SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 BLUSTERY DAY ON THE BAY

 

SEPTEMBER 1, 2026

BLUSTERY DAY ON THE BAY

Predictions were for light winds for the afternoon and reports from sailors was only 15 knot winds.  These conditions often are frequently overpowered by the Santa Cruz eddy resulting in an Easterly.  As we left the harbor at 5pm there was a healthy 20 knot breeze flowing across the bay.    Enough for predictions, time to deal with reality and put a reef in.  We had over twenty boats out for the fun.  The wind was coming from 240 degrees and we set a line square to this and called for course W1.  All three fleets had clean starts and the wind continued clear to the finish.  Such is life when you have a blustery day on the bay.

Spinny Fleet track can be seen at:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Spinny%20Fleet&race=1.9.2026%2017:50:00&language=en

A Fleet track can be reviewed at:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20A&race=1.9.2026%2017:55:00&language=en

B Fleet can be viewed at:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20A&race=1.9.2026%2017:55:00&language=en

 

PHRF CORRECTED RESULTS:  COURSE W1  DISTANCE 3.886NM

PLACE                BOAT                                 PHRF                  ET                         CORRECTED TIME

FLEET SPINNY

1            INTERLUDE                                   141                      43:27                  34:19

2            PEGASUS                                       150                      44:04                  34:21

3            WATTS MOORE                             150                      44:47                  35:04

4            ICHIBAN                                         150                      45:35                  35:52

5            KEMOSABE                                    81                         44:21                  3906

FLEET A:

1            ABORIGINAL                                 33                         36:48                  34:40

2            ZOOP                                               144                      45:16                  35:56

3            PERFECT 36                                   144                      46:28                  37:08

4            RIO                                                  141                      49:06                  39:58

5            AMOR FATI                                    81                         49:24                  44:09

FLEET B:

1            AZOR                                              243                      53:25                  37:31

2            GOLD RUSH                                  126                      46:43                  38:33

3            TARA                                               243                      54:52                  39:08

4            SIMPATICO                                    165                      50:05                  39:23

5            BIG MAC                                        222                      54:19                  39:56

6            AVATAR                                          132                      49:55                  41:22

7            PACIFIC SPIRIT                            165                      54:31                  43:50

8            SAILING PAIR A DICE                 180                      55:45                  44:05

9            AQUAVIT                                        73                         48:57                  44:13

10          NIDAROS                                       118                      53:36                  45:57

11          TOAD                                              150                      59:48                  50:05

12          SWEET PEA                                   163                      1:01:07             50:34

13          KICKS                                             180                      1:02:26             50:46

14          MYSTIC                                          150                      1:02:01             52:18

THE ZOOP SCOOP BY PAUL TARA

QUIZ

Last Week:

The minimum sailing weight of a Santana 22 is:

b) 2,600 lbs

 

Once again, it’s worth remembering that “minimum sailing weight” is different from “displacement”.  The latter is always greater due to the addition of crew and gear. 

 

This Week:

The ballast to displacement ratio compares fixed ballast to displacement. Which of these boats has the lowest ratio?

a) Moore 24

b) Islander 36

b) Santana 22

d) Santa Cruz 27

 

THE RACE

Tuesday, the morning overcast had a splotchy look, with mares’ tails visible above.  This pattern indicates the presence of stronger weather-system winds aloft shredding the overcast as they start to mix down to the surface. It often results in “sporty” conditions. “Mares’ tails and mackerel scales make lofty ships carry low sails.” These winds are almost always veered relative to the surface flow; on Zoop we noted a direction of 255° just prior to our start.

 

Spinnaker Fleet had 6 boats. The favored port end lured several offshore, including the SC-27 Interlude and Moore 24 Pegasus. Ichiban started at the unfavored starboard end and was first to head right on port tack. This seemed to pay off at first, but not  enough when she came back on starboard to make up for the difference at the start. Interlude rounded first but Pegasus took the lead on the reach to MB. However, Pegasus made a very wide rounding, (jibe issues?) allowing Interlude to regain the lead, which she held to the finish, correcting out over Pegasus by 3 seconds.

 

A Fleet had 5 boats. Aboriginal started at the starboard end and immediately flopped onto port, followed by P36 a little further out. The former held port until the Wharf, tacked and rounded Schuyler in the lead.  Zoop was pinned on starboard by Amor Fati until well out in left field. After tacking onto port we barely crossed P36 as she came off the beach on starboard.  We then under-stood Schuyler by a boat length, requiring two extra tacks while Aboriginal steamed off into the distance at 8 knots — game over. Under-standing always engenders a  lot of ‘discussion’ aboard. “We’re gonna make it, wait for the lift, don’t tack,” are all familiar phrases. To which I offer a one word response, “leeway.” Hard on the wind, no boat actually goes where she’s pointed. And, attempting to shoot a mark in that much wind is a good way to end up doing a penalty spin.

 

B Fleet had 12 boats, augmented by the addition of Aquavit, freshly returned from her Pac Cup adventures. (They intended to race in A, but were late and reregistered in B at the last minute — must be some turbo fingers aboard. Meanwhile another boat forgot to hit “Participate in Regatta”.) The star of the show was the Santana 22 Azor. The C&C 35 Gold Rush (the oldest boat in the fleet) blitzed everybody boat for boat, but was unable to save her time and ended up second on corrected by just over a minute.  Azor won the race on the beat to Schuyler. She matched speed with Simpatico and then, instead of being carried beyond the layline, tacked and ducked astern of the larger boat to round second. Anytime you can round ahead of boats that are 10 feet longer is a ‘Glory Moment’. 

Thank you Paul!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

AUGUST 25, 2026 AWESOME EASTERLY

 

AUGUST 25, 2026

AWESOME EASTERLY

The flags were showing a weak Westerly wind through the afternoon but changed to an Easterly about 4:30.   As we left the harbor, the Easterly was strengthening to about 11 knots. We determined the wind was coming from 70 degrees and set a line square to this and called for our usual course E3.  As warm as the interior was, the Easterly continued to strengthen as the start time approached. 

As the race progressed, the wind increased up to 20 knot gusts. It was great to sail in an awesome Easterly.

The track for Spinny fleet can be reviewed at:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Spinny%20Fleet&race=25.8.2026%2017:50:00&language=en

A Fleet can be seen at:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20A&race=25.8.2026%2017:55:00&language=en

The track for B Fleet:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20B&race=25.8.2026%2018:00:00&language=en

TUESDAY NIGHT SAILORS:

A NEW VERSION OF REGATTA HERO (RH) HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED THAT FIXES THE PROBLEM OF ANDROID PHONES RECORDING SCREWY TRACKS.

NO MATTER WHICH TYPE OF PHONE YOU HAVE, YOU NEED TO INSTALL THE UPDATED APP BEFORE YOU CAN USE RH.  GO TO YOUR PHONES APP STORE , SEARCH FOR REGATTA HERO, THEN UPDATE IT.  ALTERNATIVELY, GO TO THE RH APP ON YOUR PHONE AND TRY TO LOG ON.  YOU’LL GET AN ERROR MESSAGE AND A BUTTON THAT OFFERS TO UPDATE YOUR APP.

ONCE YOU’VE INSTALLED THE UPDATE, USE IT FOR RACING AS YOU USUALLY DO,  EXCEPT YOU NO LONGER NEED TO DISABLE THE “IMPROVE LOCATION ACCURACY” SETTING FOR RH.  BE SURE TO DO THIS UPDATE BEFORE YOUR NEXT RACE.  THANKS!

PS AS THIS IS A NEW RELEASE, THERE IS A SMALL CHANCE THAT IT MAY NOT WORK CORRECTLY.  PLEASE  CONTACT DOUG MAHONE (916-541-6607 VOICE OR TEXT) TO REPORT ANY PROBLEMS YOU MAY ENCOUNTER.

THANKS DOUG!

