JULY 26, 2022 SENTINEL RECOGNIZES SPLIT FLEET

 

JULY 26, 2022

SENTINEL RECOGNIZES SPLIT FLEET

On my arrival at the harbor, I was encouraged to see a healthy Northwest breeze showing on the flags.  We might be able to have a race!  We prepped the boat and exited the harbor and saw 10 to 15 knots of wind filling the bay.  We determined the wind direction was from about 230 degrees and set a line square to this direction.  The Yellow start mark was partially submerged whenever waves went under it.  We saw that we were in a rising tide and knew that this mark would soon be submerged and present another hazard.  With about 20 boats out for the fun, we split the fleet into two starts: Fleet A and Fleet B.  We called for course Whiskey 3 and blew one horn at 5:50 . This horn was a 5 minute horn for Fleet A and a 10 minute horn for Fleet B.  It was interesting with most light displacement boats choosing Fleet A, and two Catalinas choosing the challenge of competing in this class. The "rolling start" seemed to work well.

All boats tacked their way to the first mark: Schuyler.  The first around was Aboriginal, followed by Frisky, Geronimo, New Wave, Tusitala and Aquavit together, Good Timin', Pair A Dice and Simpatico.  As Fleet A sailed toward the next mark, Fleet B approached Schuyler with Makani first around followed by Nidaros, Toad, Pacific Spirit and Kicks.

The wind always feels like it is dying when sailing down wind, but adding the apparent wind to the boat speed showed we still had 10 knots or more of wind.  The first Fleet A boat to round Blacks was Aboriginal then Geronimo, Frisky, Tusitala, New Wave, Aquavit, Good Timin', Pair A Dice and Simpatico.  As Fleet B approached Blacks, the first around was Nidaros, then Makani, Toad, Pacific Spirit and Kicks.

Since the yellow start mark was submerged, the race finished at the red ball end of the line.  For fleet A, the first across was Aboriginal 41:02, then Geronimo 47:56, Frisky 48:59, New Wave 50:21, Tusitala 50:17, Aquavit 50:47, Good Timin' 52:13, Sailing Pair A Dice 55:44 and Simpatico 58:18.  For fleet B, the first around was Makani 56:35 followed by Toad 57:02, Nidaros 57:11, Pacific Spirit 1:02:26, Kicks 1:04:15 and Winn II 1:05:07.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 3.42 NM.

Splitting the fleet to Fleet A and B was well received by the crowd.  I did not get any negative comments about the experience. With the boats spread across the bay, it must have been quite a sight with the Santa Cruz Sentinel photographer (Schmul Thaler) posting a front page photo of the scene.  Tuesday Night Sailing makes front page news!

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

STANDING          BOAT                                                     ADJUSTED SECONDS                       HIGH SCORE                       FLEET A:

1              ABORIGINAL                                                     2349                                                       9

2              GERONIMO                                                        2578                                                       8

3              GOOD TIMIN                                                     2650                                                       7

4              FRISKY                                                               2661                                                       6

5              NEW WAVE                                                        2682                                                       5

6              TUSITALA                                                          2709                                                       4

7              PAIR A DICE                                                       2728                                                       3

8              AQUAVIT                                                            2800                                                       2                                                            

9              SIMPATICO                                                         2933                                                       1

FLEET B:

1              MAKANI                                                              2892                                                       6

2              TOAD                                                                   2909                                                       5                 

3              NIDAROS                                                            3061                                                       4

4              WINN II                                                               3178                                                       3

5              PACIFIC SPIRIT                                                  3191                                                       2

6              KICKS                                                                  3239                                                       1

 

PHOTO ON FRONT PAGE OF SC SENTINEL (7/27) BY SHMUEL THALER

Race QS:

The track for this evening can be found at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2022-07-27T02:41:16Z&dt=2022-07-26T17:40:02-07:00..2022-07-26T19:34:46-07:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1658887455669&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Tusitala&tab=match&view=manual&lat=36.953081&lon=-121.995897&tilt=0&range=286&heading=194

STRATEGY AND TACTICS:

While it was interesting competing in the A fleet with a cruising boat, it presented an opportunity to learn.  The lesson was about using good strategy and good tactics.  Strategy involves choosing the right course with conditions on the water.  Tactics involve how you deal with other boats.  On Pair A Dice, for this evening we did not employ a proper strategy or correct tactics.  In Santa Cruz sailing the strategy with Northwest wind, almost always, is to tack over to port very soon after crossing the start line.  Doing this, you get flatter water taking the waves on the beam rather than on the bow. Waves on the bow inhibit smaller boats more than larger boats.  Additionally, you experience a lift as you approach the point.  Tactics always dictate that you sail in clear air and not closely follow a large boat disturbing the wind in your sails. Strategically, we should have tacked over to port right after crossing the line rather than following bigger boats further out.  This would have also been the correct tactical move presenting clearer, undisturbed wind. 

TUESDAY NIGHT SEMINARS:

We are going to start having seminars on the FIRST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH.  Next Tuesday (August 2) we will have a seminar centered on understanding and using Race QS. The timing of the seminar will depend on the finish time of the race, allowing people to get their meal and drinks then meet downstairs for the seminar.  Since we are dealing with Race QS, it would be wise to bring the phone that you record your track on.  

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS:

It is time to implement everything you have learned about racing!  Big Brother Big Sisters regatta is this Sunday July 31.  I have always had fun participating in this regatta.  Crowded start lines are not a problem in this regatta since it is a reverse PHRF start, you seldom have boats starting at your same time.  It is a short race with a great party (Food, Drinks and Music) below the yacht club where the boats are usually on trailers.  You can register at SCYC.org > Regattas> Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice