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/
Doug.
Douglas Mahone
305 Harbor Drive
Santa Cruz CA 95062
(916) 541-6607
Thanks Doug for putting the race on and an excellent recap!
Barry
Pacific Spirit joined the race, but we decided not to upload our track since we didn't finish. When the sun set, we still had twenty minutes (or more) to go to the finish line, and it was just too cold to continue in the dark.
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