JULY 29, 2025
EXCEPTIONAL GUST OF
WIND
It was not encouraging seeing the flags limp as I came to
the harbor, then developing into a weak Easterly. Approaching the start area, the old adage “sail to the new wind” seemed
to be in play, so as we bobbed around in a very light Easterly anticipating more
wind. We set an offset mark to enable using one of two courses depending on
wind speed: E7 (S/f, temp mark, S/F) for very light wind and E4 (S/F, Blacks,
temp, S/F) for better wind. We thought
we had set up for all possible conditions until Brett (Aboriginal) pointed out
course S5 with a developing Southerly.
We postponed the race and adjusted the start line for a southerly
wind. By this time we were depending on
Regatta Hero to conduct the count-down, with Fleet B starting about 1.5 minutes
behind Fleet A. Both fleets got off to a
clean start and tacked their way toward Mile in a beautiful breeze of at least
10 knots. As the Gust diminished, the
last of the B Fleet boats drifted over the finish line.
My goal is to have every boat finish the race and this goal
was accomplished with an exceptional gust of wind.
The track for Fleet B can be viewed at:
Paul Tara “THE ZOOP SCOOP”
In 1967, Alan Watts, a British meteorologist, wrote “Wind and Sailing
Boats” where he presented data that, in the northern hemisphere, freshening
breezes veer (shift to the right) and decreasing breezes back (shift to the
left). No one really disputes this now, and the last three Tuesday’s bear
it out.
On July 15th, we sailed under the fog in a
moderate, decreasing westerly. There was a left shift and the outside
boats were favored. On July 22nd, the fog was slightly offshore, there
was a stiff westerly all the way to the beach with a significant veer, and the
inside boats were favored.
One of the disadvantages of Regatta Hero is that
you cannot view the tracks of both A and B fleets simultaneously. Not really
helpful anyway when they’re sailing different courses. But this past Tuesday,
everyone sailed S-5. After backing off, the westerly filled back in, but
without much enthusiasm. The course was basically a one-tack beat with a
reaching return. As the fleet headed out on starboard into more wind,
there was a definite shift to the right. But then the westerly began to
die. In the A fleet, ALL the lead boats laid Mile Buoy without
tacking. In the B fleet, NO boats did, as the breeze shifted left. On the
way back to the finish, boats started out broad-reaching on port, but as the
breeze continued to diminish and back, many ended up running, or in some cases
jibing onto starboard. By the time the mass of the fleet finished, the easterly
was filling.
The course length was 1.929 nm. The lead A fleet
boat sailed a route of 1.94 nm. That’s about as close as you can get to rhumb
line and hand steer. The lead B fleet boat sailed a route of 2.01 nm.
Thank you Paul.
PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:
PLACE BOAT PHRF ET CORRECTED
FLEET A:
1 ABORIGINAL 33 20:11 19:07
2 TRUE LOVE 72 22.36 20:17
3 MAIN
SQUEEZE 72 25:49 23:30
4 INTERLUDE 141 33:39 29:06
5 SOPHIE 141 33:50 29:18
6 AQUAVIT 72 32:07 29:48
7 MAGIC 141 34:28 29:55
8 DOUBLE
ESPRESSO 99 33:41 30:30
9 WIND II 213 38:35 31:44
10 DUET 141 37:39 33:06
11 ROSIE 162 48:18 43:05
FLEET B:
1 ZOOP 144 32:07 27:29
2 AVATAR 132 36:01 31:46
3 PERFECT
36 144 37:25 32:47
4 BIG MAC 222 41:59 34:50
5 TARA 243 43:02 35:13
6 SAILING
PAIR A DICE 180 47:38 41:50
7 SIMPATICO 164 47:13 41:56
8 PACIFIC
SPIRIT 165 47:30 42:11
9 TOAD 150 48:21 43:31
10 NIDAROS 118 47:44 43:56
11 WIND
GODDESS 165 49:46 44:27
12 SWEET PEA 165 51:00 45:42
I hope to see you sailing next Tuesday.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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