MARCH 26, 2024 AWESOME START FOR THE SEASON

 

MARCH 26, 2024

AWESOME START FOR THE SEASON

With the problems concerning harbor shoaling, we have all been anxious to get out for a sail.  For this Tuesday, the harbor entrance was barely deep enough, and then only if you could find the narrow channel created by the dredge crew.  As usual I witnessed the harbor entrance and there was no surf to speak of.  I always say it is the skipper’s decision whether to go or not.  Special recognition goes to Mike Hutchison on Aquavit (42 ft Jeanneau) who got his boat ready with an crew anxious to sail, but did not like the depth and returned to the slip. Better safe than sorry!

The wind was brisk through the afternoon with predictions for it to decrease later in the evening.  As we were leaving the harbor, the wind seemed to already be decreasing close to the beach, with more wind further out. As we approached the start mark area, we determined that the wind was coming from 255 and set a line square to that direction.   We watched as boats exited the harbor to join the party!  I called for course Whiskey 5: Start>Schuyler>finish at S/F.  We blew the “10 minute til 6pm horn” as a five minute horn for A fleet and a10 minute horn for B Fleet. Both fleets got off to a clean start with at least one boat in B fleet thinking they were OCS and circled to restart. I LOVE the Corinthian spirit!  This is a “self-regulating” sport.

All boats tacked their way to Schuyler attempting to find the stronger gusts of wind.  The first of A fleet to round was Double Espresso then Watts Moore, Good Timin’ and Wind II.  B fleet had Zoop rounding first followed by Perfect 36, Avatar, Pair A Dice, Pacific Spirit, Sweet Pea, Simpatico, Big Mac and Skip Jack.

On the long run back to the finish line most boats set their whisker poles as the wind was slowly decreasing.  The first A Fleet boat to finish was Double Espresso 40:45 followed by Watts Moore 42:55, Good Timin 43:01 and Wind II 48:51.  B Fleet was finished first by Zoop 38:14 then Perfect 36 43:12, Avatar 43:44, Pair A Dice 44:00, Pacific Spirit 44:21, Sweet Pea 45:06, Simpatico 46:26, Big Mac 47:50 and Skip Jack 51:28.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was 2.62 NM.

It was special to be able to get back out on the water as the sky cleared for a beautiful sunset. Conditions were so splendid; it was an awesome start for the season!   To top it off, we had a barbecue with many people enjoying excellent food.  Special thanks to Mike Gross for keeping the barbecue in order and bringing special meat to grill!

 

 PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE          BOAT                     PHRF            ADJUSTED TIME

FLEET A:

1        WATTS MOORE                 150             36:22

2        DOUBLE ESPRESSO         99              36:25

3        GOOD TIMIN                      141             36:51

4        WIND II                                213             39:32         

FLEET B:

1        ZOOP                                 144             31:56

2        SAILING PAIR A DICE    180             36:08

3        PERFECT 36                     144             36:54

4        PACIFIC SPIRIT                165             37:08

5        SWEET PEA                      165            37:53

6        AVATAR                             132             37:58

7        BIG MAC                           222             38:08

8        SIMPATICO                       165             39:13

9        SKIP JACK                        243             40:51

Race QS: 

The track for this evening can be reviewed at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1017739&divisionId=97619&updatedAt=2024-03-27T02:03:07Z&dt=2024-03-26T17:48:02-07:00..2024-03-26T19:03:07-07:00&boat=Perf36&time=1711500563077&focus=Perf36&rival=Sailing%20Pair%20A%20Dice&tab=fleet&view=auto

ARE WE SAILING OR RACING?

Obviously, the cockpit of a boat is the most comfortable place to be when sailing.  But if you are serious about your performance, you should use your weight to improve the boats performance.  Rail meat to flatten the boat is important when beating, but when going downwind and down waves, getting out of the cockpit is critical to improve boat speed.  On my boat, when sailing for pleasure everyone congregates in the cockpit.  When racing, we distribute the weight for the best performance.

I hope we can get out next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

MARCH 19, 2024 WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

 

MARCH 19, 2024

WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

On Monday the harbor published the most recent soundings taken on Sunday.  I was encouraged to see a 7-foot deep “channel” just in front of the East jetty.  As the tide was rising during the afternoon, it should have been deep enough for most boats to get out. The prediction for the swell was not very large either.  As is customary when there is any question about the conditions, I take advantage of my retirement, and took the time to observe the entrance from above the gas dock for over an hour at around 3PM.

 I was not encouraged by what I saw.  About every 10 minutes a two-wave set would roll through and break all the way across the entrance.  If there was a channel, the wave would have backed off in the deeper water.  Adding to the conundrum, the wind seemed to be decreasing, creating a hazard for the boats that sail out with no motor.  Most sailors in the area know to stay close to the East jetty when the harbor is shoaled.  Light wind, with waves crashing into the East jetty and boats sailing out of the harbor in front of the jetty frightened me.

I needed to cancel the race for the evening.  Normally I would post an email to the group, but I did not have my computer and could not send an email to the whole group.  I called some of the more consistent participants to inform them that I was not putting a race on for the evening.  I went back to my boat and observed as boats were leaving the harbor and informed them that we were not racing.

To me, sailing is about learning.  I have found that the largest errors lead to the best learning experiences.  Sounding of the harbor taken within the last 48 hours can normally be relied upon for accurate information, especially with no big swell and the dredge working for  both Monday and Tuesday.  So, what went wrong?

Sailors in Santa Cruz are aware of the idiosyncrasies of the harbor entrance.  During the winter, large swells coming from the north sweep sand down the coast.  Adding to this is the excess rainwater flowing out of the San Lorenzo river adding to this sand.  The position of the harbor is perfect for receiving and catching this excess sand which  blocks  the harbor entrance.   This excess rain and large surf creates one saving grace for the harbor entrance.  The waves sweeping into the harbor adds to the rainwater we all see draining into the harbor through the drainpipes creating a stream of water exiting the harbor.  This water drains by the East Jetty and creates a channel that we can use to get out of the harbor, regardless of how bad the shoaling is by the West jetty.  The sounding showed a small 7-foot deep (at 0 tide) area just in front of the East jetty.  As it turns out, this was the last remnant of the channel.  What was different was that we have had no rain for over a week.  Also there was no large swell pushing water into the harbor.  There was no water exiting the harbor, so the “East jetty channel” was in the process of closing.

Yes, but they were still dredging!  The dredge operates inside the harbor and cannot venture very far out of the harbor when there is a swell.  The sandbar where waves break is just outside the harbor entrance.  The dredge creates a deeper hole just inside the west jetty with the thought that sand sweeping down the coast will fall into this hole, opening the harbor entrance.  This normally works, but when it doesn’t, what could go wrong?

Wouldn’t it be nice to develop a system that uses the rainwater and the energy of the large surf to prevent the harbor from being the receptacle for the sand moving across the harbor entrance?

I hope to see you out sailing next Tuesday: conditions permitting.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice