SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 BIG SWELL, MIXED WIND

 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

BIG SWELL, MIXED WIND

I received a text message early in the morning asking if we were going to race with the inclement conditions.  I checked predict-wind and sure enough there was a large 9 foot swell predicted.  I checked the harbor cam and waves were consistently breaking halfway across the entrance.  Visions of boats piling together on exiting and entering the harbor in such conditions prompted me to send a cautionary email to our group.  I got to the harbor in the early afternoon and noticed an unusually strong surge in the harbor.  I walked to the beach to get a first hand look and noticed that the large waves were unusual and most of the time the entrance was flat with no waves.

As crew arrived and we left the harbor, the entrance was flat but as we motored further out, we witnessed a set wave breaking across the entrance.  The wind was a good 16 knot breeze apparent at the start mark coming from 230 degrees and we set a line square to this direction.  We announced a course Whisky 6: start,  Schuyler, S/F (to port).  Race Qs functionality was still in question so we had people record their finish time at the extension of the line from lighthouse through S/F.  As the clocked ticked toward the start time, there was a hint of a Northerly developing, but the Northwesterly quickly reasserted its predominance.

Both Fleets  charged off the line making their way to Schuyler.  Some boats sailed inside to take advantage of the “new wind” blowing from the north, while many sailed outside to stay in the “predominant” Northwesterly.  It was a gamble either way, and in the end, the inside boats pulled ahead of the outside sailing boats as all boats rounded Schuyler and made their way back to the S/F mark.

At the finish for Fleet A, the first boat to finish was Aboriginal 26:14, followed by  Watts Moore 30:00, Yellow Belly 31:00, Perigon 33:35, Good Timin’ 33:48, Sagittarius         34:40, Double Espresso 35:51, Aquavit 41:21 and Quixotic 42:28.  B Fleet was led by Zoop 29:56 then Perfect 36 31:16, Makani 34:19, Avatar 35:07, TOAD 36:02, Kicks 36:50, Pair A Dice 38:15 and Wind Goddess 44:29.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was 2.6 NM.

It was a great night to be out on the water despite the big swell and the mixed wind.  Thankfully, there were no incidents that occurred with the big swell and mixed wind.

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE                   BOAT                                     PHRF                     ADJUSTED TIME

FLEET A:

1                             WATTS MOORE                 150                        23:30

2                             ABORIGINAL                      33                           24:48

3                             YELLOW BELLY                141                        24:53

4                             GOOD TIMIN’                     141                        27:41

5                             SAGITTARIUS                    120                        29:28

6                             PERIGON                             81                           30:04

7                             DOUBLE ESPRESSO          99                           31:33

8                             AQUAVIT                             72                           38:13

9                             QUIXOTIC                           38                           40:49

FLEET B

1                             ZOOP                                    144                        23:41

2                             PERFECT 36                        144                        25:01

4                             MAKANI                              147                        27:58

5                             KICKS                                  180                        29:02

6                             AVATAR                                132                        29:23

7                             TOAD                                    150                        29:32

8                             PAIR A DICE                         180                        30:27

9                             WIND GODDESS                 168                        37:12   

 

RACE QS:

Race QS is back, for now.  The track for this evening can be reviewed at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1017739&divisionId=94650&updatedAt=2023-09-27T02:01:17Z&dt=2023-09-26T17:50:01-07:00..2023-09-26T19:01:15-07:00&boat=Perf36&time=1695775841229&focus=Perf36&rival=PERIGON&tab=fleet&view=match                                         

Last night most of the boats uploaded a track and reported their finish time.  This seems to be a good backup system: run the track and record your finish time.  We will see how dependable Race QS will be in the future.

I was not optimistic about race QS functioning and set the prestart to run a track but I did not put the phone in the cradle as I normally do. This allowed the phone to migrate around on the chart table and my track stopped mid-race.  Just another tip about Race QS: follow their suggestion to mount the phone close to the center of the boat.

BATTLE OF THE WINDS:

We sensed the beginning of a very warm North wind even before the start.  Decisions need to be made!  Which wind will prevail? This is not an easy decision. The Northwest wind was chilly and the North wind was very warm.  You would think the warmer air would rise and the chilly air would settle in, but the common thought in sailing is to “sail to the new wind!”  The boats that sailed inside (toward the new wind) to take advantage of the Northerly, leap-frogged ahead of the boats that went outside for the perceived “better wind”.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice