to leave donations to cover the cost of the food. Though it was not the last Tuesday of the month, this “test barbecue” went off flawlessly and I felt very safe.  It was awesome getting to visit with other yacht club members again.

Next Tuesday is the last Tuesday of the month and we WILL have another barbecue  (8/25). With one or two persons providing the food, it helps to know how many people are planning on attending. Please respond to SAILINGPAIRADICE@GMAIL.COM by Monday evening if you are going to come so we can prepare. If you want to bring a salad or other side dish that can be dished out, this helps also. There is NO PRESSURE to attend.  Only come if you feel safe and have no pre-existing conditions.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice