JUNE 8, 2021
MORE THAN ENOUGH WIND
I was working on my boat in the harbor for most of the day. As I was working, the wind was out of control
even in the harbor. The sounds of clanking halyards and wind whistling through
the rigging in the boats was hard to ignore.
Predict wind was calling for decreasing wind as the evening
progressed. On this night I had the
pleasure of sailing with Mike Hutchison and crew on Aquavit. Thanks to Mike and the crew for putting up
with me.
As we left the harbor shortly after 5pm, it looked like
“victory at sea” conditions with white caps as far as you could see. We determined that the wind was from 240
degrees and approaching 30 knots. We set
a line square to this wind and called for the longest Northwest wind course:
Whiskey 1. We had about 12 boats out for
the fun and almost all boats were reefed.
On Aquavit we were early to the
line and were stalling, trying to not be OCS.
Sailing slowly on the start line leaves you in a vulnerable position for
faster leeward boats to luff you up over the line and, sure enough, this
happened to us. We were OCS and had to
sail back to dip the line and restart.
All boats tacked their way to
Schuyler and at the windward mark, Sagittarius was first around followed by
Aquavit, Tusitala, Perfect 36, Good Timin, Avatar, Pacific Spirit and Makani, Kicks. All boats rounded Mile in the same order and
headed for Blacks. The ride to Blacks
was exciting with waves behind us, we were able to maximize their effect by
getting bodies out of the cockpit and on the bow.
After rounding Blacks, all boats
made their way to the finish line. First
to finish was Sagittarius 44:39, Aquavit 45:58, Tusitala 47:41, Perfect 36
47:49, Good Timin 48:17, Makani 48:40, Pacific Spirit 49:30 Avatar 50:08, and Kicks 52:45 . All times are elapsed and the course length
was 3.95 nautical miles.
RACE QS:
Almost all boats are using this
app. To be counted, you must use this
free app on your smart phone. The track
for tonight can be found at:
REGISTRATION:
Almost all boats taking part in our Tuesday Night Sailing
series are registered. To be counted in
this series and to be recognized for your performance two conditions must be
met: 1) registration and 2) run the Race QS app on your phone. If you have not registered, the form is
below.
2021 Series Entry and
Waiver Form
Each Tuesday Night
during Daylight Savings Time
Santa Cruz Yacht Club,
Santa Cruz, CA
Entry Form
Name: _____________________________ Sail Number: _______________
Address: ___________________________ Boat Name: ________________
Boat make and model:_____________________ PHRF:________________
City/St/Zip: _________________________ Boat
location(slip#)__________
E-mail: ______________________ Cell
Number:_____________________
(E-mail and Cell number will be available to other participants)
Waiver and Release of Liability
In consideration of my entry in the Regatta on behalf of myself,
my heirs, successors and
assigns, I hereby waive any and all claims, actions, suits and
demands against Santa Cruz
Yacht Club, the respective officers, directors, employees, and
agents (all the forgoing
hereby referred to as “the Hosts”) for any personal injury
(including death) or property
damage resulting from the negligence or other acts of omission by
the Hosts or any of
them as a result of my participation in the Event and do hereby
release and discharge the
Hosts there from. I acknowledge that participation in the sport of
sailboat racing involves
substantial risk of personal injury or even death and I hereby
assume the risk of any such
injury that may occur while participating in the Event.
I agree to be bound by The Racing Rules of Sailing and any other
rules that govern this
event.
Owner/Skipper __________________________ Date ________________
Entry Fee for series: $35 for SCYC members $50 for nonmembers
Payment options:
Cash
Check (Check Number ____________) payable: Santa Cruz Yacht Club
Payment received by _______________ Date ________________
Print this form out, fill it out and drop it off with
your check at the yacht club with ATTN: Barry on the envelope. If you do not
have a PHRF certificate, indicate specifics about your boat: folding prop?,
size of your largest jib (135, 155?). We
will assign a PHRF for your boat using this information.
STARTS:
The start of a race is a great opportunity to gain an
advantage. From my experience the best
starts are accomplished at speed at the line with clear wind. When you find yourself stalling because you
are early to the line, you are not starting with one of the most critical
elements: speed at the start. I like to
sail down the start area on port before the start looking for a boat to tack
behind. I find it better to sometimes
tack behind a boat further down the line so I can maximize my speed up the line
and not run out of line. Complicating this whole process is when conditions
are changing. If there is a possibility
the wind will decrease, don’t venture far from the line! The more starts you do, the better you will
get at it. Indeed, this is one advantage
of Tuesday Night Sailing: practicing and improving your starts.
LET’S GO SURFING:
Going down wind and down waves is my favorite point of
sail. Looking around at other boats you
see many boats sailing in these conditions with the cockpit full of
people. I find that even on larger
boats, getting bodies out of the cockpit and on the bow can keep you in the
waves for a couple of seconds more. On a
run from Mile to Blacks, you may have several hundred waves pushing you along
in succession. If you can stay at your
maximum speed when surfing waves for an extra couple of seconds per wave, this
can be a significant effect.
OTHER REGATTA EVENT:
On June 19 there is a race put on by Elkhorn and SCYC
called the little Boreas race. It is a
race down to Moss Landing on Saturday then return to Santa Cruz on Sunday. A very fun race and you can register for it
at the following site: https://www.regattanetwork.com/event/22613
Next week, Chris Hofmann and the crew of Tusitala will
call the race. Remember, we can meet at
the Crow’s Nest for dinner after the race.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice (Aquavit for tonight)
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