NOVEMBER 22, 2022 "NOWINDER" SAIL

 

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

"NOWINDER" SAIL

Predictions for the afternoon were encouraging with up to 10 knot winds being predicted. When I arrived at the harbor at 1:30, I was encouraged to see the flag flying on the Crow's Nest which confirmed this prediction.  We prepped the boat and left the harbor to discover the SCYC marks had been pulled for the winter as is the usual custom.  I announced multiple times over the radio that the start would be from the Gov mark area as all boats seemed to exit the harbor and turn left rather than right to get to the start area.  The wind seemed to be strong enough to call for an ambitious course.  Since we were starting earlier (2:55), we would have time to complete the course before darkness would spoil the fun.

We determined the wind was coming from about 210 degrees and set a line square to this direction and called for a course: start, Mile to port, SC2 to port and finish at the line between Gov and the end of the wharf. We called for all boats to start at 2:55 and blew the 2:50 horn giving 5 minutes to the start.  As has turned into a normal occurrence, the wind died in the last 5 minutes before the start.  Despite this lack of wind, many boats accomplished good starts.  The boats that had good starts really achieved a good advantage as the wind outside seemed to die a little slower than the inside breeze.  The first boat around Mile was Geronimo, followed by Tusitala, Avatar, Nidaros, Rosie (Olson 25), Perfect 36, Kicks, Pair a Dice, Pacific Spirit and Big Mac.

As all boats made their way back inside, the wind was ranging from very light to nonexistent depending on where you were on the bay.  Despite this lack of speed, it was a glorious afternoon spent bobbing around on the bay. Although a few boats retired, most boats finished the course.  Geronimo was first across the finish line 57:10, followed by Tusitala 1:05:48, Avatar 1:07:20, Nidaros 1:10:12, Perfect 36 1:23:50, Rosie 1:35:07, Big Mac 1:47:59, Pair A Dice 1:48:41, Pacific Spirit 1:52:45 and Kicks 1:53:01.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was 2.34 NM.

Though it was a slow race, it was still a beautiful sunset sail in very light wind.  We all learned why sailors in Santa Cruz call the month of November "Nowinder".   It certainly was a "Nowinder sail"!

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE                   BOAT                                              ADJUSTED TIME

1                              GERONIMO                                        53:46

2                              TUSITALA                                           1:02:03

3                              AVATAR                                               1:02:12

4                              NIDAROS                                            1:05:37

5                              PERFECT 36                                        1:18:12

6                              ROSIE                                                   1:29:06

7                              BIG MAC                                             1:39:21

8                              SAILING PAIR A DICE                       1:41:43

9                              KICKS                                                   1:45:59

10                            PACIFIC SPIRIT                                   1:46:26 

                  CAN YOU THINK OF ANYWHERE ELSE YOU WOULD RATHER BE?

                                                    PHOTO BY SAM HARDIN

Race QS:

The track for this evening can be found at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=86371&updatedAt=2022-11-23T01:05:57Z&dt=2022-11-22T14:52:51-08:00..2022-11-22T17:03:28-08:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1669157775862&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Nidaros%20II&tab=fleet&view=auto

THE START:

Everyone knows that the start is a critical part of racing.  A good start involves knowing time and distance.  How long will it take to sail a certain distance in a certain amount of time?  This gets difficult when the wind is quickly dying.  The better sailors know to not get far from the line before the start in varying conditions.  If you are early to the line, it is better to slow the boat a little by loosening the sheets a little rather than trying to tack around as I did on this night.   Tacking in very light wind is excruciatingly slow resulting in a very poor start.

PHYSICS OF LIGHT AIR SAILING:

Predictions for light wind encourage me to use my largest headsail: the 155. I have found that when the wind gets very light that, with the larger headsail, it is impossible to control the boat going to weather.  When this happens, I partially furl the headsail to regain control but never thought about how this works. How the sails work normally going to weather: the wind on the leeward side of the sail (having a greater distance to travel) speeds up relative to the windward wind.  The vortex created by these two winds meeting at the leech, creates the suction that pulls the boat forward.  If the speed of the boat decreases to the point that the leeward wind does not reach the leech, you get no vortex (suction) and the physics of the sail do not work. Partially furling the headsail  shortens the distance between the luff and the leech and allows this vortex to form.  Would it help to have a telltale on the leech of the jib for these situations to tell when you have furled the sail enough? This concept was explained to me by one of the better sailors at the club.  I LOVE SCYC and the opportunities to learn presented there!

We will see you next Tuesday afternoon for a 3pm start.

NEXT TUESDAY IS THE LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH AND THERE WILL BE A BARBECUE AT THE CLUB AFTER THE RACE  WEATHER PERMITTING. BRING YOUR BEST GRILLING FOOD!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

NOVEMBER 15, 2022 ALMOST A GREEN FLASH SUNSET

 This was the night we almost saw the green flash.

 

Barry was on vacation this week, so Doug Mahone filled in for him setting up the race and writing this report.

 

It was a cool (upper 60’s), sunny afternoon.  The wind was blowing 4-6 kts from 240 - 280.  We set up the start line and called for course W5 (Start, Schuyler, Finish), hoping the wind would hold long enough to complete the race.  We called for a single fleet race, with the 5 minute warning at 3:50p and the start at 3:55p.

 

There were 11 boats out for the start, but only 7 recorded RaceQs tracks. As we were maneuvering for the start, the wind showed signs of fading, but there was enough for everybody to get a clean start, with the left end favored.  There was a bit of verbal discussion about the rules (shouting), but no collisions. And it was all in slow motion, so everybody settled in to trying to go fast (typically around 4 kts). On the upwind leg to Schuyler, most boats went offshore, where the wind was a bit steadier and stronger. By the time we got to Schuyler, the breeze had lightened and the fleet was quite spread out. Boats were beginning to give up and head for the harbor (club bar).  It took the leaders about 25 minutes to get to Schuyler, which gave us some hope the race would complete within an hour, right around sunset.

 

The rounding order at Schuyler was: Yellowbelly, Perfect 36, Avatar, Rosie, Big Mac, and Pacific Spirit.  Everybody else had resigned the race.  As the fleet headed back downwind to the finish, some were using whisker poles, some were jibing downwind.  New Wave impressed us by popping open their spinnaker, but that was only to get back to the harbor quicker. By this time, the wind was down to less than 4 kts and boats were dropping out one by one.

 

In the end, Yellowbelly was the first to finish, in just under an hour.  Perfect 36, finishing about 15 minutes later, was the only other boat to hold on to the end. The rest of us enjoyed a lovely sunset.  It was clear enough to look for a green flash as the sun dipped below the horizon, but we never saw it (it DOES happen sometimes). The modest parade of boats back into the harbor was a preview of the lighted boat parade (with running lights). We were greeted outside the harbor mouth by a 6 kt breeze from the north that showed up too late to be of any use for racing.

 

To see the action on RaceQs, follow this link:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1066813&updatedAt=2022-11-16T01:29:15Z&dt=2022-11-15T15:50:03-08:00..2022-11-15T17:29:13-08:00&boat=Avatar&model=Express27&time=1668556271597&focus=Yellowbelly&rival=P36&tab=match&view=manual&lat=36.951347&lon=-121.993811&tilt=1&range=173&heading=270

 

Doug.

 

Douglas Mahone

305 Harbor Drive

Santa Cruz  CA  95062

 

doug@dmahone.com

(916) 541-6607

Thanks Doug for putting the race on and an excellent recap!

Barry

NOVEMBER 1, 2022 AFTER THE FRONT PASSED THROUGH

 

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

AFTER THE FRONT PASSED THROUGH

There were predictions for rain on Tuesday and I was apprehensive about sailing.  I checked the predictions, and all indications were that the rain would pass Santa Cruz be done by 3pm.  I left Pacific Grove at about 1 in driving rain and saw rain the whole way up to Santa Cruz. When we arrived at the harbor, the flag was limp, and it was still raining but there was a blue sky approaching from the north.  Once again, the wind was coming from various directions.   As we left the harbor around 3:20, the sky was blue and the predictions for 13 knot winds were vanquished with winds approaching 20 knots.  The wind direction was from the North, so we set a line square to the wind and called for a course of: Start, Gov and finish at the harbor entrance.  With such dire predictions, it was not surprising that we only had 3 boats out for the fun.

We blew a horn at 3:50 for a 2-fleet start with all three boats starting at 5 minutes till four.  We all romped our way through the waves on our way to Gov with Pacific Spirit being the first around Gov and New Wave being second around.  Pacific Spirit was First through the harbor entrance and as conditions started to get milder came back out for a pleasant sail under blue skies.

We went back to retrieve our start-line buoy and made our way to the harbor.   While it all started with raucous wind, the afternoon turned into beautiful sailing conditions after the front passed through.

I was surprised to see the number of people that came to the club with only 3 boats out.  Many came for Paul Tara's presentation on Seamanship.

PAUL TARA'S "SEAMANSHIP":

Paul put on an excellent presentation about many of the marine disasters that have occurred in the past as well as more recent events.  He talked about everything from the Titanic to smaller boats lost locally.  The discussion centered around errors made in judgement as well as design and race management. One critical aspect presented was the number of accidents that have occurred when people used autopilot without having anyone on watch.  The presentation was so all encompassing that even my visiting non-sailing sibling found it very interesting.

RACE QS:

The track for this evening can be seen at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=85950&updatedAt=2022-11-02T00:20:08Z&dt=2022-11-01T15:42:06-07:00..2022-11-01T17:20:04-07:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1667343962221&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Nueva%20Ola&tab=fleet&view=auto

Stay tuned for next Tuesday's afternoon sail starting at 4pm.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice