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.