JULY 12, 2022 ENOUGH CHILLY WIND

 

JULY 12, 2022

ENOUGH CHILLY WIND

When I arrived at the harbor at 4:30, the flags were showing a good northwest wind with a heavy cloud bank just offshore.  I was thinking it was going to be a carbon copy of last Tuesday's conditions.  As we left the harbor, conditions had subsided a little, but still showed enough wind for a race.  The question is always: will the wind last for a good race?  We set the start line and called for an ambitious course for the conditions: Whiskey 3.  We blew a 5-minute horn for a 6 pm start for a single fleet race.

On PAD, we detected that the outer end of the line was slightly favored and set up to start closer to that end with the object of achieving clear air.  While we started on starboard tack with Tusitala on our starboard stern, there were a couple of boats that did port tack starts and pulled it off without needing to duck too many boats. Everyone tacked their way to Schuyler, in the 10 knots of apparent wind.  The first boat around was Aboriginal, but their Race QS track stopped short of the mark.  The next boat to round was Pinata followed by New Wave, Pacific High, Avatar, Aquavit, Yellow Belly, Nidaros, Tusitala, Pair A Dice, Perfect 36, Toad, Simpatico, Sea Quake, Kicks, Pacific Spirit and Sweet Pea.

After rounding Schuyler, the wind seemed to decrease which is normal when you round a windward mark and start running with the wind.  It was a long, slow slog toward Blacks, but we had enough wind to at least achieve 3 knots of boat speed.  Pinata was the first around Blacks followed by New Wave, Yellow Belly, Pacific High, Avatar, Aquavit, Pair A Dice, Perfect 36, Simpatico, Tusitala, Toad, Nidaros, Kicks, Pacific Spirit, Sea Quake and Sweet Pea.

At the finish, Pinata was first 51:31, followed by New Wave 55:32, Yellow Belly 57:20, Pacific High 57:49, Avatar 59:55, Aquavit 1:00:47, Perfect 36 1:03:53, Pair A Dice 1:04:44, Wind II 1:05:49, Tusitala 1:06:23, Toad 1:06:32,  Nidaros 1:06:57, Simpatico 1:07:28, Kicks 1:11:19, Pacific Spirit 1:12:55, Sea Quake 1:14:17 and Sweet Pea 1:15:02.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 3.42 NM.

Though it was overcast and cloudy, there was at least enough chilly wind to have a good race!

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE                   BOAT                     ADJUSTED SECONDS                     HIGH SCORE

1              PINATA                                2762                                                       17

2              YELLOW BELLY               2957                                                       16

3              NEW WAVE                        2993                                                       15

4              AVATAR                              3143                                                       14

5              PACIFIC HIGH                   3150                                                       13

6              WIND II                               3220                                                       12

7              SAILING PAIR A DICE      3268                                                       11

8              PERFECT 36                       3340                                                       10

9              AQUAVIT                            3400                                                       9

10           TOAD                                   3479                                                       8

11           SIMPATICO                         3483                                                       7

12           NIDAROS                            3647                                                       6

13           KICKS                                  3663                                                       5             

14           TUSITALA                           3675                                                       4             

15           PACIFIC SPIRIT                  3820                                                       3

16           SEA QUAKE                        3844                                                       2

17           SWEET PEA                         3937                                                       1

 

RACE QS:

It is necessary to run this app to be counted in this series.  Some boats record the track on two phones  so if the track stops on one phone, you can upload from the other phone.  I plug my phone in so it is charging while running the track.   We had several boats that had no track for this evening's race.

The track for this evening can be seen at:

                https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=81875&updatedAt=2022-07-13T02:35:27Z&dt=2022-07-12T17:45:01-07:00..2022-07-12T19:33:35-07:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1657677992428&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Nueva%20Ola&tab=fleet&view=follow&lat=36.951106&lon=-121.994162&tilt=5&range=281&heading=214

CHANGES COMING:

Several members of our fleet have requested a desire to split the fleet.  A ballot was sent to all boat owners registered in the series to determine the predominant feeling.  We had 21 boat owners reply and the vote was 13 choosing to keep our format as a single fleet and 8 voting to split the fleet.  The fact that only 21 out of 37 registrants voted indicates to me that many owners will be happy either way.

I always say that Tuesday Night Sailing is a work in progress.  We have made numerous changes over the years to improve, and the growth of our fleet shows that our efforts have been successful.

 There is a concern by some about possible danger with a crowded starting line.    These dangers only occur when boats do not follow good boating practices: 1) establishing a good lookout to be aware of other boats. 2) following the racing rules of sailing and 3) practice good boat handling skills. Next Tuesday, we will try a new strategy.  We will have two starts with two fleets of sailors: A fleet and B fleet. The A fleet is for those that enjoy the excitement and challenge of a crowded start line and want to open the competition to everyone. This allows all boats to compete with everyone else like we have done in the past.  The B group is for the sailors that do not want to deal with a crowded start line and are still learning and implementing the practices noted above.

The following procedures will be followed:

1)There will be no assignment for boats to either fleet, it will be the skipper's decision as to which fleet to compete in for each night.  Opening the B fleet creates a great opportunity for people interested in learning how to compete and race without dealing with an aggressive, crowded start line. 

2) There will be a single horn at 5:50. This single horn blast will be a 5-minute horn for fleet A (start at 5:55) and a 10-minute horn for the fleet B start (6pm start).  Each fleet will follow the same course (announced on channel 69) but will be separate races.  Fleet A is one race and fleet B is another race. It is critical for the fleet B boats to keep clear of the start line for the five minute countdown for the Group A boats start.   With varying conditions, it is impossible to compare elapsed times between fleets with a five-minute difference in starts. 

SEMINAR PROPOSAL:

We have established that the last Tuesday of every month is the barbecue night at the club.  These have become very popular social events.  We have enjoyed Tuesday night seminars before.  While barbecues at the club are great social events, seminars on this night are like a distraction.  We could offer seminars on the first Tuesday of every month.  We could have talks about using Race QS, starting strategies and other sailing topics.  Please let me know if this would interest you and fit into your schedule.

 

See you next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice