AUGUST 6, 2024
WELCOME TO FOG-CONFUSION
I was encouraged to see a hint of an Easterly developing as
early as 3 o’clock. It was even more
encouraging to see a huge fog bank emanating from Aptos. Sure enough as we left the harbor at 5pm, we
were blessed with steady winds in excess of 10 knots. We determined the wind direction was 80
degrees and set a start line square to this.
We called for course Echo 1 and blew the “10-minute horn”. Both Fleet A and Fleet B got off to a clean
start.
As the race progressed, the fog was getting thicker and the
confusion was increasing. It did not
help that SC4 (which is at least a quarter mile south of SC3) was shining like
a beacon in one of the few clear areas of the bay, drawing several boats off
course. The boats that focused on their
GPS were able to find the first mark in the heavy fog and were able to round
and make their way toward Blacks.
The first of A Fleet to round SC3 was Ethos followed by
Sweetheart, Watts Moore, Sagittarius,
Interlude, Duet, Aquavit, Quixotic
and Double Espresso. B Fleet was
led by Zoop, then Perfect 36, Makani,
Pair a Dice, Pacific Spirit, Nidaros, Simpatico and Kicks.
After rounding SC3 confusion increased as Blacks was also obscured
in the fog. If you did not have the new position for Blacks entered in your GPS,
it was almost impossible to find.
Several boats gave up on the pursuit and headed for the
harbor. At the finish, A Fleet was led by Watts Moore 41:40 then Sweetheart
42:00, Quixotic 42:06, Interlude 42:16,
Sagittarius 42:23, Duet42:42, Ethos 42:44
and Aquavit 42:54. B Fleet was
led by Makani 42:47, then Zoop 44:02, Sailing Pair A Dice 44:50, Pacific Spirit
44:53, Perfect 36 48:48 and Simpatico 51:17.
All times are elapsed and the course distance was 2.90NM.
It was an awesome evening for a sail with plenty of wind and
the flock of shearwater birds was engulfing the whole fleet. The most intimidating presence was the heavy
fog we all had to negotiate: WELCOME TO
FOG-CONFUSION.
 |
| SHEARWATER FLOCK ENGULFING THE FLEET |
PLACE BOAT PHRF ADJUSTED TIME
FLEET A
1 WATTS
MOORE 150 34:25
2 INTERLUDE 141 35:27
3 DUET 141 35:53
4 SAGITTARIUS 120 36:35
5 ETHOS 72 39:15
6 AQUAVIT 72 39:25
7 QUIXOTIC 51 39:38
8 SWEETHEART -6 42:17
FLEET B:
1 MAKANI 147 35:40
2 SAILING
PAIR A DICE 180 36:08
3 PACIFIC
SPIRIT 165 36:59
4 ZOOP 144 37:04
5 PERFECT 36 144 41:50
6 SIMPATICO 165 43:18
RACE QS:
The track for this evening can be reviewed at:
EIGHT BELLS
FOR ROSS CLARK:
It is with a
heavy heart that I report the loss of one our cherished members. Ross Clark passed on Monday August 5. He was an ambitious sailor owning two
sailboats: Sweet Pea (Catalina 32) and
AZOR (Santana 22). Personally, I will
always miss his always present smile and positive attitude. Condolences to wife Shivaun and family.
BBBS:
I hope to see
you sailing this Sunday in the Big Brother Big Sister regatta.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair
A Dice
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