MARCH 8, 2021 A NEW SAILING SEASON AND REGISTRATION FORM

 

MARCH 8, 2021

A NEW SAILING SEASON

How many more obstacles do we need to tackle in order to sail?  Harbor shoaled in and Covid are and were major obstacles.  Mechanical problems are another.  On Pair A Dice, my oil pan rusted through and I have a new engine on order.  I was able to temporarily patch the oil pan with JB weld so I am still able to take the boat out and conduct the Tuesday Night Sailing from Pair A Dice. 

Covid is still an issue.  Many of us who are old enough to retire have received at least one of the two Covid vaccinations that are required for 90+% safety.  My personal feeling is that Covid will quickly dissipate as more vaccinations are given.   I encourage everyone to wear a properly fitted mask any time on a boat.  PFD and mask go hand in hand, please wear both until further notice and lifting of mask restrictions .

It is the start of a new season of Tuesday Night Sailing.  With the change in time implemented on March 14, our first Tuesday Night Sailing will be on Tuesday the 16^th.  We will be using the same (yellow) course cards as last year.  The start time will be our usual 6pm (5:55 horn).  Below are the documents for this year: Notice of race, Sailing instructions and course card copy.  There is also an application for entering your boat for the season. Please submit a check for payment with your registration.  REMEMBER TO RUN YOUR RACE QS APP!

I am looking forward to another great season of sailing and association with my sailing friends.  Hopefully, by the end of the season, we will not even remember what a mask is. 

 

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

     _)                           _)                                       _)                                (_                  (_        (_

2021 Tuesday Night Developmental Race Series

 

Each Tuesday Night of 2021 during Daylight Savings Time

 

Santa Cruz Yacht Club, Santa Cruz, CA

 

Notice of Race

 

Invitation: The Santa Cruz Yacht Club invites interested boats and their crews to participate in

a developmental racing skills series.

 

Rules

The Regatta will be governed by the rules as defined in the Racing Rules of Sailing.

 

The Sailing Instructions will change RRS 40 so that flotation devices are worn regardless

of the display of Flag Y. Full text of this and other changes to the racing rules will appear in the SI’s.

 

Eligibility and Entry: 

The regatta is open to boats berthed in, and visiting, Santa Cruz Harbor.

 

Eligible boats may enter by completing the attached entry form and returning it with the

entry fee to SCYC before participating in the race series. 

 

Schedule: 

Each Tuesday Night of 2021 during Daylight Savings Time Racing will be held

1755 hrs First warning signal Race 1

Following the racing on the last Tuesday of each month a post race debriefing and potluck barbecue will be held at the SCYC Clubhouse

 

Scoring: The racing will be boat-for-boat.   Boats may be scored via uploading of their recorded .gpx tracks to RaceQs ( https://raceqs.com/ ).  However, being a developmental regatta, the races may also not be scored.  

                                           

 

                                          

2021 Tuesday Night Developmental Race Series

Each Tuesday Night during Daylight Savings Time  2021

Santa Cruz Yacht Club

Sailing Instructions

 

Rules:   The Regatta will be governed by the rules as defined in the Racing Rules of

Sailing unless otherwise indicated in these sailing instructions.  The first sentence of RRS 40                                           

is changed to: Competitors shall wear personal floatation devices, except briefly while changing or     adjusting clothing or personal equipment                                                               

Notices to Competitors: Notices to competitors will be posted on the official notice board located in the window of the northeast corner of the clubhouse.  General race information and recaps may also be posted online at http://sailingpairadice.blogspot.com/

Schedule: 

Racing is held each Tuesday Night of 2021 during Daylight Savings Time

First warning signal will be sounded at 1755.  After racing on the last Tuesday of each month a debriefing and barbecue will follow at the SCYC Clubhouse.

Racing Area: The racing area will be within 3 miles of Walton Lighthouse.

Communications:  

Boats should Monitor VHF channel 69 before start time for course location, start time, and designated course. 

Marks: Marks are described in the attached Tuesday Night Course Card.

The Start: The start line shall be a line containing Start mark and designated landmark or temporary mark placed for other end of line if conditions permit.   Starting area may be moved to other locations as announced prior to racing on VHF Channel 69. 

RRS 26, and 27 shall be replaced with the following simplified starting procedure.  A single warning signal horn shall be sounded 5 minutes prior to the start.   

Recalls: RRS 29 will be changed to the following:  A designated boat may sight the line to call “over early boats”.   Boats over early will be announced on VHF Channel 69.  If called over early, vessels are obligated to restart properly to be given a finish.  Postponement of the starting sequence or cancelation of racing will also be announced on Channel 69.

Courses:  Attached Tuesday Night Course Card indicates courses to be used. Courses will be communicated from the organizing race boat to the racing fleet over VHF channel 69 prior to the first warning signal.  This changes Rule 27.1

The Finish:The finish line will be on a line between the buoy indicated in the course chart and extension of the indicated landmark within 200 feet of the buoy. 

PENALTY SYSTEM:

RRS 44.1 is changed so that the Two-Turns Penalty is replaced by the One-Turn Penalty

 

PROTESTS AND REQUESTS FOR REDRESS:

 

Protest forms are available at the SCYC regatta shed and at the SCYC Clubhouse office and at: https://www.ussailing.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/US-Sailing-2017-2020-Protest-Form.pdf

 

 Protests and requests for redress shall be delivered to the race committee at the SCYC Club house bar within the time limit.

The protest filing time limit will be 60 minutes after the arrival of the race committee at the SCYC bar on the last Tuesday of the Month, and will be posted on the SCYC Official Noticeboard.

Notices will be posted no later than 30 minutes after the protest time limit to inform competitors of hearings in which they are parties or named as witnesses.

 

TUESDAY NIGHT SAILING COURSE CARD

 

LANDMARKS

BP=Blacks point, 

S=White house at Schwan Lagoon, 

JLH=Jetty lighthouse, 

Wharf end=end of Santa Cruz Municipal pier

 

MARK DISCRIPTIONS

Blacks Yellow Ball          36 57.11’N 121 59.07’W  |SC3 Yellow Can               36 56.49’N 121 58.00’W   Gov White Ball                36 57.47’N 122 00.73’W  |Start/Finish Yellow Ball 36 57.06’N 121 59.64’W        Mile Buoy                        36 56.35’N 122 00.58’W   |Schuyler Yellow Ball      36 56.87’N 122 01.27’W                                                                             

 

All marks left to port unless designated (stb) which shall be rounded to starboard

 

Whiskey, NW WIND (start line Start Mark & S 330M) 

          W 1 Start, Schuyler, Mile, Blacks, Finish (stb)                                                             3.95NM

          W 2 Start, Schuyler, Mile , Gov(stb), finish                                                                   4.18NM

          W 3 Start, Schuyler, Blacks, Finish(stb)                                                                        3.55NM

          W 4 Start, Schuyler(stb), Gov(stb), Finish                                                                     3.04NM

          W 5 Start, Schuyler, Finish                                                                                              2.65NM

          W 6 Start, Finish at Gov (stb) (line = Gov & Wharf end )                                            0.98NM

 

Mike, S wind (Start line SM & JLH 310M)

           M 1 Start, Mile(stb), Gov(stb) (line= Gov & Wharf end)                                              2.16NM

           M 2 Start, Mile, Finish                                                                                                      2.07NM

           M 3 Start, Finish at Mile(stb) (Finish line= Mile & JLH                                               1.03NM

 

Bravo, E wind (Start line SM & BP - 352M)

           B 1 Start(stb), Blacks(stb), Mile(stb), Gov(stb), Finish                                                   3.97NM

           B 2 Start(stb), SC3, Blacks, Finish(stb)                                                                       2.90NM

           B 3 Start(stb), Blacks(stb), Mile(stb), Finish                                                                    2.90NM                 

           B 4 Start(stb), Blacks, Gov, Finish                                                                                    2.80NM

           B 5 Start(stb), Blacks, Start, Blacks, Finish(stb)                                                              1.80NM

           B 6 Start(stb), Blacks, Finish(stb)                                                                                      0.90NM

 

GOLF, North wind (start line SM & BP352M)

          G 1 Start, Gov, Mile, Blacks, Finish(stb)                                                                           3.97NM

          G 2 Start, Gov, Blacks, Finish(stb)                                                                                     2.80NM

          G 3 Start, Gov, Finish                                                                                                          1.95NM

          G 4 Start, Finish at Gov (line = Gov & Wharf end)                                                          0.98NM                  

 

Oscar, Other

   O1 Start at mile(stb) (start line =Mile & and extension of a line from JLH), Schuyler(stb) 1.50NM

              Finish mark=Gov(stb) (finish line = Gov & end of Wharf)

   O2 Start at Mile (start line=mile & extension of a line from JLH)  ,                                       1.51NM

              Schuyler, Mile (Finish finish line= Mile and end of wharf)

   O3 To Be Determined

2021 Series Entry and Waiver Form

 

Each Tuesday Night during Daylight Savings Time

 

Santa Cruz Yacht Club, Santa Cruz, CA

 

Entry Form

 

Name: _____________________________ Sail Number: _______________

Address: ___________________________ Boat Name: ________________

Boat make and model:_____________________ PHRF:________________

City/St/Zip: _________________________ Boat location(slip#)__________

E-mail: ______________________      Cell Number:_____________________

(E-mail and Cell number will be available to other participants)

 

Waiver and Release of Liability

In consideration of my entry in the Regatta on behalf of myself, my heirs, successors and

assigns, I hereby waive any and all claims, actions, suits and demands against Santa Cruz

Yacht Club, the respective officers, directors, employees, and agents (all the forgoing

hereby referred to as “the Hosts”) for any personal injury (including death) or property

damage resulting from the negligence or other acts of omission by the Hosts or any of

them as a result of my participation in the Event and do hereby release and discharge the

Hosts there from. I acknowledge that participation in the sport of sailboat racing involves

substantial risk of personal injury or even death and I hereby assume the risk of any such

injury that may occur while participating in the Event.

I agree to be bound by The Racing Rules of Sailing and any other rules that govern this

event.

 

Owner/Skipper __________________________ Date ________________

Entry Fee for series: $35 for SCYC members    $50 for nonmembers

 

Payment options:

Cash

Check (Check Number ____________) payable: Santa Cruz Yacht Club

Payment received by _______________ Date ________________

 

DECEMBER 1, 2020: FIRST SAIL OF DECEMBER

 

DECEMBER 1, 2020         

FIRST SAIL OF DECEMBER

I love winter sailing in Santa Cruz!  Clear skies (if not raining) and steady winds.  I got to the harbor at  about 12:15 and there was definitely wind.  We got the boat ready to sail and as we left the harbor right after 1pm, there was consistent wind across the bay. As we made our way to the start mark, we determined the wind was from 240 degrees.  We set a line mark that was nearly square to the wind. We had six boats out for the fun. We called for course Whiskey 3 and blew a 5 minute horn at 1:55.

My strategy on Pair A Dice was to start last on the line so I would be windward of other boats.  We accomplished this with Aquavie and Tusitala being further up the line. We sailed out far enough to clear the end of the wharf and tacked over on to port.  Tusitala and Auquavie sailed further out before tacking over.

As we sailed further in towards the wharf, the wind decreased but we continued in to the layline for Schuyler mark, to avoid needing to tack twice. This was probably the wrong move because Tusitala and Aquavie had more wind outside. At Schuyler it was Tusitala followed by Aquavie, Avatar, Pair a Dice and Nidaros.

On the long run back to Blacks, the order of boats did not change and at the finish it was Tusitala 48:48, Aquavie 50:20,  Avatar 51:20, Pair A Dice 52:50 and  Nidaros 55:30. Guenter also finished on his Finn but no finish time available.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 3.55 nautical miles.

Race QS:

AWESOME! Everyone is uploading their race QS tracks.  The track for this sail can be seen at: https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=69036&updatedAt=2020-12-02T00:11:32Z&dt=2020-12-01T13:45:18-08:00..2020-12-01T16:11:28-08:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1606859198515&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Tusitala&tab=fleet&view=auto        

BLANKETTING:

This afternoon, Pair A Dice rounded Schuyler right behind Avatar giving us the opportunity to block their wind on the downwind leg to Blacks. How do you determine if you are effectively blocking the downwind boat’s wind?  Look at your windex!  If the tail of the windex is pointing at their boat, you are blocking their wind.  Alas in this situation, Avatar was able to escape our blocking of wind and sailed away ahead of us.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON SAILING:

I feel fortunate to be associated with such an enthusiastic group of sailors.  Last year the group wanted Tuesday evening seminars with enthusiastic participation through the winter.  This year everyone wants Tuesday AFTERNOON sailing and once again, participation is great for us retired sailors!

Next Tuesday, the club’s marks will be gone and we will have to start at Gov.  Rather than heading to the start mark, go to GOV for the start.  We will call a course from there.

See you next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

NOVEMBER 19, 2020: CAPTAIN JOSEPH RODGERS

                                   

                                                        CAPTAIN JOSEPH RODGERS

Santa Cruz has a diverse sailing culture.    We have people that see the boats on the water and wonder what it would like to be out there.  The other end of the spectrum are the people in Santa Cruz that are some of the best sailors in the world.  I would classify Joe Rodgers as being in this class.

While Joe was a superior sailor, I did not sense the “racing passion” many sailors have.  This did not detract from his immense sailing knowledge.  Joe was a surveyor of boats.  If you were purchasing a boat, you needed Joe in your corner to ascertain the true value of a vessel.  Joe was an sailing instructor for Pacific Yachting and served a valuable service introducing future sailors to the wonders of sailing.

I didn’t get to know Joe until I got a slip on Q dock where Joes boat “Tessa” was about 4 slips down the dock from mine.  Being an avid sailor, it seems Joe was always at his boat working on it (aren’t we all always working on our boats?)  It seems like there were many times we were both on Q dock working, talking and getting to know each other.  The better you got to know Joe, the more you liked him.  

It was known that Joe was having “health issues” but he never talked much about these issues.  As a Pharmacist, I would comment on his medicines and side effects when he would ask.  He dealt with these health issues in the typical Joe way; never getting angry or begging for sympathy.  It was just a fact he seemed to deal with on his own.  

When his health was ebbing, you would see a for sale sign on his boat.  Then the sign would disappear when he was better.  Finally, he sold his Tessa to Matt and Tosh but Joe was not done with Tessa. He would come to the boat frequently to help and to teach the new owners about Tessa.  Over the last 6 months, Joe’s visits to Q dock got less frequent.  The reports from Matt were not encouraging.

I did not hear about Joe’s demise until I was on vacation and got an email from a club member about a sail out in his honor. I was very disappointed that I could not participate in this sail out.  Joe was so loved and respected by everyone that knew him!   I understand the sail out was well attended and it was a beautiful day. 

With respect and sorrow: Captain Joseph Rodgers  : R.I.P. and FAIR WINDS!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

     

https://scmemorial.com/tribute/details/2232/Joseph-Rodgers-III/obituary.html                

NOVEMBER 10, 2020: TUESDAY AFTERNOON SAILING FROM A DISTANCE

 

			Douglas Mahone

This was the day of the sunny, lovely, flat conditions.  Perfect for a fun day of racing.  There were nine boats out, ranging from a 42’ Jeanneau (Aquavit) to a single handed Finn dinghy.  That’s a great turnout for a work day.  Stefan was filling in for Barry (traveling out of state) on Pair-a-Dice to set up the race. The start was called on time, with the warning at 1:55p and the actual start at 2:00p.  The course was W3: Start, Schuyler, Blacks, Finish. Winds were steady out of the west at about 10 kts.

 

The start was exciting at the left end.  Two boats were on time on starboard tacks near the start mark, when a third boat tried to sail in on port and then tack over to join the parade.  Unfortunately, they were too close to the mark and instead got in irons, blocking the start.  There was a lot of shouting of “starboard”, and apparently a couple of near collisions as the two starboard tack boats had to push up to avoid the stalled out boat on the line.  I was a bit farther to the right, with clear sailing, but my jib blocked the kerfluffle so I may not have a fully accurate description of the situation.  But it appeared that the third boat was barging on boats that had clear starboard tack right-of-way, and further exacerbated the problems by stalling out in irons nearly in front of the others just before start time.  It didn’t appear that there were any collisions, but the downwind of the two starboard boats thought that they fouled the upwind boat, and so did a penalty turn.  The other boats started further down the line without apparent incident, and the race was on.

 

The upwind leg to Schuyler was a lovely sail in a good breeze, and some fairly earnest competition.  Avatar was able to slowly expand its lead, with Pair-a-Dice, Tusitala and Aquavit all being pretty competitive with each other.  Farther back, Nidaros, Toad and Muffin were having their own pretty good race.  At the upwind mark, Avatar rounded first, followed by Tusitala, Dice and Aquavit  in close order. Then came Nidaros, Muffin and Toad.

 

For the downwind run to Blacks, the excitement was between the closely packed Dice, Aquavit and Tusitala. Aquavit was messing with Dice, interfering with their wind, while Tusitala stayed close but clear, with Nidaro in close pursuit.  Nearly everybody had their whisker poles winging out their jibs, and were making good time.  At the Blacks mark, however, nobody had changed position.  From RaceQs, it appears that Nidaro hit the mark, because they did a 360 turn after rounding, and lost some ground.

 

The short final tack back to the Finish had a few interesting moments.  The two big boats positioned themselves upwind of Dice, which may have slowed her down.  Tusitala held on to their lead at the finish, but Aquavit managed to sail over Dice to finish second.  Dice had some gear problems with their jib just before the finish, which lost them some ground.  Meanwhile, Nidaros was nearly caught by Toad and Muffin, who finished close behind.

 

The final results, this time displayed as corrected time, were Avatar 40:48, Dice 45:39, Tusitala 47:39, Aquavit 48:55, Nidaros 51:03, Toad 51:04, and Muffin (no time due to missing PHRF rating). 

 

Sadly, we can’t report on the other boats because they didn’t record a RaceQs track. We really encourage everybody to download that app on their smartphones (only need one per boat).  It’s really instructive to replay the races on the RaceQs website, compare yourself to other boats, and learn.  Here’s a link to the replay from this week:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1066813&divisionId=68698&updatedAt=2020-11-10T23:24:52Z&dt=2020-11-10T13:40:02-08:00..2020-11-10T15:24:51-08:00&boat=Avatar&model=Express27&time=1605049222020&focus=Avatar&rival=Dice&tab=fleet&view=follow&lat=36.955291&lon=-121.995461&tilt=34&range=947&heading=250

 

As those who joined in on these first two races of the post-season know, Tuesday afternoon racing can be really enjoyable.  Pass the word to the other boats, and maybe we can get more sailors involved.

 

Doug.

 

Douglas Mahone

Thanks Doug for writing up this recap since I was in Hawaii on Vacation.

Barry Keeler

NOVEMBER 3, 2020: ELECT TO SAIL!

 

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

ELECT TO SAIL!

After getting skunked with no wind for the last two Tuesday evening sails, it was great to see at least 10 knots of wind as we left the harbor right after 1pm.  The wind certainly felt like it had a lot of south in it and as we approached the start area, we took a reading on wind direction.  Sure enough, the wind was coming from 200 degrees.  We set a mark for the start line.  I called for an impromptu course to take into account the more southerly wind:  Start line to SC7, Mile and finish at start mark.  This seemed to be the right length of course for 11 knot winds.  We were set for a 2pm start but some boats needed more time to get to the line so we set up for a 2:10 start and blew the five minute horn at 2:05.  Had seven boats out for the fun.

Setting up for our start, the wind seemed to be getting lighter but still enough to race.  All boats started on starboard tack to get out to greater wind and greater wind is what we got.  Soon we were all sailing in winds greater than 15 knots. 

At the finish it was Aquavie 32:14, Avatar 34:00, Pair a Dice 36:03, Nidaros 39:32 and Toad 42:14. The length of the course was 2.69NM.

Race QS:

The track for this sail can be seen at:  https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2020-11-03T23:33:05Z&dt=2020-11-03T13:45:01-08:00..2020-11-03T15:33:00-08:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1604443934015&focus=Pairadice&rival=Avatar&tab=setup&view=manual&lat=36.949926&lon=-121.992612&tilt=8&range=250&heading=134

TUESDAY NIGHT SAILING:

We got off to a good start with 7 boats participating.  It seems like a 2pm start will work well, with enough time for a race even as the sun sets earlier and earlier until 12/21.  Please note that the 5 minute horn will be blown at 1:55. 

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

OCTOBER 27, 2020: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WIND?

 

OCTOBER 27, 2020

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WIND?

Predict wind had indicated that a weak Easterly would develop.  After last week’s disastrous dying of the wind, I was encouraged as we left the harbor shortly after 5.  There was an awesome 11 knot wind coming from about 230 degrees filling the whole bay.  It was going to be an awesome night for a sail!  We set the line and counted 14 boats out for the fun.   We called for a rather ambitious course W5 (to Schuyler and back to finish.  We were counting down the time and getting ready to blow the 5 minute horn when suddenly the wind died.  All eye turned East looking for indications of a new Easterly wind.  We postponed for 5 minutes to see what developed, and then another 5 minute postponement with nothing developing.  Since it was such a short night, we abandoned the race.  We motored out to the wind line for a short sail before returning to the harbor ending the last Tuesday night sail for the season.

 

RACE QS:

Since there was no race, I did not upload my track for the night.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON SAILING:

There has been a lot of interest expressed by the group to continue sailing on Tuesdays through the winter starting early in the afternoon.  Sailing in the winter is a little different from sailing in the summer.  I can think of three differences that need to be considered.

1)     We get rain in the winter.  Like most of us, I have foul weather gear but do not like putting wet sails away with mildew presenting a potential problem.  I do not think anyone likes the idea of sailing in rain during the winter.  In dealing with this, if the weather is not conducive to sailing, I will send an E-mail blast or text by 9AM on Tuesdays only if the races will not take place.  There will be no notice sent if sailing will take place as normal

2)     We get larger waves and shoaling of the harbor entrance in the winter.  We all must make a judgement regarding safety of our boats.  For these races, if conditions are serious enough to present undue hazard, I will also send out a notice by 9AM cancelling the race.  Please be aware that when a swell is pouring into the bay, you may need to time your exit and entrance to the harbor to avoid breaking waves.

3)     The club’s marks that are set for the summer races are pulled for most of the winter.  Once these marks are pulled, we will call impromptu courses over the radio.  The marks we have to work with are: GOV, Mile, SC7, SC3 and Schuyler (Yellow Schuyler mark replaced with small red buoy during the winter).  My inclination is to use Gov as the start buoy with various landmarks representing the other end of the line.  For instance, we could use the extension of the line formed by the end of the wharf and Gov as a start.

Let’s continue to meet at the start buoy until it is removed for the winter.   We will be blowing a 5 minute horn at 1:55 for a 2pm start.

Currently
I have over 100 people getting the notice of the blog.  I do not think it is fair to pester all of these people with notices of “no race” on Tuesday mornings.  I have all of your contact information but need to know if you prefer texting or email notifications.  Also, there should be one person on each boat that receives the message.  Please fill out the following form and either email it back to me or take a photo of the completed form and text it to  831-234-0322.

_)                _)                             _)                  _)                     (_                                                                 

Name of boat;  _________________________ Person to be notified:___________________________

Text phone # _______________________      Email address:__________________________________

Please circle phone or email to indicate preferred method of contact

########################################################

 I am looking forward to next Tuesday for a 2pm start.

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

OCTOBER 20, 2020: SKUNKED IN FOG

 

OCTOBER 20, 2020

SKUNKED IN FOG

FOG seemed to be the order of the day for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  I was encouraged when the newspaper weather forecast called for 12 knot winds for Tuesday.  When I got to the harbor at about 3:30, there was some wind showing on the flags, which encouraged me. As we left the harbor at 5 PM, there was very little wind on the beach, but seemed like a little more outside.  The fog was still present, but you could still easily see over 200 yards.  As we approached the start mark we determined the wind was light but coming from 80 degrees (Easterly).  We called for the shortest course possible B6 and we had 9 boats out for the fun.  We blew the 5 minute horn and set up for the race.

After our poor start a couple of weeks ago, we made certain we were not far from the line and accomplished a good start with fairly clean air.  Suddenly the confused wind set in.  It was interesting seeing all boats sailing at different angles.  We found it did no good to look at the masthead windex since the wind closer to the water was frequently 30 degrees different.  It seemed like the bigger boats with taller masts did better than boats with shorter masts.  We needed a “mast extender”!

By the time boats were approaching Blacks the wind seemed to completely die and the and boats were having trouble rounding the mark.  At Blacks, the first around was Patricia J 19:08, Tusitala 21:08, Perfect 36 21:15, Nidaros 25:00 and Pair A Dice 29:46.  Times are elapsed and the course length was .45 NM.  After rounding Blacks, one by one boats got discouraged and headed for the harbor without completing the course.  We were all skunked with no wind in the fog.

 

Race QS:

The track for tonight’s “race” can be found at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&updatedAt=2020-10-21T02:15:45Z&dt=2020-10-20T17:30:05-07:00..2020-10-20T19:15:28-07:00&boat=Pairadice&time=1603243052346&focus=Pairadice&rival=Nidaros%20II&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.953520&lon=-121.985282&tilt=19&range=438&heading=241

DEALING WITH FOG:

Fog comes in a wide variety of intensity. Someone once told me they were stuck in very thick fog (with no GPS) here in Santa Cruz.  He followed the sound to Mile Buoy, then steered a steady course of 360 degrees.  He followed this course and the first thing he saw was after he had entered the harbor.  Fortunately, most of us have a GPS these days and fog is seldom as thick as in this case.

On my GPS, I have a waypoint for 100 yard off the entrance to the harbor and another waypoint for the center of the harbor.  If necessary, I could use these waypoint to enter the harbor in the thickest of fog.

As far as other boats in very thick fog, some boats have AIS but this is a rarity.  When travelling up or down the coast, I have a speaker that I can connect to my radio that will blast a sound every 2 minutes to let other boats know of my presence.  The rules regarding sound systems used in fog vary from boat to boat (size of boat and power or sail).  If you are interested in these regulations, check this website:  https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/83.35
 Of course, the top of the line for dealing with any fog is the radar if you have it.

On this night, we approached the harbor in the fog and the dark.  If you have never done this, it is quite an experience.  We followed the sound of the foghorn and were confused for a bit with  the lights on shore.  We realized that the lights were the cars on the road and the only light we needed to concentrate on was the flashing green light on the lighthouse which was also sounding a horn. The other lights that were flashing in the harbor were the red light on the red buoy and the green light on the green buoy.

See you next Tuesday for our last Tuesday Night sail of the season, with another start at 5:45.

Barry L. Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice