JANUARY 3, 2023
THE CALM BETWEEN THE
STORMS
Wind predictions were not optimistic for the afternoon so I
was surprised when I got to the harbor and saw the flags indicating a good
breeze blowing from the northwest. At
least there was no rain! It feels
somewhat un-Californian to wish for no rain, if even for a few hours. We prepped the boat and as we left the
harbor just after 2 o’clock, there was a beautiful breeze of about 12 knots
across the bay. We optimistically set
the windward mark thinking the second mark would be Mile. As is customary for winter sailing, the wind
started decreasing as the start time approached. We had 8 boats out for the fun. We called for a course: Start, windward mark,
SC2 and finish between Gov and end of the wharf.
We had a decent start with all boats tacking their way
toward the first windward mark. The first to round the windward mark was Avatar
followed by Geronimo, Perfect 36 and Pair a Dice. Nidaros was somewhere in there along with
Perfect 36 but their track did not upload.
The wind seemed strong enough (and with enough daylight left) we extended
the course. When I announced the
lengthening of the course, I used the term “twice around” and called the course
out to finish after rounding the windward mark the second time. This resulted in confusion as two of the
boats rounding SC2 for the second time before finishing and the other two
finishing after rounding the windward mark.
Pair A Dice got stuck at the back of the fleet as the wind died
completely requiring us to start the engine to retrieve the marks (Pair A Dice DNF).
At the finish, it was Perfect 36 46:14 finishing the shorter
course just in front of Geronimo 46:35 then Avatar (long course) 47:26 and
Nidaros short course 50:39. Because of
my confusing directions and multiple courses being sailed, I will not apply
PHRF corrections.
After the nasty weather we have been experiencing, it was
awesome to get a sail in the calm between the storms. I checked the ocean on Wednesday and with the
new storm, the ocean was in a “Victory at Sea” state with whitecaps sweeping
over the Gov buoy.
RACE QS:
The track for this evening can be seen at:
UNUSUAL
CONDITIONS:
This evening had many issues to deal with. Though the wind was very light, the waves were coming through with size, offering a learning experience in dealing with waves (downwind, upwind and from abeam). There was also a strong current sweeping down the coast making it very difficult to round the weather mark. On top of these obstacles, the wind was constantly changing. Changing (very light) winds in strong surf and adverse currents, what could go wrong? Also there was a plethora of floating logs requiring an alert crew to keep an eye out for these obstacles.
LIMITING CONFUSION:
I always say
that this is a work in progress. Without
the SCYC marks in the winter, we are not able to use our course cards. To limit confusion, let’s use the following
winter course guide.
_)
_) _) (_ (_ (_
WINTER COURSES
SAILING
INSTRUCTIONS ARE AS LISTED ON THE SUMMER CARD
LIST OF
MARKS:
Start line is
from Gov to temporary mark
SC2
Yellow Can buoy
Windward
mark:Temporary mark (usually orange ball)
Mile Buoy
Finish line
is usually the line between wharf-end
and Gov unless noted otherwise
ALL MARKS
TAKEN TO PORT UNLESS SB IS NOTED AFTER
THE MARK NAME
G1: Start line , finish at SC2 (to port) (finish line is an extension of
line from end of wharf through SC2).
G2: Start line,
SC2, finish line
G3: Start,
Windward mark, finish line
G4: Start,
Windward mark, SC2, Finish line
G5 Start,
Windward mark, SC2, Windward mark, Finish line
G6: Start,
Windward mark, SC2, Windward mark, SC2, Finish line
G7: Start,
Mile, finish line
G8: Start,
Mile, SC2, finish line
G9: Start,
Windward mark, Mile, finish line
G10: Start,
Windward mark, Mile, SC2, finish line
NORTH OR EAST
WIND COURSES:
GN1: Start, Windward mark, SC2 (SB), finish line
GN2: Start,
Windward mark, SC2 (SB), Windward mark, finish line (Gov to SB)
GN3 Start, Windward mark, SC2 (SB), Windward
mark, SC2 (SB), Finish line (Gov to SB)
_) _) _) _) _)
Please print
this out for temporary use. If it works,
I will get course cards printed up for future use.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair
A Dice
