AUGUST 23, 2022 MIST-ICAL EVENING WITH BEFUDDLED WIND

 

AUGUST 23, 2022

MIST-ICAL EVENING WITH BEFUDDLED WIND

I was not encouraged when I saw the flags as I arrived at the harbor around 3:30.  A very faint Easterly was showing on the flags.  Was it going to be another evening of drifting in light winds?  As we left the harbor, I was surprised to see a good wind as the fog was moving closer to land.  I had planned to set a temporary mark a couple of hundred yards south-east of Blacks, anticipating a light wind evening.  As we sailed out to set this mark, the wind was increasing, and I decided to just use SC3 (course Echo 2) and did not set the mark.  As I returned to the start area, the wind seemed to be decreasing so I abandoned the idea of using SC3 and called for Echo 5 (twice around Blacks).

We blew a horn at 5:50 for our two-fleet start, Fleet A starting at 5:55. Fleet A started with a bunch of boats at the outer end of the line and Avatar and Pair A Dice setting up for clear air further down the line.  Starting further down the line gave good speed but required tacking over and ducking multiple boats to get to the lay-line.  The first around blacks was Aboriginal followed by Tusitala, Pacific High and New Wave together, Frisky, Aquavit, Geronimo, Jersey Girl, Avatar, Sanctuaire, Gold Rush and Pair A Dice.  For Fleet B the first around was Zoop followed by Pacific Spirit, Kicks, Nidaros and Toad.

Right after rounding the start mark many boats headed in closer to shore, while some boats sailed further out.  The inside track paid off as most of these boats rounded ahead of boats that led them around Blacks on the first rounding.  Was there a fog line (with more wind) inside that lured these boats in?  It certainly was proving to be an exciting evening with a dozen boats rounding marks in close proximity!

At the finish, Aboriginal was first in Fleet A 17:40 followed by New Wave 20:24, Geronimo 20:42, Frisky 21:52, Avatar 22:40, Jersey Girl 22:42, Aquavit 22:57, Double Expresso 22:58, Gold Rush 23:11, Pacific High 23:12, Tusitala 23:31, Sanctuaire 24:03 and Pair a Dice 24:30.  In Fleet B Zoop was first 21:14, Nidaros 24:25, Pacific Spirit 24:51, Toad  24:52 and Kicks 25:42.  All times are elapsed and the course was 1.68 nautical miles.

With the fog line moving in and out creating wind wherever it went, it was a mist-ical evening with befuddled wind.

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE                   BOAT                                     ADJUSTED SECONDS       HIGH SCORE

FLEET A:

1              ABORIGINAL                                      1004                                       12

2              NEW WAVE                                        1057                                       11

3              GERONIMO                                        1095                                       10

4              JERSEY GIRL                                        1125                                       9

5              AVATAR                                               1138                                       8

6              SAILING PAIR A DICE                       1167                                       7

7              FRISKY                                                  1175                                       6

8              GOLD RUSH                                        1179                                       5

9              DOUBLE EXPRESSO                          1211                                       4

10           SANCTUAIRE                                      1251                                       3

11           AQUAVIT                                             1256                                       2

12           TUSITALA                                            1259                                       1

FLEET B:

1              ZOOP                                                    1032                                       5

2              PACIFIC SPIRIT                                   1213                                       4

3              KICKS                                                    1239                                       3

4              TOAD                                                    1240                                       2

5              NIDAROS                                             1283                                       1

 

RACE QS:

The track for this evening can be found at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=83541&updatedAt=2022-08-24T01:57:11Z&dt=2022-08-23T17:40:03-07:00..2022-08-23T18:55:51-07:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1661303862411&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Avatar&tab=fleet&view=follow&lat=36.949873&lon=-121.988545&tilt=1&range=13317&heading=0

CHASING THE FOG:

We all know that wind is generated as a fog line moves through.  This evening presented a lot of challenges with about 20 boats crowded together in a short course.  Few of us were paying attention to where the fog was or where it was going attempting to avoid other boats.

NEXT TUESDAY IS THE LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH WHICH MEANS IT IS BARBECUE NIGHT AT THE CLUB AFTER THE RACE.  BRING YOUR BEST BARBECUE ITEMS TO GRILL!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice