OCTOBER 7, 2025
ANOTHER DYING BREEZE
Predictions for the evening were diverse, but we work with
what we get! When we approached the
start area around 5:15 the light breeze was coming from an unusual direction: due
West 270 degrees. We called for a new
course: S/F to Gov and finish at S/F. As
the clock ticked down to the A Fleet start, the wind was slowly
decreasing. By the 6pm B Fleet start boats were drifting in very light wind. As B Fleet started sailing slowly toward the
windward mark (Gov) it was apparent that a shortened course was necessary for
Fleet B as Fleet A had rounded Gov and headed toward the S/F. As it turned out, it was just another dying
breeze.
To review A Fleet tracks:
For B Fleet track:
THE FINISH LINE:
There seems to be confusion about what constitutes the
finish line when a course is shortened in Regatta Hero. If you make a line from the previous mark to
the Shortened course finishing mark, the finish line extends perpendicular to
that line. The line is rather long (61 meters) so there is no advantage in
rounding close to the mark. Attempting
to “round the mark” rather than
“crossing the finish line” causes a crowd of boats that have already finished at
the mark.
WINTER TUESDAY AFTERNOON SAILING:
Watch for another blog post about Tuesday Afternoon Winter
sailing. For the rest of October we will be starting at 5pm rather than
6pm. In November we will switch to a 3pm
start.
 |
| photo by Jennifer Kinsman |
ZOOP
SCOOP BY PAUL TARA
TO
B, or NOT TO B (fleet), THAT WAS THE QUESTION
Wind
does not blow. Low pressure sucks. As we head into fall, and pressure
differentials flatten, it sucks less. But, even now, the closer the blue sky,
the stronger the breeze. On Tuesday, except for a brief period around
noon, Hwy 1 was about as close as any blue got to salt water.
Lately,
B fleet’s been getting skunked by the breeze shutting off right at 1800.
Tuesday looked like a rerun in spite of Barry’s selection of Gov as a shorter
weather mark. A tuft of fog peeking over Ben Lomond Mountain, way up by Boulder
Creek, reinforced this possibility. After some discussion, we elected to
sail in the A fleet, in the hope of getting a 5 minute head start on the
impending calm. Our strategy was simple. Get onto port tack ASAP and avoid
sailing into the swell on starboard at all costs.
A
previous ‘Scoop’ discussed the tendency of building breezes to veer, and dying
breezes to back due to the earth’s Coriolis Effect . As we
approached the beach, the wind continued to decrease, and started lifting us
until we were sailing parallel to the swim buoys. Unfortunately I completely
muffed our tack onto the starboard lay line, allowing the Express 34 to
overtake us right at the mark. Right on both our tails was the Sydney 38.
An
earlier edition also talked about how, in handicap racing, if you’re about to
be rolled by a much faster boat, don’t engage. As we rounded, we bore
well away, quickly opening a gap between ourselves and the Sydney. In very
short order she was past, our wind was clear, and she was launched straight at
the Express 34’s transom, as well as the clump of boats that had rounded
earlier. We sailed the rest of the leg right down the compass bearing to
the finish. The wind continued to back and die, allowing us to reach low
on starboard while making it difficult for all the boats that had gone high to
jibe and get back down to the course.
A
look at the tracks for both fleets shows the slow progressive shift to the left
as boats on port are ever so slightly lifted up. It’s very subtle, but
increases as B fleet approaches their finish. It also shows how costly trying
to sail into the swell on starboard was.
TRIVIA
The
two main components of running rigging are SHEETS and HALYARDS.
Sheets are lines that control the angle of sails to the wind. They
are not the sails. The term sheet stems from
the shape of the sails, which become flat or sheetlike as they are trimmed
or sheeted-in. Halyards hoist or raise
sails. Halyard comes from the phrase “haul yard” referring to
the action of hoisting the yard or spar at the top of a square sail into
position for sailing.
PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:
PLACE BOAT PHRF ET CORRECTED
FLEET A: COURSE:START>GOV>S/F COURSE DISTANCE 1.632NM
1 WATTS
MOORE 150 31:41 27:36
2 BLIND
DATE 78 31:55 28:08
3 PACIFIC
HIGH 96 30:50 28:13
4 ZOOP 144 37:42 33:47
5 ABORIGINAL 33 36:46 35:52
6 DOUBLE
ESPRESSO 99 38:39 35:57
7 YELLOW
BELLY 141 39:56 36:06
8 WIND II 213 41:55 36:07
9 ROSIE 162 41:42 37:17
10 TRUE LOVE 72 39:46 37:48
11 INTERLUDE 141 48:04 44:13
12 AQUAVIT 72 47:24 45:26
FLEET B: COURSE:S/F>GOV
/ COURSE DISTANCE 0.809NM
1 TARA 243 22:18 19:01
2 AZOR 243 23:18 20:01
3 SIMPATICO 165 22:23 20:09
4 WIND
GODDESS 165 24:00 21:46
5 ABSOLUTE
05 117 23:42 22:07
6 SAILING
PAIR A DICE 180 24:52 22:26
7 NIDAROS 118 24:05 22:29
8 TOAD 150 26:44 24:42
9 KICKS 180 28:26 26:01
10 PACIFIC
SPIRIT 165 28:27 26:13
I hope to see you sailing next Tuesday at 5pm!
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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