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