JANUARY 11, 2022 JANUARY SAILING IN TEE SHIRTS

 

JANUARY 11, 2022

JANUARY SAILING IN TEE SHIRTS

Predictions were for light and variable winds up to 8 knots for the afternoon.  When I got to the harbor I was not encouraged by the flags on the Crow’s nest, but as we left the harbor at around 2:20 we could see a little texture on the water.  As we approached the start area, we determined that the wind was coming from about 225 and set a line square to the wind. 

With such light wind, and the closest standing mark being Mile buoy, I was afraid people would not be able to complete the course.  We sailed upwind from the start line about 200 yards and set a “windward mark” which was a white fender.  The problem with the windward mark fender was that it was lying flat in the water looking a lot like the ubiquitous crab pots in the bay.

As the time approached for the start, the wind seemed to be building so I lengthened the course to twice around: start line, windward mark, start mark(stick), windward and finish at the normal finish line with start mark to port. We blew the five minute horn and all 7 boats set up for their start, which was a challenge.  In light winds, we have all learned to not venture far from the start area in case the wind decreases.  With the wind slightly increasing, many boats were using stalling moves to prevent being OCS.

As we all sailed toward the fender, confusion set in and some boats sailed toward crab pot floats rather than the fender.  The first around the windward mark was Perfect 36 followed by Nidaros, PAD, Avatar, Aquavit and Pacific Spirit.  After rounding the mark, we all beam reached to the start mark for the second go around.  The second time at the windward mark, Perfect 36 maintained their lead followed by Nidaros, Avatar,  Aquavit and Pair A Dice.

At the finish, it was Perfect 36 first 19:28 followed by Avatar 19:44, Nidaros 19:49, Aquavit 20:05, Pair A Dice 21:00 and Pacific Spirit 26:07. Times are elapsed and the course distance was about .75 miles.

With PHRF adjustments, the order of finish with corrected time was:

1 Perfect 36   16:51

2 Avatar          17:00

3 Pair A Dice   17:36

4 Nidaros         17:37

5 Aquavit          18:30

6 Pacific Spirit

Despite the problem with the windward mark confusion, it was a beautiful winter day’s sail with enough wind to have a race.  Ninety percent of the country is dealing with shoveling snow and freezing temperatures while we were sailing in tee shirts in January!

Race QS:

Almost all boats ran the race QS app.  The track can be found at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=77659&updatedAt=2022-01-12T00:07:26Z&dt=2022-01-11T14:55:01-08:00..2022-01-11T16:02:11-08:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1641943567494&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=P36%20(alt)&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.950598&lon=-121.994153&tilt=11&range=191&heading=248

ELIMINATING MARK CONFUSION:

Who would have thought a fender could look like a crab pot float? This was a huge education for me.  I should have at least had a weight on the rode for the mark so it was more vertical.  A better solution would be to use the fender for the start line and use the red ball for the windward mark.  Also, it would have been good to take the GPS position of the mark and announce it over the radio.  We are still working on improving our game!

Lets hope for good conditions and another great sail next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice