AUGUST 13, 2024 ANOTHER CHALLENGING TUESDAY

 

AUGUST 13, 2024

ANOTHER CHALLENGING TUESDAY

As I was hanging out on my boat through the afternoon, the wind was not very promising as the flags hung limp.  We left the harbor at 5pm, it looked like an Easterly was developing.  Would it persist or fade as the evening progressed?  Paul Tara taught me long ago to check for fog in Aptos to confirm that the Easterly would stay.  With no fog in Aptos, I set for a shorter course using an offset mark.  I announced the course but as boats left up the harbor, a desire for a longer course was expressed, so we abandoned the short course and called for Echo 1.  We blew the horn and watched as A Fleet got off to a clean start as did B Fleet 5 minutes later. 

It was exciting to be sailing in a nice Easterly as we all made our way to SC3.  As we progressed toward the mark, we noticed pockets where there was much lighter wind.  At SC3, the first A fleet to round was Aboriginal, then Interlude, Yellow Belly, Pegasus, Watts Moore, Sagittarius, True Love, Aquavit and Perfect 36. B Fleet was led by Avatar, then Pacific Spirit, Big Mac, Pair A Dice and Blonde Ambition.  As all boats made their way to round Blacks and finish, the wind was on a steep decline as several  B Fleet boats retired.  We had three boats that basically rode the current at less than one knot boat speed to cross the finish line.  Kudos to Big Mac and Blond Ambition for hanging on to finish.  You know you are in trouble when you look at your calendar rather than your watch for the finish time! 😉

At the finish Fleet A was led by Aboriginal 54:34 then Pegasus 59:10, Watts Moore  59:31, Interlude 59:52, Yellow Belly 1:00:16, True Love 1:01:35, Sagittarius 1:02:13, Wind II 1:02:48, Aquavit 1:11:55 and Perfect 36 1:11:42.  Fleet B was led by Avatar  1:14:45 then  Pacific Spirit 1:19:16, Big Mac 1:25:02, Pair A Dice 1:32:02 and Blonde Ambition 1:32:45.  All Times are elapsed  and the course distance  was 2.90NM.  Though it was a beautiful evening on the water, as the wind was dying it was just another challenging Tuesday!

THE A FLEET START    

 RACE QS:

More people are reporting problems with this app.  This is why I recommend people record their finish times to report to me in  case your track does not upload. For me to use this finish time, it is critical to indicate the fleet you started with, and if the time reported is elapsed time (Fleet A) or your watch time.  Also, I need your position with regards  to other boats.

The track for this evening can be reviewed at:

https://raceqs.com/tv-beta/tv.htm#userId=1011017&divisionId=101527&updatedAt=2024-08-14T02:57:29Z&dt=2024-08-13T17:45:46-07:00..2024-08-13T19:56:05-07:00&boat=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&time=1723597246733&focus=SAILING%20PAIR%20A%20DICE&tab=setup&view=auto

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:

PLACE                 BOAT                                                   PHRF                                   CORRECTED TIME

FLEET A:

1             WATTS  MOORE                                            150                                       52:16

2             WIND II                                                           213                                       52:30

3             ABORIGINAL                                                 33                                          52:59

4             INTERLUDE                                                   141                                       53:03

5             YELLOW BELLY                                            141                                       53:27

6             PEGASUS                                                         78                                         55:24

7             SAGITTARIUS                                                 120                                       56:25

8             TRUE LOVE                                                     75                                         57:59

9             PERFECT 36                                                     144                                       1:04:44             

10          AQUAVIT                                                           72                                         1:08:26

FLEET B:

1             AVATAR                                                             132                                       1:08:22

2             PACIFIC SPIRIT                                               165                                       1:11:17

3             BIG MAC                                                          222                                       1:14:18

4             SAILING PAIR  A DICE                                  180                                       1:23:20

5             BLONDE AMBITION                                     165                                       1:24:46

WATCH OUT FOR HOLES IN THE WIND:

We all know to sail toward the new wind, but when the new wind is dissipating the situation gets challenging.  On this evening, we were tacking toward SC3 considering lay lines and traffic, but I was ignoring a third critical element: observing the water for areas of less wind to avoid.  Lesson learned: in questionable conditions, always try to stay in the stronger wind.

Lets hope and pray for more wind next Tuesday.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice