SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 : SMOG IN SANTA CRUZ

 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

SMOG IN SANTA CRUZ!

Wow, what a change in conditions we experienced during this evening!  I got to the harbor at about 3pm and there was no wind at all.  Checking the ocean conditions showed some texture on the water.  As we left the harbor at about 5:20 the flags were showing a light Easterly breeze.  I commented on the fact that I was feeling good wind on my face, but the water was completely glassy.  The wind was not contacting the water.  It could be an interesting evening.

As we approached the start area, we had very limited visibility with heavy fog making it difficult to find the start mark.  Isn’t this why they invented the GPS? While the fog was damp and chilly, the color of the sun indicated we were still dealing with a lot of smoke from the fires. The wind direction was from 50 degrees and we set the mark for the start line.  We called for course B4 and blew the 5 minute horn. Miraculously the fog lifted right at the start of the race, giving clear visibility over the whole course.

We had about 18 boats out for the fun and the boats in front at the start line had to run the line to not be OCS.  We all made our way to Blacks. The first around Blacks was Patricia J, then Jersey Girl, Perfect 36, Nidaros with Pair a Dice, Pacific Spirit, Avatar and Toad.

After rounding Blacks, the whole game got very interesting with the usual “inside or outside” decision to be made.  On Pair A Dice, we sailed toward the beach for a while knowing that developing Easterly winds build more at the beach. We noted how the wind was getting lighter and shortened the course to finish at GOV (taking GOV to SB).  The finish line was between the end of the wharf and GOV.   In these light wind conditions, as I noticed at the harbor entrance, the wind does not always contact the water.  In order to gauge where the best wind was, we studied which boats were going faster or slower than us.  Ultimately, we sailed the middle of the course straight to Gov.  We noted that the kelp did not indicate much current to take advantage of.

At the finish Mercury 565 was first 44:31, Patricia J 44:34, Pair A Dice 45:08, Perfect 36 46:22, Avatar 46:31, Jersey Girl 47:09, Nidaros 48:43, Pacific Spirit 49:07,  Auquavit 51:12 and Toad 52:15.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 1.61NM. There were other boats finishing in the lead, but did not use Race QS.

Right after the finish, someone turned the fog switch on again and we had to sail back in the fog.  Unbelievable! Smog in Santa Cruz.

RACE QS:

On this night we had 18 boats sailing and only 10 uploaded tracks on Race QS.  It is discouraging to have such fantastic boats and sailors and not recognizing their abilities.  Race QS is necessary for us to get your finish time.  Without your finish time, it is impossible to determine how well boats are performing against each other.  With the diverse collection of boats we have we need your Race QS track to see how we are doing.  The track for tonight can be found at: 

 https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=67203&updatedAt=2020-09-09T02:39:03Z&dt=2020-09-08T17:45:08-07:00..2020-09-08T19:38:52-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1599617491699&focus=Pairadice&rival=TOAD&tab=setup&view=follow&lat=36.950435&lon=-121.994813&tilt=1&range=1561&heading=75

PROTEST!?

I am an easy-going guy and I abhor protesting.  My personal rule has always been NOT to protest if the fouling boat is not in my division. I love learning about all aspects of sailing and tell people “I would rather lose a race and learn something rather than win all the time and not learn”.  I am proud to sail with the group on Tuesday Nights where everyone is following the rules.  Taking part in the BBBS regatta I learned a lot about protesting and want to share this with the group.

We had a starboard-port crossing situation right at the finish line and I did not protest thinking they were in a different division. First lesson learned: Keep a list of all boats in your division.  As always, the boat will remain anonymous, this is a learning experience and I do not want to denigrate anyone. I have learned the following points through my analysis:

1)    1) If any boat commits a foul, immediately shout PROTEST and wave your red flag.  If you are wrong, you can sort it out in the protest room, but you cannot go back in time to announce protest!

2)    2) A hail of “STARBOARD!” is good but NOT necessary to file a protest.  We should all follow the rules but hailing at least announces your intentions and certifies that they are aware of your presence. Usually you see crossing situations as boats approach from a distance.  We tacked very close (100 yards or so) to the committee boat and did not have much time to sort things out.

3)    3) Considering this situation at the finish line, if I had protested, the port tack boat could have exonerated by doing a turn and coming back and finishing again. This would have drastically affected their standings.  Imagine putting your crew through a long, intense race and having to exonerate and finish again.

4)   4)  I admit that in this situation, we were distracted having a malfunction during our last tack for our approach to the finish line.  I was concentrating on getting the boat back up to speed (which could be confusing to the port tack boat) and did not notice the port tack boat until it was off my port bow.

5)    5) Situational awareness!  Always be aware of other boats and what they are doing. Our malfunction on the tack slowed us down and altered our position with other boats.

6)    6)  Given the situation of being on Port, experienced sailors know that if done properly ducking a boat does not lose a lot.  You fall off, gaining speed and get a lift as you pass the stern of the other boat.  The sails MUST be handled appropriately in order to do it efficiently and properly, the mainsail MUST be travelled down so the boat does not round up.  Getting this maneuver  right requires practice and you don’t learn this by racing 3 or 4 times a year.  This is the value of our Tuesday night racing: practicing these maneuvers improves your abilities.

7)     7)Nobody likes to protest!  But not protesting does no good for us or our sport.

In the end, one sailing judge has a saying that applies in these situations:  “FILE OR SMILE”.  If you do not protest and “FILE”, you must walk away and “SMILE”. I am smiling.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice