MARCH 10, 2026
JUST ANOTHER DRIFTER
Predictions were for 2 to 20 knot winds from the NW. Predictwind doesn’t seem to know about the
Easterly that develops when it is warm inland.
Sure enough when I got to the harbor at 3pm the flags verified that an
Easterly was developing. Since we have
no mark for Blacks, we motored down and
placed a temporary mark according to my chart plotter. We rushed back to the start area to position
the start line square to the wind. We
were anticipating a building Easterly and called for an ambitious course E3 and
blew a horn at 5:45 for a rolling start for the 3 fleets. We had a total of 23
boats out for the fun.
The “Spinny” fleet got off to a good start and moved quickly
toward “Blacks”, followed by A Fleet which also moved well but the wind started
to dissipate. It was frustrating calling
for such a long course for the wind to die.
We called for shortening the course for Spinny and fleet A to end at the
“Red Ball” end of the start line. I did
not want to deprive the Spinnys of their chance to show their colors! We
shortened B Fleet to end at “Blacks”. The wind quickly died and all of Spinny and A
Fleet was drifting aimlessly necessitating boats retiring. I took the liberty to count Blacks as the
finish for all fleets and collected finish times (at Blacks) for all boats. As it turned out it was Just another drifter!
While it was a discouraging first sail of the
season, it can only get better. Pray for
wind next Tuesday.
Next Tuesday is St Patricks day and there will
be a party at the club. The meal at the
club will cost $30.
Photo by Jennifer Kinsman
PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS: COURSE
LENGTH .483 NM
PLACE BOAT PHRF ET CORRECTED
SPINNY FLEET
1 AQUAVIT 72 16:12 15:37
2 PEGASUS 78 17:42 17:04
3 FLEXI
FLYER 96 21:42 20:55
FLEET A:
1 ABORIGINAL 33 18:45 18:28
2 MAIN
SQUEEZE 72 23:40 23:05
FLEET B:
1 ABSOLUTE
05 117 28:55 27:58
2 ZOOP 144 35:53 34:43
3 SIMPATICO 165 42:19 40:59
4 MAKANI 147 43:50 42:39
5 PERFECT 36 144 44:34 43:24
6 ANIMAL
HOUSE 96 45:55 45:08
7 BIG MAC 222 49:30 47:42
8 PACIFIC
SPIRIT 165 49:30 48:24
9 TARA 243 51:46 49:48
10 KICKS 180 51:23 49:56
11 SAILING
PAIR A DICE 180 55:04 53:37
12 AZOR 243 62:53 60:55
13 WIND LUST 66 71:42 71:10
SPINNY FLEET TRACK:
FLEET A TRACK:
Fleet B Track
Paul Tara’s ZOOP SCOOP
NO FREE LUNCH
Around the first of the year, D Dock became the first
dock in the Harbor to install electric sea lion control on every slip. Since
then I, personally, have not seen a single seal or sea-lion on the dock.
Several other docks on the lower west side also have these systems. It’s great
— no more excrement — and the orange buckets are an endangered species. But, there is a collateral
cost, and it’s one every person who has a boat in the Harbor should be aware
of.
THERE IS A LOT MORE STRAY CURRENT IN THE WATER,
RESULTING IN AN INCREASE IN GALVANIC CORROSION. These systems are based on the
theory that the docks themselves are non-conductive. The unit itself is
grounded to a submerged zinc and only when an animal, or barefoot human,
establishes a link, or bridge, between the wire on the dock and the water is
the circuit complete and a shock delivered. That’s the theory. Only when
the circuit is complete should current be entering the water. However, a
significant increase in the rate of wastage of sacrificial zincs on boats
indicates this is not the case.
The docks themselves may not be entirely
non-conductive, particularly when wet. Some dock cleats appear to be
grounded, although we’re not entirely sure why. Metal pilings can also provide
a connection. Other more likely culprits are stray lines left dangling in the
water. Salt is an excellent conductor, and all dock lines are impregnated with
it. If you cast off, and leave a line lying on the wire on the dock with
its end in the water, you have established a direct path to ground. The
system doesn’t distinguish between the line or a sea lion. PVC shields
have been installed at some cleats to help prevent this, but the best solution
is to keep all lines out of the water, all the time.
Another issue to be aware of is that some boats (Zoop
included) have started deploying additional zincs while in the slip. The extra
area slows down the wastage of shaft and strut zincs. Typically these are zinc
“groupers” (a 5 lb fish shaped zinc) usually clipped to a lifeline stanchion or
other conductive metal fitting that is grounded to the prop shaft via an
internal circuit. If you stand on the dock wire barefoot and grab that
stanchion while boarding you will definitely get a wake-up call.
Check your zincs. Don’t assume they’re still wasting at
the same rate. The next stop on the galvanic food chain is your prop. As for
free lunches, the egrets have it figured out. They stand right on the
wire, and spear fish all day apparently with nary a shock.
Thank you Paul!
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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