MAY 16, 2023 WARM STEADY EASTERLY

 

MAY 16, 2023

WARM STEADY EASTERLY

When I arrived at the harbor, the flags were showing a mild northwesterly breeze but as the afternoon progressed, it shifted to an Easterly.  It was a very pleasant afternoon as the sun was back and it was not necessary to bundle up to fight the chill that we have grown accustomed to.  As we left the harbor right after 5 o’clock the Easterly was building across the bay.   We approached the start mark area and determined the wind was straight from the East: 90 degrees and set a line square to this direction.  We decided to use an offset mark which we positioned toward shore and called for course Echo 2.

We blew the 5:50 horn for Fleet A to start at 5:55 and B fleet to start at 6pm. Both fleets got off to a clean start as all boats tacked their way to Blacks then off to the offset mark and S/F twice around.   Fortunately, the wind stayed consistent, though there seemed to be a differential between close to the beach and further out.  The first A Fleet boat across the finish line was Aboriginal 28:38 followed by Watts Moore 32:44, Friskey 33:01, Double Espresso 33:57, Good Timin’  34:26, Sweetheart 35:06, Sanctuaire 35:56, Aquavit 36:48, Perigon 38:34 and Rosie 39:32.  B Fleet had Zoop first across the line 32:02 followed by Nidaros 35:34, Pacific Spirit 37:42, Makani 38:12,  Big Mac 40:44, Simpatico 40:54, Sweet Pea 43:35 and Kicks 44:00.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was 2.4 NM.

It was a beautiful evening on the water with over 25 boats out for the fun and a warm steady Easterly breeze.

                                               PACIFIC SPIRIT SAILING UNDER A HALO

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS

FLEET A

PLACE   BOAT                                                     CORRECTED  TIME

1             WATTS MOORE                                  26:44

2             ABORIGINAL                                      27:18

3             FRISKEY                                              29:46

4             DOUBLE ESPRESSO                          29:59

5             GOOD TIMIN                                      30:09

6            SANCTUAIRE                                      31:22

7             AQUAVIT                                             34:15

8             ROSIE                                                    34:36

9            TUSITALA                                             34:52

10           SWEETHEART                                     35:20

11           PERIGON                                              36:05

FLEET B

1             ZOOP                                                    27:36

2             NIDAROS                                            31:52

3             PACIFIC SPIRIT                                  32:44

4             MAKANI                                             33:41

5             BIG MAC                                            33:55

6            SIMPATICO                                         35:55

7             KICKS                                                 38:27

8           SWEET PEA                                         38:37

 

RACE QS:

This app, which has been so critical for our Tuesday Night sailing has been barely functional.  My track did not even record for my boat.  As usual, I preset the start but took a phone call after presetting the start, which may have bumped Race QS.  All I know is that there was no track for me to upload.  Another problem was how Race QS displayed on the computer, the usual fleet portrayal was not available.  I had to open the app and search for each boat to assess the finish time and adjusted time.  The above PHRF adjusted times are the best I could do.  I only hope Race QS can get repaired.   To watch your track, pull up your account on the computer.

ACCIDENT PREVENTION:

Sailboat racing has many boats competing in close proximity, with wind shifts and puffs.  What could go wrong?  We have the racing rules of sailing to help prevent accidents.   Incidents on boats while racing can be very expensive and also dangerous to the crew.  There are several key components of safe boating and racing.

-SITUATIONAL AWARENESS: Safe racing requires alertness and communication between at least a few people.  With all sails deployed, the skipper is presented with many blind spots.  Communication from the crew is the best way to deal with these blind  spots.  On  my boat, there is constant banter from the crew to the skipper. Crew: “You have a starboard tack boat at 2 o’clock 100 feet away”.  Skipper: “got it”.  Every boat needs to have communication between skipper and crew to prevent “surprises”.

-RULES:  To properly control a sailboat in a race, the skipper should know the rules.  Most of us generally know the primary rules such as starboard vs port and windward vs leeward.  Protest committees are used to sort out the finer nuances of the rules after the race. All skippers should know the basic rules. By signing up for these races, you have agreed to follow the RRS (Racing Rules of Sailing).

-RULES INFRACTIONS: When a rule is not followed, it can be very dangerous as boats try to avoid each other.  After the incident, the boat that has broken the rule needs to exonerate by doing a 360 degree turn.  Some infractions in the RRS require a two-turn penalty, but our Sailing Instructions indicate a single turn for all broken rules. Having the “Its only Tuesday Night Sailing, I don’t need to follow the rules” attitude is not appropriate for the safety of the fleet.  

 I love sailing and the reputation sailors have.  There is a story about someone being protested for being OCS on a start.  The pictures and video showed the boat was not OCS, but on examination the sailor on the protested boat was trapped out and his jacket touched the start line mark.  He immediately disqualified his boat from the race.  Ernie Rideout was known for stating: “If you win and do not earn the respect of your competitors, you have not won anything”.

We will see you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice