OCTOBER 27, 2020: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WIND?

 

OCTOBER 27, 2020

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WIND?

Predict wind had indicated that a weak Easterly would develop.  After last week’s disastrous dying of the wind, I was encouraged as we left the harbor shortly after 5.  There was an awesome 11 knot wind coming from about 230 degrees filling the whole bay.  It was going to be an awesome night for a sail!  We set the line and counted 14 boats out for the fun.   We called for a rather ambitious course W5 (to Schuyler and back to finish.  We were counting down the time and getting ready to blow the 5 minute horn when suddenly the wind died.  All eye turned East looking for indications of a new Easterly wind.  We postponed for 5 minutes to see what developed, and then another 5 minute postponement with nothing developing.  Since it was such a short night, we abandoned the race.  We motored out to the wind line for a short sail before returning to the harbor ending the last Tuesday night sail for the season.

 

RACE QS:

Since there was no race, I did not upload my track for the night.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON SAILING:

There has been a lot of interest expressed by the group to continue sailing on Tuesdays through the winter starting early in the afternoon.  Sailing in the winter is a little different from sailing in the summer.  I can think of three differences that need to be considered.

1)     We get rain in the winter.  Like most of us, I have foul weather gear but do not like putting wet sails away with mildew presenting a potential problem.  I do not think anyone likes the idea of sailing in rain during the winter.  In dealing with this, if the weather is not conducive to sailing, I will send an E-mail blast or text by 9AM on Tuesdays only if the races will not take place.  There will be no notice sent if sailing will take place as normal

2)     We get larger waves and shoaling of the harbor entrance in the winter.  We all must make a judgement regarding safety of our boats.  For these races, if conditions are serious enough to present undue hazard, I will also send out a notice by 9AM cancelling the race.  Please be aware that when a swell is pouring into the bay, you may need to time your exit and entrance to the harbor to avoid breaking waves.

3)     The club’s marks that are set for the summer races are pulled for most of the winter.  Once these marks are pulled, we will call impromptu courses over the radio.  The marks we have to work with are: GOV, Mile, SC7, SC3 and Schuyler (Yellow Schuyler mark replaced with small red buoy during the winter).  My inclination is to use Gov as the start buoy with various landmarks representing the other end of the line.  For instance, we could use the extension of the line formed by the end of the wharf and Gov as a start.

Let’s continue to meet at the start buoy until it is removed for the winter.   We will be blowing a 5 minute horn at 1:55 for a 2pm start.

Currently
I have over 100 people getting the notice of the blog.  I do not think it is fair to pester all of these people with notices of “no race” on Tuesday mornings.  I have all of your contact information but need to know if you prefer texting or email notifications.  Also, there should be one person on each boat that receives the message.  Please fill out the following form and either email it back to me or take a photo of the completed form and text it to  831-234-0322.

_)                _)                             _)                  _)                     (_                                                                 

Name of boat;  _________________________ Person to be notified:___________________________

Text phone # _______________________      Email address:__________________________________

Please circle phone or email to indicate preferred method of contact

########################################################

 I am looking forward to next Tuesday for a 2pm start.

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

OCTOBER 20, 2020: SKUNKED IN FOG

 

OCTOBER 20, 2020

SKUNKED IN FOG

FOG seemed to be the order of the day for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  I was encouraged when the newspaper weather forecast called for 12 knot winds for Tuesday.  When I got to the harbor at about 3:30, there was some wind showing on the flags, which encouraged me. As we left the harbor at 5 PM, there was very little wind on the beach, but seemed like a little more outside.  The fog was still present, but you could still easily see over 200 yards.  As we approached the start mark we determined the wind was light but coming from 80 degrees (Easterly).  We called for the shortest course possible B6 and we had 9 boats out for the fun.  We blew the 5 minute horn and set up for the race.

After our poor start a couple of weeks ago, we made certain we were not far from the line and accomplished a good start with fairly clean air.  Suddenly the confused wind set in.  It was interesting seeing all boats sailing at different angles.  We found it did no good to look at the masthead windex since the wind closer to the water was frequently 30 degrees different.  It seemed like the bigger boats with taller masts did better than boats with shorter masts.  We needed a “mast extender”!

By the time boats were approaching Blacks the wind seemed to completely die and the and boats were having trouble rounding the mark.  At Blacks, the first around was Patricia J 19:08, Tusitala 21:08, Perfect 36 21:15, Nidaros 25:00 and Pair A Dice 29:46.  Times are elapsed and the course length was .45 NM.  After rounding Blacks, one by one boats got discouraged and headed for the harbor without completing the course.  We were all skunked with no wind in the fog.

 

Race QS:

The track for tonight’s “race” can be found at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2020-10-21T02:15:45Z&dt=2020-10-20T17:30:05-07:00..2020-10-20T19:15:28-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1603243052346&focus=Pairadice&rival=Nidaros%20II&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.953520&lon=-121.985282&tilt=19&range=438&heading=241

DEALING WITH FOG:

Fog comes in a wide variety of intensity. Someone once told me they were stuck in very thick fog (with no GPS) here in Santa Cruz.  He followed the sound to Mile Buoy, then steered a steady course of 360 degrees.  He followed this course and the first thing he saw was after he had entered the harbor.  Fortunately, most of us have a GPS these days and fog is seldom as thick as in this case.

On my GPS, I have a waypoint for 100 yard off the entrance to the harbor and another waypoint for the center of the harbor.  If necessary, I could use these waypoint to enter the harbor in the thickest of fog.

As far as other boats in very thick fog, some boats have AIS but this is a rarity.  When travelling up or down the coast, I have a speaker that I can connect to my radio that will blast a sound every 2 minutes to let other boats know of my presence.  The rules regarding sound systems used in fog vary from boat to boat (size of boat and power or sail).  If you are interested in these regulations, check this website:  https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/83.35
 Of course, the top of the line for dealing with any fog is the radar if you have it.

On this night, we approached the harbor in the fog and the dark.  If you have never done this, it is quite an experience.  We followed the sound of the foghorn and were confused for a bit with  the lights on shore.  We realized that the lights were the cars on the road and the only light we needed to concentrate on was the flashing green light on the lighthouse which was also sounding a horn. The other lights that were flashing in the harbor were the red light on the red buoy and the green light on the green buoy.

See you next Tuesday for our last Tuesday Night sail of the season, with another start at 5:45.

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

OCTOBER 13, 2020: GREAT EVENING SAIL, WITH A HITCH

 

                                                              OCTOBER 13, 2020

GREAT EVENING SAIL WITH A HITCH

Predict Wind did not give an encouraging prediction for the evening sail, calling for light and variable wind. I got to the harbor around 4pm and the flags showed no wind at all.  As 5 o’clock approached there was a little wind coming from the East.  When we left the harbor at about 5, there was a little texture showing on the water but still light wind.   As if the wind gods realized we had a race to get off, as 5:45 approached, the wind increased to 11-12 knots from 100 degrees.  We set the mark and called for course B5 knowing we could shorten course if the wind decreased. Such is life when you only have an hour to get a race off.  We blew the 5 minute horn at 5:40 for a 5:45 start.

While sailing around before the start, we noticed considerably more wind on the inside, closer to the red ball end of the line.  We decided to attempt a port tack start at the red ball, lucked out and timed it perfectly.  As we were approaching our start, someone radioed that Guenter had capsized his boat.  I figured that the closest boat would assist if necessary and Aquavit was the closest boat.

After starting, it was a drag race between Pair A Dice and Sagittarius who also started on port tack further up the line from us.   At Blacks for the first rounding it was Sagittarius, Pair A Dice, Nidaros, Tusitala, Pacific Spirit, Toad, Perfect 36 and Aquavit. For the second time around Blacks, the order was the same except Toad was last to round.

At the finish, it was Sagittarius 27:24, Pair A Dice 29:26 Aquavit (corrected time 29:35), Nidaros 30:03, Tusitala 30:55, Perfect 36 32:07, Pacific Spirit 32:53 and Toad 35:10.  All times are elapsed and course length was 1.8NM.  It was a great evening for a sail, though we did have a hitch with a capsize at the start.

Race QS:

Nearly all boats are using this app which really helps on a night like this.  The track can be seen at: https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=68194&updatedAt=2020-10-14T02:02:11Z&dt=2020-10-13T17:30:03-07:00..2020-10-13T19:02:03-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1602636499368&focus=Pairadice&rival=Sagittarius&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.950552&lon=-121.993727&tilt=25&range=230&heading=77

CORRECTED TIME:

Aquavit was late getting started because of helping Guenter right is boat.  Aquavit crossed the start line 3:19 minutes after the start. I subtracted this time from his finish time (32:54-3:19=29:35).  I think this is the correct way to handle this and will correct any boat’s time in a similar situation.  I do not know if the incident slowed any other boats down.

ANATOMY OF A PROBLEM AND IT’S RESOLUTION:

I asked Guenter to describe what happened and with his permission, this is what he presented.

My start plan was to starboard tack closest to the yellow buoy and then immediately tack again to get out of the way of the big boats.

Having a Casio stop watch hanging from my neck makes it difficult reading the time left and handling the boat at the same time.

When I noticed other boats heading for the start line, I started jibing for the start line while simultaneously trying to figure out time left.

 

I made 3 mistakes in that process:

1.       Didn’t run the downwind angle enough to safely position the boat for jibing.

2.       Didn’t uncleat my traveler lines to make jibing safer.

3.       And most important, moved  too late from the approaching leeward seating to the windward seating to stabilize to boat (because still figuring out time left).

 

Needless to say handling a tack that way doesn’t require much wind to capsize a Finn or any other dinghy.

Having sailed a Finn for over 30 years and capsized a few times, I can blame only my 76 years of age for this. What was I thinking?

 

In the water, I swam around and was able to get the boat upright again by pulling the centerboard down.

Trying to get in, the boat capsized again, probably because of the cleated traveler and/or the mainsheet line was tangled up in the pulley block and/or there was too much water in the boat.

I noticed Aquavit was kindly on standby to help under skipper Michael Hutchinson and his crew. I realized that I couldn’t do it alone and shouted for help.

A young crew member and student of UCSC, Jeremy Burke, jumped into the water and I knew immediately that he was a dinghy sailor too and that I will be in good hands when he asked me to get into the boat and that he will pull down the centerboard to upright the boat.

The plan worked on the first try.

 

I cannot thank Jeremy enough to rescue the boat and me as well as skipper Hutchison.

 

My attitude has been that capsizing the Finn on Santa Cruz water is not an option. Not anymore. I need to practice capsizing and rescue in the harbor.

This is a great chronology of events and an analysis we can all learn from.  I sailed Hobie Cats for 14 years and have capsized well over 500 times.  Hobies all have righting equipment but we quickly learned two critical things for righting the boat: the mainsheet must be uncleated and the bow(s) of the boat should be directed toward the wind.  This technique worked even in stronger winds.  

I am proud to be associated with sailors like Mike Hutchison (skipper) and Jeremy Burke for springing to action and saving the day.  If we ever get out of this COVID situation I want to buy each of them a drink.            

We have two more Tuesdays before the time changes and ends our season.  Due to restrictions imposed by COVID, we may not be able to have a barbecue on our last night.  We can hope this situation changes. If they do I will post it in next weeks blog or send out an e-mail blast.

Pray for wind and we will see you next Tuesday for a 5:45 start.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

OCTOBER 6, 2020: WIND TAKES A BREAK

 

OCTOBER 6, 2020

WIND TAKES A BREAK

While walking the dog in Aptos early in the afternoon, I could feel a brisk southerly breeze indicating there would be an Easterly on the water this evening.  Getting to the harbor the flags did not indicate much breeze, but when we exited the harbor, the Easterly was materializing with a mild 8 knot breeze.  The wind was coming from 70 degrees and we set a line square to this. I thought this was enough wind to call for course B4, with the option to shorten course to finish at GOV if necessary.  We announced this course and blew a five minute horn at 5:40 for a 5:45 start.  It seems like the five minute horn was taken as a signal for the wind to stop.

On Pair A Dice, we learned a long time ago to not venture far from the start line if the wind is questionable.  We painfully relearned this lesson tonight.  With 20 boats out for the fun, most decided to start at the yellow ball end of the line on starboard tack.  With our poor position, leeward of about 17 boats and very light wind we had no forward momentum and no ability to change our position.  We noticed the boats that had excellent (clear air) starts.  Perfect 36 was first over and Sweet Pea wisely starting down the line in unobstructed air.  Geronimo also had a great start.

About 10 minutes after the start, with the waning wind,  I knew that course B4 was out of the question and shortened course to round Blacks and finish at the finish mark.  At Blacks Perfect 36 was first around followed by Geronimo, Tusitala, Cannonball, Sagittarius, Nidaros, Zoop, New Wave, Pacific Spirit, Avatar, Sweet Pea, Toad, Pair A Dice, Sophia and Aquavit.  As boats approached Blacks, the wind came back up from the East.

On the way back to the finish line it got very interesting as boats that had rounded Blacks and boats still approaching Blacks had to pass each other.  No issues occurred but boats got very close to each other in passing.  Perfect 36 sailed a perfect race and finished first 25:58, followed by Geronimo 26:08, Cannonball 27:16, Sagittarius 27:18, Tusitala 27:44, Nidaros 27:49, Zoop 28:33, Avatar 30:06, New Wave 30:29, Pacific Spirit 31:37, Sweet Pea 32:57, Pair A Dice 34:13, Aquavit 34:43, Toad 34:54 and Sophia 37:08.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 0.9 NM.

It was a beautiful evening with an awesome sunset and a huge lesson learned: sometimes the wind just takes a break!

 

  Race QS:

Almost all boats are using Race QS now!  The track for tonight can be found at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=68003&updatedAt=2020-10-07T01:26:53Z&dt=2020-10-06T17:30:01-07:00..2020-10-06T18:26:49-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1602033583749&focus=Pairadice&rival=TOAD&tab=fleet&view=follow&lat=36.951417&lon=-121.993474&tilt=9&range=400&heading=122

When boats start greater than 5 minutes apart, Race QS program does not recognize it as a race and separates boats into different classes.  With some of us starting so late, the program did not recognize it as a race. Not recognizing the event as a race turns off many of the educational functions usually available on Race QS.

 

LESSONS LEARNED:

I just love Tuesday Night Sailing because it gives the opportunity to learn (and re-learn) important concepts in a non-consequential environment.  I have been burned before being out of position when the wind dies and you get stuck behind a bunch of boats in very light wind at the start.  Once again this happened to Pair A Dice.  Some day I will learn.  Several mistakes can lead to this predicament. First is choosing to start at the preferred end of the line with many other boats.  Second is getting too far away from the line leaves you in a vulnerable position when the wind dies. Sweet Pea had the correct approach: close to the line down the line in clear air.

WHEN TO TACK?

Tonight was a fantastic study in the proper time to tack.  We all know about tacking on the lay-line and every boat is different when determining the point to tack on the layline.  Tonight, we had boats rounding and coming back toward us as well as boats coming from behind. When you need to tack  In situations like this, it is good to be cognizant of the situation: clearing the stern or bow of an oncoming boat and the bow of a boat coming from behind.  If not considered and done correctly, you may need to duck multiple boats.

See you next Tuesday for a 5:45 start.

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020: CLEAR SKY, GREAT WIND

 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020

CLEAR SKY, GREAT WIND

Living in Aptos (Fogtos) the area was living up to its names.  We had pea soup fog for two straight days, Monday and Tuesday.  Nobody likes to race in the fog!  I went down to the harbor early in the afternoon and there was not the heavy fog we had in Aptos, but it was not crystal clear.  Defying Predict wind’s forecast, there was some wind, which was still apparent when I returned to the boat at about four o’clock.

We left the harbor shortly after 5 PM and we had great wind, between 12-15 knots.  The wind direction was from 240 and we set the line.  We called for course Whiskey 5 and blew a five minute horn for a 5:45 start.  The line at the start was a little crowded with all boats starting appropriately. All boats started on starboard tack and one by one everyone tacked over toward the inside track.  On Pair A Dice, we noticed that the wind got lighter and lighter the further inside we went.

At Schuyler mark, Sagittarius and Aquavit rounded simultaneously followed by Avatar, Patricia J, Perfect 36, Pair A Dice, Pacific Spirit, Sweet Pea, Higher Power and Toad.  On the way back to the finish line, some boats took the line directly to the finish.  On Pair A Dice, we set our pole with the 155 jib and sailed further outside using the better wind outside which worked to our advantage.

At the finish, it was Sagittarius 37:48, Aquavit 40:22, Avatar 40:34, Patricia J 42:01, Pair A Dice 43:05, Perfect 36 43:09, Sweet Pea 47:23, Higher Power 48:33, Pacific Spirit 49:49 and TOAD 55:26.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 2.65 NM.

Race QS:

The track for tonight can be found at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011635&updatedAt=2020-09-30T02:03:49Z&dt=2020-09-29T17:00:03-07:00..2020-09-29T19:03:45-07:00&boat=Dice&model=J24&time=1601429896228&focus=Dice&rival=The%20Perfect%20Thirty-six&tab=fleet&view=follow&lat=36.950755&lon=-121.998323&tilt=7&range=3773&heading=217

CRUISING VS RACING:

I love all aspects of sailing, whether trimming the sails or steering.  I love cruising, leisure sails and racing.  While all forms of sailing are fun, racing affords one distinct difference.  While racing you are always learning and improving your sailing abilities, whether on the wheel/tiller, trimming sails or even setting a whisker pole.

 I realize Tuesday night sailing is not intense racing, though some of us take it more seriously than others.  When I see boats going to weather and nobody is on the rail and everyone is sitting in the cockpit, the boat is not in the “racing mode”.  If going downwind and most bodies are still in the cockpit and not forward, you are not maximizing your performance. Is crew involved in conversation or telling jokes (I am guilty) rather than looking for unwanted hitch hikers (kelp)?

There is nothing wrong with leisure sailing and even leisure sailing on Tuesday nights.  The saying goes: “any time there are two masts on the water, there is a race!”   You can be out sailing on a beautiful day and everything feels great.  When another similar boat sails past you going faster, you start paying attention, noting how the other boat is trimming sails and other settings that affect performance.

Tuesday Night Sailing, with our use of Race QS is an incredible way to learn and compare your performance against your closest competitor.  By looking at the tracks and enabling pertinent functions in the software you can see what your SOG, VMG, angle of heel and how straight you are steering. You can also analyze your tacks over 8 different parameters.  I learn a lot by looking at tracks of my boat versus other competitors.

We will see you next Tuesday for a 5:45 start.

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice