Author: B G

Catching up

June was busy! I’ve been busy. We did both the 3rd of the SYC Round Island series, Round Blake Island and the crazy 3 Buoy Fiasco. Both races had something in common. A real lack of wind. At least with the RBI we finished and placed 3rd in class thanks in part to a boat or two that called it quits after what was a long, long day of super slow sailing. Whether by luck or skill we managed to sail from puff to puff from Shilshole to Restoration Point while a lot of the fleet ahead of us in the Racer-Cruiser fleet was dead in the water. We felt smart. Thankfully a fellow racer clarified the “shortened course” instructions which we were totally confused by or we would have rounded Blakely Rock instead! The current was ripping around the buoy at Restoration and we were sailing backwards for a bit but cleared and headed back to West Point which by now was another upwind leg as the wind had clocked around to the north. It was still very slow going though. The wind finally started to fill as we neared the bluffs and a couple of good legs put us right in there. Not bad for big bruiser like the Nordic 44. Some good gybes back down to Elliott Bay and we were happy to make it into the finish before the cut off. We had no idea we placed until the next day.

The 3 Buoy Fiasco was just that for us. We started well and I think we picked the best course but Murphy got us. The A2 kite’s leech line managed to get snagged on the jib halyard shackle during the drop at Spring Beach (Bouy #2 for us) we lost 15 minutes at least getting it unstuck. We were toast at that point. By the time we got to Jeff’s Head the wind had completely died. We spent an amusing 90 minutes drifting around that buoy snacking and drinking until it was clear we wouldn’t make the 5pm cut off. Too bad as we might have actually finished another race not really suited to the boat. Crew work was good but sometimes that just isn’t enough. We had a great time all the same. The Pig Roast at PMYC on Bainbridge was good fun. They put on a nice event.

Race to the Straits

First, there is only one Strait, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and we didn’t actually get all the way there. Whatever. This was something new to try. A double handed race. Just two of us to manage the 44 foot Nordic. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I figured we would sort it out along the way. Well, we did. Regular crew Jacqui took up the challenge. And it was a character building experience. We came in dead last. The photo below sums it up. The big A2 was simply too much for the two of us to handle when the winds kicked up past 20 knots at Double Bluff, the only mark in the race between Shilshole and Port Townsend. We learned a lot and nothing got broken but our egos. We blast reached into the finish line under genoa on Saturday with the meter showing 30 over the deck. Awesome. And it was sunny for a lot of the way North so it wasn’t all bad.

Sunday was another story. We got another late start but not because we got up too late but because the #1 reef line decided to untie itself. With a reef finally in the main and the genoa rolled up to about 110% we started the long grind into the current and 25 knot breeze. I tired out pretty fast. The tacking was murder. There is just too much sheet to release and trim with that genoa and it is not all efficient when furled. To make things worse the leech tensioner broke after about 5 tacks and the leech flogged like mad the rest of the day. We could never get the boat moving and despite doing our physical best we failed to reach Shilshole before the 7 PM deadline. Missed it by 30 minutes I would guess. Damn.

We were both really wiped out. I’ve never been so tired. Everything was wet. Spinnaker was drenched. It rained for part of the day on Sunday too. Sheesh. However, looking back, with some changes in the boat we would do it again and do a lot better I think. In fact a new racing #3 head sail is on order from Ballard Sails. A mothballed ATN spinnaker sock will be refurbed and put back into use for shorthanded sailing. This can be done!

Spinnaker Tug of Ware
Photo by Jan’s Marine – Spinnaker Tug of War

Blakely Rock Benefit 2014

I’d say we got lucky with the weather. It could have been a lot worse. As it was we had wind, a decent amount of it, not too much rain and it wasn’t that cold. For mid March that’s not bad. We always like to participate in these charity events. The cause this time was Sail Sand Point and the club raised $9,300 for them. That’s a win!

There is a nice write up by Ben Braden here of the race so I won’t repeat what he has done such a good job of. We had a good time for the most part. Things went a bit pear shaped at the end for us but we got out, sailed, had fun and came home safe. Below is a photo from Jan’s Marine that finally shows our new A2 from another boat.

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SBYC Snowbird 2013-2014

We went out feeling pretty good. We grabbed a second place in our 5th and final race of the Shilshole Bay Yacht Club’s Snowbird series. It was a great day for a winter race. Good wind, great course (we went over to Blakely Rock off of Bainbridge Island), the rain was very light and the competition was good. We had a good start although it was dicey being on port tack with the big Beneteau coming in on starboard but in the end the Bene was in a no win situation and all of us port tackers won out. We played it conservatively at the Rock turn and let the Dehler 39 Deltane get inside us. That allowed us to have fun all the way downwind to Meadow point where we were side by side most of the time. They pulled ahead but we slipped inside at the leeward mark and made it to the line a bit ahead. The crew all did well today and it shows we are starting to click and get smarter as a team. Thanks to SBYC for putting on the series. A big thanks to my friends that show up for the fun and games.

Next up another Blakely Rock race with my club STYC. We know the drill if the wind is the same! Here’s nice pic from Sara’s cam with me trimming for a change. Jacqui on the helm dueling it out with the Dehler 39 about 50 feet to my back.

Trim on!
Trim on!

Another Snowbird gone

This, our third attempt at a Snowbird event, was a bust. Blown out this time. A gale no less. Not just a little too much wind. Way too much. I figured it was still a good day to practice reefing and to see how the boat handled in 30 knot conditions. After all the plan is to enter some events where this kind of wind is entirely possible. Getting out was easy. The wind was a solid 25 knots with gusts to 30. Raining like mad. We headed down the breakwater to find some shelter from the gusts and hoist the main. After an aborted attempt because of some fouled reefing lines we came around for attempt number two. I felt the wind increase and looked down at the meter and noticed the wind was now pushing 30+. Visibility was dropping. I could swear the tops of the waves were blowing off. One of those times where you just know the squeeze is just not worth the juice. Wrap it up. Let’s get the heck out of here.

Well after looking at the West Point wind data I guess we made the right call. Pretty sure we out there right about 11am.

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New Pic at least

Well Snowbird #2 was a bust. On the positive side we learned some things while in the school of “stuff happens”. We live to race another day. No one got hurt. All that…

I did get my hands on a fun image crew member Sara has been holding hostage in her DSLR. It’s a worms eye view of the new A2. Hoping it gets out of the bag next month during Snowbird #3.

A2 Kite from Ballard Sails
A2 Kite from Ballard Sails

The New A2

Well we got the new A2 spinnaker and it’s a beauty. What a difference it makes to our downwind legs. Our first outing was a real ‘practice’ in the middle of a race but I think we will sort it soon enough. Ballard Sails did the design and build locally which is something I wanted to do this time around. So far I’m very happy with the work and the service. This sail is right at the max allowed for us and really puts a good amount of sail out in front of the boat which the old Hood sail did not. It is more of a challenge to trim than the AP kite and that is to be expected. We also need to band this one in any kind of breeze but that’s OK by me because it is less likely to get away from us on the hoist.

After our challenging live practice in the SBYC Snowbird race 1 we put in 2 solid hours of practice. Gybe after gybe working on the timing of the outside gybes, something we’re learning to do. The new MLX spin sheets seem to work well too. Now I just need to fit some secondary winches to cut down on the gymnastics at the back of the boat and we will be in a position to start sailing a lot closer to our rating.

NewA2_Jacqui

Above is a sneak preview of the new A2. Didn’t have a chance to get any full shots of the sail. Here’s Jacqui in front of the A2, she’s the person we have to thank for the cool color layout. Next time out hopefully we’ll get a full image of the sail.

Nice image Jan!

We got out last month for STYC’s last event of the year and Jan’s Marine Photography was on the water taking photos. There were several good images of Kinetics available but I liked this one the best. Many of the good ones were closeups of the crew at work. Thanks Jan. Can’t wait to get the glossy and frame it. Hoping we get some sunny shots with the new A2 kite from Ballard Sails next summer.

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