260527 PEYC Spring 2 of 5

Helm - Lynn Ellwood Main - Sue Fraser Middle - Steve Ellwood Middle - Anik Karimjee Mast - Joel Massicotte Bow - Howard Whittaker Weather - in discussion Course Aborted Race Course F - Start / M0A / #2 twice around / Finish Second Aborted race Course E - Start / #2 / Finish

The Predict Wind forecast was THOUGHT to be unhelpful mid-day

Useless right? Well… Neither race will be scored (after Steve Ellwood wins the protest) Aborted Race 1 The head sail decision was we left the harbour was obvious - #1. Breeze was around 8-11 knots from SW. Bow/Mast rigged it up. But half way to the start line down near #3, it was clear the #1 was wrong. We changed down to the #3 with 12-18 knots across the deck - good choice. The PEYC course marks were in place. The RC found that a square course was to the M0A, mid-channel gov’t mark. Pin favoured line. With about 50 seconds to travel Boat to Pin. The NFS fleet hit the pin and headed to the east to the shore. The faster boats dug in going as far as possible it seemed before tacking out. Our start was much the same. We came in on port, at 1 minute we were just above the RC, tacked and lead the fleet of 4 back to the pin. On go we headed up. The GC21 Peter Morch was also on the line at go but much closer to the RC. We found that the GC was higher and just as fast as we were. It might have been just getting the boat set up, but I think too it was rig tuning. I did half a thoughtful and patient tune that afternoon, but I ran out of time. We need our own loos gauge to properly consider the rig tune. It’s on the list. I’m borrowing one this evening from the Farr 30 at KYC, Bill, facilitated by Dave Wilby. So this weekend, Saturday will be all day tuning. We came into the #2 mark at the top of the course low of the lay line. This was intentional since overstanding hurts (lessons from the RS21 program). The NFS getting a 5 minute head start is also intentionally designed to get the fleet a chance to mix things up at the marks. And that worked. Chris on Sara in NFS was with us at the mark. We got inside him with a quick gybe. The chute went up to weather and Howard Whittaker muscled it around the bow as Joel Massicotte hoisted. Hourglass. Howard has on our last outing got the hourglass out without lowering the halyard and he called for the same thing again - leave the halyard up. Getting it out with a tug is faster than lowering the sail 6’ and then getting up again. Except the tugging didn’t work as well and it took a long time for Howard to solve the problem - which to his credit he did do. So we have to make a judgement call when this happens - lower halyard and tug it out. Howard is the only one with enough information to make that decision. The wrap was cleared and the spinnaker pole was set. The windward hoist is a good option, we will need more practice but the advantage of not needing to rerun the lines (with the crew weigh disruption and the risk of error) is worth it. Spin up, and we are off. Good breeze.
I foolishly had not properly observed the stern of the race committee, instead I assumed 2/4 would be the course. We gybed after passing the RC as the wind starting veering to the west a little, and noticed that the lead NFS boats, Bear and Lickety, were well past #4 and not aiming at it. THEN I looked at the RC and saw the course - DUH. MoA is 2.5nm from #2. Long but doable in breeze. We ran a gybe that was messy because I, in the pit, did not break the pole down and so Howard could not get it on the ring. DUH2. We did another gybe and it was TEXT Book. The pole-less chute floated out in front of the boat, still pulling the whole way through the gybe. Sue had the main close to center. I released the pole down and Howard moved the pole without the spinnaker knowing it happened - perfection. As we got down the course and saw the lead boats turning oddly. Gord Fox on his Niagara 32 Fox on the Run clearly turned without rounding a mark.
Someone called on the radio - is this a later April fools prank? There was no M0A mark. We sailed to the point our GPS said M0A was to have been - but of course you know the race cannot continue. Abandoned. That was the right call.

The wrong call was the RC’s subsequent decision NOT to restart the race but to make the course LONG again - at 1915 at night. RC called for Start/2/4/Finish on time around. The right call would be Start #3 / Finish. Short. Or they could move to QP5 and run Start QP5/#2/finish. The long course late was dumb.

So the second race, we changed to the #1 from the #3 as the wind died. About the same start although Lynn was hesitant because we were approaching the pin with a few second to go. We wanted the Pin and owned it.
We have encourage Lynn to move from the up side to the low side when she wants to see - just so that she will have the confidence to take instructions and of course develop her own sense of timing. Off we went, good start. This time with the big jib we were tracking well with the GC who again started up the line. As we approached the shore we tacked but we had to take the GC’s stern. We crossed in front of a Shark but not by much, Muren D Pickering and Jake Prohaska sailing Bullet. So it appears either (a) we still have a boat speed problem or (b) more likely, the pin decision was wrong. We picked our way through the NFS fleet in 9-12 knots of wind. We did a good duck on Trevor and Jake’s C&C 32. Holding course, sailing fast, sailing fast. Then easing the sails and dropping down, pointing at their bow then as we approach point at their stern and follow their stern up back to close-hauled course. There is no shame in having to duck. Its part of the game, especially if you think the boat you are ducking is going the wrong way - let them go. But giving away too much while ducking is a shame. It takes nerve and practice.
The pros say you should be heading back up to close-hauled as they pass your bow. Practice required. Having Lynn on the low side would have given her confidence to steer like that. It’s very, very hard to just take the crews word for it. I don’t think I could. So another reason for the driver to move to the low side in certain situations. We are tearing along on port heading to the west side. Again my thinking is not to overstand - in this wind with its changes, we could call the layline perfectly from 50 boat lengths away and still end up overstanding by 25 lengths… Come in low and know you have to tack. We did that, and were lifted almost almost to the mark. And along comes Angus Ross on his little Edel. He is reaching down, having overstood. And so he had lots of freedom. Another crossing situation, do we go for the cross or duck? We tacked and made to cross. We had a problem with the lazy jib sheet binding and so the tack was ugly. Nonetheless, we did get across him and tacked. But by that time he was inside us.
He rounded and headed DDW, (dead down wind). We gybed the boat no spinnaker inside him immediately. The hoist went up cleanly and off we ran, leaving him behind. But the wind was softening. Mark 4 was 1.7nm away. We steadily moved from run to reach to … can’t hold the spinnaker.

As we caught up to Mike Bowland on Osprey and Craig Mills on Lorelli we found them playing with each other a bit. Craig was on top of Mike and we wanted to be on top of both of them, but we couldn’t hold the spinnaker to do it. And Craig appeared to be prepared to take us up - can’t blame him - if we tried to pass to windward. So we went below - as the wind came further forward. We dropped the chute and got past Craig, but Mike stayed with us. Big wind shift, we tacked quickly. Mike did too. We ended up below Mike near the western shore ¾ of the way to #4. Another tack and another cross. The GC had magically maintained its height, and made gains on us as we crossed the bay. The wind continued to drop, and drop. But we had something - even if getting to the leeward mark required three more tacks up wind. We put Mike behind us, not our genius, he was outside on the wind shift in the same way we were outside the GC in the wind shift. As we approached mark #4 the GC was forced to tack from port to stbd as we were coming in on stbd. They were low of the mark but were able to claw up and around the mark. I am not sure who got the 3 boat length circle first. Our length governs that, not his, as we are the larger boat. So 90’ from the mark were we in the circle or them. I believed they were so we gave them room. JUST.
They shot up and again Lynn should have been on the low side so she could confidently execute the driving instructions. The GC almost hit the mark. If they did hit the mark there would have been an argument about whether or not we gave them ample room to pass the mark. But by an inch they were clear. They were ahead bound for the finish line. We are moving at 1-1.2 knots in flat water, close-ish hauled. They were staying up so we wouldn’t run them over. But we did. The big jib did its work in the light stuff. Never mind the PHRF rating they carry meant if we could see them, they were beating us. We worked up and down with them, staying clear but crowding them to eventually give them gas. But the wind - or lack of it was the story. Ahead we saw Lickety TACKING and heading to #3… as the wind died. the 2000 timeline came and went. At 2010 I called the RC and asked if the race was going to be abandoned based on the time limit. Instead of the usual ‘read the SIs’ I got some BS about sunset and a random decision the RC was making to allow the race to continue. When Bear and Lickety crossed the line they go horns. We announced our protest and set out flag. After another 25 minutes, at 2035 while we were 10 boats from the line I called to end the race. We dropped sails. The GC drifted across the line and got a gun. A few minutes after, with no one else crossing, the line was closed by the RC citing darkness. Back on shore, the RC said the protest forms were locked in the office and inaccessible. I noted the protest time limit and Martin Lentsch advised that filing tomorrow when the forms were available was acceptable.

2 Races, no results, no finishes, lotds of great practice. A long evening. BUT…

The one advantage if sitting on glass well after the time limit was past was this lovely scene.