NOVEMBER 11, 2025 WAVES OF WIND

 

NOVEMBER 11, 2025

WAVES OF WIND

I was encouraged to see predictions of 9 knot wind through the afternoon.  As we left the harbor, there was a steady 10 knot breeze across the bay.  Would we actually have wind for a race? We determined the wind was coming from 190 degrees and were considering a course: S/F>MILE>SF.  As the clock ticked down, the wind decreased also so we set a temp mark halfway to mile.   As we approached the start time, the wind was increasing  and decreasing creating challenging conditions.  At least there was some wind, though not steady wind.  We established  3 separate fleets (Fleet A, B and Spinn) even though there was only one boat in Fleet A and Spinn.  We had 4 boats in Fleet B and as it turned out, there was enough wind to finish the short course in 15 minutes so we set Regatta Hero to have another race with all three fleets sailing together.  There was enough wind to finish the course even though the wind was coming in surges and lulls like waves of wind.

To review the first B Fleet:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20B&race=11.11.2025%2015:00:00&language=en

To review the second race with all 3 fleets together:

https://www.regattahero.com/mapviewer/?organisation=scyc&passcode=233793&regatta=Tues%20Fleet%20B&race=11.11.2025%2015:25:22&language=en

PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS: S/F>temp  mark>S/F  course length=0.512nm

PLACE                 BOAT                                   PHRF                   ET                          CORRECTED

1             YELLOW BELLY                             141                       11:37                  10:24

2             ZOOP                                                  144                       12:26                  11:12

3             TRUE LOVE (SPINN)                   72                          14:47                  14:10

4             PERFECT 36                                    144                       15:34                  14:20

5             BIG MAC                                            222                       16:41                  14:47

6             SAILING PAIR A DICE                180                       20:29                  18:56

 

Paul Tara’s

ZOOP SCOOP

FOGGY FALSE TALES 

More fog this week. Not as thick as last week. Which reminds me, I forgot to mention another reason why, in dense fog, the magnetic compass is your friend. Skippers are notoriously myopic about jib telltales. If they’re streaming, they’ll blindly follow them anywhere; especially in fog, when there’s no other frame of reference. And, if the fog is thick enough, its droplets will slyly laminate the telltales to the jib, making it easy to believe you’re  always in the groove. Nobody’s that good a helmsman. Keep an eye on your compass. 

 

WINTER BREEZE (Barely)

The sun makes the wind.  Hot air rises, leaving a void, which sucks. Less sun, less suck. Like Tuesday — grey on grey — fog under high cirrus preceding Wednesday’s on-comlng front. In the morning there was no hope. But then, around 1300, a light southwesterly began to trickle in. At one point MB disappeared, but the breeze held.  Barry set a short weather mark and we were able to get two short races in.  Aboard Zoop, with the double layer of overcast, we felt there was little chance the breeze would build and veer, so we elected to go left, which worked. Except in the second race, when we had to duck Yellow Belly and ended up second.  There was a moment, when we had extended on her after the start, that we probably could have crossed (but one does not tack an Islander 36 lightly). The two races together amounted to just about the time it took us to rig the boat. But, they really demonstrated the value of Regatta Hero, which allowed Barry and Doug to organize the spontaneous second start in even less time. 

 

NORTH BY NORTHEAST (an actual REAL yotting scoop!)

Santa Cruz had a strong presence in last weekend’s RTC (Round The County) in the San Juan Islands (120 boats!). First in ORC A and Second Overall was the SC52 “Rosebud” with Mike Holt (skipper) Bruce Edwards, Jack Halterman, and Mackenzie Cook aboard. Rumor has it “Rosebud” will soon be making her way south to her new digs on E dock. 

 

First in ORC C and First Overall was “Setri” a centerboard (!??!) Swan 46 owned by Peter Dennis of Lopez Island, with Matt and Ben Lezin, Steve Burdow, and Patrick Tara aboard.  Setri won the race with a move that came just after the 0830 Saturday morning start. Industrial smoke near Bellingham indicated a predicted northeasterly was filling. While the fleet short-tacked against along Orcas, she broke away and sailed north, across to the new breeze, where she actually anchored for a short time near Lummi Island while it filled.  Then, under kite, she reached over the fleet, ending up abeam of Rosebud and ahead of most of the fleet. Rosebud gradually sailed away, but at the Roache Harbor half-way stop, Setri (which was the only ORC C boat to make the time limit) still had 39 minutes in the bank.

 

 

Thanks Paul

I hope to see you sailing  next Tuesday afternoon  around 3pm.

Barry Keeler

Sailing Pair A Dice