DECEMBER 9, 2025 SURPRISE WIND

                                                                   DECEMBER 9, 2025

SURPRISE WIND

Once again, predictions were for light 1-6 knot winds.  Initially it looked like the predictions were accurate and a windward mark was set halfway to Mile.  As the clock ticked down to the start, the wind seemed to increase so the course was changed to S5: start>mile>S/F.

Once again all boats were sailing in a single fleet of about 12 boats.  All boats got off to a clean start in the 8-10 knot winds. It was a beautiful sunny day to be sailing and, even though the wind seemed to die a little on the run back to S/F, all boats finished.  Such is life when you get a surprise wind.

 

Jennifer Kinsman photo

 

 

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

ALL BOATS IN ONE FLEET  COURSE S5   COURSE DISTANCE 1.929NM

PLACE          BOAT                             PHRF             ET             CORRECTED TIME

1         MAIN SQUEEZE                    72           35:58                 33:39

2         ABORIGINAL                         33           35:28                34:25               

3         RIO                                          141        42:21                 37:48

4          WIND II                                  213        44:41                37:50

5          SAILING PAIR A DICE        180         45:01               39:13

6          AQUAVIT                              72            41:38              39:19

7          PERFECT 36                         144         48:42               44:04

8          MAYBE                                 249          52:38             44:37

9          OLD ENOUGH TKB            243         56:16              48:27

10       SIMPATICO                           165          55:39             50:20 

 

THE ZOOP SCOOP BY PAUL TARA

MORE SLOW HORSES (not a spy novel)

Here’s a present for the Holidays; a line-up of usual suspects.  The data was gleaned from sailboatdata.com (an addictive website if there ever was one). I started with the B fleet, but then just kept adding boats I remembered until I pooped out.

 

 

 

Speed increases from top down.  The year represents the design’s age, not when a specific boat was built. The “s” number is a theoretical estimate of a boat’s relative speed based on it’s design characteristics; it sort of tracks the PHRF rating, but inversely. “S” goes up with speed, whereas PHRF goes down — the difference being that PHRF is empirical, or based on actual race results.  SA/Displacement is the number to watch; it represents power to weight. Once it goes above 20, we’re talking about different animals. That’s the crossover point where  design focus shifts from cruising to racing. 

 

Chronologically, that point corresponds with the 1970s’ spread of the influence of Ultra Light Displacement Boats. A good comparative example of this is the C&C 35 with the Santana 35.  The C&C is the only boat in our fleet designed in the 1960’s to the Cruising Club of America (CCA) Rule.  While still relatively light, she’s narrower (10.58’), and carries a higher percentage of ballast lower.  The Santana went into production in 1978. Her ton (!) less displacement and greater beam (11.92’) reflect an increasing reliance on human ballast as a substitute for keel weight.  The problems inherent in this trend only became apparent a year later, when a fleet of similarly ballasted yachts encountered disaster in the 1979 Fastnet Race — out of 303 boats, 75 capsized, 5 sank, and 15 sailors died. 

 

If you’re interested, I heartily recommend John Rousmaniere’s  Fastnet, Force 10, and Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts by the Technical Committee of the Cruising Club of America.  The “capsize screening number” shown in the last column of the table came out of the work of that committee.  The higher the number, the greater the risk of capsize in extreme sea states. Over 2 is not considered ideal.    

 

In summary, the fleet represents quite a cross section of production yacht design over the past fifty years. Not only does this speak to durability, but also to the effectiveness of the PHRF rating system. It also shows that there’s no free lunch.  Every design is a compromise. The trick is to find the right match. Or, hey, you know how they say, “It’s all about money.”  New boats are really expensive — we might  just be a bunch of  Sailing Scrooges.  Happy Holidays.

 

Thank you Paul

SEASONS GREETINGS:

We are planning on sailing, conditions permitting, every Tuesday through the holiday season.  Unfortunately the club will not be serving food until the latter part of January and several Tuesdays will not even be open.  If we want to socialize after the races, we will need to meet at restaurants.  Johnnies on the East side of the harbor has an excellent “Taco Tuesdays” that is very reasonably priced.  On the West side of the harbor, there are several excellent restaurants at the Seabright/ Murray Street intersection.