MARCH 15, 2022 FLUKY EASTERLY

 

MARCH 15, 2022

FLUKY EASTERLY

This was the night of the fluky easterly. The wind forecasts were all over the map, but none of them predicted an easterly.  When we got out to the start area, there was a decent 6 kt easterly blowing under sunny skies and calm seas, except for the occasional big roller coming from the southwest. There were 20 boats out, although only fifteen recorded RaceQs tracks.  A simple course of Start, Blacks, Finish, two times around, was called, but it was shortened to only one time around as the breeze diminished.

About the time that the 5 minute warning sounded, the wind died down to less than 2 kts, and the starting strategy was to stay close to the line.  Those that had wandered too far from the line were not able to get back on time. Quite a few were more than 3 minutes late, and one was more than 6 minutes late. Boats were fairly evenly spread out along the line. I didn't hear any shouting, which is always a good thing.

The winds remained quite light for the upwind leg, but the boats that stayed inshore toward the beach were getting better wind than those outside.  Boat speeds in the middle of the course were in the 1.5 kt range, and this was frustrating for most of us. To illustrate the discrepancy, Aboriginal sailed offshore, nearly a rhumb line course, directly toward Blacks, while Nidaros, (a much slower boat)  sailed in toward the beach before tacking out to the mark.  Nidaros was frequently sailing nearly a knot faster (over the ground), but sailed farther, and rounded Blacks ahead of Aboriginal. Both sailed into a hole in the wind as they approached Blacks, but even so, Nidaros was closer to the beach and in a lesser hole. That said, there were holes all over the course, and there was a strong element of luck in how well boats were doing.

The rounding order at Blacks was: Nidaros, Aboriginal, Patricia J, Avatar, Pair-a-Dice, New Wave, Zoop, Simpatico, Perfect 36, Makani, Good Timin', Sweet Pea, Pacific Spirit, Kicks, Tusitala. The boats in the latter third of the fleet found themselves in another hole as they approached and rounded Blacks.

The run back to the Finish was surprisingly eventful.  Because of the patchy wind, there was a lot of changing of position, although this time the pattern was not as clear.  The order of finish and elapsed time was: Aboriginal 31:31, Patricia J 38:16, Avatar 41:15, Nidaros 41:14, Dice 41:51,  Zoop & Wind II (tie) 42:47, Good Timin' 43:13, New Wave 43:33, Perfect 43:47, Makani 46:10, Simpatico 48:24, Sweet Pea 49:17, Kicks 51:37, Pacific Spirit 53:39, Tusitala 54:23.

The course was 0.86 nm.  The results, in corrected time, were: Patricia J 37:11, Dice 39:32, Avatar 39:33, Nidaros 39:42, Zoop 40:51, Good Timin' 41:23, Perfect 41:59, New Wave 42:11, Makani 44:13, Simpatico 46:15, Sweet Pea 47:12, Kicks 49:16, Pacific Spirit 51:34, Tusitala 53:06.  Missing PHRFs: Aboriginal, Wind II

This week's race was an excellent opportunity to practice light air sailing and wind finding when the breeze is uneven.  Getting your boat to move as effectively as possible requires a combination of good gear, clean bottoms, reduced weight, and addressing anything that slows the boat down.  The crew needs to sharpen their sail trimming, the driver needs to have a steady hand and a light touch on the helm, the tactician needs to spot wind shifts, lulls and puffs, and all of these things need to be even sharper than they are when there's a good, steady breeze. So rather than cursing the light winds, face them head on and learn to do better the next time you're seeing those conditions.  We're fortunate that Tuesday afternoons present the full range of sailing conditions to practice and master.  After all, that's what these races are for.

Doug.

doug@dmahone.com
(916) 541-6607

Thanks Doug for an excellent recap.

The Race QS track can be found at:   https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011635&divisionId=78693&updatedAt=2022-03-16T02:20:19Z&dt=2022-03-15T17:00:02-07:00..2022-03-15T19:20:15-07:00&boat=Dice&model=J24&time=1647393049188&focus=Dice&rival=Dice&tab=fleet&view=follow&lat=36.952574&lon=-121.994375&tilt=1&range=1458&heading=0

PHRF adjusted rating:

PLACE        BOAT           ADJUSTED SECONDS    “HIGH SCORE”*

1        PATRICIA J             2210                                   16

2       PAIR A DICE            2356                                   15

3       AVATAR                   2361                                    14           

4       NIDAROS                 2373                                   13

5        WIND II                   2383                                    12

6       ZOOP                       2443                                     11           

7       ABORIGINAL         2469                                      10

8       GOOD TIMIN          2471                                      9

9       PERFECT 36            2503                                       8              

10     NEW WAVE            2517                                        7

11      SIMPATICO            2762                                        6

12      MAKANI                 2770                                       5              

 13    SWEET PEA             2820                                      4

14     KICKS                        2942                                     3             

15     PACIFIC SPIRIT       3079                                      2

16    TUSITALA                 3185                                      1

The “High Score” is a suggested way to score that should encourage more participation in our series.  If 15 boats are competing and you get first place your score is 15 points for that race.  If 20 boats participate and you get first, you will score 20 points.  The more Tuesdays you sail, the more points you accumulate through the season.  Please offer feedback on this concept.  At this point, this is just a test run.     

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice