OCTOBER 18, 2022 BATTLE OF THE WINDS

 

OCTOBER 18, 2022

BATTLE OF THE WINDS

I had a project to do on my boat so I was at the harbor by 2pm.  I was encouraged to see plenty of wind on the flags through the afternoon, but as the afternoon progressed, the wind was dying.  By 5pm the flags were limp!  As we left the harbor, there was a good Northwesterly blowing way outside and a hint of an Easterly at the start area.  Which wind would prevail?  We even felt a Northerly blowing off the beach at times then hints of a Northwesterly again.  In these changing conditions, it is impossible to set a line square to the wind, but we tried anyway.  I really thought the wind would fill from one of the directions but the wind confusion continued.  In such light conditions, there are no marks close enough to conduct a race, so we motored about 300 yards from the start line and dropped our "flag buoy". We called for a course from the start line to take the flag buoy to starboard and used the harbor entrance as the finish line. We blew the 5:50 horn for a two-fleet start.  Though I counted close to 20 boats out for the fun, it was understandable that many boats were enticed by the stronger wind outside or the better drinks at the bar and only 12 boats actually sailed the short course.

I decided to sail Fleet B this night and witnessed a hectic A Fleet start with the wind changing to a direction that favored the yellow ball end of the line and several boats trying port tack starts.  The first A fleet boat to round the flag buoy was Avatar followed by Tusitala, Sweetheart, Sanctuaire, Pacific Spirit, Double Espresso and Muffin.   While there was a very light breeze for the A Fleet start, B Fleet had even lighter wind with many of us stuck in a hole of no wind.  The first B Fleet boat around the temporary mark was Kicks followed by Sweet Pea, Makani, Nidaros and Simpatico.  Pair a Dice could not finish the race in order to retrieve the marks.

At the finish for A Fleet, Avatar was first across 23:39, followed by Tusitala 25:03, Sweetheart 25:30, Sanctuaire 26:15, Double Expresso 26:21, Pacific Spirit 28:08 and Muffin 28:44.  Fleet B finished with Kicks in the lead 24:55 (GO KICKS!), followed by Makani 24:56, Sweet Pea 26:03, Nidaros 26:57 and Simpatico 29:32.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was about 0.6 NM.

It was a beautiful sunset, but throughout the race, wind was constantly changing direction and strength. It was like we were experiencing a battle of the winds.

PHOTO FROM SEB SUSSMAN ON TOAD

 PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE   BOAT                                                     ADJUSTED SECONDS       HIGH SCORE

FLEET A:

1              AVATAR                                               1339                                       7

2              TUSITALA                                           1449                                       6

3              SANCTUAIRE                                     1506                                       5

4              DOUBLE EXPRESSO                         1521                                       4

5              SWEETHEART                                    1533                                       3

6              PACIFIC SPIRIT                                  1589                                       2             

7              MUFFIN                                               1641                                       1

FLEET B:

1              KICKS                                                  1387                                       5

2              MAKANI                                              1407                                       4

3              SWEET PEA                                         1464                                       3

4              NIDAROS                                             1552                                       2

5              SIMPATICO                                          1673                                        1

             

BOATS SAILING TOWARD FINISH LINE AT HARBOR ENTRANCE    
FROM DIANA LANE ON PACIFIC SPIRIT

                       

Race QS:

The track for this evening can be found at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=85644&updatedAt=2022-10-19T01:55:28Z&dt=2022-10-18T17:40:04-07:00..2022-10-18T18:55:19-07:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1666140112084&focus=Sweet%20Pea&rival=Kicks&tab=match&view=match

NEXT TUESDAY- LAST OF THE SEASON:

Next Tuesday will be the last Tuesday night sail of the season.  It is also a barbecue night and a celebration at the club with many boats and sailors getting recognition for various attributes and characteristics.  If you have participated in this Tuesday Night Sailing series, I encourage you to attend this celebration.

We will transition to Tuesday Afternoon Sailing on November 1 for those that can make it.  We will start the season with a 4PM start and we will begin with a two fleet start, with the horn blown at 3:50 for Fleet A to start at 3:55 and B Fleet at 4pm.

There are differences between Tuesday Night summer sailing and Tuesday Afternoon winter racing.  While Summer sailing has few impediments, Winter is different.  The harbor may be shoaled, it could be pouring rain or have large swells at the harbor entrance.  The SCYC racing marks will ultimately be removed so we may change the start area to be around GOV.  These differences require communication if there will not be a race.  This will be communicated through email, so if you are not on the Tuesday Afternoon email list and you are interested in Tuesday afternoon sailing, please send me your email address. As a bonus, SCYC will be open and food offered starting at 5PM.

NOVEMBER 1 PAUL TARA PRESENTATION:

Put this on your calendar.  After the race, Paul Tara will present his piece on seamanship and the chain of errors that can cause things to spiral out of control.  Start time of this presentation will be determined by the time of our arrival at the club after the race.  We will let you know when it will start.

TUESDAY SAILING BONUS:

I love sailing with different crew.  It can be an incredible learning experience.  While I am on the helm, I focus on the tell tales to make sure I am steering efficiently.  I experienced a new element on this night with new crew.  This crew was scanning the boats to anticipate and announce wind changes as displayed by other boats.  This is an elementary concept, but for me was a revelation with such changing winds.

BARBECUE POTLUCK NEXT TUESDAY AFTER THE RACE, BRING YOUR BEST BARBECUE ITEMS TO GRILL AND SHARE.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice