AUGUST 24, 2021 WEEK TO WEEK SIMILAR EVENINGS

 

AUGUST 24, 2021

WEEK TO WEEK SIMILAR EVENINGS

Predict wind was calling for 16  knot winds from 5 to 9pm.  As we left the harbor at about 5:10 there was  a healthy wind line outside.  As we approached the start mark, we determined the wind was (once again) coming from 215 and about 12 knots.  Great conditions for a race!  We set a line square to the wind and optimistically called for course Whiskey 3.  We blew a 5 minute horn and set up for our start.

As it turns out, even though the line was skewed with the beach end of the line closer to the first mark, the outside end of the line had a little more wind.  On PAD, we were trying to set up to start at the beach end of the line, but were positioned further away than we wanted to be.  We were concentrating on improving boat speed to make the end of the line while the wind was getting lighter.  We were so focused on this objective, we did not notice a Moore 24 just leeward of us.  The Moore 24 pulled an excellent tactical move on PAD luffing us up over the line. Since we had to restart, the Moore 24 did not have to sail in our shadow right off the start.

FLOCK OF B-IRDBOATS 

We all had a sense of déjà vu dealing with areas of light wind and headers and lifts to be dealt with on the way to Schuyler.  This presents a challenge that, if played correctly, can yield an advantage.  A header on one tack is a lift on the opposite tack.  If you tack on every header, you are slowed by excessive tacks.  You could call it Tack-tics: minimizing the number of tacks to take advantage of the strongest headers.

At Schuyler the first around was Nobodys Girl (Moore 24), followed by Patricia J, New Wave, Perfect 36, PAD, Aquavit, Toad, Pacific Spirit, Makani, Nidaros, Kicks and Emeritus.  Once again on the long run to Blacks, the outside was favored with more wind and most boats took the outside route.  Like last Tuesday, as we were on the long run to Blacks, the wind seemed to be decreasing so I shortened course to finish at Blacks so more boats could finish the race.  The evenings are getting shorter!

At the finish line, Nobodies Girl was first 55:58, followed by New Wave 56:41, Patricia J 57:51, Perfect 36 1:02:27, Pair A Dice 1:02:44, Aquavit 1:05:12, Makani 1:06:53, Toad 1:06:55, Pacific Spirit 1:06:58, Nidaros 1:11:12, Kicks 1:20:41. All times are elapsed and the course distance was 2.92 miles.

With the low cloud cover, good wind with many headers and lifts and more wind outside and many areas with lighter wind, it was very similar to last Tuesday evening.

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

Here is the Spreadsheet for calculating PHRF adjusted results.  This is a display of the whole spreadsheet with recorded PHRFs for each boat.  These figures may need to be corrected, for instance if your PHRF is for flying a spinnaker and you do not use one, your PHRF should be adjusted.  Once all PHRFs are corrected, if the predominant desire is to display the corrected results, I will post just the boat and it’s rating for the race.

BOAT MAKE	PHRF	H	MIN	SEC	TOTAL SECONDS	ADJ SEC	BOAT NAME	PLACE
MOORE 24	150		55	58	3358	2920	NOBODYS GIRL	1
LIGHTHALL 30	111		56	41	3401	3076.88	NEW WAVE	2
EXPRESS 34 no spin	111		57	51	3471	3146.88	PATRICIA J	3
CATALINA 30	180	1	2	44	3764	3238.4	SAILING PAIR A DICE	4
CATALINA 36	144	1	2	27	3747	3326.52	THE PERFECT 36	5
CATALINA 320	162	1	6	58	4018	3544.96	PACIFIC SPIRIT	6
BENETEAU 323	150	1	6	55	4015	3577	TOAD	7
CATALINA 34	147	1	6	53	4013	3583.76	MAKANI	8
JEANNEAU41i P	71	1	5	12	3912	3704.68	AQUAVIT	9
SANTANA 30/30	114	1	11	12	4272	3939.12	NIDAROS II	10
CATALINA C30	180	1	20	41	4841	4315.4	KICKS	11

 

RACE QS:

For this evening we only had about half of the boats successfully record and upload their tracks.  Race QS acts like our race committee recording finish times!  The track for this evening can be found at:   https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2021-08-25T02:50:32Z&dt=2021-08-24T17:45:03-07:00..2021-08-24T19:50:31-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1629858041315&focus=Pairadice&rival=Nobodys%20Girl&tab=match&view=manual&lat=36.952418&lon=-121.985708&tilt=8&range=217&heading=192

If you need assistance with using race QS, send me an email at SAILINGPAIRADICE@GMAIL.COM.

RULES:

 

 

This scenario exemplifies a common misconception of many sailors while racing.  Boat A in position 1 is on a downwind run and is on port tack (boom on starboard side of boat).   Boat B in position 1 has rounded the leeward mark and is on starboard tack sailing toward the next mark.  Boat A jibes over to starboard thinking “starboard has right of way”.  Boat B hails “STARBOARD!” and boat A continues on requiring  both boats to crash tack to avoid collision. The misconception is that: any time I am on starboard tack, I have right of way.  Rule 10: on opposite tacks: When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat.  Since, in position 2 both boats are on the same tack, rule 10 does not come into play. Rule 11 is employed, on same tack, overlapped: When boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat. 

As we get more and more boats out for Tuesday Night sailing, it is critical that we know and follow rules. I am seeing situations where boats are hailing other boats, without being heard or acknowledged. In our environment with wind and waves, frequently voices cannot be heard.  I know it is not in the rule book, but I encourage boats to have an airhorn in the cockpit to attract attention.  The signal for “I am not clear on your intention” is 5 short blasts on the horn.  A horn will be heard in any conditions.

JACK AND JILL REGATTA:

The Jack and Jill regatta will be on September 18.  This is a fun event where boats are sailed by 2 people (a man and a woman).  There is a Jib and Main division and you can register on SCYC.org under regattas.

THE WIND GURU:

I have  a crew member that I have known since I first owned my boat 20 years ago.  Years ago, he was able to see wind on the water ahead and forecast accurately “more wind in 20, it will be a lift” or “more wind in 30 it will be a header”.  I have been amazed by this ability and am still learning from the “wind guru”. On this sail, we were sailing downwind and I saw a patch of wind on the water ahead and declared “more pressure in 20”.  He remarked, “no, that wind is ahead of us, we are going downwind and that wind will not affect us, you need to look behind us for the wind that will affect us”.  I am still learning from this amazing guy!  Thank you wind guru.

NOTE: NEXT TUESDAY IS THE LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH. A BARBECUE POTLUCK WILL BE HELD AT THE CLUB AFTER RACING.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

AUGUST 17, 2021 WINDS WITH POLITICIAN-LIKE FEATURES

 

AUGUST 17, 2021

WINDS WITH POLITICIAN-LIKE FEATURES

With Predict Wind giving a forecast of decreasing wind through the evening, I was expecting an evening of very light Easterly winds.  The flags were evening confirming this prediction as they went limp around 4 o’clock.  I was surprised to see a healthy northwest blowing as we left the harbor around 5:15.    We sailed out to the area of the start mark and determined the wind was from 215 degrees and set a line square to this direction.  The conflict between predictions and actuality presented a dilemma. It certainly did not seem like the wind would die so we chose Whiskey 3 thinking if the wind dyed we could always shorten course.

On PAD we wanted to start on starboard tack on the line closer to the beach, but we were early to the line and had to start closer to the yellow ball.  At least we had clear wind.  We all tacked our way toward Schuyler. It was apparent that there was a lot more wind outside and most boats capitalized on this. The winds were very shifty and variable.  Headers (knocked to the left) and lifts (influence to the right) and some healthy gusts made it taxing to control the boat. 

At Schuyler, the first around was Sweetheart, followed by Zoop, Perfect 36, Avatar, Geronimo, Sagittarius, Pacific Spirit, Aquavit, Pair A Dice, Tusitala, Makani, Sea Quake, Good Timin’, Toad, Kicks and Sweet Pea.  On the way back to round Blacks, many boats took the outside course to stay in the stronger wind.  The boats that tried to rhumb line it to the mark got caught in very light wind.

Sure enough as the first boats were approaching Blacks, the Northwest breeze disappeared as we saw an Easterly wind s-l-o-w-l-y building at the leading edge of the fleet.  I communicated to shorten course to finish at Blacks with the finish line being the extension of the line from the lighthouse through Blacks. At the finish, Sweetheart lead the charge 48:07, followed by Geronimo 52:45, Sagittarius 53:21, Pacific Spirit 54:03, Perfect 36 (no track no time) Avatar 54:57, Aquavit 56:06, Zoop 56:25, PAD 57:08, Tusitala 59:30, Toad 1:06:59, Makani 1:07:31 and Kicks 1:11:42. All times are elapsed and the course distance was about 2.92 miles.

PAIR A DICE ON A ROLL

The evening’s strange winds, having problems deciding which way to go, knocking boats left and right. Wind being weak on the inside and strong on the outside, then ending with a whimpering limp hand- shake. It sure felt like we were dealing with winds with politician-like features!

RACE QS:             

Most of the boats are using this app and it is necessary to use it to be counted in our races.  The track for this evening can be found at: https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2021-08-18T02:38:36Z&dt=2021-08-17T17:45:03-07:00..2021-08-17T19:37:25-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1629254245000&focus=Pairadice&rival=Pacific%20Spirit&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.968544&lon=-122.000343&tilt=5&range=7278&heading=177

RULES:

As more boats participate in our races, it is critical to know and follow the Racing Rules of Sailing.  It is also critical for each sailor to help keep the skipper apprised of other boats. 

Scenario one:    Two boats were approaching the finish line Yellow on port tack and Green on starboard.  Y considered the finish to be a “mark rounding” and thought they had right of way and forced G to crash Jibe to prevent collision.  Reading the SI’s for Tuesday Night Sailing. The Finish: The finish line will be on a line between the buoy indicated in the course chart and extension of the indicated landmark within 200 feet of the buoy. 

Though the end of the line is considered to be a “mark”, to finish you must just cross the finish line. This incident is resolved by following rule #10: On opposite tacks When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat. I think it is important to always realize and know what tack you are on. One way to help with this is to have green (tape/paint on the SB side of the boom) and red on port.  Y was in error and would need to exonerate in order to be counted in the race.

Scenario #2 involves another finish.  It does not involve any rule infraction but knowledge of rules is necessary in these situations. Y is nearing the finish and is being overtaken by a faster boat (G) and has established an overlap. In this situation, both boats are on the same tack and overlapped involving Rule 11: when boats are on the same tack and overlapped a windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat.  Before the overlap, Rule 12 comes into play: SAME TACK NOT OVERLAPPED When boats are on the same tack and not overlapped, a boat clear astern shall keep clear of a boat clear ahead. The combination of rule 12 and rule 11 means that the overtaking boat could be luffed up by Y steering to port and even after overlap occurs.  This luffing up can continue UNTIL the 3 boat length zone is entered by either boat, then rule 18.2 a) is enacted: When boats are overlapped the outside boat shall give the inside boat mark-room. This means Y must give G room to cross the line (and round the finish line mark).

What is important to know in both of these scenarios which could occur at or near the finish line is rule #44.2. One-turn and two turn penalties: After getting well clear of other boats as soon after the incident as possible, a boat takes a one-turn or two-turns penalty by promptly making the required number of turns in the same direction, each turn including one tack and one gybe.  When a boat takes the penalty at or near the finishing line, she shall sail completely to the course side of the line before finishing.

This means that fouling anyone at the finish line is like a double penalty. A normal penalty (hitting a mark) requires sailing clear of other boats and doing a 360 to exonerate.  A penalty committed on or near the finish line means sailing clear of other boats (finishing lines can be crowded) do your turn, then sail back to course side and cross the line again for your correct finish time.  Be especially careful around finish lines!

When discussing rules it is critical to remember that even if you absolutely know you have the right of way there is Rule 14 - Avoid Collisions.  If there is even the slightest doubt that you have the right of way it is much wiser to avoid any close calls and be well respected by your competitors.  Sailing is not a contact sport.  Channeling Ernie:  "If you have won without the respect of your competitors you have not won a thing"  You do not want to be THAT BOAT that everyone knows to avoid because of your disrespect for the RRS.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

AUGUST 10, 2021 SURPRISING WIND FOR AUGUST DOLDRUMS

 

 

AUGUST 10, 2021

SURPRISING WIND FOR AUGUST DOLDRUMS

The predictions from Predict wind were not encouraging: 9 knots at 6pm with wind tapering off.  I was quite surprised arriving at the harbor around 4pm to see the flags flying.  As we left the harbor around 5:15 the wind seemed even across the bay with a southern influence on the normal 240 degree direction.  We noted the wind direction as being about 225 degrees and set a line square to this direction. 

With predictions for decreasing wind, we called for a conservative course of Whiskey 5: Start>Schuyler>finish and blew the 5 minute horn.  Pair a Dice was a little late to the line but started at the outer end of the line in pretty clear air.  All boats tacked their way to Schuyler and the first around was Geronimo followed by Sagittarius, New Wave, Kasatka, Sanctuaire, Avatar, Zoop, Pacific Spirit, Patricia J, Good Timin’, Nidaros, Makani, Perfect 36, Sweet Pea, Pair A Dice, Kicks, Sea Quake , Aeolian and Simpatico.

On the run back to the finish some boats sailed further out looking for more wind but most boats sailed straight to the mark.  At the finish, Geronimo was first across 35:27, followed by New Wave 37:04, Sagittarius 37:12, Kasatka 37:50, Avatar 38:19, Zoop 39:41, Sanctuaire 40:11, Pacific Spirit 40:13, Patricia J 41:38, Good Timin’42:52, Makani 43:01, Nidaros 45:29, Perfect 36 45:46, Pair A Dice 47:37, Sweet Pea 47:53, Aeolian 50:02, Sea Quake 50:10, Kicks 50:20 and Simpatico 52:11.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 2.65 miles.

It was a beautiful evening for a sail and we lucked out once again with enough wind for everyone to finish the course. It was surprising to see such wind even with the August doldrums. It was a great crowd at the club enjoying “Taco Tuesday”: great food at a reasonable price and you can’t beat the company of sailors!

RACE QS:

It is great to see so many boats downloading their Race QS tracks.  The race for this evening can be found at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2021-08-11T02:21:53Z&dt=2021-08-10T17:45:02-07:00..2021-08-10T19:17:23-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1628646731588&focus=Natorious&rival=Pairadice&tab=setup&view=follow&lat=36.951531&lon=-121.994714&tilt=4&range=253&heading=246

KELPTOMANIA:

On Pair A Dice, it was a frustrating evening.  We were tweaking everything with sails and sail trim and could not get the boat up to speed. On the way back to the harbor, I looked off our stern and noticed a tree of kelp over 12 feet long trailing behind the boat!  Mystery solved!  We all know what kleptomania is.  I have a boat afflicted with KELPTOMANIA!

RULES:

On the back of our course cards are the Sailing Instructions.  This document indicates that we are using the Racing Rules of Sailing. This is a developmental series so many of us are still learning rules.  I have witnessed some frightening situations recently when rules are not followed or are misunderstood.  There have been turns taken to exonerate but no discussions afterwards to clarify what happened.  I believe it is time to have protest hearings when a rule is broken NOT for humiliation but to educate. Normally in racing, a turn is taken and all is forgotten. In our “developmental series” I believe there should still be a protest hearing for educational purposes.  Representatives from each boat involved will present their case before a panel of 2 to 3 people that are familiar with the rules.  These protest hearings will be reported in the blog anonymously as Boat A and Boat B so others can learn also.

These protest hearings can take place after the race since the club is open every Tuesday. Unless others have a better suggestion, I believe the following procedure should be followed:

1)     You feel you have been fouled! Shout “PROTEST!” so other boats crew can hear.

2)     Right after finishing the race, text me on my phone (234-0322) that a protest will be filed between your boats name and the other boats name.

3)     I will call the owner of the other boat to apprise them of the protest hearing and what time it will be held at the club depending on the time of year. If protested, you will be expected to show up to this meeting.

This all may seem onerous, but I feel it is necessary and much better (and educational) to have a panel of impartial judges hear the case and preside.  Just getting the two boats to have a discussion would be helpful.  Additionally, putting the results of the discussion in the blog will educate the rest of us!

In my opinion there are several reasons rules are broken: not knowing a rule, misinterpretation of a rule or thinking that you are above following rules.  Hopefully these new procedures will help eliminate these reasons and make for safer sailing on Tuesday Nights!

See you next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

AUGUST 3, 2021 CRESCENDOING EASTERLY

 

AUGUST 3, 2021

CRESCENDOING EASTERLY

When I arrived at the harbor at about 3:30 it was apparent that the northwesterly breeze was dissipating.  I proceeded to swap out the 135 for the 155 headsail.  As the afternoon progressed, the northwesterly died and the Easterly filled in.  As we left the harbor at about 5:15, the Easterly was showing on the water with some patches of glassy, no wind areas. The incessant question is always: “will it build or die?”

We determined the wind was directly from 90 degrees, due East.  After last week’s short start-line fiasco, we set a long start line fairly square to the wind.  As our number of participants and size of boats increase, it calls for a longer line.  We called for course Bravo 4 and blew a 5 minute horn.

On Pair A Dice, realizing a large crowd of boats would be starting at the yellow start mark end of the line, we decided to start on starboard tack somewhere in the middle of the line: clear air is a wonderful thing when racing!  As we sailed toward the beach, the cluster of boats off our starboard tacked over almost in unison.  We sailed a little further in toward the beach and tacked over.  As it turned out, with such a short leg to Blacks, we had all 20 plus boats trying to round Blacks at the same time. 

SANCTUAIRE FIRST AROUND BLACKS

A FEW MOMENTS LATER, THE CROWD ARRIVES

At Blacks, the first around was Sanctuaire, followed by Sweetheart, Zoop, New Wave, Patricia J, Perfect 36, Toad, Avatar, Pair A Dice, Kicks, Tusitala, Nidaros, Sagittarius, Pacific Spirit, Simpatico, Sweet Pea, Makani and Higher Power.  On the run to Gov, most boats sailed closer to shore taking advantage of a current and taking waves on the beam rather than the bow.  Some of us tried sailing further off shore striving to get to the greater wind developing outside, but at this angle we were taking the waves on our bow which was slowing us down.  It did not help that the wind also seemed to be decreasing as we closed on Gov.

At Gov, first around was Guenter on his Finn,  Zoop followed by Patricia J, Sweetheart, New Wave, Avatar, Sanctuaire, Perfect 36, Sagittarius, Nidaros, Pacific Spirit, Pair A Dice, Toad, Tusitala, Kicks, Simpatico, Sweet Pea, Higher power and Makani.  After Gov, it felt great to be hard on the wind again.  All boats headed off shore for the greater wind and tacked our way to the finish.

At the finish, the first across the finish line was Zoop 49:07 followed closely by Patricia J 49:08, Guenter on his Finn 50:06, Avatar 50:12, New Wave 51:19, Sanctuaire 51:34, Perfect 36  52:45, Sagittarius 53:02, Sweetheart 53:26, Nidaros 55:46, Pair A Dice 56:08, Pacific Spirit 57:16, Toad 58:10, Tusitala 58:34, Simpatico 1:03:18, Kicks 1:04:39, Makani 1:05:33 and Sweet Pea 1:05:56.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was 2.8 nautical miles.

It was a great evening for a sail. The Easterly started off with a light breeze that crescendoed as the evening progressed with great wind for the finish.  I always count my blessings when the wind stays strong enough to complete the race.

RACE QS:

Most boats are using this app and uploading their tracks.  The track for tonight can be found at this site: https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2021-08-04T02:27:49Z&dt=2021-08-03T17:45:29-07:00..2021-08-03T19:22:47-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1628042756635&focus=Pairadice&rival=P36%20(alt)&tab=match&view=manual&lat=36.950960&lon=-121.994254&tilt=12&range=241&heading=38

While it is wonderful that we can use this app to conduct our races, there are many functions that can be used to improve your sailing.  I encourage people to mount their phone face up with top of phone pointed toward the bow and to plug into power so your phone does not stop tracking.  Also, I encourage people to Preset their start for 5:45 so you can learn about your starting tactics.  Once the race is over looking at the app on your phone, there will be a red light in the upper right corner of the screen.  Click on this red light and choose the option to “save and upload”.  Your track will upload and you can study it when you open the race QS website, find your journal and the date of the race.  Another option to access your track is to just click on the site listed in this blog (above).

Using Race QS for maximum benefit to improve your sailing is where the Race QS benefits come alive. When viewing the website on your computer, click on the arrow on the left of your screen to open the menu.  You can click on the icon at the bottom (boat vs boat) and choose your boat and your competing boat.  Once this is done, scroll to the bottom of the menu and choose options you wish to examine. I like to click to highlight the small white circle with T and the icon that looks like a speedometer. Once selected close the menu and back on the main screen, at the bottom  I like to click on the icon showing two boats.  This gives the view from above looking straight down at your boats avatar and your competitor. You will see a cone in front of your boat.  As the track is running, the app drops a dot on the cone every second showing where the bow of your boat is pointing.  After 20 seconds, dots disappear so there are always about 20 dots.  You are steering your boat at its best when the dots appear as a tight cluster.  Whenever you tack or jibe, the app will put a small white dot on your track with either a T or J in the circle.  When you click on this dot, it will open a window analyzing either your tack or jibe by 8 different parameters.  The more you learn about this software, the more you can use it to your benefit.

LESSONS FROM A CROWDED MARK ROUNDING IN LIGHT WIND:

 It was a valuable lesson for all of us:  We can call perfect laylines to round a mark without other boats in close proximity.  It becomes a different calculation when you have one or two other boats affecting the wind at the mark.  When there are 20 plus boats trying to round a mark AND you have adverse currents with boats failing on their first attempt  trying to round the mark again, it gets very interesting.  Boats trying to round with no wind and adverse current, is a recipe for lack of control.  We all know the rules and do our best to comply, but in conditions like these, things happen like slow motion collisions. In these lack of control situations,  declaring a foul is appropriate, but shouting, cursing and exclaiming your “rights” does no good.  Every skipper that has been in lack of control situations in close proximity can empathize.  Everything gets distorted.  You may see a window of opportunity, that quickly evaporates as boats block your wind.  One lesson I am learning is that in unusual conditions (weird wind, currents and traffic) I will swing wide from the mess to avoid the situation.  Sometimes, being competitive has its price.  As always, whenever an “incident” happens, I count my blessings when no one gets injured!

CORINTHIAN SPIRIT!

Years ago, one of the famous sailors, as a young teen was competing in a regatta.  He was very far ahead of the nearest competitor and rounded a mark.  After rounding the mark, he proceeded to sail to shore and put his boat away. His chagrined father questioned “what are you doing”?  He replied “I hit the mark and retired”.   This was before rules allowed exoneration by taking turns.  He was so far ahead NOBODY knew he had hit the mark, but he acted as a Corinthian.

We are all competing and trying to improve our performance.  This becomes very challenging in situations like the Blacks rounding on this night, but I encourage everyone to follow the rules and do a turn if a rule is broken.  Some of the boats will quickly do a 360 when a foul is committed.  In order to level the playing field lets follow the Corinthian spirit.

See you next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice