NOVEMBER 2, 2021
FIRST TUESDAY AFTERNOON
SAIL
Predictions were all over the place for conditions on the
bay. I have learned to just go with the
flow and just deal with conditions that are delivered. Starting at 2 pm, is good because by this
time in the afternoon, the weather has usually settled. We were dealing with a steady light wind from
the south across the bay and an awesome sunny day. The wind was coming from 190 degrees, almost
due south. We had 10 boats out for the
fun and called for course M2: start, mile, finish and blew a 5 minute horn for
a 2pm start. Though the SCYC marks have been removed for the winter, an anchored
“red stick” has replaced the start mark and is visible enough for us to
use. Thanks to the race committee for
providing this.
The start was uneventful with Avatar nailing the start right
on time, establishing a lead in clear air which allowed them to consistently
expand their lead. At the weather mark,
Avatar was first around followed by Aquavit, New Wave, Pacific Spirit, Nidaros,
Pair A Dice, Muffin, Simpatico and Kicks.
On the way back to the finish line, the wind seemed to be
decreasing as we all moved slowly toward the finish. At the finish, Avatar was first 47:03
followed by New Wave 52:30, Nidaros 54:25, Aquavit and Pair A Dice both at
54:44, Wind II 57:20, Muffin 1:00:08,
Simpatico 1:05:57 and Kicks 1:10:28. All times are elapsed and the course
distance was 2.07NM.
It was a beautiful classical winter day and an awesome first
Tuesday afternoon sail for the year. Congrats
to Avatar and crew for showing us how it should be done!
RACE QS:
Everyone ran and uploaded their Race QS tracks. The track can be seen at:
https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2021-11-03T01:15:37Z&dt=2021-11-02T13:45:02-07:00..2021-11-02T18:15:36-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1635889523234&focus=Pairadice&rival=Nueva%20Ola&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.942350&lon=-121.996581&tilt=3&range=2101&heading=202
|
ADJ SEC
|
ADJ PLACE
|
|
2549.76
|
1
|
AVATAR
|
|
2903.66
|
2
|
PACIFIC
SPIRIT
|
|
2911.4
|
3
|
SAILING
PAIR A DICE
|
|
2920.23
2999
|
4
|
NEW
WAVE
5 WIND
II
|
|
3029.02
|
6
|
NIDAROS
II
|
|
3137.03
|
7
|
AQUAVIT
|
|
3309.92
|
8
|
MUFFIN
|
|
3609.24
|
9
|
SIMPATICO
|
|
3855.4
|
10
|
KICKS
|
HARBOR
ENTRANCE TACTICS:
Winter
conditions require more attention to detail while leaving and entering the
harbor. There can be shoaling, which
usually starts just inside the west jetty, but can also extend outside the
harbor when large swells persist. Check the harbor soundings if in doubt! It helps to have crew with surfing in their
history to read the waves. Surfers learn
to “read” lumps of water in the distance and can also read how shallow the
water is by how the waves are breaking.
When there is a shoal across the entrance while exiting the harbor, if
you find you are going straight up the face of a breaking wave, DO NOT let your boat crash straight down the back of
the wave! Instead try to take the back
of the wave at an angle so you do not bounce off the shoaled bottom!
Once again,
when entering the harbor, reading the waves is a valuable skill. When there is a swell, you will try to time
the entrance between sets of waves using your motor to speed through the
entrance. Always enter the harbor with
your boat perpendicular to the face of the wave without your boat headed for a
shallow part of the shoal or toward the rocks.
If you are not perpendicular to the wave face, the energy of the wave
will cause your boat to spiral out of control.
You do not want to be out of control at the entrance. Jetties and shoals are not very
forgiving.
It is
important for each skipper to decide whether to even leave the harbor depending
on the conditions. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! Check with the harbor office about
entrance conditions before leaving the harbor and realize that a difference in
tide can affect these conditions. My personal standard is that if there is a 5%
chance of crashing my boat, I will not go out!
*************************************************
I asked Don Radcliff for his input on this important subject and he submitted the following. This is great stuff!
These are harbor entrance tactics. Exiting is another matter. Always be aware of the state of the tide and the surf forecast before you leave.
If I have seen waves breaking in the entrance, I tend to approach the entrance at slow speed and watch for breaking waves. If some waves are breaking partially across the entrance, I will do circles just outside the danger zone until I sense a lull. Then it's time for full throttle, and be prepared to bail out if you guessed wrong. Once you are within a couple of boat lengths outside the west jetty, there is no turning back.
It is still shallow outside the entrance, beyond where the dredging ends. If the surf forecast is for more than 10 ft, be prepared for breakers 200 yards out.
Look at the latest Harbor Entrance Sounding. The shoaling has already started at the west jetty, and you need to stay more mid-channel. Because the entrance to the harbor is at an angle to the prevailing waves, you can't be perpendicular to the wave face all the time. However, it you see a wave starting to mound up and break behind you, turn perpendicular to it just before it hits. Once it hits you and you accelerate, turn left and cross behind and return to mid channel before the next wave hits.
Once the waves start breaking all the way across the entrance, it's time to wait for high tide and less surf. The best time to run any bar is just before high tide when it is still flooding. If you are on a falling tide, consider anchoring by the wharf or heading to Moss Landing.
Do not try to come in on the same wave with another boat, because you then have to worry about hitting them as well as the rocks.
If you have to pull an engineless boat in light winds, have someone prepared to drop the towline if they start to surf.
SCYC
MEMBERSHIP:
I have never
been one to twist peoples arms to become SCYC members. I have suggested
membership to some people that I thought would benefit and each of them are
happy with joining the club.
I sailed for
many years without becoming a member thinking that my wife would not enjoy the
club. Finally in 2009, we joined and I
would like to share some of the many benefits I have enjoyed as a member. One of the regular events at the club is
Friday Night dinners. The first Friday night dinner we attended as
new members, we were lucky to be able to dine with Ernie Rideout and
immediately knew we had made a good decision in joining.
SCYC has a
reputation as a sailing club! Just
dining and socializing with members can be a huge education in all aspects of
sailing and racing. Dining or sharing cocktails with people that have sailed
around the world or won national regattas or even manufactured winning boats
can be an enthralling experience. You
can come to the club as a guest, but you will never get to know and learn from
these very talented people without joining.
There are
many yacht clubs where members try to impress other members with their net
worth. SCYC is not one of these
clubs. As active as I have been in this
club, I do not know the financial status of most of the members.
Speaking of
other clubs, one of the things I enjoy while traveling is exercising
reciprocity with other clubs. You can
only enjoy this benefit as a member. When going to Maui, I enjoy the food,
drinks and ambiance of the Lahaina Yacht Club.
Going to San Francisco? Visit and dine at St Francis Yacht club or most
other clubs in the San Francisco bay. I
have had the pleasure of visiting the Royal Hong Kong Yacht club, Singapore
Yacht Club and Lauderdale Yacht club in Florida and many others.
The mission
statement for the club is to promote sailing and without the SCYC backing, support and facilities, our Tuesday Night sailing could never have been as
successful as it has become.
I have also
enjoyed assisting with the many regattas our club organizes. It is an incredible education to be on one of
the committee boats with a front row seat watching as world class sailors set
up for their starts.
There are
many social functions that occur throughout the year and each social event is
another opportunity to cement your many friendships made at the club.
The procedure
for joining the club is to have two members sign your application and pay $1000. Yearly dues are about $650. If you are interested or have questions about
joining, talk to me or any member when you are at the club.
We will see
you next Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock at the start mark area.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair
A Dice
