JUNE 23, 2026 AWESOME WEST WIND

   

JUNE 23, 2026

AWESOME WEST WIND

Predictions for the evening called for 12 knot winds decreasing to 5 knots.  When I got to the harbor around one o’clock, the flags showed a stiff breeze.  Observing the bay showed a nice 15 knot wind sea state.  As we were leaving the harbor at 5pm  the sea state looked more like 20 knots.  We determined the direction of the wind: 240 degrees.  We set a line square to this direction and called for course W1 and all fleets got off to clean starts.

The wind never decreased as predicted and we had a great sail in an awesome west wind.

SPINNY FLEET TRACK:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Spinny%20Fleet&race=23.6.2026%2017:50:00&language=en

FLEET A TRACK:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20A&race=23.6.2026%2017:55:00&language=en

FLEET B TRACK:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20B&race=23.6.2026%2018:00:00&language=en

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:  COURSE W1  DISTANCE 3.884 NM

PLACE                BOAT                                 PHRF                  ET                         CORRECTED

SPINNY FLEET:

1            PEGASUS                                       150                      44:54                  34:11

2            GONZO (NOT REGISTERD IN TNS)

FLEET A:

1            ABORIGINAL                                33                         36:05                  33:57

2            TRUE LOVE                                   72                         39:25                  34:45

3            ZOOP                                              144                      44:53                  35:34

4            SAGITTARIUS                               120                      44:22                  36:36

5            MAIN SQUEEZE                            72                         41:41                  37:01

6            PERFECT 36                                   144                      47:01                  37:42

7            INTERLUDE                                   141                      47:22                  38:14

8            ROSIE                                              162                      49:50                  39:21

FLEET B:

1            TARA                                               243                      52:53                  37:09

2            SIMPATICO                                    165                      49:13                  38:32

3            AZOR                                              243                      55:33                  39:49

4            BIG MAC                                        222                      54:15                  39:53

5            GOLD RUSH                                  126                      48:26                  40:17

6            SAILING PAIR A DICE                 180                      52:01                  40:22

7            ABSOLUTE 05                              117                      49:47                  42:13

8            PACIFIC SPIRIT                           165                      54:00                  43:19

9            FORTUNA                                     114                      56:02                  48:39

10          NIDAROS II                                  114                      56:24                  49:01

11          TOAD                                             150                      1:02:07             52:24

12          MYSTIC                                         150                      1:05:01             55:18

_)                                            _)                                  _)                             (_                        (_

NEXT TUESDAY IS THE LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH WHICH

IS BARBECUE AFTER THE SAIL NIGHT AT THE CLUB. BRING YOUR FAVORITE GRILLING FOOD TO ENJOY AND SHARE.  THIS IS A

GREAT SOCIAL EVENT!

 

ZOOP SCOOP  BY PAUL TARA

 

QUIZZ

True Wind is what you feel

a) Only from the north

b) When you’re moving

c) When you’re not moving

 

GYRE GYRATIONS

Tuesday, we sailed course W-1 and it blew hard all the way around.  Two weeks ago we sailed W-1, but the easterly transition caught the fleet on the approach to BP and turned the final leg into a scramble. At 0800 this Tuesday, the windsock at Dominican Hospital was showing light northeasterly, but it never made an appearance on the water. What gives? 

 

The  weather phenomenon that produces the easterly is known as a “mesoscale gyre”.  Or, just a big circular eddy. Trust me, it’s a thing. It even has its own acronym, SCE, for Santa Cruz Eddy.  You can get a headache reading the studies on-line done in the early 2,000’s. It attracted attention because of its prevalence — 80 percent of afternoons in July and August.  Basically, the Santa Cruz Mountains block the standard northwesterly, allowing Santa Cruz to warm. Warm air rises, lowering the surface pressure, which sucks in the easterly. It doesn’t occur every day because the depth of the marine layer is a big factor. If it’s shallow, the flow is blocked and an easterly transition likely. If it’s deep, then it flows inland, Santa Cruz stays cool, and there’s no suck — the westerly holds. 

 

So, what about that Dominican windsock?  Well, gyres aren’t available in halves.  They’re complete circular systems. Just because the back half doesn’t manifest itself on the race course doesn’t mean it’s not there.  Scotts Valley often has an easterly all day. This past Monday, at 1300,  there was an 8 knot easterly downtown on River St., while the westerly was just getting ramped up at the Harbor. Stay tuned. We’re still in June Gloom. More interesting times are on the horizon.  The more Santa Cruz heats up, the stronger the gyre becomes. If conditions are right  it can even suck in a new character, the summer northerly, for a cameo appearance. 

 

THE RACE

A Fleet was a rerun.  Anytime it’s blowing hard, and you encounter a Sydney 38 with a fresh bottom, and a dozen more bottoms on the rail, you might want to consider heading for the bar early (bottoms up?).  True Love got a great start and gave it a shot, but the result was a forgone conclusion.  On Zoop, we had a good race with Sagittarius and P36, but the leaders were long gone.

 

Wow, there was some good racing in B Fleet.  Gold Rush, Absolute, and Simpatico basically raced boat for boat until the last leg. But, they all three fell victims to the exception to the rule that big boats are faster in a breeze. The exception being the Santana 22 Tara (no relation) which sailed an excellent race (less distance) to correct out first.

 

I have to say that, I think the racing in the B Fleet looked quite interesting. Since we were in A, it’s hard to tell what sail combinations were effective.  But it’s probably safe to say they were many and varied. Reefing paid upwind, but those two reaches exacted a penalty unless boats shook out their reefs.  Final thought: just imagine if Absolute (117), Sagittarius (120), Gold Rush (126), Avatar (132), and Zoop and P36 (both 144) could actually all agree to start in the same fleet on the same day.  Forget Woodies on the Wharf; it’d be Retro Dinos Afloat! 

 Thank you Paul

 I hope to see you sailing and barbecuing nest Tuesday.

 

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

 

JUNE 16, 2026 IT'S WELL TO HAVE NO SWELL

 

JUNE 16, 2026

IT’S WELL TO HAVE NO SWELL

With last Tuesday’s race being cancelled because of a large south swell slamming up the harbor, I was itching for a sail.  This feeling was shared in our group as  I received several calls to see if we were racing today.  Predictions were for another, more powerful swell to hit for this Tuesday also.  I was anxious and went to the harbor around 10 in the morning to see how things were shaping up.  With such wild predictions, I was surprised to see the harbor mouth with very little surf, even after observing for over 45 minutes.  I consulted with one of my “brain trust” and he had the same impression from watching the harbor cam.  I sent an email out to let the Tuesday sailors know that we were racing.

As we left the harbor at 5, it looked like a powerful Westerly wind was showing on the flags, but the sea state looked more like 13-15 knots.  We determined the wind direction to be about 235 and set a line close to square to this.  We called for course W3: Start>Schuyler>Mile>Gov>finish at S/F and blew the 15 minute horn. It was great to be on the water racing again and we had just enough wind to finish the race. When I was an active surfer, I could never have thought there would be a time I would say it’s well to have no swell.

Spinny fleet track can be reviewed at:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Spinny%20Fleet&race=16.6.2026%2017:50:00&language=en

Fleet A track:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20A&race=16.6.2026%2017:55:00&language=en

Fleet B:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20B&race=16.6.2026%2018:00:00&language=en

 

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:  COURSE W3  DISTANCE 3.894NM

PLACE                  BOAT                      PHRF         ET              CORRECTED

SPINNY FLEET:

1            FRISKY                                        72          38:06                  32:50

2            PEGASUS                                    150       43:20                  33:36

A FLEET:

1            ABORIGINAL                              33          36:47                  34:38

2            ZOOP                                             144       44:52                  35:31

3            MAIN SQUEEZE                          72          41:23                  36:42

4            PERFECT 36                                  144       47:31                  38:10

5            TRUE LOVE                                  72          44:18                  39:38

6            ROSIE                                             162       52:38                  42:07

B FLEET:

1            GOLD RUSH                                 126       46:42                  38:31

2            BIG MAC                                       222       53:09                  38:44

3            MAKANI                                       147       49:54                  40:22

4            NIDAROS II                                  114       48:33                  41:09

5            SAILING PAIR A DICE                180       53:02                  41:21

6            TARA                                              243       57:55                  42:09

7            SIMPATICO                                   165       53:12                  42:29

8            AZOR                                              243       1:00:27             44:41

9            PACIFIC SPIRIT                            165       55:35                  44:52

10          BLUE FIN                                       243       1:00:48             45:02

11          WIND GODDESS                          163       56:08                  45:33

12          AVATAR                                          132       58:54                  50:20

13          FORTUNA                                      114       1:03:17             55:53

14          MYSTIC                                          150       1:13:24             1:03:40

ZOOP SCOOP BY PAUL TARA

A PARENT WIND

In days of yore, in junior El Toros at Pinto Lake, one Sunday a month was Regatta Day. And one race in that regatta was a multiple choice quiz of around 20 questions.  It was non-discardable, i.e., in order to do well in the regatta, (and the series) you had to know some stuff. I had fun making up those quizzes.    Stand by:

 

Apparent wind is the wind you feel 

a) When you are standing still

b) When your mom tells you to clean your room

c) When you are moving.

 

KLUMPITY, KLUMP, KLUMP

KLUMP = kelp + clump. In spite of the Beach Boys, not all vibrations are good. The recent heavy south swell and high tides uprooted a lot of kelp and the Express 37 True Love harvested some Tuesday.  Her skipper, Paul Yost, felt vibration through the tiller but nothing was visible trailing astern. A large klump was jammed on the rudder’s leading edge right up against the hull. It made a huge difference. Main Squeeze, the other Express 37, just sailed away. It was great for us on Zoop too, back a few lengths. We spent the whole race critiquing their “poor” sail trim and thinking we were really kicking ass. (Oh well.) We figured it out eventually, when we pulled in next to them and half their crew was prostrate on the dock, like a bunch of sea lions, peering under the boat.  (I’m assuming they avoided the hot wire.) Moral of the story, watch out for klumps anstick but, in our short races, basically you’re screwed. All boats are compromises. Express 37’s, rate 72, partly due to their efficient foils, with more vertical leading edges. Zoop rates 144, but she sheds it — It’s a trade off — weed for speed.

 

THE NEED FOR SPEED

The big difference in the A Fleet was that while we, aboard Zoop, spent the entire time thinking we were really kicking ass, Aboriginal was actually doing it.  She made a good port tack start, called a perfect lay line, and made Schuyler with only one tack. She sailed the shortest distance, a knot faster than Zoop (four tacks). More and more, I’m inclined to think when there’s breeze, Aboriginal’s advantage lies in her superior VMG to weather. Her speed increases the efficiency of her very high aspect keel, allowing her to make less leeway.  The advantage fades in light air as her restricted headsails and greater wetted surface become more critical.

 

In the B Fleet, Gold Rush proved once again that old is gold in moderate air. Big Mac nailed the start and was able to tack away on port, but the nearly 60 year old C&C design’s low wetted surface and generous sail plan enabled her to sail away from the fleet. That was good as she only corrected out ahead of Big Mac by 13  seconds.  Back in the pack, PAD exhibited the best lane discipline, steadily gaining on the reaches until the leg to the finish. Then, she got antsy and tried to pass Simpatico to weather, resulting in a luffing match. Meanwhile Big Mac ate both their lunches by sailing the direct compass course.  Yum.   

 

Thank you Paul!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

JUNE 2, 2026 GREAT WIND WITH A TRANSITION

 

JUNE 2, 2026

GREAT WIND WITH A TRANSITION

As usual, predictions for the evening were mixed, calling for 15 knot winds decreasing through the evening.  Reports from sailors who had been out indicated an increasing wind through the afternoon.  As we left the harbor at 5, there was a consistent breeze coming from 250 degrees, BUT also a fog bank drifting in to Capitola which can indicate a sudden shift to an Easterly Breeze.  We set a start line that, though not perfect, would work for the Westerly if it maintained but also would work for an Easterly.

With the Westerly maintaining, all 3 fleets got off to clean starts sailing course W1.  On the run from Mile to Blacks, we saw boats flying spinnakers on a building Easterly.  It was an evening of great wind with a transition.

SPINNY FLEET TRACK CAN BE REVIEWED AT:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Spinny%20Fleet&race=2.6.2026%2017:50:00&language=en

FLEET A CAN BE REVIEWED AT:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20A&race=2.6.2026%2017:55:00&language=en

FLEET B:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20B&race=2.6.2026%2018:00:00&language=en

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:  COURSE W1  DISTANCE 3.884NM

PLACE    BOAT                                   PHRF                     ET                          CORRECTED TIME

SPINNY FLEET:

1             INTERLUDE                        141                       59:538                  50:45

FLEET A:

1             ABORIGINAL                      33                        48:32                    46:24

2             WATTS MOORE                 150                       57:57                    48:14

3             ZOOP                                   144                       57:40                    48:21

4             TRUE LOVE                         72                        54:52                    50:12

5             PAC HIGH                           96                          57:06                    50:53

6             SAGITTARIUS                     120                       58:52                   51:06

7             SOPHIE                                141                       1:00:29                 51:21

8             DOUBLE ESRESSO             99                        58:05                    51:40

9             PERFECT 36                        144                       1:01:23                 52:04

10           ROSIE                                  162                       1:03:40                 53:11

11           MAIN SQUEEZE                 72                         58:09                    53:29

12           KEMOSABE                         81                        1:01:19                56:04

FLEET B:

1             SIMPATICO                         165                       58:24                    47:43

2             TARA                                    243                       1:04:14                48:30

3             BIG MAC                             222                       1:02:56                48:34

4             MAKANI                             147                       58:32                    49:01

5             SAILING PAIR A DICE      180                       1:00:50                49:11

6             AZOR                                   243                       1:05:12                49:28

7             PACIFIC SPIRIT                 165                       1:02:19                51:38

8             WIND GODDESS               163                       1:03:04                52:31

9             NIDAROS                            114                       1:01:20                53:57

10           BLOND AMBITION           100                       1:05:07                58:39

              _)                                          _)                             (_       (_

ZOOP SCOOP BY PAUL TARA



SMORGASBORD!

 

Tuesday’s race had something for everyone.  If you like varying conditions, it was a banquet. Recently I referred to the “Santa Cruz Eddy” as an atmospheric whirlpool. It certainly stirred the pot this week, starting with a fake — fog in Capitola — hinting at an impending easterly. But Barry didn’t bite, and his choice of W-1 offered some great racing.  If you remembered that hint.

 

The first leg was a standard westerly with significant pressure offshore, nearer the fog.  In the A Fleet, the port end of the line was favored, allowing  Watts Moore and Pacific High to make port tack starts and appear to leave the fleet in the dust. But their early advantage dissipated as their initial tack carried them into less wind inshore (another hint). That was the choice of entrees for the evening — the shift inshore, or more breeze offshore. A predictable menu, we thought, given the time of day.

 

The westerly held for the next leg, serving up the usual broad reach parade to MB. But it also provided more hints. The breeze did not veer or  increase dramatically, as it often does on the approach to MB.  The gusts lacked the hard, cold edge one associates with a determined westerly, and our jibe at the mark was almost anticlimactic. As we approached it, I told the crew, “This race is going to get weird.”

 

Which brings us to the next leg. Sometimes the shortest distance isn’t the fastest. As far as we could tell, the first person to sense the impending weirdness was Paul Yost on True Love. I’m not sure (I haven’t spoken with him) but I bet he was feeling some faint vibe from his junior days in Lasers, when he would  go low, and then reach in hot to Black Point.  I’ve done the same thing countless times in 5o5’s, dropping the kite at the last minute, and reaching in with the crew on the wire beneath the fleet. “Reaching in hot”  in an Islander 36 is an oxymoron if there ever was one. Nevertheless it didn’t take us long to get the jib poled out to port — the minute it filled we began to gain on the boats around us. We stayed low and outside, until we saw the boats ahead stall out in the transition, dropped the pole, coasted — sometimes displacement pays — through a tack onto starboard, and close reached to BP. (Transitioning into the new wind dead to leeward of the next mark is not a good plan.)

 

We rounded close astern of Pacific High and Main Squeeze as the last leg went from an entree to a potluck. Recalling the fog in Capitola earlier, we bet the easterly was going to fill hard, and immediately set the pole to starboard as they jib reached inshore.  When they jibed onto port, we jibed also and I was surprised to find we could not carry the pole —  the wind had shifted to the south — a phenomenon that often precedes a transition. Which, of course, is exactly what happened, right at the finish line, allowing several boats astern to close in. In transitions, Zoop often asserts her true personality, turns sulky and quickly looses steerage.  Fortunately, this time she was pointing inshore, allowing us to save our bacon at the last minute by catching the next easterly fill, and nipping across just seconds ahead of Watts Moore.

 

In the B Fleet, the pot luck was served up slightly sooner, about halfway to BP, but the racing was just as close. Simpatico won, by staying low and outside, while Tara corrected out over Big Mac by just 4 seconds, and Makani over PAD by 10 seconds.   

 

THANK YOU PAUL

I  am looking forward to next Tuesday!

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice

 

 

MAY 26, 2026 STRONG NORTHERLY

 

MAY 26, 2026

STRONG NORTHERLY

Predictions were for strong winds through the whole evening.  Time to swap out the 155 for the 135 jib which we accomplished with extra hands and timing for the lulls.  As we left the harbor, it looked like the wind was getting lighter but the lull was short-lived as nature filled back in with full force.   I can’t remember ever seeing such a strong Northerly in Santa Cruz.

  When we went to hoist the Main sail, we discovered the core of the main halyard was exposed, so there would be no racing for us.

Fleet A can be reviewed at:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20A&race=26.5.2026%2017:55:00&language=en

TRACK FOR FLEET B CAN BE REVIEWED AT:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20A&race=26.5.2026%2017:55:00&language=en&defaultspeed=5&loop=no

 

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

FLEET A:  COURSE N2  COURSE DISTANCE 3.289 NM

PLACE                   BOAT                                   PHRF                     ET                          CT

1             PERFECT 36                                      144                       33:48                    25:54

2             GONZO                                              150                       34:13                    26:00

3             ZOOP                                                  144                       34:20                    26:26

4             TRUE LOVE                                      72                          30:39                    26:42

5             INTERLUDE                                      141                       34:36                    26:52

6             RIO                                                     141                       34:56                    27:12

7             HALL PASS                                        141                       35:19                    27:35

8             MAIN SQUEEZE                               72                          31:39                    27:42

9             ANIMAL HOUSE                               96                          36:23                    31:07

 

FLEET B:  COURSE  N3  DISTANCE 2.772 NM

1             AZOR                                                  243                       32:43                    21:29

2             SIMPATICO                                        165                       30:86                    23:19

3             PACIFIC SPIRIT                                 165                       31:13                    23:36

4             NIDAROS                                           118                       32:40                    27:13

 

 

ZOOP SCOOP BY PAUL TARA:

A BAD ROLL (of the Dice)

Our indomitable PRO’s boat, Pair-A-Dice, suffered a broken main halyard this past Tuesday and was unable to compete. What a bummer — they won B Fleet last week. In spite of this, Barry and crew set the starting line, changed the course for B fleet, and retrieved the red ball before heading back into the Harbor. THANK YOU BARRY.

 

ROCK AND ROLL

SCYC’s Mike Holt, with Mackenzie Cook and Jack Halterman aboard, sailed Mike’s SC52 Rosebud in this year’s Swiftsure race last weekend. It was windy. As in winDEE. They blew up two kites and rounded down while Mackenzie was at the masthead. Their topmast now reportedly has extra taper induced by Mackenzie’s embrace.  Rosebud is soon to take up residence in her slip on E dock next to Heartbeat.  

 

BIG FOAMY NORTHERLY

Late spring, post-frontal northerlies can be some of the coldest, strongest breezes we experience off Santa Cruz.  This one was a classic —  Tuesday there were actually snow closures on some Sierra passes.  But, in addition to the breeze, there was an unusual amount of foam on with water, something I, personally, have never seen before. It seemed to be generated by the shorebreak, with the offshore picking it up and blowing it in streaks even out as far as Mile Buoy. This made it seem even windier than it actually was. Today, Wednesday, rafts of it are floating in the Harbor, but there is no stench and the aerators are not on. The expert opinion onboard was that it might be due to some biological phenomenon, since it was also occurring on the beaches in Aptos.  Anybody have a clue? It can’t be spilled beer.

 

WELCOME TO A FLEET!

No boats started in the spinnaker fleet. But, for the first time Perfect Thirty-Six sailed in the A Fleet and was rewarded with the win, by 6 seconds, over the Moore 24 Gonzo. Another new participant was Hall Pass, Brett Gripenstraw’s SC27 (Aborette?). There were some interesting similarities with the two fleets, even though they sailed different courses.  In both cases, the eventual winners , P36 and Azor, made early port tacks ducking transoms to get inshore on the way to Gov, where they exploited the starboard tack lifts coming off the beach.  This paid big dividends for Azor, as she rounded close to her larger competitors and hung on for an easy corrected time win. In the A fleet, the Express 37’s steamed away from the fleet on the way to Gov, but their speed advantage seemed to diminish on the reaches to Schuyler and MB.  At MB, Gonzo had the corrected time lead with Zoop and P36 in close pursuit.  P36 rounded wide, went low, (right through our lee) and straight to the finish while the rest of us, including the 37’s, over-stood, and spent precious seconds reaching off to the finish.  Apparently, it turns out, in yacht racing, it really does pay to actually know where you’re headed. 

 

Thanks Paul!

We will see what next Tuesday delivers for us.

 

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair a Dice