MARCH 25, 2025 FINALLY SAILING, BUT IN THE FOG

 

MARCH 25,2025

FINALLY SAILING, BUT IN THE FOG

I got to the harbor early in the afternoon with clear conditions and plenty of wind in the 12-15 knot range.  Predictions were for the wind to die as the evening progressed.  As we left the harbor at 5pm the fog had set in limiting our visibility to about 200 yards.  This added to the chill in the air, but of more concern was that the wind, as predicted, was decreasing and changing directions constantly.  When we first got to the start area, the direction had the wind coming from 250.  We set a start line mark square to this direction but by the time of the start the wind had changed almost 90 degrees coming from the south. The change in direction was just one of our problems as the wind strength was constantly changing ranging from 4 knots to 9 knots. How do you call  a race  in these conditions?  We called for a course from the start line at S/F to finish at Gov with the finish line being an extension of the line from Jetty Light house through Gov.  We blew the “10 minute horn” at 5:50 and 3 boats started in A Fleet at 5:55. Most of the boats started in B Fleet.

At the finish. Fleet A was  led by Sagittarius 13:09, then Tusitala 14:04, Good Timin' ~16:46 and Rosie 23:03. Fleet B was led by Zoop 11:08, then Avatar 12:21, Perfect 36 12:58, Nidaros 13:45.Sailing  Pair A Dice 15:59, Big  Mac 16:56,  Pacific Spirit 17:48, Josie 21:45 and Wind Goddess 21:51.  All times are elapsed and the course length was 0.73NM.

After not being able to sail for the last two Tuesdays, it was awesome to be able to finally sail even if in the fog. The icing on the cake was the awesome Barbecue we had after the race!

SAILING IN THE FOG

  

PHRF CORRECTED RESULTS:

PLACE                 BOAT                                   PHRF                   CORRECTED TIME

FLEET A:

1                             SAGITTARIUS                  120                       11:41

2                             TUSITALA                          92                        12:54

3                              GOOD TIMIN'                    141                      15:03    

4                             ROSIE                                 162                       21:04

FLEET B:

1                             ZOOP                                  144                        9:24

2                             AVATAR                              132                      10:44

3                             PERFECT 36                      144                       11:12

4                             NIDAROS                          108                       12:19

5                             SAILING PAIR A DICE     180                      13:46

6                             BIG MAC                            222                      14:14

7                             PACIFIC SPIRIT                 165                      15:47

8                             JOSIE                                   243                      18:47

9                             WIND GODDESS               165                       19:48

A REMINDER:

It is important for B Fleet to stay clear of the start line when A Fleet is starting.  The last thing any sailor wants in a race is an obstruction on the line for the start.

 

A lot of things fly under the radar and do not get noticed.  This last weekend was work day at the club and many people showed up to help.  I played a minor role in refurbishing the barbecue on the lower deck. Leading in the BBQ project was Mike Gross who took all of the working parts home and spent hours welding and cleaning  the parts to make the BBQ look and work like new.  He also spent time cleaning the stainless steel parts around  the grill.  Notice the stainless steel chain for lowering and raising the grill.  It has never been cleaner.   Thank you Mike for all of your hard work  and thanks to everyone that showed up to keep the club in pristine condition!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

MARCH 18, 2025 SEA-ZURE

 

SEA-ZURE

We are blessed to live in a seaside town and many of us enjoy assorted ocean activities.  Indeed, many of us are obsessed with the ocean.  Surfing, Wind surfing, Kite surfing, paddling, fishing, boating and sailing play a huge part in many of our lives.    Our obsession with the  ocean requires serious consideration when deciding whether it is safe to enter the ocean.  Experience and physical stamina are critical considerations when making these decisions.

When I surfed, I had a work schedule that allowed  me to surf every day of the week.  This added to my experience and fitness.  Fitness is critical in surfing. Years later I was only able to surf  2-3 times a week.  I went to Moss Landing one day and there was an awesome 8 foot swell with waves breaking with the force of freight trains.   When I was in shape, I thought nothing of surfing much larger waves than 8 feet.  I knew I was not in shape to surf the “freight train” waves and was walking toward the jetty where waves were a milder 6 foot. As I walked the beach, the 8 foot freight trains were beckoning and, against my better judgement, I  jumped in and started paddling.  Ten minutes later I was only 20 feet off the beach, but continued to paddle and duck-dive the waves.  Finally I made it to green water and while huffing and puffing, thought I was in the clear until I  saw an 8 footer grinding  toward me being square in the impact zone. When in shape, you paddle harder,  duck-dive early and  deep and pop out the back of the wave.  When out of shape like I was, you paddle up the face of the wave, try to duck-dive at the top and get sucked over the falls backward. Not a fun experience.  Once  I made it to the surface, I grabbed my board and was swept to the beach in 3 seconds. I went to the mellow waves by the jetty and had a great time.

 

Laticla Mexico 1983 was this a SEA-ZURE? NO IT WAS FUN

  I would like to coin a new word to describe what many of us experience when dealing with the ocean.  A seizure is a medical condition that involves “abnormal electrical activity in the brain”.  I propose the term SEA-zure: When you get to the water and  feel the beckoning of the sea and cannot resist the need to partake regardless how risky the conditions are.  This “attraction for  the sea” is not just something seasoned sportsmen experience.  How many people, visiting from inland, are lost every year being swept off the beach just to drown. Did they have a SEA-zure that  drew them closer to the danger of the ocean?

SOLO SAILING IN THESE CONDITIONS SEA-ZURE OR FUN? HE SAFELY MADE THE HARBOR!

i really wanted to sail on the last two Tuesdays, but the conditions predicted were way off on both days with waves breaking across the entrance.    My primary consideration is the safety of all sailors and boats, I cannot succumb to a Sea-zure and entice boats to exit the harbor in these conditions.  It was best to cancel the race on both Tuesdays.

NEXT TUESDAY IS THE LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH WHICH IS BARBECUE NIGHT AT THE CLUB.  WE WILL HAVE THE BARBECUE WHETHER CONDITIONS PERMIT SAILING OR NOT.  BRING YOUR BEST FOOD AND MEAT TO GRILL AND SHARE FOR THIS AWESOME EVENT!

I HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY, ON THE WATER ABD/OR AT THE GRILL.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

MARCH 4, 2025 GREAT SAILING BETWEEN THE STORMS

 

MARCH 4, 2025

GREAT SAILING BETWEEN THE STORMS

It has been a challenging spring with shoaling at the harbor, big waves and rain as storms pass through.  I was quite surprised that everything settled down for this Tuesday’s sail.  The prediction for wind was 7 to 10 knots which is enough to get a race off.  As we left the harbor at 3:30 there was a steady but light breeze across the bay. We approached the S/F temporary mark and determined the wind was coming from 250 degrees and set a line square to this direction.  With the course being to Mile and back, the port end of the line was too favored so we adjusted the line to be more square to mile.

As boats filed out of the harbor, we called the course as the wind seemed to be increasing.  We blew the 5-minute horn at 4:25 for a 4:30 start.  We had a clean start as all six boats beat their way toward Mile.   The first to round Mile was Aquavit followed by Pacific Spirit, Pair A Dice, Avatar, Big Mac and Kicks.  Late to the party but still sailing the course was Azor, a Santana 22.

After rounding Mile, all boats sailed downwind in a freshening breeze toward the finish. Aquavit was first to cross the line 23:14, closely followed by Pacific Spirit 23:48, Pair A Dice 23:58, Avatar 24:36, Big Mac 26:06, and Kicks 28.44.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was 2.10NM.

It was awesome to be back out on the water getting some great sailing between the storms.

 

 

PHRF CORRECTED RESULTS:

PLACE                 BOAT                                                   PHRF                   ADJUSTED TIME

1             SAILING PAIR A DICE                                180                       17:44

2             PACIFIC SPIRIT                                            165                       18:01

3             BIG MAC                                                        222                       18:20

4             AVATAR                                                          132                       20:02

5             AQUAVIT                                                        72                          20:42

6             KICKS                                                              180                       22:09

 

RACE QS:

The track for this evening can be reviewed at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=105405&updatedAt=2025-03-05T03:08:02Z&dt=2025-03-04T16:15:27-08:00..2025-03-04T19:07:51-08:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1741134787751&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Avatar&tab=fleet&view=match

TIME CHANGE:

 Daylight Savings time starts this Sunday, March 9.  This means next Tuesday, if conditions permit, we will start the season with a 6 o’clock start.  As usual, we will blow one horn at 10 minutes until 6 which will be a 5 minute horn for fleet A and a 10 minute horn for fleet B.  Though the marks are not out, we will come up with a course.  If you have not registered, go to:  SCYC.org/Regattas.  Find Tuesday Night races, click on register to open the registration page.  Once you register, I will see that you get the new course card.

I am excited to get another season of Tuesday Night Sailing started.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

FEBRUARY 11, 2025 CHALLENGING CHILLY CONDITIONS ALSO TIDES AND RULE OF TWELFTHS

 

FEBRUARY11, 2025

CHALLENGING CHILLY CONDITIONS

 

The final prediction was for winds up to 17 knots but with an ominous warning about “chilly conditions”.   The biggest question was about entrance conditions. I called the harbor on Monday and the person that takes the soundings said he was not able to get readings  because of the heavy anchovy presence in the harbor.  I was disappointed but got a call from the same person on Tuesday that a reading was taken and posted which was a huge boost in confidence.  We could at least get some smaller boats out.

 Whether the entrance was too risky or the chilly conditions were the cause, we had only four boats that came out with one retiring before the start.  We established a start line in an area close to Blacks and called for a course to round Mile to port and finish with southern end of the start line to port. Finish line being an extension of the line from lighthouse through the end of the line.   Some boats were slow getting to the start line area so we blew the horn at 3:35 for a 3:40 start.

The conditions for the beginning of the race saw winds over 20 knots which intensified the “chill factor”.   As the race started, we saw the wind drop to15 to 17 knots but we kept the reef in anticipating more wind outside which played out as anticipated.  Pair A Dice was first around Mile followed by Big Mac and Kicks.  On the way back to the finish line it was difficult trying to find the marks we had set.  At the finish it was Pair a Dice first 34:14 followed  by Big Mac 34:42 and Kicks  47:37.  Times are elapsed and the course distance was  2.59 NM.

Despite the chill in the air which we all had dressed for, it was great to see three boats finish in such challenging chilly conditions.

PHRF CORRECTED RESULTS

PLACE                 BOAT                                   PHRF                   CORRECTED TIME

1             BIG MAC                                            222                       25:06

2             SAILING PAIR A DICE                     180                       26:28

3             KICKS                                                 180                       39:48

RACE QS:

The track for this evening can be reviewed at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=105113&updatedAt=2025-02-12T01:02:47Z&dt=2025-02-11T15:16:02-08:00..2025-02-11T16:54:24-08:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1739319314300&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Kicks&tab=match&view=follow&lat=36.950705&lon=-121.986923&tilt=34&range=276&heading=344

TIDES AND THE RULE OF TWELFTHS:

Because of our shoaling harbor entrance tides play a large factor in our ability to get out of the harbor.  But tides affect many factors for different reasons in different areas.  Tides play a huge factor in anticipating currents in the San Francisco bay or currents in reef passages in the tropics, it’s good to know about the rule of twelfths to anticipate how strong currents will be at a certain time or to estimate accurately the water height at a certain time. I believe Ernie Ridout was the first to inform me about this over dinner years ago and I used it extensively when I had to tabernacle to get out of the upper harbor.

In essence, high tides and low tides are about 6 hours apart.  The difference between High and low tide varies according to the alignment of heavenly bodies.  Using the rule of twelfths, you take the difference between high and low tide.  As an example we will use a difference of 6  feet which is about what we may get in Monterey bay.  We divide this distance by 12 which gives increments of 6 inches.  The progression of the rule of twelfths is that the first hour after high or low tide will give a 6-inch difference (for this example) in water height. The second hour will give 2/12ths (1 foot difference).   The progression for each hour using the rule is:  1/12, 2/12, 3/12, 3/12, 2/12, 1/12.   This means that the most rapid change is halfway between high and low tide with the change being 3/12 (1.5 feet in this example) for each of  the two hours encompassing the time in the middle of high and low tide.

Below is what it looks like if there was a 6 METER difference between high and low tide.

 

I hope this helps us all in dealing with our harbor shoaling.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

JANUARY 28, 2025 NICE EASTERLY WIND

 

JANUARY 28, 2025

NICE EASTERLY WIND

Below is Doug Mahone’s recap of this Tuesday Afternoon race.  

When we left the harbor at 2:30p, it was sunny and clear, with an 8-10 kt westerly breeze from 245 degrees. We set up a 150 yd long start line perpendicular to the breeze, with the old Start/Finish mark (currently marked by a white fender and a small red buoy) on the left end, and a larger temporary red buoy at the right end. We were intending to race from the start line, to Mile, and back to S/F.

Shortly after 3:00p, the breeze died. We were in a transition, awaiting an easterly. At 3:15p, the easterly arrived, blowing from 85 deg at around 6-8 kts. We quickly motored upwind about a half mile and dropped another temporary mark. We kept our original start line, but in reverse, with the S/F mark on the right end and the temp red ball at the left end. The course ran upwind to the new temporary mark, down to Gov, and back up to S/F, taking all marks to port. The finish line was an extension of a line from the lighthouse thru S/F.

At 3:25p we sounded the prep horn and got off to a clean start at 3:30p. Eight boats recorded their tracks on RaceQs, with another two or three anonymously joining in the racing.  The new breeze held up through most of the race, although it started to falter at the end for some of the later finishers.

It was a bit tricky finding the Gov mark, because there was an illegal anchor out sailboat tied to it.

Some of the finishers were apparently confused about which of the start line marks was S/F, and instead finished by rounding the temporary red ball at the left end of the start line.

The harbor mouth was a bit tricky, as the shoal narrowed the channel close to the east jetty at a nominal depth of
10 ft. The fleet passed thru at lower low tide of -1 ft (9 ft deep). There were no significant swells complicating passage. The deepest boat, Aboriginal, ran aground, but was able to back off and get thru. I think all the other boats passed without incident.

Coming back to the harbor mouth, it was swarmed by terns feeding on a large school of bait fish. My depth sounder showed 2-3 ft depth all the way in past the gas dock, apparently fooled by the schooling fish because we didn’t hit bottom.  All boats made it back to their slips before dark.

It was BBQ night at the club, with a lively crowd around the grill and in the dining room.  With the lengthening days, we’re hoping more boats will be able to join in the coming weeks as we count down to the return of daylight savings time.

Doug Mahone, Avatar

Big thanks to Doug for the excellent recap!

The first boat to round GOV was Aboriginal then Aquavit, Avatar, Nidaros, Inspiration, Big Mac, Kicks and Wind Goddess.  On the beat back to the finish line, the first boat to finish was Aboriginal 33:58, then Aquavit  40:22 Avatar 41:03, Nidaros 44:04, Big Mac 46:35, Kicks 49:56, Inspiration 48:54 and Wind Goddess 58:33.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was 2.53NM.  Though  the finish line was designated to take S/F to port, two boats finished at the wrong end of the line.  I finished these boats but added 30 seconds to their elapsed time.

Though I was not able to participate in this race, it was nice to see a nice Easterly wind.

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE                 BOAT                                   PHRF                   CORRECTED TIME

1             ABORIGINAL                                   33                          32:34

2             AVATAR                                             132                       35:29

3             BIG MAC                                           222                       37:13

4             AQUAVIT                                           72                          37:20

5             NIDAROS                                           118                       39:05

6             KICKS                                                 180                       42:20

7             INSPIRATION                                    147                       42:42

8             WIND GODDESS                               168                       51:28

RACE QS:

The track for this afternoon can be found at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011635&divisionId=104864&updatedAt=2025-01-29T01:02:47Z&dt=2025-01-28T15:18:09-08:00..2025-01-28T17:02:44-08:00&boat=Kicks&time=1738106307865&focus=Kicks&rival=Nidaros%20II&tab=fleet&view=auto

I hope to see you sailing next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing  Pair A Dice

JANUARY 21, 2025 SWEET CHILLY WIND

 

JANUARY 21, 2025

SWEET CHILLY WIND

Once again the predictions were for light wind but as we left the harbor, the beautiful sight of wind on the water spread across the bay. We determined the wind direction was from 240 and found our way to the fenders that indicate where Start mark is normally located and set a line square  to the wind.  We used the temporary mark as one end of the line and deployed our usual red ball for the other end of the line.  We called for a course Start to Mile (port rounding) and finish with the red ball to port.  Finish line being an extension of the line from the jetty lighthouse through the red ball.  We blew a 3:25 five minute horn for a single 3:30 start.

It was an  interesting start with several boats right on the line.  It was challenging with the line, being square to the wind making the line very skewed with relation to the Mile buoy destination.   All boats tacked their way towards Mile trying to achieve clear wind which was a challenge with most boats choosing the same route.  At  Mile, Aboriginal was first around followed by Avatar, Aquavit, Rosie, Inspiration,  Pair A Dice and Nidaros.

After rounding Mile, everyone reached back to the finish line.  At the finish, Aboriginal was first 20:00 followed by Avatar 23:38, Aquavit 23:50, Rosie 26:24, Inspiration 26:37, Sailing Pair a Dice 27:15 tied with Nidaros 27:15.  All times are elapsed and the course distance was 1.99NM.  After the race, it was such a beautiful day on the bay we sailed over to the wharf.  As usual the wind died and we had to motor back to the harbor.

Once again it was great to be a sailor to enjoy such a beautiful afternoon sailing in a sweet chilly wind. 

 

 PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE                 BOAT                                                   PHRF                   CORRECTED TIME

1             ABORIGINAL                                                   33                          18:59

2             AVATAR                                                            132                       19:15

3             ROSIE                                                               162                       21:01

4             SAILING PAIR A DICE                                   180                       21:16

5             AQUAVIT                                                          72                          21:26

6             INSPIRATION                                                   147                       21:44

7             NIDAROS                                                          118                       23:21

 

RACE QS:

The track for this afternoon can be reviewed  at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=104784&updatedAt=2025-01-22T00:04:33Z&dt=2025-01-21T15:21:02-08:00..2025-01-21T16:04:29-08:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1737504269000&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&rival=Avatar&tab=match&view=auto

NEXT TUESDAY IS THE LAST  TUESDAY OF THE MONTH WHICH IS:

BARBECUE NIGHT AT THE CLUB, BRING YOUR BEST BARBECUE ITEMS TO GRILL, ENJOY AND SHARE!

              _)                                          _)                                         _)                              (_                                (_

SAIL AWAY SOCIAL SATURDAY JANUARY 25 AT 6PM.  A GREAT EVENT TO MEET AND GREET POTENTIAL NEW CREW AS WELL AS BOATS TO SAIL ON.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice