Spring Race #1

Wind was variable, but mostly from the south.  Current was ebbing hard.  There was one stubborn cloud that would not leave the area and pissed on the river most of the evening.  Race Cancelled.

Click here to see the storm and how it sat on the race area.

I was very excited to get out and race for the first time this year.  While driving up to the marina, I saw a dark wall of clouds.  It looked ominous, but these clouds usually blow out to the South and East, so I was feeling pretty good that we would be able to get a race in.

Once at the boat, the rain just kept coming down.  I waited down below and heard the Race Committee call for a harbor hold.  This is a new procedure that has been added to the sailing instructions for nights like the one we had.  After a while, the RC announced that they were heading out to the course, thus ending the harbor hold.

Here ie the harbor hold language.  I add the bold font to highlight the sentence.

POSTPONEMENT: Two long (3-5 seconds each) horns will be sounded. A Wednesday race should not be canceled prior to 1845. Notify racers of an intention to start a race after postponement by announcing on VHF 72 then sounding TWO short horns one minute before the raising the Warning flag. In the case of severe weather, consider announcing a “harbor hold” and any related instructions on VHF channel 72.

We left the harbor immediately and went towards H.  The closer we got to H, the worse the rain became.  Compounding this was the occasional clap of thunder.  That was the deal killer.  The RC cancelled the races for the evening.  It sucked, but that was the call to make.

I did not hear the cancellation on the radio.  I decided to set the main and sail a bit in the rain.  We reached around, but the rain seemed to heard us like sheep away from the race area.  Every time we turned south it got worse and if we sailed north, the rain got lighter.  We finally sailed by the harbor and I found out from a crew member that the race was cancelled. 

To make things worse, the wind died out with the rain, so we docked and hung out on the boat for a while until the rain came back again.  It was time to call it a night and we reluctantly went home.

I thought I heard the golf dooshbags on the radio again.  This could be my well documented paranoia kicking in, but it seems they are back.  When I go out again, I will keep a better ear to that and report it to my FCC contact.  I have trouble believing they would be using those radios again after the FCC contacted them last year.  Rest assured that I will post any communication I have on the matter here.