APRIL 6, 2021 A GREAT SAIL SCREECHES TO A HALT

 

APRIL 6, 2021

A GREAT SAIL SCREECHES TO A HALT

As much wind as we have had through the weekend and Monday, I thought  we were in for an exciting sail for Tuesday Night Sailing. The prediction seemed to come to fruition at least for the start.  With this much wind, I called for an ambitious course Whiskey 3,  blew the 5 minute horn and set up for our start. While sailing around and setting up the line, I noticed that the wind was a lot stronger outside with 19 knots outside and 13 knots inside.

While setting up for our start, we thought it would be best to start as close to the Start mark as possible: slightly favored end of line and closer to stronger wind.  We accomplished this goal with several faster boats starting further down the line from us.  These faster boats soon overtook us and blocked our wind. All of the boats ultimately tacked over toward Schuyler mark.  On Pair A dice, we sailed a little further in than most boats since we had good speed in the smoother water even as the wind was decreasing.

At Schuyler mark, Patricia J was first around followed by Tusitala, Perfect 36, Avatar, Aquavie, Pacific Spirit, Pair A Dice, Kicks and Nidaros.  On the run toward Blacks, some boats sailed directly for the mark, but on Pair A Dice, we stayed outside as long as possible to take advantage of the greater wind outside.

Though we did not call for a shortened course, since the wind died and not one boat made it back to the start mark, the course finish was taken at Blacks with a line square to the wind.    At the finish, Patricia J and Perfect 36 crossed the line simultaneously 48:57 elapsed time. Three seconds later Pacific Spirit crossed at 49:00.  Avatar crossed at 51:27, Tusitala 52:36, Aquavie 53:27, Pair A Dice 57:25, Kicks 1:02:08 and Nidaros 1:06:46.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was approximately 2.91 miles.

Though it was a beautiful night for a sail and a lot of excitement, it was a great sail that screeched  to a halt!

RACE QS:

We have a little more than half of the boats using this app.  In order to be counted, you must run this free app on your smart phone to be counted.  The track for this night can be found at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=70765&updatedAt=2021-04-07T03:21:27Z&dt=2021-04-06T17:45:02-07:00..2021-04-06T20:21:20-07:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1617761793232&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Kicks&tab=match&view=manual&lat=36.953824&lon=-121.996507&tilt=4&range=629&heading=246

It appears that some crew are switching around to other boats which is a great way to broaden your sailing experience.   Please make certain that if you run Race QS, that your track indicates that boat that you are currently sailing on.  I am seeing two completely different tracks for the same boat which is confusing.  Thank you.

THE START:

Though we accomplished our goal for the start: on the line at the outside end of the line, I learned another aspect to consider.  Who is starting further down the line to windward of you?  If you have a larger boat that is slightly faster that you are, they will overtake you and shadow you for a long time.  Obviously when caught in this situation, you would tack over to clear air, but right off the start line it is not possible to do this without ducking multiple boats

SAILING FURTHER INSIDE:

Another thing to consider, was our move to sail further inside.  Though our speed was good in the smoother water (with waves on our beam) even as the wind was decreasing, when we tacked over we had to slog through the waves that were now on our bow with less power (wind) to progress until we got outside to greater wind.  It may have been better to tack out sooner rather than later.

I am looking forward to next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice (PAD)