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New Years Day Race - San Diego - photos added!

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/31/2005 : 11:40:09

I'll be off soon to prep and practice for tomorrow's race. We'll be putting Gary Norgan's 89 wing TR against the likes of Dennis Conner and all the others. Check here to see our competition, almost 100 boats!

http://sdyc.org/raceinfo/races06/newYears/newYears_race.htm

We'll be flying my spinnaker on Gary's Boat in the 165 and greater PHRF class. Since you fly your own funny class flag, we have selected a pair of Spike's purple pyjamas.

Wish us well and check back here on Monday to see how we did and for race photos.

The weather is kind of rugged right now (big seas, rain likely, and strong south winds - which kick up our waters against our northern currents) so I hope we can make Mission Bay to San Diego Bay tomorow morning. The race itself is a round-the-bouys race inside San Diego Bay only but we have to get there and get back.

I've got my new Christmas foulies, so I'm ready for anything!

Indiscipline 1978 FK SR #398

Edited by - JimB517 on 01/02/2006 12:26:13

DanM
Captain

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USA
256 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2005 : 13:35:05

Wow! Now that's something we can't plan for New Year's celebrations around here! Sounds like real fun. We'll watch for the results!

We might travel to our clubhouse for traditional punchbowl, sailing fellowship and TV football watching, while the bay turns hard(er). (Depends on the driving conditions.)

Happy New Year to all!

Edited by - on

Lightnup
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1016 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2005 : 19:08:18

Best of luck. With Purple jammies, how can you lose?

Steve

Edited by - on

JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 01/02/2006 : 12:38:56

New Years Day Race, San Diego

Click here to view the photos

http://www.indiscipline.org/cat25/nydayrace.html

I don't know how we placed, the results are not available yet. The race was delayed due to no winds and we got confused and didn't get a good start. There were 7 classes with 5 minutes between starts racing on 3 different courses. One thing for sure, we were not over early!

Not counting the racing dingys that were entered in their own class, Classical Cat C25 Tall Rig was the smallest and slowest boat entered.

In the very light air, we were competitive with the boats in our class. We were able to pass many boats 30 to 35 feet. When the wind picked up, these boats raced away from us. At the first mark, we were in the middle of the pack, just behind about 10 boats that jammed up real bad rounding. There were collisions, yelling, fending off like mad. We went real wide to avoid the mess. The mark was close to the rocks and we couldn't go too wide. There were other boats going wide and about 6 drove in on the mark and tacked behind the big jam. We put in a tack to get on starboard but that was a mistake. The next mark was only 100 yards and we could not make it on starboard. By the time we tacked to port and then back, the mass of boats in our class were long gone. There never was really a downwind leg on this course, leg one was a beam reach in super light air. After that, leg 2 and 3 were basically beats. We were hanging with a J24 on the upwind Leg 3, and had a real good rounding of mark 2 and especially 3. After rounding 3, the wind came up good and shifted. We had about a 2 or 3 mile leg, tacking back to mark 1 and then tacking for the start finish line. Gary did a good job driving and we did beat some boats to the finish line. Under PHRF, I am interested to see how we did.

We just kept tacking out of San Diego Bay, and had to reef the main in Hurricane Alley under Point Loma. Once outside, we had about a 3 hour ride home....downwind due to the very strange S and SW winds we were having that day. As you can see, we shook out the reet, set the boat wing and wing and came home at about 5.5 knots. It started raining and the last 2 hours were wet, dark and cold.

As far as I can tell, we were the only boat to come from outside of San Diego Bay to the race. We put in an 11 hour day, on a day with 5 to 7 foot swells, and rain forecast for the evening. The national weather service was saying a storm warning may be necessary. We sailed back into Mission Bay in the dark, with big seas running, and heavy rain with a run of about 40 miles.

Oh yeah, it was fun and I was proud of our team and our tough little boat! Look at that smile on my face in the last photo!

Edited by - JimB517 on 01/02/2006 12:41:48

sailorman
1st Mate

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USA
69 Posts

Response Posted - 01/02/2006 : 13:00:25

Love it!! Great pics, good story, excellent adventure. Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to take up racing. (Although my water ballast is a slug, I guess somebody has to be last.) Thanks again.

Edited by - on

gnorgan
Admiral

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USA
563 Posts

Response Posted - 01/02/2006 : 13:16:49

Jim underestimates the number of boats in the traffic jam at the first mark in light air. I put the number at about 40 boats, most not in our class. Two starts all just happened to converge simultaneously at the same point on the course....some had driven their boats high and some low to get around a really big power yacht obstruction, anchored smack-dab in the center of the start to first mark rumbline. Those boats that had driven high had to come down hard on the first mark but had "no rights" at the mark. But, since there were alot more of them than those on the rumb line (we were dead on the line to the mark) they demanded, as a pack, to give them room. If the 5-6 boats I was in had not changed course radically at that point we would have literally been run over by the bigger boats sailing in a pack. We changed course of course

but lived to sail another day

There was a particularly small, pointy boat that was a smaller version of the Dennis Conner boat that got caught between several big boats and looked like it was in trouble with no room to get free. I learned that long ago that in racing against money that I generally don't have enough to replace fiberglass and jel coat from a collision and sinking is not an option

so I chose to sail clear and not ask for my rightful place at the mark. Still, I wonder what kind of hell we in the right might have created had we demanded our room at the mark

Would the pack have turned away? Probably not. The feeding frenzy was on!!
After the first mark incident I began to sail for clean air and work the lifts along the shores where the big boats only wish they could go and made up some distance by not having to tack early in the channel. We edged out a J-80 at the finish sailed by a duo I used to race Prindle 16's against, Steven Quandt and Tom Lehman from Arizona Yacht Club. They were sailing in on port on the far end of the line and we on the committee boat end. I tacked long after Jim wanted to for the finish because I've been burned before, knowing that if you tack early for the line you'll end up tacking again to make the finish. I headed up hard around the committee boat to get the bow over ahead of the J-80 and was honked over before them. I minor victory

considering they were in another class. What the heck...it was just a really fun day.
But I still hate the rain. I didn't buy any foulies

like Jim so just got soaked and cold.

I'm ordering mine today.

Now when is the next race?

Edited by - on

gnorgan
Admiral

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USA
563 Posts

Response Posted - 01/02/2006 : 13:31:58

Hey, Sailorman!!
You may have a water ballasted boat but any boat can be made to go faster and the name of the game is to get out there and make the attempt to beat someone. Practice and study and learn to be fast. I sure could use some mylar sails

but I probably wouldn't go that much faster for the extra money. And I'll bet there will be some out there who sail water ballasted boats just as fast, if not faster, than other keeled boats.
It really boils down to knowledge of the sport, experience, and lots of practice, and tactics, tactics, tactics.

And don't blow the start....ever.

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 01/02/2006 : 13:46:20

"... we would have literally been run over by the bigger boats sailing in a pack. "

Heh, the old rule, when in doubt, yield to tonnage.
Sounds like a great day of sailing to me... thanks for the photos too...

We have been without power for 3 days here in Northern California... are having a break between storms today and may actually get the boat out! Was a wee bit too nasty for our traditional New Years Day sail... (like gusting 54)

Edited by - on

jerryTN
Deckhand

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20 Posts

Response Posted - 01/02/2006 : 14:56:08

Jim, thanks for sharing the nice pics and narrative.

I spent some time in that blimp hanger on North Island NAS in the background of one of your shots.

Happy New Year!
jerry

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 01/02/2006 : 16:21:29

Jim/Gary...great adventure ya'll shared with us hi-n-dryers up in the n'east...and what a field of boats, EXHILARATING just sitting here and reading/viewing your reportage. But in the end, though some beat you to the finish, you beat them all home, BRAVISIMO

Val on the hard DAGNABIT # 3936 Patchogue, N.Y.

Edited by - on

Lightnup
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1016 Posts

Response Posted - 01/02/2006 : 20:13:43

What a great day! Thanks for the pics.

Steve

Edited by - on

sweetcraft
Admiral

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USA
816 Posts

Response Posted - 01/03/2006 : 01:13:48

Thanks for the great pictures. Gets me back on the boat during the snow storm today but at least we had power. Snowbird is in it's garage and the heater feels good. Appreciate all the news from SD. I'll be back one of these days for a sail on the bay. Good sails.

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 01/03/2006 : 08:23:39

Thanks for the pictures and stories, Jim and Gary. Please keep them coming, it's the closest I'll get to sailing in at least a few more months.

Edited by - on

JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 01/03/2006 : 21:16:54

Standings: 21 out of 31.

On corrected time, we beat an Ericson 28, an S2 9.1 and a Catalina of the boats that finished. Of these, we actually beat the Catalina on elapsed time. It doesn't list their size, but the PHRF is 204 so probably a C27. Of the DNCs, we beat a Catalina, a C&C 33, an Elite 32, a Merit 25, a Thunderbird, Luders 16, and Mac 21. We lost to a Catalina 34 by less than 30 seconds (corrected).

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/04/2006 : 00:13:57

Great pics--great story! Thanks! (There's a slush-storm in CT.)

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byh2os
1st Mate

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USA
32 Posts

Response Posted - 01/04/2006 : 10:21:35

Looks like a great time had by all. Please send the rain to North Texas. We are in a terrible drought! Bill

Edited by - on

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