NOVEMBER 23, 2021 SHOULD' A BROUGHT A POLE

 

NOVEMBER 23, 2021

SHOULD’A BROUGHT A POLE

Showing up to the harbor at about 1:30 for our 3 pm race, there was very little wind showing on the flags.  By the time we left the harbor after 2:15, there was a southeasterly blowing with pockets of wind up to 10 knots.  It was a glorious day for a winter sail with predominantly clear skies.  We had 11 boats out for the fun and we set the line for wind that was coming from about 130 degrees.  We called for course M2: Start, Mile, finish at start.  As the clocked ticked down to the 3 pm start, the wind seemed to be dissipating.  By 3pm, the wind was nearly nonexistent for most of us.   Some of the lighter boats were able to use the less than 1 knot wind to S-L-O-W-L-Y sail toward Mile buoy.  In breeze that was light to nonexistent, if you were close to any boat at all, there was no progress.  Indeed after 30 minutes of bobbing, Pair A Dice was less than 100 yards from the start line.

As frustrating as it is for all boats in a race, organizers of races feel the frustration at an excruciating level.  Sailing in Santa Cruz is fraught with changing conditions.   A period of no wind is usually a transition from one wind to another.  We all deal with these changes on a regular basis.  The usual way to deal with this is to scan the water for where the wind is developing.  On this night, there was no transition.  It was just dead, leaving boats with no auxiliary power in a precarious position and needing a tow in.   Thanks to the boats that assisted with this effort.

As we retired from the race and were entering the harbor, I was pretty bummed out and one of my crew reminded me: “what a beautiful evening it was on the water even with no wind!”  My lesson for the night is realizing that we are truly blessed to live in such an environment.  As far as sailing this evening, I should of brought a fishing pole to take advantage of the conditions.

The club has a perfect view of the bay and sure enough as we were eating dinner at about 5 o’clock we looked out to sea and saw healthy wind ripples out on the bay, so it was a transition after all. 

LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH BARBECUE:

Next Tuesday is the last Tuesday of the month.  Our tradition has been to have a potluck barbecue on the last Tuesday Night sail of the month.  We will continue this tradition for Tuesday afternoon sailing.  I am looking forward to enjoying the social repartee we all enjoy at these events.  We have been conducting games at the club on Tuesday evenings at the club, so after dining we have backgammon games.  I can also set up a craps table for non-gambling craps.

Lets hope that we at least get some wind next week.  We will start the race at 3pm with the 5 minute horn at 2:55.

HAVE A FANTASTIC THANKSGIVING!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice