JANUARY 18, 2022
THE SHORT LONG RACE
After missing out on racing on Saturday (midwinters series) because
of the tsunami, we were all anxious to get out and race. After verifying the safety of the harbor, I
was encouraged to see about 10 knots of wind on the water at noon. On returning to the harbor at two o’clock,
the flags were limp and the sea was glassy.
As boats were leaving the harbor and approaching the start area, I had
no idea what course to call and how to set the line. You need even a whisper of a breeze to
accomplish these tasks. The boats were bobbing
and everyone seemed anxious to get a race off.
Avatar announced that they were seeing 1.5 to 2 knots a little further
outside. We motored out about 50 yards
and set the red ball as the windward mark and set the line mark for the nearly
nonexistent wind from 180 degrees. By the time we got everything set, we blew a
5 minute horn for a 3:20 start. Better
late than never!
On PAD we found a way to accomplish a port tack approach to
the line and tacking over to starboard tack to cross the line. All boats bobbed
and s-l-o-w-l-y made their way in less than 1 knot wind, toward the windward
mark that was excruciatingly far away (50 yards!). We all had our eye on the wind-line that was
outside making it’s way towards us, then backing off and finally coming back in
to sweep us all over the finish line.
At the finish Jersey Girl (SC27) was first over at 27:50,
followed by Avatar 44:14, Pacific Spirit 45:24, Perfect 36 46:06 and PAD at
48:06. Lighter boats rule and there was
definite compression of the fleet when the wind finally made its way inside.
Times are all elapsed and course length .34 NM.
It was the night of a very short, but long race!
2 Avatar
43:22
3 Pacific Spirit
44:29
4 Perfect 36 45:17
5 PAD
47:38
Race QS:
The track for this afternoon can be viewed at:
SAILING IN
LIGHT TO NON-EXISTENT WIND:
Though
sailing slow is no sailors desire, dealing with conditions like this offer an
opportunity to learn and improve. Sailing in Santa Cruz offers many
opportunities like this in the winter.
Most important to know is, as always, excessive use of the rudder does
nothing but slow the boat down. If you
want to tack with the boat not moving, turning the rudder all the way acts like
a brake. You would not start a drag race on land with the emergency brake
engaged. You must get the boat moving
with the rudder centered before trying to tack.
This can be difficult to do when the wind indicator is reading 0.1
knots. When tacking in nearly nonexistent wind, you can also let the jib
backwind to help get the bow around.
While it is not the most fun sailing conditions, observation and
practice will help you improve.
Let’s hope
for more wind next Tuesday.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair
A Dice
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