(THIS RH ANNOUNCEMENT WAS ALSO EMAILED SEPARATELY LAST NIGHT)

 

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:  COURSE E3 DISTANCE 2.709NM

PLACE                BOAT                                 PHRF                  ET                         CORRECTED TIME

SPINNY FLEET:

1            PEGASUS                                       150                      34:35                  27:49

2            ICHIBAN                                         150                      34:49                  28:03

3            INTERLUDE                                   141                      34:51                  28:29

4            ZOOP                                               144                      35:12                  28:42

5            GONZO                                           150                      36:09                  29:23

6            MAIN SQUEEZE                            72                         35:07                  31:52

7            RIO                                                  141                      46:14                  39:52

8            QUIXOTIC                                      57                         48:13                  45:39

FLEET A:

1            SAGITTARIUS                                120                      32:54                  27:29

2            ABORIGINAL                                 33                         30:07                  28:38

3            PERFECT 36                                   144                      36:40                  30:10

4            KEMOSABE                                   81                         39:21                  35:42

FLEET B:

1            MAKANI                                         147                      37:24                  30:46

2            BIG MAC                                         222                      41:23                  31:22

3            SIMPATICO                                     165                      39:47                  32:20

4            AVATAR                                           132                      38:33                  32:35

5            NIDAROS                                        118                      38:34                  33:14

6            ABSOLUTE 05                                120                      40:31                  35:06

7            TARA                                                243                      46:54                  35:56

8            SAILING PAIR A DICE                  180                      45:00                  36:52

9            WIND GODDESS                           163                      44:27                  37:05

10          KICKS                                             180                      46:28                  38:20

11          INSPIRATION                                 147                      48:35                  41:57

12          CIELITO                                          360                      1:05:40             49:25

ZOOP SCOOP BY PAUL TARA

QUIZ

Last Week:

A minimum weight Moore 24, sailing with maximum crew weight, displaces:

 b) 2,875 lbs. (minimum boat weight 2,050 lbs + max crew weight, 825 lbs.) 

Note: 2,825 lbs, was a typo, so “non of the above” was the correct answer. 

 

The terms minimum boat weight and displacement are often used interchangeably, but this is not necessarily correct. Minimum boat weight reflects the weight of a specific number of parts in specific condition (usually dry). Displacement reflects the weight of the water that has to move out of the way (be displaced) to accommodate the boat in specific condition.  Boat weight is fixed, displacement can vary considerably.  For example, the “full-load displacement” (crew, sails, spares, tools, ground tackle, etc) of a Moore 24 is probably closer to 3,500 lbs than 2,050 lbs.

 

This Week:

The minimum sailing weight of a Santana 22 is:

a) 2,500 lbs. 

b) 2,600 lbs.

c) 2,750 lbs.

 

THE RACE

Anyone who didn’t like Tuesday’s easterly needs to take up a new hobby.  I had a feeling early on. Around 1430, when I arrived at the Harbor, there was a moderate, but dying, westerly. The fog was far offshore, extending in a straight line from up the coast to Monterey, where it appeared to be stacking up against the Santa Lucias — indicating a strong northwesterly being turned to the east by the “geographic scoop” of the mountains. In contrast, by 1530, it was 85° at the Harbor, the westerly had backed south, and the southern edge of the fog had already swung past Marina, all signs of a strong counterclockwise surge to come. Barry nailed the course with E-3, and this was born out by the breeze continuing to build throughout the race. 

 

Spinnaker Fleet is beginning to grow in the run up to the Moore 24 Nationals. Tuesday there were 8 boats, including 4 Moores, a SC 27, and two behemoths, Zoop and Main Squeeze. (Racing a Moore 24 with an Islander 36 is like trying to swat a fly with a shovel.) Boats that tacked onto port jumped to an early lead as the building breeze veered to the right. Main Squeeze rounded first with Pegasus in hot pursuit. On the run, boats went every which way trying to find the right jibe angle, while Zoop, after a slow set, sailed the compass course.  At Gov,  Main Squeeze had a slow drop and sailed past the mark allowing several boats to pass. But, she gained back enough on the beat to contribute to the general mayhem at the finish — the first five boats all finished within 37 seconds — which was amplified by Aboriginal, overtaking from A Fleet, getting her nose in there at the very end.  Pegasus won, with Ichiban, 2nd, sailing the shortest course.

 

A Fleet had 4 boats, down largely due to migrations to Spinnaker Fleet. P36  nailed the starboard end and immediately went right, followed by Sagittarius. This gave them both a jump on Aboriginal which had gone inshore on starboard. At BP, P36 was in the lead on corrected, but couldn’t hold onto Sagittarius on the run, as the latter did a great job of sticking to Aboriginal. In sharp contrast to the Spinnaker Fleet, the A fleet boats all sailed a much more direct course to Gov. by which Sagittarius had the corrected time lead, and hung on for the win. She also sailed the shortest course.

 

B Fleet remains the mainstay of Tuesday nights with 12 boats.   Makani  went right first, followed by Avatar. This gave them both an edge on the fleet headed inshore. (Do we detect a theme here?) Avatar tacked onto starboard just a teensy bit soon, while Makani continued on port.  Shortly thereafter, Makani got a whopping port tack header, flopped onto starboard, into the lead, and proceeded to round BP first, followed closely by Nidarous, The later gradually overhauled Makani on the run. The two rounded Gov overlapped, but with Makani on the inside. This allowed her to hold on and score a 1st on both elapsed and corrected times.  On the beat to the finish, Avatar found a new gear, and was just able to nip Nidarous at the finish (better save those trim settings Doug). But she wasn’t fast enough to save her time on Big Mac, which had sailed the whole race mid-fleet, but jumped to second on corrected by nailing the finish layline. Avatar sailed the shortest course, followed closely by Big Mac.

 Thanks Paul!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

 

 

              

AUGUST 18, 2026 INTERESTING EVENING ON THE WATER

 

AUGUST 18, 2026

INTERESTING EVENING ON THE WATER

The flags were flying through the afternoon showing a healthy wind.  As we left the harbor at 5pm there was a very good westerly wind that came all the way into the S/F mark.  There was no fog toward Capitola and reports of “not very hot inland”.  This discouraged anticipation of an Easterly developing.  The wind was coming from about 250 degrees so we set a line square to this and called for course W4.  We blew the “15 minute horn” at 5:45, but as the clock ticked down, I noticed a change.  The windex was showing an Easterly breeze developing.   We cancelled the race as Spinny fleet had already started, changed course to E3 and blew a second “15 minute horn”. We ended up telling boats to follow the signal coming from Regatta Hero for the proper start time.  As the Easterly built, we were all enjoying the great conditions.   When we got closer to Gov, my heart sank when I saw the Coast Guard cutter moored to Gov requiring rounding the cutter rather than Gov.  As boats were rounding the cutter, some got too close with multiple announcements from the cutter to keep clear.  The required distance is no closer than 100 yards, which extended the length of the course with an undefined leeward mark to round.

With the sudden change in wind and course requiring manipulating Regatta Hero, then the cutter moored to Gov, it was an interesting evening on the water.  Thanks to Zach Shepard and James Amendolagine for their work with Regatta Hero.

Spinny fleet track can be reviewed at:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Spinny%20Fleet&race=18.8.2026%2018:04:57&language=en&defaultspeed=5&loop=no

AFleet track can be seen at:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20A&race=18.8.2026%2018:09:00&language=en

B Fleet: Track available at:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20B&race=18.8.2026%2018:14:58&language=en&defaultspeed=5&loop=no

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

BARBECUE NIGHT AT THE CLUB AFTER THE RACE.  BRING YOUR BEST FOOD TO GRILL AND SHARE!  ALSO A GREAT TIME TO SOCIALIZE AROUND THE BARBECUE!

 

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:  COURSE E3  DISTANCE 2.687NM

PLACE                BOAT                                 PHRF                  ET                         CORRECTED TIME

SPINNY FLEET:

1            PEGASUS                                       150                      43:34                  36:51

2            FLEXI FLYER                                96                         43:40                  39:22

3            DOUBLE ESPRESSO                    99                         45:10                  40:44

4            AVATAR                                          132                      50:42                  44:47

FLEET A:

1            ABORIGINAL                                33                         38:36                  37:07

2            WATTS MOORE                            150                      46:01                  39:18

3            MAIN SQUEEZE                           72                         45:53                  42:40

4            KEMOSABE                                   81                         1:05:16             1:01:38

               ZOOP  DSQ  (see Zoop Scoop)

FLEET B:

