Spring Race #4

Wind was light and shifty from the SW between 5 and 10 knots.  Current was starting to ebb around the start time.  Skies were clear.  Course was from H to 24 to D to H.

For the fourth time in a row, the early forecast called for bad weather.  Continuing the streak, the weather turned out to be great.  When we left the harbor, we put the sails up and immediately noticed the 30-40 degree shifts happening on the west side of the river.  The wind was from the southwest and the puffs would roll in from a west direction. 

We checked out the current on 26 and were surprised to still see a flood at 17:30. The current table we usually use said the current would change at 17:15.  Around 17:50, we sailed by 24 and still saw a light flood.  I will have to remember that the channel does not change current for at least 40 minutes after the table says it will.  By the time the race started and we got back to 24 around 18:40, the current was in a good ebb by then.

The start was crazy.  The starboard end was heavily favored.  This made the fleet converge up there. In the A&B start, a C boat was crossing the line with 30 second to go on port.  Not sure why they were there, but when I saw them tack onto starboard my heart sank.  Then I saw the jib was not released, so the jib back-winded and the boat spun to leeward and hit another boat.  This incident made me very cautious going into our start.  

When our start was approaching, I saw the typical barging boats coming in.  This time there were at least four boats barging into the start.  We were set to start inside A-Train, but sailed to leeward at the last second since the bargers were unaware of how to start and I knew they would not move for anyone.  We then reached down the line and let A-Train get screwed by all the bargers that were not aware of their lack of rights.  One of the bargers was sailing down onto us and I hailed for him to change course higher.  This hail was not welcome, but I was still reaching and wanted to sail higher, but the closing gap was not enough for me to make a good course alteration.  In the end, we were able to maintain clear air while A-Train got caught up with the barging boats and lost 6-7 boat-lengths through no fault of her own.  These types of starts are crazy and it is why I wrote a long blog on barging.

Once clear of the mess, we sailed up the course nicely.  We then hit a really bad wind change during a tack near 24.  This put us back to the next boat in the fleet.  As we approached 24, we were on port fetching the mark.  A-Train was approaching the mark on starboard.  I originally thought it best to duck A-Train's stern at the mark and be the inside boat.  I then decided that the rules with tacking near the mark may not be clear and I did not want to put myself between A-Train and a government mark.

As we got closer, I made sure A-Train had enough room to tack at the mark inside of us.  We were on a collision course, but I knew his proper course was to round the mark.  What I did not put together in this moment was that rule 18 did not apply.  Yes, we are rounding a mark that we are fetching, but rule 18.1 turns off if boats are on opposite tacks heading to windward.  Here are the rules that applied.

10 ON OPPOSITE TACKS
When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat.

18 MARK-ROOM
18.1 When Rule 18 Applies
Rule 18 applies between boats when they are required to leave a mark on the same side and at least one of them is in the zone.
However, it does not apply
(a) between boats on opposite tacks on a beat to windward,
(b) between boats on opposite tacks when the proper course at the mark for one but not both of them is to tack,
(c) between a boat approaching a mark and one leaving it, or
(d) if the mark is a continuing obstruction, in which case rule 19 applies.

While I was thinking of 18.2 and 18.3, I forgot that 18.1(a) turns off 18.  We were two boats on opposite tacks on a beat to windward.  Even if I were no longer beating, 18.1(b) clearly means the rule is turned off.  We broke rule 10, so we fouled.

I did not realize this on the course.  I continued to sail and made no penalty turns.  Once we got to pizza night, I talked to Bert and still was not clear on the rules.  I downloaded a racing rules app (very cool) and was able to quickly realize that 18.1(a) meant that we were wrong.  Luckily the sailing instructions allow a penalty even after racing is done, so I emailed the RM the next day to accept a penalty.  The only other option would have been to withdraw.

I only accepted the penalty because I write this blog about rules.  It would be hypocritical to break the rules, no matter how little other people follow them.  This is the rule I could not get around:

BASIC PRINCIPLES
SPORTSMANSHIP AND THE RULES
Competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by a body of rules that they are expected to follow and enforce. A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will promptly take a penalty, which may be to retire.

As soon as I realized I had broken a rule, I took my penalty.  End of story on that.  There was a lot of confusion at the mark in both divisions, so I will try to add a special section on starboard windward roundings in the future.  Don't hold your breath.  The one on barging took about a year to write.

Our downwind leg was tense.  We had two boats threatening to take our breeze and one off to the south that seemed to be in a better breeze.  Luckily we stayed ahead into D and rounded to finish ahead of the other boats.  We ended up with a first on the water which got knocked down to a second after the penalty was applied.

The RM did a good job.  Pizza night was nice and we still got to catch the sunset.

Spring Race #3

Another threatening forecast followed by another great evening.  Winds were from the south once again between 7 and 14 knots.  Flood current was just starting at the beginning of the race.  Course was from H to K to G to H.  

A light wind most of the day gave way to a healthy southerly by the time I reached the river at 17:00.  The chart on the right is from WeatherFlow at the site south of Croton Point.  While the wind came up pretty strong before the race, it settled into the 8-10 knot range during most of the race.  This chart is always a little less than the actual wind.

We left the marina and sailed close-hauled to the starting area.  From there we sailed upwind to get some readings and found the course to be pretty good.  The right side seemed to have some better pressure and with the flood starting at 18:15, we though the right side would be better for current.  I am starting to really understand how the east side of Haverstraw Bay changes current at least an hour before the middle of the river.  Since a flood was beginning, we thought the east side would be more affected than the west side.

The start line was backwards again with the Race Marshall on the port end.  I first wrote about what end the RM should setup on in 2010.  Here is an excerpt.

It may not seem like it should matter which side of the line the boat is on, but it can make a big impact. The side of the line matters because of the racing rules. Since starboard tack has the right of way over port tack, most boats will start the race on starboard. This causes them to leave the starboard end of the line to windward and the port end of the line to leeward. Since the boats are heading upwind, it can be tough to get above the leeward end of the line. Because the boats are on starboard, it is the port end of the line that will have most boats struggling to clear. If the port end is a buoy then it is easier for boats to clear it since there is no rode extending upwind from the mark. Using a mark at the port end makes it less of an obstacle.

The impact of being on the port side of the line is made more significant by a long scope. When a committee boat has a long scope, it makes a bigger obstacle for the racers since its anchor rode will need to be avoided and the rode is upwind of the committee boat. You now have a 100-foot obstacle to get above when starting.

The port end was favored and that is where the RM was, so we setup for a port tack start.  The fleet left us enough room to cross ahead on port and we were on our way to the preferred west side of the course.

About halfway out to the layline, we saw our speed over ground (SOG) numbers improve by over half a knot, so we knew the right side was the place to be.  We even passed the entire B fleet by taking advantage of the right side.  The wind seemed to be fresher and the current was negligible compared to the flood on the left side.  We also noticed that boats that were only 200 yards to our east were being hampered by the current, while we seemed to be out of it.

When we got to K we saw the flood was running at half a knot and steered a course just high of G to compensate.  After rounding G, Frank noticed that the boats that were close to H were being headed.  Since I wanted to get away from the east shore and get to the stronger breeze in the middle of the river, knowing a knock was in store allowed us to head high and get into the better breeze.  Once that breeze hit, we got knocked enough to make the finish without having to wing.

There was a rules issue we heard about.  A boat in C2 hit G and asked what they should do.   Here are the rules:

31 TOUCHING A MARK
While racing, a boat shall not touch a starting mark before starting, a mark that begins, bounds or ends the leg of the course on which she is sailing, or a finishing mark after finishing.

44 PENALTIES AT THE TIME OF AN INCIDENT
44.1 Taking a Penalty
A boat may take a Two-Turns Penalty when she may have broken one or more rules of Part 2 in an incident while racing. She may take a One-Turn Penalty when she may have broken rule 31...

44.2 One-Turn and Two-Turns Penalties
After getting well clear of other boats as soon after the incident as possible, a boat takes a One-Turn or Two-Turns Penalty by promptly making the required number of turns in the same direction, each turn including one tack and one gybe. When a boat takes the penalty at or near the finishing line, she shall sail completely to the course side of the line before finishing.

By touching a mark a boat breaks rule 31.   Rule 44.1 addresses this breach and says that a boat can take a penalty for touching a mark.  That penalty is a one-turn penalty as described in rule 44.2.  Please remember that a one-turn penalty should be taken as soon as possible.  If you hit a mark, you should immediately sail away from other boats and execute the penalty turn.  It is not OK to sail for a while and then do the turn late in the leg. 

Overall, it was another great racing night.  The race was run very well by the RM and the conditions were great.  The hazy sunset put on a nice show.  There was also a full moon opposite the setting sun.  It was nice to see a bunch of boats hanging out after the race to catch the sunset.

Hazy sunset.

Sunset with Blue Horizon under it.

Spring Race #2

Another tough forecast followed by a great evening.  Winds were from the south between 7 and 14 knots, getting lighter as the night went on.  Current was ebbing.  Course was from H to K to G and back to H.  

Going into this Wednesday, the forecast was once again poor.  Showers with thunderstorms were possible, but the weather cleared out early and we were left with a perfect May sailing night.  I had a bag of foul weather gear that was luckily never used.

When I pulled into Haverstraw, I looked out on the river to see a nice 12-14 knots of wind.  The brown waves were churning up the water pretty good and there were a decent amount of whitecaps on the river.  I stepped out of the car and got a taste of how cold the wind was compared to the warmth on land.  I knew I would be leaving the marina in a T-shirt, but throwing on some layers once I got out to the river.

My crew was different this Wednesday as Bob from my home town was out and the crew from the previous week were all unable to make it.  Bob and I hoisted the sails and sailed upwind for a while to get a feel for the conditions.  Similar to the previous week, we had a southerly and the current was ebbing.  Once we sailed upwind for a bit and found the conditions even across the course, we decided not to repeat the previous week's mistake and cover the right side of the course.

The A&B boats had an interesting start with some circles going on.  We did not see an early advantage to either side of the course as they headed upwind, but still thought the right side was best.  With that, we setup a little early for a starboard end start.  We got off the line with little room to spare and immediately tacked to port to head right.  We had a good lead on most of the fleet from the start with Dream Chaser on our hip.  We sailed out a mile or so and tacked a little early to stay away from a barge.  You do not want to get caught in the barge's wake because the backwash will really hurt your speed.

After tacking to starboard, we were heading for Dream Chaser's stern.  They held their course on port and I held mine, but we were about 5 feet away from them at the cross.  This was pretty close for a crossing and surprised me since they could have nailed us with a lee-bow maneuver.    They ended up tacking to starboard about 30 seconds later and I was still more confused.

Lee-Bow Maneuver

When you are crossing or close to crossing a boat on the opposite tack, a lee-bow maneuver is a way to slow the other boat down and head to the side you want.  This is done by tacking ahead of the other boat and just to leeward.  You need to execute a good tack for this to work right.  After the tack, you will find yourself slightly ahead and to leeward of the other boat.  Once you get your speed back from the tack, you can begin to pinch up and give the boat behind you bad air.  This should make the boat behind slow down and head lower to keep their speed.  As they head lower, they will be in more of your bad air and you will gain an advantage.  You can also over-trim and stall the main during the maneuver to hurt the boat behind some more, but this will also slow you down as well.  Properly executed, a lee-bow will allow the lead boat to gain a boat-length or two and either force the other boat to tack away or spend more time in your bad air.

Click here until I can load the video into the page.


As Dream Chaser and Jazz headed to the port lay-line, we tacked first.  Dream Chaser soon followed and we went to the starboard lay-line.  We again tacked first and Dream Chaser tacked a boat-length to leeward of us.  We did not get much bad air from them and were able to round the mark with good speed.  We held a high course and were just able to roll them and take the lead.  We managed to barely hang on to that lead by about half a boat-length by the time we rounded G.  From there we headed high again to get back to the middle of the river where I thought the wind was better.  Dream Chaser took the low road and we stretched out a little on the last leg.

It was a beautiful night and I was able to take the below picture that shows some of the spinnaker boats heading downwind on the last leg. 

Spinnaker boats heading to finish.

After finishing we reached back and forth across the river a few times and enjoyed the sunset.  After the sunset, we noticed some clouds building in and the wind continued to get lighter.  It was almost calm by the time we made it in to the dock.  Luckily the forecast was wrong and we all enjoyed another great night on the river.

Sun setting on the river.

Spring Race #1

There was a light SE breeze from 5-8 knots.  Current was ebbing in the channel, but flooding early on the East side (or so I think).  Course for all divisions was from H to K to G to H.

After a long winter, it was nice to be back on the water.  For me, this was only the second time out on Jazz.  I went out two weeks prior, once I finished getting the boat ready and was greeted by some heavy wind.  Not the ideal shakedown cruise, but it was a lot of fun.  I managed to get a video.

We left the harbor under cloudy skies and a light breeze.  Once clear of the breakwater, we put up the main and unfurled the jib for a nice reach to H.  H was a little shorter than I remember as it appeared the top of the mark was sliced off by a passing boat.  Once we got to H we went upwind and noticed better pressure on the left side of the course.  Given the history of this condition we convinced ourselves that the left was the place to go.

We talked about the right side having more current.  The old wisdom says that winds are fickle, but the current can be predicted.  We ignored this passing thought and committed to the left side right from the start.  Even after watching the A boats that went left lose on the leg, we still stuck it out.  Needless to say, this was the wrong move and cost us on the first leg.  When we finally tacked back and headed towards the rest of the fleet, we found ourselves behind three boats.  Current definitely won the day here as we had good pressure the whole time on the left side, but it was like running on a treadmill.  The guys on the right had the current pushing them and we were fighting the early flood on the left side of the course.

We did catch a break here.  We tacked to leeward of the three boats and they seemed hell bent on making the mark.  All three seemed to be pinching to make it from way to far out.  This allowed us to make considerable forward progress against them and we held it out to the port layline.  Once we got there, we were pleasantly surprised to round first and start the reach to G.

The rest of the race was pleasant.  We reached to G, gybed, and then headed down to H.  We ended up winging the jib at the end as the wind went to the SE and finished with a comfortable margin over the next boat.  It was a very nice night to sail and we were fortunate that a big mistake early did not do us in. 

Sailing to the finish as the sun peaks out.

The race committee did a great job.  It is tough to be the first RC of the year, but the execution was perfect.  I loved the course as I always prefer reaching legs to dead downwind in cruising class.  The signals were on time and the announcements at the finish were an added bonus.

We definitely had a good takeaway here.  So often the winds from the south make the races seem like the same over and over.  Tonight was different.  With a SE wind, the east side of the course was favored for the better breeze.  The current changing around 19:00 made it different.  The east side of the course had the beginning of the flood already.  The west side had a good ebb to ride in.  The current was a known factor and we should have given it more weight.  Next time we sail in a southerly at the end of the ebb current, it will take a much stronger case for us to abandon the known benefit of the current.  Wind can be a fickle thing.  The current is not so fickle and we should have given that more consideration in our prestart.  We will next time.