JANUARY 23, 2024
THREE REACHING BOATS
Predictions for
the day were for pleasant, sunny and warm
conditions with a 14 knot breeze. It was enough to entice three boats to risk
the shoaled harbor entrance. We had a
steady breeze blowing from about 260 degrees at GOV and white caps showing
outside. With Schuyler not in place, we
had one mark to use for a race: Mile.
From a GOV start line to Mile and back is a reach in both
directions. Reaching both ways, there
were no tactics to employ, so it was a drag race. Despite this, it was a delightful day on the
bay. It was so warm before the start,
someone quipped “is this January or July?”
As sailors, we all enjoy reaching points of sail!
We called the
course to round mile and finish at GOV and blew the 5-minute horn for a 3pm
start. All boats had a clean start. As all three boats reached toward Mile, a
couple of low flying planes flew overhead.
I thought, what a great day for sailing as well as flying! As we approached Mile, I saw 20 knots of
apparent wind. Perfect 36 was the first around Mile followed by Avatar and Pair
A Dice.
At the finish,
the order of boats did not change with Perfect 36 19:24, Avatar 20:14 and Pair
A Dice 21:14. Times are elapsed and the
course distance was 2.30 NM. Despite the
risks at the harbor entrance, it was a delightful day for a sail.
As it turns
out, the planes flying overhead were sailors that normally sail on Perfect 36
and they took several photos. Thanks go
to Barry Porter from Perfect 36 for sharing
the photos. As all three boats were reaching toward Mile and reaching
back to Gov it was three reaching boat.
PHRF CORRECTED
RESULTS:
PLACE BOAT PHRF CORRECTED TIME
1 PERFECT 36 144 13:51
2 SAILING
PAIR A DICE 180 14:19
3 AVATAR 132 15:08
Race QS:
We had all
three boats record their track for this sail. It can be reviewed at:
NEGOTIATING THE HARBOR SHOALED ENTRANCE:
There are several procedures I follow when dealing with a
shoaled harbor entrance. My first
consideration is to check the most recent harbor sounding found on the harbor’s
website. The second critical
consideration is the tide, with extra caution exerted when dealing with a low
tide. Any grounding of a boat is not
good, but getting grounded in the harbor entrance with the swell action is something
to be avoided. Getting grounded is not
as bad as taking a wave, either while exiting or entering the harbor. If you get
propelled by a wave into a
shallow sand bar with the bottom colliding, you may be in for a possible emergency haul out.
One final procedure I follow before going out in shallow
conditions is to observe the swell action at the entrance. Having studied the sounding and watching the
harbor entrance for at least 15 minutes, you must see a path out of the harbor even
with the biggest sets. Both exiting and
entering the harbor can be challenging.
It helps to have a surfer’s eye for lumps on the horizon that you want
to avoid.
The dredge was broken for close to three weeks and, even
with no dredging, there is a narrow channel close to the East jetty. We have had a lot of rain and water exiting
the harbor which helps to create this channel.
LATER STARTS:
Now that the sun is setting a little later, we are changing to a 4pm start. This should help with some of the boats
getting crew. The five minute horn will
be blown at 3:55.
BARBECUE NEXT WEEK:
Next Tuesday is the last Tuesday of the month which means
it is barbecue night at the club. Bring
your best grilling food and let’s all
pray for clear weather!
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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