Summer Race #7

Wind was light from the ENE.  Current started flooding after the start.  Course for A&B was from H to 26 to 24 to H.  C skipped 26.

My father and twin sisters joined us for the race this Wednesday.  It was their first time on the boat and unfortunately, the wind was very light.  We headed out to the course and sailed a bit in the shifty conditions as the wind went from due north to southeast in 30 minutes, before finally settling in at ENE.

We had a decent start near the boat end and hoped to get right early.  We had one boat on top of us and I waited too long to tack in front of them.  Another boat in our division was less cautious and went right in front of this starboard boat.  I saw the starboard boat change direction, yet the port tack boat insisted this was done for no reason since they saw trees coming from the bow.

Making Trees

When two boats are coming together on opposite tacks, it is common for a racer to gauge the crossing on whether the bow of the upcoming boat is making or losing against the land.  If the boat seems to be moving forward against the land, then they will probably cross the observer.  If the bow seems to be losing land against the observer, then the observer will probably cross.

While this is effective in lakes and bodies of water without current, the current renders this method less effective since both boats will have some movement against the shore regardless of their own speed in the water.

In the end, it did not matter as the other boat blew by us upwind.  We have little chance of keeping up with some boats when the wind dips below 8 knots and this was the case on this race.

We got to the weather mark in a bit of traffic and sat for a few minutes while boats piled up to the east of us.  Since the wind was from the east, we headed due south to get away from the disturbed air and finally got clear after 7 minutes of idle floating.

The rest of the race was pretty stretched out.  Xanadu made a nice northerly move on the downwind leg to make up some serious ground on the C1 fleet and win C2.  Most boats finished within the time limit, but 4 C2 boats were OTL.

We sailed a bit after the race before heading in after dark.  It was a nice night out on the river and my father and sisters had a good time racing. 

Summer Race #6

Winds from the SSE 10-15 dropping to 4-8 from the SW.  Current was ebbing.  Course for A and B was from H to K and back, twice around.  C sailed from H to K to G and back.

We were race committee tonight.  We left the dock at 17:10 and headed straight to H.  We saw a healthy SSE breeze from 170 and decided to anchor so that H bore 80 degrees from us.  It took three tries to get the anchor to finally stick.  The first try failed due to hooking a rather large rock.  The second failed for unknown reasons and the third time worked like a charm.

We thought the line to be very square and announced the courses.  With about 4 minutes to go before the start of the A&B fleets, we saw a change in the breeze.  It went right about 40 degrees and got lighter.  Now our line was skewed and I was wishing we had just let it drag since it would have been square if we fell north 200 yards or so.  Since the wind was also getting lighter, we stuck with the original course fearing that 22 was too far for this dying breeze.  At least with the A and B course, we could always shorten them to one lap should the breeze die.  We were not too worried about C as the current would push them upwind and then they would reach out of the current by going to G. 

So everyone started on a starboard end favored line and had a skewed beat up to K.  Most boats had to tack during this beat, so I felt a little better about the course.  In the end, everyone that attempted to finish the race did so with time to spare.  I also like that the entire fleet finished around the same time.  This is always a goal of mine when race committee and is not always possible. 

Once the racers were off, we ate some ribs and had a few beers.  It was a great night to be on the water and we enjoyed the hour between the start and the first finisher.  All boats were done racing by 20:12, so there was no risk of anyone not finishing in time.  We then hurried in to the dock and I went over to pizza night at Minisceongo Yacht Club.

Here is my analysis of our night as Race Committee.

Good

1.  We went out early surveyed the conditions and set the line.

2.  Being out early allowed us to set the line three times without delaying the race.

3.  Wrote down scores on three sheets to make sure a typo did not skew the results.  One sheet did not match the others in one case and it was nice to have the other two agree.

4.  Had a special sheet to help us remember to make the proper moves at the proper times.

5.  Set courses that allowed the fleets to finish around the same time.

Possible Improvements

1.  We could have delayed the start to allow the dying breeze to settle in.

2.  We could have changed the line to be more square in the new wind.

3.  We needed more ribs.

As far as delaying the start to set a better course after the wind changed, I decided against it since I did not want to have everything push back too late.  It was pizza night and sending boats to 22 could have caused an issue with a delayed start.  Boats could have been drifting until the time limit which probably would have extended to 20:45 or later.  I was also thinking that the lull could be temporary and all the changes would be for nothing.  

I am on the fence as to whether or not it was worth it to reset the line.  Hindsight is 20/20, but on this issue, the decision is still not clear to me.  I would welcome any comments on the matter as it could help with future races.

Summer Race #5

Unstable atmosphere.  Wind settled into a light northerly.  The course was from H to C and back.  Current was flooding.

This night started with storms passing through the area.  I sat in my car from 17:00 to 17:45 and waited for the rain to ease before heading down to the dock.  While in the car, we heard some chatter starting at 17:30 or so with sailors asking what the status of the race was.  It seemed apparent that the radio people were looking for an early cancellation.  The boat I heard never made it out.

When I walked down to the dock, I passed a group of sailors hanging out under a tent.  Most of them never made it out.  When I got to the boat, another boat in the marina had their engine running even though the fleet was in harbor hold.  They never made it out.

Using my phone's radar app to judge the weather, we left the marina just after 18:00 to take a real life observation of the river.  It was raining at a good clip, but the northerly was up so we hoisted sail and cruised around for a bit.  Around 18:30, the wind and rain lightened up.  Around 18:45, the race marshal announced an end to the harbor hold and went out to the course.  I was very happy to hear we would have some company.  Twice before this season, we went out in questionable conditions to find the race cancelled.

Things were not looking good wind wise as the RM headed out to H.  Fortunately, once they got set around 19:20, the wind picked up enough to give us hope for a race.  The course was announced and we rolled into sequence at 19:35.  The total delay was 80 minutes.

The start line was heavily boat (starboard) end favored.  We got off to a nice start around a barging boat and were off the line well.  The C fleet tightened up at mark C as boats were rounding into the flood and having trouble making any progress over the ground.  It was a difficult start to the leg, but the wind did increase and veer to the ENE to give us a nice reach to the finish.  All boats finished before 21:00.

Breakout withdrew from the race.  They were the only boat in A and as such, their withdrawal means that A had no race this night.  By withdrawing, they gave all the boats in their division that bagged out early a break.  Had Breakout finished, the race would have counted and those boats would have used their throw-outs on it.   It was a classy move to not take advantage of the other boats impatience. 

Race Marshal

The race marshal was excellent this night.  They followed all rules and procedures to the letter.  When the conditions were uncertain before 18:15, they announced a harbor hold to keep boats safe.  They continued that hold until 18:45.  At that time, they determined that the conditions were safe to go out on the river and attempt a race.  Once out on the river, they realized a race could be held and executed it very well.  Escpecially considering the compressed time they had due to the late start.

I heard some chatter about sailors being unhappy that a race was held so late.  Some have even gone so far as to say that there is a time a race cannot be started after.  They are wrong.  There is no limit to when a race can be held. The 18:45 time in the postponement section is the earliest time a race can be cancelled, not the latest time it can be started. 

Wishing for a Cancellation

When I was a kid and raced with my father, it was more an obligation than for just fun.  I used to root for a race to get cancelled because I enjoyed the break from racing, but still liked to be around the boat.  I mention this to give some perspective that I can understand why people would want a rainy race cancelled.

The trouble on this night is that people get on the radio to pressure the RM into cancelling.  These are boat owners looking to get out of racing.  I have some advice, don't race, go home.  It is that simple.  If you don't want to race on a given night, just drive home.  Do that without getting on the radio and trying to force the entire HBRA to miss a race.  If you are that worried about your score, accept that you will have to stick around on Wednesday nights since an RM should do everything they can to get a race in. 

We get 20 Wednesday night races each year to compete in.  Getting out each Wednesday is important and I don't want a little rain or a bad reading of the radar at 17:30 to cancel the opportunity to race.  The race instructions are setup to give the RM the power to get a race in even when conditions are not perfect at 18:15.  This night was an example of that.

In the end, many people drove to Haverstraw, got ready for a race and went home.  They did that because they could not wait for 80 minutes.  It is fine for a crew to skip the race, but they should stay off the radio and not complain when other boats wait for a hour and get a race in.  After all, it is why we get together for 20 Wednesday nights each summer. 

Starting Time Limit

I realize I may not be in the majority when it comes to getting races in on a Wednesday night.  I put a poll at the top right of this site to allow people to vote on a time limit for starting a Wednesday night race.  Please vote.

Summer Race #4

Decent wind from the SSW between 4 and 10 knots.  Course for A&B was from H to K to G to H.  C sailed H to K and back.  Current was "slack" at the start with an ebb filling in.

The night started with a good southerly that appeared to have been blowing for a while.  The river had decent waves built up from that direction.  We left the marina and had to use a boat brush to clean off the speed wheel to get a boat speed reading. 

Once that was set, we hoisted the main and sailed around for a bit.  There was a noticeable flood still on the river and we had trouble getting upwind of the starting line.  We knew the scenario well and decided that we should go left after the start.  We read the line as mostly square with the boat end slightly favored. 

As the start approached, we began to second guess our pre-start plan and decided that the right may well be worth a try.  I went for the boat end at the start and we got off the line with room to tack out to the right.  We did not wait long and tacked over to head to the west side of the river.  Incredible also had a good start and they continued to sail on starboard to the left. 

As I have written many (too many) times on this blog, in a southerly breeze, the left can pay off big time.  I used to call it the Bugaboo move.  On this night, history repeated itself on Jazz.  We went to the right, found better breeze and got sucked in as the boat kept lifting.  Being on the right side of the course in the lefty wind left us sailing the great circle route since we were on the outside of the lifting breeze.  Of course with good wind speed and sailing on a lift, it was difficult to even consider a tack.

Incredible's move to the left paid off.  They were two minutes ahead of us when we crossed about 2/3 of the way up to K. 

Let's pause here and consider how ignorant I was.  Here is what I wrote on 7/6/11:

So off to the right we went. When we tacked back to starboard up the course, A Train could cross. Zoom banged the left corner and at the mark had a comfortable lead. I can never figure out why the left side pays off in this situation. I call it the Bugaboo move as Bugaboo always kicked our ass when they stayed left. The current and direction seemed to favor the right side, but the proof is in the results. The left side was favored and I cannot explain why. A comment on this would be most welcome.

Here is what I wrote last year on 7/20/11.  Apparently the Bugaboo move was still fresh in my mind.

I wanted to protect the left side from the Bugaboo move. In case you did not read this in the past, the Bugaboo move is an unexplained advantage boats get going left in the SE breeze. Even the stronger ebb to the right does not overcome this affect. We did see some of the reason for the affect as we came in from the port side and got lifted as we sailed into the mark on port. It is still a mystery to me.

Fast forward to 2012, I forget how the left side goes against my judgment each time, but still pays off.  With Incredible crossing us, I was hoping they would continue to the right so we could get further left and get some left side leverage.  They continued to the right and we were able to get far to the left late in the leg.  I noticed the wind speed was going down, but our COG and SOG were doing great.  The current was helping us sail higher and faster.

Despite the ugliness of the lighter air and the knock, we continued to the port lay-line.  Once we tacked over, the over-the-ground number still remained impressive and we were able to sneak ahead of Incredible at the mark.  We then rounded the mark and had a nice quick set that allowed us to get far enough ahead to keep our air clear. 

After the race, we continued north to get an edge on the current.  The ebb was now pretty strong, so going north allowed us to cruise with some nice reaching angles.  The wind picked up a bit and we enjoyed the 10-12 from the south.  Well after sunset, we went back to the slip and retired for the evening.

Summer Race #3

Wind was from the SW at 4-8 knots.  Current was ebbing until late in the race and then turned to flood.  Course was from H to 22 and back.  A & B sailed H to 22 to G and back.

Upon arriving at Haverstraw, I looked out on the water and saw a little southerly on the river as evidenced by the small ripples in the center.  I was hoping this was a building breeze as I headed down the dock to Jazz.

As we left the harbor, we turned out into the river and a nice 6-8 knot southerly had filled in.  We had a tight reach to H and as we got closer, the wind got lighter.  We consistently found the West side of the river to have more wind.  With this in mind, we decided to start at the starboard end of the line in order to get right quickly.

We had a good start.  We were right at the boat when the horn blew.  While we had put ourselves there due to the desire to go right, we held starboard tack for a couple of minutes and went left.  Our plans changed due to the fleet starting to leeward and behind us.  Since they were all heading out on starboard, we thought it best to protect our early lead and minimize the risk of going away from everyone.  Eventually, someone tacked and we followed to protect the right side. 

Protecting a side

When I write about protecting a side, I am talking about upwind tactics.  Before a start, the crew on Jazz talks about the possible benefits to the upwind leg and we come to a conclusion on which side we believe is favored.  Depending on the conditions, we can be positive or 50-50 on which side is favored.  Once we have a side picked, we will try to get to that side after the start.  The urgency in getting there is dependent on our confidence that the side we picked is favorable.  So when it is not very clear, we will tend to make sure none of our competitors gets out to our favored side without us going with them.  This way, we protect ourselves from getting passed by someone sailing to the favored side.  That is called protecting the side.

We continued to protect the right and pulled out a little further from the fleet by staying to the right.  We rounded 22 with a decent advantage and rode that all the way back to the finish.  It was a long downwind leg as the breeze was getting lighter and the flood had not arrived to push us to the finish.

I really liked the course tonight.  Sailing to 22 is always a challenge.  I know some racers hate going around that mark since the wind is variable to say the least.  While this does create a difficult playing field, I think that is an important part of racing and worth the frustration.  It reminds me of distance racing where you just have to deal with variable conditions.  Going to K in every southerly can get boring.  On this night the courses worked out well with all boats finishing within the time limit.  A great job by the race committee all around.

After the race, we sailed around until it got dark.  It was a full moon night, but I doubt we could have gotten a second race in with the dying breeze.  The clouds prevented the moon from coming out anyway. The sun did manage a brief appearance on its way out.