Nice night for sailing. SSW breeze between 6 and 10 knots. Current was flooding. Course was from H to K to G to H. Skies were mostly clear and the temperature was a comfortable 75 degrees.
It was a great night to go out on the water. The forecast had called for light winds, but the chance for a sea breeze was in the forecast and it filled in right before the race.
The Race Marshall was on the course early and had a good line set. The committee boat was on the starboard side of the line and the boat end was favored. The setup was typical, a nice southerly breeze, light flooding current and a windward leg to K.
We got off the start line in a good position. We were at the committee boat and had room to tack. We thought the breeze was better on the right side, so we tacked a minute after the start. One boat came with us to the right side, the rest stayed on the left side. We may have lost a little on the right as our exchanges up the leg showed we had lost some of the lead.
Eventually, one boat got ahead of us. We exchanged a tack or two before settling in on the starboard layline. They tacked above us and for a while we were in a good position. The boat above us then footed down and was able to get on top of our breeze. This hurt us and put them an extra 30 seconds or so ahead. We rounded the mark about a minute behind them and ahead of the rest of the fleet.
The second leg was a broad reach. We made some time back on the boat in front of us. They had there jib flying, but they never let their main out far enough. With the main choked, we were able to close the gap and get right behind them by the time we reached G. I thought about diving in for an overlap, but we did not have enough leg left, so I took the more conservative approach and stayed outside of them.
At the mark, the boat ahead took a nice smooth turn around the mark. I went high on my approach and began my turn before I was at the mark. I was already almost heading for H when I actually passed G. This allowed us to be about a boat length above the competition and from there we pulled ahead. We had a nice easy sail to the finish.
It was a great race. The Race Marshall was on top of things from the beginning and ran it well. The course was a good length and the fleet stayed tight. We were constantly in a battle to get ahead and just eked out a first in the end.
After racing, we turned back upwind and sailed to leeward of some of the C boats that were still heading to the finish. I took some videos and posted those to my YouTube site.
It was nice to see so many boats sailing after the race. I really get a kick out of seeing all the sailing boats on the Hudson in the evening. It adds to the beauty of the river. We sailed on until a little after sunset and headed in to get some food. Next time the weather is this nice, I will remember to bring sandwiches so we can sail longer. With the breeze holding, we could have sailed well into the evening.
I tried to diagram the windward mark move. This is a general idea of what happened. I condensed it as the actual maneuver took over three minutes. Jazz is in yellow and the boat that pulled ahead of us is blue. It was a good move for them and put them way ahead at the mark.
Southeast breeze 6-12 (gust to 20). Current was ebbing hard. It rained hard at the beginning of the evening and then settled into mild showers. Course was from H to G to H to 22 to D to C and then in. Race cancelled.
At the starting line close to18:15 we found ourselves in great racing conditions. The rain had gotten lighter and the wind was a nice 8-14 from the ESE. We started right behind Hard Attack and worked our way to windward. We were soon in their bad air and tacked out right. The breeze and current gave us enough of an advantage that we held a lead at G. We rounded ahead and then winged the jib out. It was puffing up to 20 knots now and we did not even use the pole to keep the jib winged. The wind took care of that.
On the east side, Hard Attack popped their chute open and were speeding down the shoreline. It was a nice sight and a great maneuver for them to execute. They made some distance on us, but we got to H and hardened up. At this point we sailed up to 22, while Hard Attack continued downwind towards 26. With Jazz on her own, we got close to 22 and then took some long broad reaches back and forth across the river. The breeze settled into a perfect 8-12 knots form the ESE and the boat was lively. We tucked up to D around 19:30 and the breeze got lighter. We drifted up to C and eventually called it a night around 20:00.
There were only two boats on the river tonight. How that came to pass was somewhat predictable for me. In the first Wednesday night race, I had talked about how tonight might have to be an impromptu Race Marshall night. I got more concerned with the forecast and the RM selection. There are some Race Marshalls that are hell bent on making sure a race gets in. I am one of those. Then there are RM's that are not that concerned about getting the race in. Tonight we had the latter.
I arrived very early on the boat this evening. By 17:15, I had the radio on and was slowly changing into my gear when the RM came on the radio and announced that this evening's race would be cancelled. I was disappointed. I take great pains to get out of work early each Wednesday and I look forward to racing. I particularly like the foul weather races, as the sailing in adverse conditions will make us better sailors.
Before leaving the air, the RM went on to explain that "cells" were heading into the area and would bring bad weather. Armed with radar and no other input, the RM decided to cancel the race 1.5 hours before he was allowed to. This is against the rules. Here is a snippet from the sailing instructions.
POSTPONEMENT: Two long (3-5 seconds each) horns will be sounded. A Wednesday race should not be canceled prior to 1845. CANCELLATION: Three Long horns. The race Marshall may in its’ discretion cancel a race due to severe weather conditions.
