JANUARY 3, 2023 THE CALM BETWEEN THE STORMS

 

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:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=86914&updatedAt=2023-01-04T00:32:13Z&dt=2023-01-03T14:40:04-08:00..2023-01-03T16:30:08-08:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1672788477756&focus=Avatar&rival=Geronimo&tab=match&view=match

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