OCTOBER 19, 2021 NO RAIN, LIGHT WIND

 

OCTOBER 19, 2021

NO RAIN, LIGHT WIND

My heart sank when I first heard of predictions for rain on Tuesday.  We all want rain, but please don’t rain on my parade!  I got to the harbor around 4 and the sun was shining, but the wind was very light as evidenced by limp flags on the Crow’s Nest.  As we left the harbor around 5:15, it was encouraging to see a steady wind on the water of about 9-10 knots.  As boats filed out of the harbor, we determined that the direction of the wind seemed to be changing but predominantly around 240 degrees.  We decided on course G3 which was the shortest course available for this direction of wind and set a start line between square to wind and square to Gov.  Despite our efforts, the starboard end of the line was favored.  We had 15 boats out for the fun and blew the 5 minute horn for a 7:55 start.  As the 5 minute time started, it seemed the wind took the horn as a signal to decrease.

On Pair a Dice, though the starboard end of the line was favored, I wanted to get clear wind further down the line.  When we finally got going in the very light, less than 4 knot wind, we were only moving at between 1.5 to 2 knots of boat speed.  I called to shorten course to finish at the line between Gov and wharf end taking Gov to starboard.  With the nonexistent breeze, even this shortened course seemed like an ambitious task.  One by one, boats started retiring and heading for the “Taco Bar” at the club.

Kudos to the boats that actually made it to the finish: Tusitala, Toad and Friskie (Homer’s new boat).  New Wave got very close but could not cross the line.  It was a nice evening on the water blessed with a beautiful amber full moon rising from the East horizon.  It turned into a no rain, light wind evening.

We had a good turnout at the club for the food offered which was a Spaghetti dish with excellent salad, garlic bread and even a dessert.  Though we like the Taco’s usually served, spaghetti was a great switch.

Next Tuesday is the last Tuesday of the month and will be a barbecue potluck evening at the club after the race.  Please show up for this last potluck.  At 8pm I will be announcing boats and persons of special note and tokens of appreciation.  Since this is a potluck night, this will be the last Tuesday NIGHT sail of the season.  See below about our continuing to sail on Tuesday afternoons starting on November 2.

NEXT TUESDAY IS A BARBECUE POTLUCK EVENT AND WILL BE THE LAST TUESDAY NIGHT SAIL OF THE SEASON.

Race QS:

Most boats are running this app.  To see the track from this night click on this site: https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2021-10-20T02:15:52Z&dt=2021-10-19T17:45:05-07:00..2021-10-19T19:15:41-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1634694916102&focus=Pairadice&tab=setup&view=manual&lat=36.958420&lon=-122.012577&tilt=6&range=720&heading=0

TUESDAY AFTERNOON RACING:

Since many of us are retired, we will continue racing on Tuesday afternoon through the winter.  This endeavor is much different from the summertime with multiple obstacles: rain, the harbor getting shoaled over, the marks we use for racing are taken in for the winter. Despite these problems, winter sailing in Santa Cruz is often sublime with sunny conditions and steady light winds.  With variable conditions and obstacles, there may be Tuesdays we will not race.  Each boat that wants to participate in these Tuesday afternoon races should send me an email or fill out a form (next Tuesday at the barbecue) for me with the following information: Boat name, contact person and email address for notification of cancellation if conditions are not appropriate. We will continue to meet at the start mark until the SCYC marks are removed for the winter.  Once the marks are removed, we will meet at Gov and will set up a start line there.  I am thinking that we should meet at 2 o’clock for these races and communication will still be on channel 69.

SCYC SANCTIONED RACES:

Tuesday Night Sailing has been very popular and is a great way to hone your racing skills.  I have seen incredible progress by boats that had never raced until they came out for Tuesday Nights.  Why not apply these new-found skills in a SCYC sanctioned race?  All that is necessary is a current PHRF certificate  (PHRF forms at SCYC) and registering through the SCYC.org website under regattas.  The next sanctioned series of racing is the Mid winters series which will be on the 3^rd Saturday of each month starting on November 20.  You may even win a trophy to display at home.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice