SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 HEALTHY NORTHWEST ENDING WITH A SHIFT

 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

HEALTHY NORTHWEST ENDING WITH A SHIFT

I arrived at the harbor early in the afternoon with the ocean showing a healthy breeze across the bay. Predict Wind was calling for 14 to 15 knot winds, but there was no indication that the wind was backing off so I swapped out the 155 for the 135 jib.  As we left the harbor right after 5 pm, I felt good having less sail area for the evening.  We determined the wind direction was from 245 and set a line square to this direction.  With so much wind, I called for course Whiskey 2: start, Schuyler, Mile, Blacks, finish.  We blew a 5:50 horn for a two-fleet start, Fleet A starting at 5:55 and Fleet B starting at 6pm.

Pair A Dice sailed with B fleet, so I was able to sight the start line for the A fleet start.  There was one boat that was OCS by a couple of seconds but returned to the line for a proper start: a true display of the Corinthian attitude!  All boats tacked their way toward Schuyler with Aboriginal leading the A fleet followed by Sweetheart, Tusitala, Sagittarius, Pinata, Aquavit, Perfect 36, Geronimo and Avatar. B fleet followed with Sanctuaire first around Schuyler followed by Zoop, Makani, Simpatico, Pair A Dice and Kicks.

After rounding Schuyler it was an easy reach to Mile with a longer run down to Blacks.  On the way to Blacks, there was a huge shift in the wind with the wind blasting from the north right off the beach.  What started as a run to blacks ended with a close reach to make the Blacks mark.   After rounding Blacks, the finish line could be reached downwind with the wind blowing off the beach.  

At the finish, Sweetheart was the first  A fleet boat over the line 37:27, followed by Aboriginal 38:32, Tusitala 43:02, Aquavit 43:16, Pinata 43:30, Sagittarius 45:23, Geronimo 45:11, Perfect 36 45:52 and Avatar 48:48.  Fleet B had Sanctuaire over first 44:07, followed by Zoop 46:30, Makani 48:08, Simpatico 48:42, Pair a Dice  50:43 and Kicks 57:41.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 3.85NM.

It was a beautiful evening on the water starting with a healthy northwesterly but ending with a huge shift in direction.

 

  

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE                   BOAT                                     ADJUSTED SECONDS                    HIGH SCORE

FLEET A:

1              ABORIGINAL                                      2184                                                                9

2              PERFECT 36                                        2197                                                                 8

3              TUSITALA                                           2235                                                                 7             

4              PINATA                                                2240                                                                 6             

5              SAGITTARIUS                                    2261                                                                 5

6              SWEETHEART                                    2270                                                                4

7              AQUAVIT                                             2318                                                                3

8              GERONIMO                                         2376                                                                2

9              AVATAR                                                2419                                                                1

FLEET B:

1              SANCTUAIRE                                     2208                                                                 6

2              ZOOP                                                    2235                                                                 5             

3              SIMPATICO                                         2286                                                                  4

4              MAKANI                                              2322                                                                  3

5              PAIR A DICE                                        2350                                                                  2

6              KICKS                                                   2768                                                                 1

RACE QS:

We had over 20 boats out for the fun, but only 15 tracks were uploaded to Race QS.  Running and uploading this track is the only way to be counted in our series.  The track for this evening can be found at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011635&divisionId=84501&updatedAt=2022-09-14T13:16:49Z&dt=2022-09-13T17:27:15-07:00..2022-09-13T19:29:33-07:00&boat=Dice&model=J24&time=1663115269539&focus=Dice&rival=Makani&tab=fleet&view=match                                                                                                                                            

IMPROVING YOUR RESULTS:

When I first started racing, we were very analytical about our racing. After each race, we would discuss three questions: What did we do right? What did we do wrong? What could we have done better? This resulted in our improving results.

There is racing and there is social sailing. Social sailing is fun, but without focus on performance, race results suffer.  Some top sailors will celebrate an event with many people on board and just not upload a track because they accept that they are not really racing.

When racing, each crew member can accept responsibility for improving results. The helmsman is most critical for keeping the boat "in the groove" (best speed and a proper course).  The helmsman should also monitor for headers and lifts as progress is made toward the windward mark.  Monitoring headers and lifts can also be monitored and pointed out by crew.  Taking advantage of tacking on headers is a huge factor.  Crew can assume many responsibilities: Are sails trimmed for best performance with jib fairleads in optimum position?  Are tacks fast and efficient? Pointing out patches of kelp to avoid (hitchhikers can be costly).  Keeping the skipper apprised of pertinent boat traffic.  Keeping weight position correct.

We had poor results on this evening which I attribute to my ignoring and not tacking on headers as they occurred.  I love sailing and always realizing ways to improve.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice