AUGUST 29, 2023 ANOTHER LIGHT WIND EVENING

 

AUGUST 29, 2023

ANOTHER LIGHT WIND EVENING 

I got to the harbor early in the afternoon and was discouraged to see a very light Easterly showing on the flags.  As the afternoon progressed, there was little improvement.   We left the harbor just after 5 and there was just enough wind to at least start a race. We determined the wind was coming from 70 degrees and decided to set a reaching mark closer to the beach and called for a course: Start> Blacks > reaching mark (yellow ball) and finish with S/F to port.  We blew a 10-minute

horn for a Fleet A start at 5:55 and a B Fleet start at 6:00. 

Pair A Dice acted as a sheriff boat on this evening to sight the line for OCS boats.  Both fleets had clear starts.  All boats tacked their way to Blacks and, as usual, with such a short distance to Blacks, the rounding was very congested.  The first A Fleet boat to round Blacks was Aboriginal followed by Flexi Flyer, Watts Moore, Yellow Belly, Aquavit,  Sagittarius, Tusitala, Double Espresso, Aquavit and Sticky Fingers.  Fleet B rounding started with Zoop then, Good Timin’, Avatar, Blond Ambition, Pacific Spirit, Big Mac, Nidaros, Makani, Pair A Dice, Wind Goddess, Sweet Pea, Simpatico and Toad.

At the finish, Fleet A was led by Aboriginal 17:41 then Watts Moore 19:10, Yellow Belly 21:37, Flexi Flyer 22:41, Double Espresso 22:41, Wind II 23:09, Tusitala 23:56, Sagittarius 24:11, Sticky Fingers 25:08 and Aquavit 25:50. Fleet B had Good Timin’ cross first 22:48 followed by Zoop 23:01, Avatar 24:28, Pacific Spirit 25:13, Blond Ambition 25:16, Big Mac 26:14, Pair a Dice 26:27, Makani 26:51, Nidaros 26:53, Wind Goddess 27:27, Toad 30:22, Sweet Pea 31:24 and Simpatico 31:55.   All times are elapsed and the course distance was  0.65NM.

While it was a very hot day in Santa Cruz, the wind was diminishing as the evening progressed.  It was just another light wind evening.

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE                   BOAT                     PHRF                     ADJUSTED TIME

FLEET A

1             ABORIGINAL                     33                           17:19

2             WATTS MOORE                  150                        17:32

3             YELLOW BELLY                141                        20:05

4             WIND II                                213                        20:50

5             DOUBLE ESPRESSO          99                           21:36

6             FLEXI FLYER                      96                           21:38

7             SAGITTARIUS                     120                        22:53

8             TUSITALA                             90                           22:57

9             STICKY FINGERS                162                        23:22

10           AQUAVIT                              72                           25:03

FLEET B:

1             GOOD TIMIN’                     141                        21:16

2             ZOOP                                    144                        21:27

3             AVATAR                                132                        23:02

4             PACIFIC SPIRIT                   165                        23:25

5             BLOND AMBITION            165                        23:28

6             BIG MAC                              222                        23:49

7             PAIR A DICE                        180                        24:30

8             MAKANI                              147                        25:15

9             WIND GODDESS                168                        25:37

10           NIDAROS                             108                        25:42

11           TOAD                                    150                        28:44

12           SWEET PEA                         165                        29:36

13           SIMPATICO                         165                        30:07

RACE QS:

The track for this evening can be reviewed at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=93652&updatedAt=2023-08-30T02:04:01Z&dt=2023-08-29T17:45:07-07:00..2023-08-29T19:03:11-07:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1693359022669&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Flexi%20Flyer&tab=fleet&view=follow&lat=36.951014&lon=-121.993449&tilt=5&range=214&heading=51

PROTESTS:

We had our first formal protest regarding a barging situation that had occurred.  The protest was brought to my attention by an email sent to me within the time limit describing what happened. I was fortunate enough to sit in on this protest and learned a lot about the process.

When we discuss rules, it is always best to read the pertinent section of the rule book. Protests, redress and hearings are found in Part 5 of the rule book. I encourage each of you to read this part of the rule book, at least all parts of 61 regarding protests. To file a protest, a red flag is necessary unless your boat is less than 6 meters [61.1 (a2)].  It is good to have a red protest flag in place to easily deploy.  After being protested, the protested boat can do one of three actions 1) perform an exonerating turn (for this series a 360-degree turn).  2) If you feel you have not done wrong, sail on and be prepared to “go to the room” to defend your position. 3) Protested boat can retire.  Keep in mind that when taking a penalty turn, you must sail to a clear area to not interfere with other boats (Section D 21.2)

The protest must be filed with the race committee within the time limit (Part 5, 61.3) established by the race committee.  For this series, the time limit is within 24 hours after the race and may be sent by email.  Email can be sent with a description of the incident, but it is best to complete a protest form.

After sitting through this protest, I definitely have respect for the judges that preside in these events.

I hope to see you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice