SEPTEMBER 30, 2025
LIGHT WIND SAILING ON
BUMPY SEAS
Predictions were for 7 knot winds decreasing to 3 knots
through the evening. As usual, the flags were flying through the afternoon
showing winds of 10-12 knots across the bay.
Even as we were leaving the harbor at 5pm there was enough wind from the
southwest for a race. We set a start line and called for course W5:
S/F>Schuyler>S/F. As the clock
ticked down to our start time, the wind started to dissipate even more. Another factor was the sea state that was very
choppy making it difficult to sail a southerly course to get outside.
As we all fought the challenging, low wind, choppy
conditions we shortened course to finish at Schuyler. As the sun was setting, boats were still
sailing to finish. It was a awesome
display of the resilience of our Tuesday Night Sailors with 14 boats slogging
their way to finish. It was a night of light
wind sailing on bumpy seas.
To review the tracks of fleet A:
To review the tracks of fleet B:
PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:
PLACE BOAT PHRF ET CORRECTED
FLEET A: COURSE W5 SHORTENED TO FINISH AT SCHUYER:DIST=1.2NM
1 PACIFIC
HIGH 96 43:43 41:47
2 TRUE LOVE 72 53:47 52:20
3 DUET 140 55:47 52:59
4 DOUBLE
ESPRESSO 99 1:02:24 1:02:25
5 AQUAVIT 72 1:10:31 1:09:04
FLEET B: COURSE W5 SHORTENED TO FINISH AT SCHUYLR:
DIST=1.2NM
1 BIG MAC 222 1:05:08 1:00:41
2 AZOR 243 1:07:27 1:02:35
3 GOLD RUSH 126 1:06:34 1:04:03
4 SIMPATICO 165 1:08:25 1:05:07
5 TOAD 150 1:08:17 1:05:17
6 SAILING
PAIR A DICE 180 1:11:20 1:07:44
7 WIND
GODDESS 165 1:12:51 1:09:33
8 ABSOLUTE
05 117 1:12:54 1:10:33
9 MAKANI 147 1:19:24 1:16:27
ZOOP SCOOP
BY PAUL TARA
BEANS
I
don’t have much to say about this Tuesday’s race except that, after we
slid into the starting mark, did our spin, and footed to the right, the
wind went left. At that point the lure of the large pot of barbecue beans
flavored with sausage, carrots, onions and yellow bell peppers waiting at the
Club began to increase exponentially. (Not to mention the fresh-baked apple
cake.) Since Tuesday was our fourth day of racing in a week, crew morale
dictated the use of the ignition key. But, also, I hate slatting; it puts as
much wear and tear on sails and gear as a week of hard sailing.
SAILING
ETYMOLOGY (WTF!)
Cowboys
have ropes. Sailors have lines. Every line aboard
has a specific name. In toto they comprise the running and
standing rigging. Lines that move RUN. Lines that
don’t move STAND. Standing rigging consists of STAYS, which
support the rig fore-and-aft, and SHROUDS, which support the
rig athwartships. The term shroud stems from the
days of the black plague and poor quality hemp. So many were needed they
appeared to conceal or ‘shroud’ the mast from view, just as sackcloth was used
to shroud unburied victims of the disease. To really get in the spirit of the
times (pun intended) shrouds were tensioned by a system of deadeyes or
sheaveless wooden blocks that resembled faces of the deceased.
My
favorite rigging term is martingale. To a cowboy, it’s a piece of
tack leading from the breast strap or girth up to the bridle, limiting the
ability of the horse to toss its head. There are even running and standing
martingales. To a sailor, it’s a stay leading from the vessel’s stem, to
the dolphin-striker, and then up to the jib-boom, or
the outer section of the bowsprit. It counteracts the upward force exerted by
the fore-topmast stays’l and jibs. Modern boats don’t have them. Today,
boats with simple bowsprits just have a bobstay leading up
from the stem. Which makes perfect sense if you think about a horse
tossing or ‘bobbing’ its head.
Thank you Paul
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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