Clearly, canceling the race before 18:45 is against the responsibilities of the Race Marshall. This night, the race was cancelled on a reading of the radar. The RM said that "cells" were heading into the area. On a cool rainy day, cells don't really develop. Cells are usually the result of a hot humid day where the temperature difference causes the typical updrafts and downdrafts that give a thunderstorm its energy. I did not see any cells on my radar, just bands of rain.
A couple of other weather related points:
There were no thunderstorm alerts or watches.
All weather stations did not show wind in excess of 20 knots, even the ones in the heavy bands.
No one on Jazz ever heard a clap of thunder.
The storm was a quick mover and the RM should have expected changes to occur before 18:45.
The was no small craft warning.
Four times I picked up my mic to reply to the RM, but my better judgment kept me from airing my complaints on the radio. I have done that in the past, written about it here, and later regretted it. This blog is now my outlet for any frustration. I was disappointed that tonight's race was being cancelled. Many people showed up to race tonight and they were sent away. I am sure most people were happy to stay dry, but the rules are the rules. They are there to prevent this type of false alarm from canceling the race.
Later at 17:45, the RM again declared the race cancelled. Someone went on the radio to challenge the RM's interpretation on future weather and was met with a line "you are welcome to go out and sail." Well, that is exactly what we did on Jazz. We motored out into a pretty heavy rain and found the perfect racing wind.
In their rush to leave, the RM had made a call at 17:50 that they were canceling the race and that if anyone saw another boat they should pass the word on because they were signing off. While I was upset about the race being cancelled, this call irked me.
It is the RM's duty to make sure all boats know the race is cancelled. Since the rules clearly state that no race should be cancelled prior to 18:45, there is no expectation that you should be on your VHF before 18:00 waiting for a cancellation. I can understand if there was thunderstorm warning or a breeze over 40 knots, but with a mild breeze and some rain, most people would not expect a dock cancellation this early. If the RM was concerned about the conditions on the river, they should have taken a look out on the river. They would have seen a sailboat, sailing around H, waiting for the fleet to arrive.
The fleet turned out to be Jazz. As we motored towards H in the rain, we saw the sails of Hard Attack. They radioed the fleet looking for information on the status of tonight's race. We did not respond immediately, hoping that the RM would be able to explain why the race was cancelled to a boat that was sailing in a nice ESE breeze with no thunder approaching. There was no reply. After their second hail, I responded that the RM had abandoned the race and had already left their station. Once we got within talking distance, we shared our dismay that the race should not have been cancelled, both for the lack of severe weather and the timing of the cancellation.
So that is how the race I described above transpired. Just two boats sailing in nice wind conditions. I understand the rain is not for everyone. There are people that think getting wet on a boat is to be avoided, but for those of us that consider it a part of the sport, we got the shaft this night. A perfectly good race could have been held and was not.
Here are some videos:
I am sure there are plenty of people happy with last night's result. I would like to hear any comments that people have. Whether to race or not is a tough decision and I am sure there are people who have differing opinions on the matter. My primary point is that the decision to race or not should be made with the rules in mind.
No cancellations before 18:45. Even professional weather forecasters make mistakes. We should not be led astray by the radar. If you are worried about the conditions, call for a dock postponement before 18:15, but at least let us have a chance at a turn for the better and get a race in. By cancelling at 17:15, there was no chance for a race to be held.
I hope the next time we encounter the possibility of foul weather, the RM will have us wait at the dock and see if the forecast holds. That is my motivation for writing about this. I think we could have gotten in a race and the reasons for cancelling it never materialized.
Light Southeast breeze. The breeze was 4-6 knots at the beginning and the died a bit before getting 10 from SW at the end. Current was flooding. The weather was overcast and a little chilly. Course was shortened and went from H to G back to H.
This was the first Wednesday Night race of our 6th season. It was nice to be back out there with other sailboats. We decided to move back to C1 this year. With the new realignment, we lost the two boats in B that beat us last year and the boat that finished right behind us, Gusto, moved its crew to another boat in C1. It turned out to be a good decision for this race.
The night started with two new crew members on board for this race. Their boat was not yet in the water, so they came out with Frank and I. Around 17:40, we dropped the lines and headed out to H. We hoisted sails and saw the SE breeze lightening up and becoming more variable. As we sailed towards the committee boat, we noticed the line was not square. It was off enough that you could not cross it on starboard. This would result in all boat starting at the pin on port. We did not mind this as we knew the foul current and skewed line would keep the traffic down.
After the start, we had two boats right on our heels. We protected the left side of the course and rounded G with a narrow lead. Transformation passed us downwind. There long whisker pole and the light air seemed to give them a downwind advantage. Of course the boat was sailed well, but they must have gained over 60 seconds on us in that leg and we were never separated by much. Once again, I seem to be locked into a tight racing situation with Jesse and that should make for a good, competitive season. She finished ahead and won the race. We will probably correct out in second place.
There was a minor rule violation by the RC. We were past G and headed to 26 when they called out to shorten the course. You cannot shorten a leg once boats have already rounded the mark. We were strategizing to go to 26 for a minute or two when the call came through. Since 26 is almost in line with H from G, it was not a big deal, but a rule violation nonetheless. Here is the rule:
33 CHANGING THE NEXT LEG OF THE COURSE The race committee may change a leg of the course that begins at a rounding mark or at a gate by changing the position of the next mark (or the finishing line) and signaling all boats before they begin the leg. The next mark need not be in position at that time.
From the HBRA instructions Eliminating a rounding mark(s) of the course – with this method an announcement must be made prior to the first boat in each division reaching what will become the final rounding mark prior to finishing.
While the result was a shortening of the course, rule 33 is the one that applies. In reality, the race committee was changing the next leg of the course. Notice the section that reads "before they begin the leg." This is to prevent the trailing boats from gaining an advantage. If 26 was not in line with H, we could have sailed away from a proper course to H until we got the message and then changed direction. This would give the boats that did not round an advantage, as they would sail the proper course the entire leg. This situation did not come to pass since 26 is in line with H and the announcement was early enough to make the proper course only slightly different.
In the end, it was a fair race and everyone finished. Right after finishing, the wind piped up to 10-12 from the SW. The best sailing would happen after the race. We did our usual post race sail until about 21:00. It was a beautiful night with the perfect breeze, mild temperature, and half a moon visible above the rig. We reached back and forth across the bay and shared some good stories with our guests.
It was nights like this that I imagined would be perfect for a Full Moon race. We should consider changing that series to something more impromptu. There are a handful of Wednesdays each season where the wind does not cooperate until the end of the race. Nights like this are the best nights for a second race.
We also tried to talk the extra cew into joining the Hudson Cove Yacht Club. This organization is a good group of sailors looking to get together for social and learning activities. I have learned about the area from sharing stories with the fellow members. It is important to be a part of a group of like-minded people and HCYC offers that chance at a very low cost in time and money. Sharing common knowledge and experience benefits many sailors. Hopefully we will see one or both at the HCYC events this summer.
Shifty, gusty NW wind, 8-20 knots. Current ebbing hard all evening. Sailed up to nuke plant and then reached across the bay a few times.
Frank and I decided to go out and tune up again this year. I always find the more I can sail before a race the better. I am rusty in the spring. Walking around down below while the boat is pounding is tougher than last fall. The gear needs some tweaking here and there. It is nice to get a feel for the boat again and not be dealing with other boats and race situations. This tune up allows us to keep our heads IN the boat. For the next 20 Wednesday's, our heads will be out of the boat much of the time as we analyze the tactics and strategy.
The forecast looked pretty good, but the conditions were lousy all day. Rain fell right up to the point I got to the boat. Luckily the forecasts were spot on. The NWS called for the rain to end at 17:00 in Haverstraw and the rain obliged. Looking at the wind charts and radar images, I would see the forecast was going according to plan and we would have a nice breeze and a dry boat to sail on. I have attached pictures of what I saw at my desk around 15:00. About an hour before I left the office.
Once on the boat, I had to prime the secondary filter. I have a small leak in one of the bleed screws and the replacements are lost in the new house. So are my sailing shoes, but that is another matter. After priming the fuel, the engine started right up. We prepped the boat and were out sailing by 17:45.
The wind was from the NW and the current was ebbing, so we decided to work our way North while the breeze was good. We played around a little in the B mark area south of Stony Point. While John Nonenmacher was about to give his excellent presentation on the Haverstraw Bay quirks and such for a second time, we were out there experiencing the same effects he had described. What he laid out in the course was unfolding on the river before us. Knowing the pulses coming form the passing clouds and the effect John described, it was clearer why boats that hugged the shallow water by B usually did better. We were in less foul current and had some nice lefties to get us up to Stony Point.
We continued on past Stony Point, but turned around near Indian Point since the breeze was getting less steady. We then took some lazy broad reaches back and forth before tucking into the East shore. There we saw another phenomenon John had made clearer. The NW breeze near B was gone. We were now in a light NE breeze, almost a 90-degree change in direction from one shore to another. The issue in here was that the NE breeze was light and fluky. When we gybed back out to the middle of the river, the current and breeze were strong and the breeze was back to the North. The normal dilemma boats face heading into C and D was there. Go left and stay in the big breeze and big current. Go right, eat the header and take less velocity for less current and a favorable right-hand shift.
Overall it was a great night on the river. Dry conditions, steady breeze, and the boat was dancing with its spring bottom still smooth. The temperature was an uncomfortable 45, but we were dressed well and it did not bother us. There were not many boats out yet. Just one sailboat sailing, an anchored cat from Montreal, and some patrol boats. We had the river to ourselves and Jazz seemed to be happy bounding from side to side in the fresh breeze.
So with the river somewhat explored and some questions from John's seminar answered, we headed in just after sunset. After putting the boat away and double checking everything we headed out to dinner. We ended up going to two places that did not work out and gave up. A rather unceremonious ending to an otherwise great evening.
