SEPTEMBER 1, 2026
BLUSTERY DAY ON THE
BAY
Predictions were for light winds for the afternoon and
reports from sailors was only 15 knot winds.
These conditions often are frequently overpowered by the Santa Cruz eddy
resulting in an Easterly. As we left the
harbor at 5pm there was a healthy 20 knot breeze flowing across the bay. Enough for predictions, time to deal with
reality and put a reef in. We had over
twenty boats out for the fun. The wind
was coming from 240 degrees and we set a line square to this and called for
course W1. All three fleets had clean
starts and the wind continued clear to the finish. Such is life when you have a blustery day on
the bay.
Spinny Fleet track can be seen at:
A Fleet track can be reviewed at:
B Fleet can be viewed at:
PHRF CORRECTED RESULTS:
COURSE W1 DISTANCE 3.886NM
PLACE BOAT PHRF ET CORRECTED TIME
FLEET SPINNY
1 INTERLUDE 141 43:27 34:19
2 PEGASUS 150 44:04 34:21
3 WATTS
MOORE 150 44:47 35:04
4 ICHIBAN 150 45:35 35:52
5 KEMOSABE 81 44:21 3906
FLEET A:
1 ABORIGINAL 33 36:48 34:40
2 ZOOP 144 45:16 35:56
3 PERFECT 36 144 46:28 37:08
4 RIO 141 49:06 39:58
5 AMOR FATI 81 49:24 44:09
FLEET B:
1 AZOR 243 53:25 37:31
2 GOLD RUSH 126 46:43 38:33
3 TARA 243 54:52 39:08
4 SIMPATICO 165 50:05 39:23
5 BIG MAC 222 54:19 39:56
6 AVATAR 132 49:55 41:22
7 PACIFIC
SPIRIT 165 54:31 43:50
8 SAILING
PAIR A DICE 180 55:45 44:05
9 AQUAVIT 73 48:57 44:13
10 NIDAROS 118 53:36 45:57
11 TOAD 150 59:48 50:05
12 SWEET PEA 163 1:01:07 50:34
13 KICKS 180 1:02:26 50:46
14 MYSTIC 150 1:02:01 52:18
THE ZOOP
SCOOP BY PAUL TARA
QUIZ
Last Week:
The minimum sailing weight of a Santana 22 is:
b) 2,600 lbs
Once again, it’s worth remembering that “minimum sailing
weight” is different from “displacement”. The latter is always greater
due to the addition of crew and gear.
This Week:
The ballast to displacement ratio compares fixed ballast to
displacement. Which of these boats has the lowest ratio?
a) Moore 24
b) Islander 36
b) Santana 22
d) Santa Cruz 27
THE RACE
Tuesday, the morning overcast had a splotchy look, with
mares’ tails visible above. This pattern indicates the presence of
stronger weather-system winds aloft shredding the overcast as they start to mix
down to the surface. It often results in “sporty” conditions. “Mares’
tails and mackerel scales make lofty ships carry low sails.” These
winds are almost always veered relative to the surface flow; on Zoop we noted a
direction of 255° just prior to our start.
Spinnaker Fleet had 6 boats. The favored port end lured
several offshore, including the SC-27 Interlude and Moore
24 Pegasus. Ichiban started at the unfavored
starboard end and was first to head right on port tack. This seemed to pay off
at first, but not enough when she came back on starboard to make up for
the difference at the start. Interlude rounded first but Pegasus took
the lead on the reach to MB. However, Pegasus made a very wide
rounding, (jibe issues?) allowing Interlude to regain the
lead, which she held to the finish, correcting out over Pegasus by
3 seconds.
A Fleet had 5 boats. Aboriginal started at
the starboard end and immediately flopped onto port, followed by P36 a
little further out. The former held port until the Wharf, tacked and rounded
Schuyler in the lead. Zoop was pinned on starboard by Amor Fati until
well out in left field. After tacking onto port we barely crossed P36 as
she came off the beach on starboard. We then under-stood Schuyler by a
boat length, requiring two extra tacks while Aboriginal steamed
off into the distance at 8 knots — game over. Under-standing always engenders a
lot of ‘discussion’ aboard. “We’re gonna make it, wait for the lift,
don’t tack,” are all familiar phrases. To which I offer a one word response, “leeway.”
Hard on the wind, no boat actually goes where she’s pointed. And, attempting to
shoot a mark in that much wind is a good way to end up doing a penalty spin.
B Fleet had 12 boats, augmented by the addition of Aquavit,
freshly returned from her Pac Cup adventures. (They intended to race in A, but
were late and reregistered in B at the last minute — must be some turbo fingers
aboard. Meanwhile another boat forgot to hit “Participate in Regatta”.) The
star of the show was the Santana 22 Azor. The C&C 35 Gold
Rush (the oldest boat in the fleet) blitzed everybody boat for boat,
but was unable to save her time and ended up second on corrected by just over a
minute. Azor won the race on the beat to Schuyler. She
matched speed with Simpatico and then, instead of being
carried beyond the layline, tacked and ducked astern of the larger boat to
round second. Anytime you can round ahead of boats that are 10 feet longer
is a ‘Glory Moment’.
Thank you Paul!
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
