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