JULY 21, 2026
SURPRISING WIND
It is amazing living with the technology we have and the
wind predictions for Predict-wind. Once again predictions for the evening were
4-10 knots and the flags were off and on through the afternoon. When we left the harbor at 5pm, there was not
much wind close to the beach but 8-9 knots close to the mooring ball. With the intense heat we have been dealing
with, you would think an Easterly would develop but no fog going into Capitola
confirmed (in my mind) that no Easterly would form. I thought we would certainly be dealing with
a dying breeze through the afternoon, but called for course W4 again:
Start>Schuyler>Mile>SF. The
thought was that we could shorten course if the wind started dying.
As it turned out, the wind filled
in and as we approached Schuyler, I saw 20 knots of apparent wind. All boats finished in what turned out to be a
SURPRISING WIND.
 |
| spectacular cloud formations |
NEXT
TUESDAY WILL BE THE LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH WHICH IS BARBECUE POTLUCK NIGHT AT THE CLUB. BRING YOUR
BEST GRILLING FOOD TO ENJOY AND SHARE!
Spinnaker fleet track can be reviewed at:
Fleet A Track at:
Fleet B:
PHRF ADJUSTED RESULTS:
PLACE BOAT PHRF ET CORRECTED TIME
SPINNY FLEET: COURSE W4 DISTANCE
2.920NM
1 PEGASUS 150 38:03 30:45
2 GONZO 150 38:36 31:38
3 DOUBLE
ESPRESSO 99 40:05 35;16
A FLEET: COURSE W4
DISTANCE 2.920NM
1 ABORIGINAL 33 33:29 31:53
2 SAGITTARIUS 120 38:11 32:21
3 PAC
HIGH 96 37:18 32:38
4 MAIN
SQUEEZE 72 36:23 32:53
5 PERFECT
36 144 40:46 33:46
6 WATTS
MOORE 150 41:35 34:17
7 ZOOP 14441:27 34:27
8 WINID
II 213 52:08 41:46
B FLEET: COURSE W4
DISTANCE 2.920NM
1 GOLD
RUSH 126 37:53 31:45
2 RIO 141 42:37 35:45
3 SIMPATICO 165 43:54 35:52
4 ABSOLUTE
05 117 41:35 35:53
5 NIDAROS 118 42:24 36:39
6 PACIFIC
SPIRIT 165 45:43 37:41
7 SAILING PAIR A DICE 180 46:48 38:02
8 YES
DEAR 243 50:24 38:34
9 AZOR 243 52:10 40:20
10 TOAD 150 50:12 42:54
11 BLOND AMBITION 100 51:10 46:18
ZOOP SCOOP by Paul Tara
QUIZZ
Last
Week,
A monsoon is:
b)
a seasonal wind shift resulting in precipitation.
This
week,
Barometric
pressure measures:
a)
lobbying for weather research
b)
the force of the wind
c)
the weight of the atmosphere
“IT’S
CLOUD ILLUSIONS I RECALL…”
The
amazing wraithlike clouds on Tuesday were not created by somebody in Davenport
opening The Ark of the Covenant, like in the Spielberg movie. They were
caused by the uneven mixing of moist southwesterly (counter clockwise) flow
around the eastern edge of the remnants of tropical storm (formerly hurricane)
Elida with colder air below. This pattern erased any possibility of eddy
formation (Monterey/Moss Landing was clear and distinct). Right on the heels of
the clouds, the fog rolled in from the west. Elida was also responsible
for the large sets at the Harbor mouth. Hopefully, someone snapped a
picture of the clouds that Barry can include in the blog. I, for one, have
never seen anything like them here in Santa Cruz. But, I expect to see more, as
ocean temps continue to rise. ”…I really don’t know clouds at
all.” Joni Mitchell.
THE
RACE
In
A Fleet, our start sucked (I think I need a testosterone boost). Our race was
over 2 minutes before the start, as I hesitated on our approach tack.
After the start we elected to tack away onto port ASAP which made us the
most inshore boat. Needless to say, steering was very difficult for everyone,
due to the large swell rolling through. But for us, it was next to
impossible to stay in the groove, as the swell increasingly felt the bottom. We
should have gotten out of there much sooner. From the cheap seats it looked as
though Aboriginal just sailed away (again), but Sagittarius and Main
Squeeze hit some good shifts near Schuyler to stay within striking
distance. But then came the two reaches. Aboriginal’s most
vulnerable point of sail is downwind in light to moderate air. Give her two
reaches and she’s gone. And so, she went.
In
the B Fleet, the strange clouds seem to have induced a Close Encounter Effect.
According to RH, about halfway up the beat, Nidarous made a
radical tack and bear-away onto port. So radical that I can only ascribe it to
the presence of a boat that’s not on the app. Either that, or a whale
breached dead ahead and the tiller extension got stuck somewhere it shouldn’t
have. Then, while clearly leading, she copied our favorite move and over-stood
Schuyler by enough to allow Rio and Absolute 05 to
round ahead. All three vied for the lead until halfway down the second
reach, when Gold Rush suddenly popped up out of nowhere way
ahead, only to fail to record a finish. Back in the pack, Absolute
05 broke away to leeward of Nidarous and Rio,
which allowed her to reach up in the lighter air near the finish. This paid
off, but not enough to correct out over Simpatico, which
cruised serenely down the rhumb line. All this is way above my pay grade.
Barry will have to sort out who actually won.
Thank
you Paul!
Barry
Keeler
Sailing
Pair A Dice
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