JULY 22, 2025
PRAYERS FOR WIND
ANSWERED!
Predictions called for winds of 4 to 20 knots for the whole
evening. The wind was howling in the
harbor all afternoon. As crew arrived,
we swapped out our headsail from the 155 to the 135 which worked for us with
winds consistently 21-26 knots. We
determined the wind direction was 230 and set a line square to that
direction. We called for course W1 for
Fleet A and W2 for Fleet B and both fleets got off to a clean start.
Some of the larger boats did not reef at all. On PAD we put a reef in and even minimized
the jib only unfurling halfway. We all tacked our way to Schuyler. As usual the rounding of Schuyler presented
its problems and we “kissed the mark” and did our 360 exoneration.
After months of cursing low to no winds and all of us
wishing and praying for enough wind to race in, it seems our prayers for wind
were answered!
Paul Tara (Zoop) frequently sends me his assessment about
our sails. I asked him if we could share
his perspective in the blog. Following
is Paul’s comments about this sail, print in the color of Zoop.
Let’s give a big shout out to Doug
Mahone of Avatar for discovering and implementing Regatta Hero. Without
it, this would be a sad season by now. There are 51 entrants in the Tuesday
night series. If you are entered, but not using the app on your phone,
you are missing a BIG shift. Because, you already paid your 40 bucks, and
you’re losing out on one of the most beneficial aspects of the series: the
opportunity to learn from your mistakes.
For example, let’s compare the tracks from last
Tuesday and this Tuesday. (No, I’m not going to give you a screenshot; You have
to do it!) Note, the default trail length is 6 minutes. You can change
this while replay is running; I set mine at 20 minutes which is about enough to
see the entire weather leg. Last week, the edge of the fog was at Soquel
Ave., and the outside boats did well. This week the edge was offshore,
conditions were quite “sporty,” and the inside boats did well. Last week, boats
on port were lifted above the end of the Wharf. This week, the lead port
tack boats didn’t lay Gov. Why?
In the northern hemisphere, strong breezes
generally veer (shift right), while dying breezes back (shift left). Last week
the course was under the fog, where the breeze was slowly dying; this week it
was in the clear and the wind was strong. Strong winds are constantly
being refreshed by mixing from aloft, which, in the northern hemisphere, is
almost always veered relative to surface winds, due to the Coriolis effect of
the earth’s rotation. Right shift, go right. Left shift, go left.
But, don’t just watch the tracks. The accompanying
table contains critical data, which updates as the race progresses. This
week, in B fleet, the first three elapsed time finishers all sailed the 3.484
nm course at 6.2 knots. But their “routes” (distances sailed) were 4.247,
4.273, and 4.425 nm respectively. The difference between 4.247 and 4.273
is 158 feet, or as it turns out, about 27 seconds. Take a look at your route.
Thanks Paul for your insight!
Barry
To review the track for Fleet A:
To review the track for Fleet B:
 |
PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:
PLACE BOAT PHRF ET CORRECTED
FLEET A: COURSE W1 DISTANCE 3.873NM
1 ABORIGINAL 33 36:28 34:20
2 TRUE LOVE 72 39:36 34:57
3 DOUBLE
ESPRESSO 99 49:44 43:20
4 DUET 141 54:00 44:53
FLEET B: COURSE
W2 DISTANCE 3.484NM
1 ZOOP 144 40:51 32:29
2 PERFECT
36 144 42:44 34:22
3 SAILING
PAIR A DICE 180 46:49 36:21
4 MAIN
SQUEEZE 72 41:18 37:07
5 AVATAR 132 47:08 39:28
6 SIMPATICO 165 50:49 41:14
7 PACIFIC
SPIRIT 165 52:27 42:52
8 BLOND
AMBITION 100 50:47 44:58
9 TOAD 150 54:30 45:47
10 WIND
GODDESS 165 57:37 48:02
11 NIDAROS 118 1:01:22 54:30
_) _)
_)
_)
(_
Next Tuesday is the last Tuesday of the month meaning:
BARBECUE
POTLUCK AT THE CLUB AFTER THE RACE!
BRING
YOUR BEST BARBECUE FOOD TO COOK AND SHARE!
I hope to see you next week at the sail and barbecue!
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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