1            BIG MAC                                        222                      51:41                  41:45

2            SAILING PAIR A DICE                 180                      53:53                  45:49

3            AZOR                                              243                      57:22                  46:29

4            ABSOLUTE 05                               120                      52:12                  46:50

5            NIDAROS                                       118                      53:18                  48:01

6            MAKANI                                        147                      54:50                  48:15

7            PACIFIC SPIRIT                            165                      57:12                  49:49

8            TARA                                              243                      62:23                  51:30

9            SIMPATICO                                   165                      61:12                  53:49

10          WIND GODDESS                          163                      64:53                  57:35

11          KICKS                                             180                      65:46                  57:42  

12          MYSTIC                                          150                      83:12                  76:28

 

ZOOP SCOOP BY PAUL TARA

QUIZ

Last Week: 

c) Moore 24 minimum class weight is: 2,050 lbs. Includes the hull, spars, hardware and fittings, standing and running rigging, but not the sails, or other miscellaneous gear. 

 

This Week:

A minimum weight Moore 24, sailing with maximum crew weight, displaces:

a) 2,050 lbs. 

b) 2,825 lbs.

c) 2,525 lbs.

 

“HIGH VALUE ASSETS”

You must keep a minimum distance of 100 yards (91 meters) from any moored U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) vessel or official “High Value Asset” (HVA) in Monterey Bay.

 

Since this is a development series, time to pay attention.  In what can only be described as a “senior moment” Tuesday, Zoop violated the above regulation and rounded “Gov” within about 20’ of the transom of the USCG cutter moored there.  That put her around 280’ in violation. Slam dunk. I knew the rules and just spaced out.  We went on to score 3rd on corrected time.  That’s incorrect.  Regatta Hero doesn’t know anything about Homeland Security Regulations.  Zoop should be scored DSQ.  Not DNF, but DSQ, just like when boats racing on San Francisco Bay interfere with commercial traffic.

 

That being said, in order to avoid future episodes of arrested development, possibly next year we should consider the descriptive mark language for Gov including something like “When occupied, stand off 100 yards.” Tuesday, the only VHF warning we heard was from Barry, in B Fleet, well after most of A Fleet had rounded. Approaching the mark from upwind, the cutter’s verbal warnings were pretty unintelligible until too late. These are not excuses, but I have a feeling that discovering she was a mark of the course might have been as much of a surprise to her as it was to the fleet.

 

THE RACE

Barry made a great judgement call and saved the evening by postponing and waiting for the easterly to fill. Then, Zack made another good call to stick with RH when it was not in sync with the horn, due to the one minute offset from when the postponement was lowered. E-3 was a good course.  Recently, concern over current has led to Barry pinging both ends the line, but we saw little evidence of current. When we went out the wind was still westerly and the kelp was streaming east. Later, in the easterly, the kelp was streaming west.  Wind-wise, the conventional wisdom held — more easterly on the beach. On Zoop, we muffed rounding BP by trying to set up too early on the starboard lay line and getting caught by the edge of the transition.

 

Spinnaker Fleet had 4 boats.  Flexi Flyer did a good job of covering Pegasus, but wasn’t fast enough to save her time.  Double Expresso seems to be getting more of a handle on her asymmetric jibe angles, but upwind she wasn’t pointing with the other two.

 

A Fleet had 6 boats and followed the usual script.  Aboriginal got the best start and never looked back. By Gov, she was well ahead of Watts Moore on time.  On the beat to the finish, Main Squeeze managed to grind down Watts Moore, but not by nearly enough to save her time. Zoop was first to set a pole on the run, and gained steadily, only to sail into the exclusion zone surrounding Gov. Oops, no penalty turn escape for that one!

 

B Fleet had 12 boats. The racing was close and quite competitive. (Dare I say, maybe a little too competitive at the start.) The star of the evening was Big Mac, which rounded BP 5th, but took the lead on the run and ended up finishing 1st both on elapsed and corrected time!  I don’t know what portions of the fleet were smoking, but in the interest of saving time, here’s a shot of the moment when Big Mac moved into the lead on the run.  Overall, she sailed 3.29 nm; others sailed almost a half mile further. Some of these maneuvers might be due to the requirement of passing the red ball within 200’, but Regatta Hero is sounding “mark passed” well outside that distance. Go figure.

Thank you Paul!

I hope to see all of you sailing next Tuesday and at the BBQ.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice